Content Area: Health and Physical Education

 

Index: 2.2B Grade 8 CPI 4

 

Standard: 2.2 - Integrated Skills

 

Strand: B -   Decision Making 

 

Cumulative Progress Indicator: 4 - The student will discuss how ethical decision making requires careful thought and action.

 

Grade: 8

 

Sample Activities:

 

·       DEVELOPING YOUR VALUES - Explain that most of the time, people do the right thing. Sometimes, the choices people have to make are difficult and in conflict with their values—we call this moral conflict—and that makes it even harder to make a decision. Provide students with an example similar to the one below and discussion.  Your best friend didn’t study for the big math test. During the test, he/she leans over and asks for the answer to a problem. You value his/her friendship and don’t want to jeopardize that. You are a loyal friend. On the other hand, you place real importance on being honest and you would feel terrible if you cheated. What should you do? Explain that you are experiencing moral conflict, battling your sense of right and wrong. This is an example of a time when you can’t talk about the decision with someone else—you are walking a moral tightrope. Ask: “What does this mean?” After exploring the concept further, students explain in a journal entry about a time they faced a moral conflict and walked the tightrope. What helped them make the right choice? Students volunteer to share their experiences.

Variation: Provide students with fables or folktales that teach values. Students analyze the characters’ motivation to “do the right thing.” Students form small reading/discussion groups to share their insights on the stories.

Variation: Students create a fable, poem, or illustrated children’s book about a character facing a moral conflict.

Variation: Students write an essay entitled “Your Values Are Always Showing.” In the essay, students provide examples of how values are reflected in what individuals say and do and how family and culture shape values.

Variation: Values play an important part in the decisions we make. How do we learn values? Students list all the ways and places that teach values. Students compare the values of various cultures and religions.

Variation: Students debate the following questions: “Can values be both positive and negative? Can values change? How can you develop new values? Can adults develop new values?”

 

·       REAL-LIFE DECISIONS - Students brainstorm real-life decisions faced by teenagers. From the list, each student selects one problem and attempts to solve it outlining each step of the problem-solving/decision-making model. During the process, the student identifies and describes the potential influence of parents, family members, peers, culture, and the media on the decision. Students summarize the situation and present their analysis to the class.

SAMPLE REAL-LIFE SITUATIONS
-       Your parents are getting a divorce and you have to choose which one to live with.
-       You just had sex with the cutest guy/girl in school. You didn’t think about protection until now.
-       You want to lose 10 pounds before the big dance. You’ve only lost 2 pounds and you only have 2 weeks left.
-       Your parents want you to attend an all-male/all-female high school next year.