Suggested Grade/Age Range: Grades 4-6 (ages 9-11)

Activity Objective: The goal of this activity is to have children practice the decision making process around potentially familiar social situations and make healthy choices around them.

Learning Goals
Big Messages to Kids

Link to Ontario Curriculum

Materials Required:

• Printed copy of scenarios to use during the discussion
• Chart paper and markers for writing down responses to each scenario

Prep Time: 10 minutes

• Print out scenario descriptions
• Gather all writing materials listed above

Task Time: 40-45 minutes

• Describe activity
• Read out each scenario and have children make choices about it

Activity Description:

Opening Discussion:

1.       Remind the class that we make choices everyday and that some may be easy while others may be more difficult to make

• Ask the class to think of some examples of simple choices they have made today (e.g., what they ate for breakfast, what snack they would like to eat, what they wore to school, etc.)
• Ask children to think of a harder choice they had to make. Explain that sometimes choices involving our friends or other social situations may be difficult to make (e.g., resolving a conflict, choosing who to play with, getting help for oneself or one’s friends, etc.)
• Introduce the fact that every choice comes with a consequence and give an example of this. Have children also volunteer some examples of consequences to choices

Activity:

2.       Tell the class that you will be reading to them a few scenarios (3-5) and that their task is to help you make a decision about what to do in each case

3.       Choose one of the scenarios from the list and read it to the class

• Give children 1-2 minutes to turn to a peer beside them and discuss what possible choices can be made for the scenario
• Allow each pair to share what some of their choices are. Write these down on chart paper
• For each choice, ask the children to think of the consequences of that choice. Have them discuss in their pairs what these are and then share with the class. Write down their responses beside their choices
• Point out that different choices lead to different kinds of consequences and some of these may be positive while others are negative. Emphasize the importance of thinking a choice through before making it. Also point out that a bad choice can always be followed by a good one. Finally, emphasize to children that when they are not sure what to do in a situation, they can always turn to an adult for help

4.       Repeat Step 3 for a few more scenarios as time permits

Activity Extensions:

Children can write about a difficult choice they have had to make and the consequences related to that choice in their journals or writers notebooks

Additional Comments:

Allow children to offer a variety of choices in response to the scenarios and be mindful of not labelling some as being ‘good’ and others as being ‘bad’ too quickly. Instead, encourage children to think through the consequences for each choice carefully and guide them towards making healthier choices

Additional Resources:

You may choose to review over the Making Choices Literature Review before implementing this activity. It can be found here.