ACTIVITY 8: Decision Making
ACTIVITY 8: Decision Making
How I Am (Intrapersonal Skills)
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.
SKILLS: Decision Making
Suggested Time Consideration: 30 mins
RATIONALE
In this activity, students will be introduced to the decision-making process. While the process is described within the student activity, you can also refer to the Overview Booklet for additional information to share with your students.
GETTING STARTED
Share the digital activity link below with your students. Then, ask them to think of a decision they made recently. Encourage them to choose one of some magnitude greater than, say, what color socks to wear to school that day. Using the chart in the activity, students will evaluate how they applied the decision-making process, and how they felt about the decision they finally made.
Ask students to wait until everyone has written about their decision before moving on to the “You Decide!” section of the activity. This final section is designed to be presented on an interactive whiteboard, though you may choose to have students complete it individually or in small groups.
TALKING ABOUT IT
Ask for volunteers to share their decisions with the class before you move on to the “You Decide!” section of the activity.
WRAPPING UP
The final section of the activity, “You Decide!”, is designed to be presented on an interactive whiteboard. This portion of the activity is a branching “choices and consequences” type of exercise. Ask for individuals or small groups to come to the board and make decisions for each part of the activity. Students should go through the decision-making steps for this hypothetical situation. Note that in this activity, students may return to the beginning and start over. Tell students that this isn’t always the case in real life.
There are three things you want to emphasize here:
- There are health consequences for young people who use tobacco and nicotine. According to the Surgeon General, symptoms like phlegm production, coughing, and wheezing have been found in young people who smoke.2 Additionally, youth and young adults are also uniquely at risk for long-term, long-lasting effects of exposing their developing brains to nicotine. These risks include nicotine addiction, mood disorders, and permanent lowering of impulse control. Nicotine also changes the way synapses are formed, which can harm the parts of the brain that control attention and learning.9
- Choices are freely made, even if we feel pressure. Only we can be held responsible for our choices and their consequences.
- There is a rational and systematic way of looking at the decisions we make. We should not make them impulsively. The more thought we give to them, the more empowered we will feel when we make them, and the more confident we will feel about our ability to live with their consequences.
Use the supplemental “Pop Quiz” video to complement this section.