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  4. ACTIVITY 8: DECISIONS, DECISIONS!

Grades 8 & 9

How I Am

This section has students look at how they act, feel, and think. Topics covered include self-esteem, social image, decision-making skills, and personal values (what is important to each student). The activities are designed to provide students with a chance to practice decision making and to empower them to make healthy choices.

Activity 8: Decisions, Decisions!

  • Skills: Decision making
  • Suggested Time Consideration: 20 minutes

  • Rationale

    In this activity, students will apply what they have learned about themselves and the decision-making process to evaluate a series of situations they may experience. (See the Overview Booklet for additional information about decision making that you can share with your students).

  • Getting Started

    Before starting the activity, review with your students the decision-making steps outlined in the activity:

    Decision-Making Steps

    • Situation: Why do you need to make a decision?
    • Goals: What do you want to happen?
    • Choices: What are your options or alternatives?
    • Consequences: What could happen?
    • Decisions: What will you do?
    • Think about it: Did you make the right decision?

    Then, to reinforce the steps, present students with the following example before they complete the activity:

    Your parents have gone out, and you have been put in charge of watching your little brother for the night. Your friends call you and want to come over to hang out with you. You aren’t supposed to have anyone over when your parents are not there. But your friends are being pushy, and you really want to hang out with them. What do you do?

    Take your students through the decision-making steps, by asking them:

    • What’s the goal? Or what do you want to happen?
    • What choices or alternatives do you have?
    • What are the possible consequences for each option?
    • What would you do?

    Next, share the digital activity link and have students complete the activity independently or in groups.

    Launch Activity

  • Talking About It

    Regroup to review the answer as a class. Ask students to volunteer their lists of options, consequences, and decisions for each hypothetical situation.

  • Wrapping Up

    To wrap up, encourage students to talk about how helpful it is to break down the decision-making steps. Ask them how some of these decisions (or other decisions they’ve made in their own lives) might have been made differently if they had thought them through.

  • Materials

Grade 8-9 Overview Booklet

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Overview Booklet

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