Content Area: Health and Physical Education

 

Index: 2.1F Grade 12 CPI 2

 

Standard: 2.1 - Wellness

 

Strand: F -  Social and Emotional Health 

 

Cumulative Progress Indicator: 2 - The student will analyze the impact of physical development, social norms and expectations, self-esteem, and perceived vulnerability on adolescent social and emotional growth and behavior.

 

Grade: 12

 

Sample Activities:

 

·        DEALING WITH ANGER - Brainstorm causes of anger and list on the board. Discuss the causes and associate with patterns of behavior. Since anger often results when a need is not met, discuss the difference between needs and wants. Then have students create a chart to rate anger (e.g., 1 = mild to 3 = severe) and describe the characteristics of each rating. Discuss who controls one’s anger (self) and ways of dealing with anger so the person doesn’t harm self, others, or the environment. Variation: Incidents of “road rage” appear to be more common. As novice drivers, high school students may be involved in a road rage situation. Students brainstorm possible situations when this might occur. Divide the class into two groups. The first group develops strategies to deal with road rage when you are the victim. The second group discusses ways to control your emotions when driving. Groups share their ideas and develop a pamphlet, poster, or video showcasing strategies to deal with such incidents.

 

·        DEALING WITH DEPRESSION - Brainstorm some of the signs of depression and note on the board. Explain that everyone experiences times when they are feeling low, blue, or down. Most people are able to cope with these feelings and maintain their normal life patterns. However, for some people those feelings do not resolve. Provide a copy of the American Psychiatric Association’s list of signs and symptoms of depression that warrant
professional help. After discussion, divide the class into small groups. Each group develops a list of informational resources (books, Web sites, pamphlets), organizations, hotlines, and mental health facilities in the area that provide services for individuals with depression.

 

      Variation: Using the signs and symptoms list, students develop a role-play of an individual experiencing depression. Students illustrate via the role-play how they might help this person seek counseling and care.

Variation: Students explore mental health treatment options for adolescents, locate facilities and organizations that provide care, and investigate the costs of treatment programs.

 

·        YOUR ATTITUDE IS SHOWING - Ask students: “Can your attitude affect your health?” After a brief discussion, provide students with a handout entitled “Twelve Attitudes That Can Hurt Your Health”. For each statement, students write a counter statement that positively impacts health. Students share their counter statements.

TWELVE ATTITUDES THAT CAN HURT YOUR HEALTH
1. That could never happen to me.
2. I’m too young.
3. I don’t know anyone who ever got in trouble doing that.
4. What I don’t know won’t matter.
5. I’ll show him (or her)!
6. I’ll get around to a check-up when I’m older.
7. I’ll start tomorrow.
8. But everybody’s doing it.
9. We’re all going to die someday anyway.
10. I’ve never been sick a day in my life.
11. Nobody else cares about me, so why should I?
12. I’m in control. I can stop any time I want.

Variation: Divide the class into pairs or triads. Each small group is assigned one of the twelve statements to develop a role-play that illustrates ways to “counter the attitude”. Students present their skits and discuss other ways to respond to individuals with “an attitude”. Discuss why some people develop such attitudes (e.g., poor coping skills, undue stress, multiple problems).

Variation: A poll of high school students showed that apathy is one of the biggest problems facing teenagers. Discuss why apathy develops and how it contributes to other adolescent problems. Students debate if apathy is a problem in their school.

 

·        DEALING WITH MULTIPLE PROBLEMS - Using Romeo and Juliet as a trigger (the play or one of the film versions), discuss the many problems
experienced by the characters and the ways they coped with those problems. Discuss the consequences of their choices. Students rewrite the ending of the story, having the characters use appropriate coping skills to deal with their problems.

 

·        WHAT IS "NORMAL?" - What is normal? Many teens ask that question. This activity gives students an opportunity to look at the wide spectrum of normal and realize that the definition of normal is relative to the time in history and culture. Ask students to write on a piece of paper the name of a person in history whom they admire. Then ask: “Was the person generally considered normal by most people during his or her lifetime? Would the character be considered normal today?” Students justify their position and definition of normal.

Variation: Divide the class into small groups and assign each group a situation similar to the ones below. Groups present their situations and ideas for input from the class. Based on the discussion, students define normal and discuss healthy as a possible alternative term. Use the following questions
to frame the group discussion:
-       What would you do in the situation?
-        What would you consider a normal reaction in the situation? Why?
-        Can something be considered normal in one situation and not-so-normal in another?
-        Who defines normal? Do different groups have different perceptions of normal? Why?
-        Who defines healthy? Can someone be healthy and normal? Are the terms mutually exclusive or do they include some of the same characteristics?

SAMPLE SITUATIONS
-        Your girlfriend or boyfriend has been sexually involved with someone else while dating you.
-        Your doctor tells you you are HIV positive.

      -        As you are about to graduate from high school, you learn that family finances will make it impossible for you to attend college.
-        You find yourself the victim of flagrant prejudice because of your race, ethnic background, or religion.
-        You are deliberately misled by someone you consider a good friend.
-        As a young woman, you are discouraged from going to college by your parents on the grounds that “a nice girl should stay home and get married.”
-        You are a member of the basketball team and your English teacher keeps making disparaging remarks about “jocks.” This teacher has been known to be very subjective when grading essays and writing assignments.
-        You are paralyzed from the neck down after a car accident.
-        You return home to find your house burned to the ground.

 

·        FEELINGS, THOUGHTS AND EMOTIONS - Begin the class with an out-of-character statement addressing the class. For example, you might
chastise the class (“I am sick and tired of your lousy efforts. If you cannot do better on the next test I will insist that you withdraw from class.”) or offer gratuitous praise (“Your class is the best part of my day. You’re the best students in the school”). Some students will realize immediately that this is a put-on while others may become bewildered or even angry. Ask students to record on a piece of paper how your diatribe made them feel and the intensity of their feelings, rated on a scale of 1 to 10 (1 = mild, 10 = intense). Discuss the responses and record on the board. Note the variety of
emotions and intensity levels. Ask students: “Have you ever been in a situation where you noticed that other people had very different feelings from yours? What do you think was going on? Why do you think you felt differently?” Stress that many people think that feelings come directly from the
occurrence (the yelling teacher), but it is really the individual’s beliefs or thoughts that impact your emotions and behavior.

Variation: Create scenarios where the character or characters experience the same situation but respond with different emotions. In small groups, students describe the situation and the emotions that the characters experience and the internal dialogue that occurs. Groups share their ideas about the situations.

Variation: Tell the class to close their eyes and imagine that you are the coach and you’re yelling at them. Say something like this: “I’m sick of telling you to knock it off! Every day it’s the same thing. You come here and mess around. It’s clear that you’re not taking this seriously! Well, we are here to
win and if you are going to continue to drag us down, then I want you off the team!” Students open their eyes and discuss how they felt when the coach “brought them down.” Students write on a piece of paper the emotion felt and the intensity of that emotion. Encourage students to report both the type of feeling (e.g., sadness, embarrassment, fear) and the intensity (1 to 10, with 10 representing the most intense). Record some of the different feelings on the board, and draw attention to the fact that not all students felt the same way about the situation. Acknowledge the variations and ask what distinguishes those who felt one way from the others. If anyone makes the point that our thoughts or interpretations affect our feelings, emphasize this point.