Feelings

TOPIC: Choices

CONCEPT: To show the process of decision making for healthy behaviors.

OBJECTIVE: The prevention of unhealthy behaviors is easier than to change them once they have been established. Students in early elementary may not be using alcohol, tobacco or other drugs but they are at risk of doing so. It is necessary for students to learn at a early age that they have choices and that they have the ability to make good choices.

GRADE LEVEL: K - 2nd

ACTIVITY: Engage the students in a discussion about choices. Explain that a choice is something you decide to do. For example, you can choose to play ball in the street or in your fenced yard. Ask the students which choice would be the safest and why? Ask for examples of choices that they have made. Discuss how important it is to make choices to keep us safe and that we must not do what our friends want when it is not safe. Stick pictures up around the room of items in a particular category. Ask the students to stand beside the one they like best. Repeat this activity with several different categories.

DISCUSSION: After the demonstration facilitate a discussion utilizing the following questions. Be sure to emphasize that learning how to make good choices can be an important tool in growing up healthy.

Discussion Ideas:

• What happened during this activity?

• Did everyone make the same choice?

• Why did you make your choice?

• Was it hard to make a choice some of the time? Why or why not?

• Did you ever make a choice just because one of your friends went there?

• When could going with a friend be dangerous?

• If your friend wanted to do something where you might get hurt what could you do instead of going along with your friends?