Values, Influences, and Peers
Resource Guide, Revised Edition, 1996
A Joint project of the Ministry of Education and
Training and
the Ministry of the Solicitor General and Correctional
Services
Contents
Acknowledgements
Preface
Introduction
1.Values and Rules
2.Decision Making
3.Peer Pressure
4.Healthy Friendships
5.Authority Figures
6.Youth and the Law
7.Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs
8.Responsible Citizenship
9.Service
to the Community
10. Interpersonal Skills
11. Social Diversity
Acknowledgements
The Ministry of the Solicitor General and Correctional Services and the
Ministry of Education and Training are pleased to acknowledge the contributions
made by the participants, including the members of the Ad-Hoc Committee,
Steering Committee, and focus groups, and the teachers, principals, and police
officers, all of whom contributed their time, energy, and expertise to the
development of this revised edition of Values, Influences, and Peers.
The participants' commitment to the VIP project has helped to produce a valuable
resource guide that teachers and police officers can use to assist Grade 6
students to develop the values, skills, and knowledge they will need to be
responsible citizens
This project was funded by the Ministry of the Solicitor General and
Correctional Services and the Ministry of Education and Training.
Preface
Values, Influences, and Peers (VIP) is aimed at Grade 6 students. It
is intended to assist teachers to:
- help students make informed choices related to values and the law;
- inform students of their rights and responsibilities;
- enhance students' self-esteem.
Programs developed from this resource guide should reinforce responsible
citizenship, positive social behaviour, and community values.
VIP is a joint project of the Ministry of Education and Training and the
Ministry of the Solicitor General and Correctional Services. VIP programs and
resources have been prepared and delivered in Ontario classrooms since 1984 by
teachers working with the Ontario Provincial Police and municipal police
services.
This resource guide was first published in 1984. It has been revised to make
it consistent with new crime-prevention and community-safety initiatives of the
Ministry of the Solicitor General and Correctional Services and with new
Ministry of Education and Training policies such as those outlined in the
following publications:
- The Common Curriculum: Policies and Outcomes, Grades 1-91 (Note that the
content of this VIP resource guide shows the links to the specific learning
outcomes outlined for the end of Grade 6 in the Policies and Outcomes
document. These specific learning outcomes appear in bold and are accompanied by
the page references and codes from the Policies and Outcomes document.)
- Violence-Free Schools Policy2
- Aménagement linguistique en français, paliers élémentaire
et secondaire3(for
French-language schools)
This revised edition of the VIP resource guide also reflects the changes
that have taken place in Ontario society in which there have been increasing
numbers of community members from diverse social, family, racial, and
ethnocultural backgrounds. To live harmoniously and successfully in this
society, students need to appreciate, understand, and respect the different
values, perspectives, and life experiences of Ontario's diverse population.
The success of the VIP program depends on the following main factors: the
continuing partnership between educators and the police; the collaborative
involvement of various stakeholders in the community, including people from
diverse groups; the integration of VIP programs into the curriculum and the
daily life of the classroom.
Teachers may photocopy and hand out to students the "Information Sheets"
that accompany some of the activities in this resource guide. These sheets are
placed at the end of each unit of study.
French-language schools are required to use only those resources that are
compatible with the language of instruction of the class, and to seek
French-speaking police officers and other guest speakers.
Note: Under the Child and Family Services Act,4 one is required
by law to report suspected incidents of child abuse to the Children's Aid
Society. The policies of Ontario schools should reflect this law. Should VIP
program activities result in any student disclosures of this nature, teachers
should follow the appropriate protocols and policies of their school board.
Introduction
Values are those qualities that an individual or a
society considers important as principles for conduct and that are intrinsically
worthwhile.
As students develop their personal value systems, they must be made aware of
the set of values that Canadians from diverse groups regard as essential to the
well-being of society. They must also be provided with an environment that helps
them develop a positive self-image, which is crucial to their functioning as
responsible, caring members of society.
Students must . . . be equipped to respond constructively to
social change. In recent years, for example, we have witnessed significant
alteration in the structure of the family, the influence of established
institutions, and the roles and lifestyle choices of men and women. In Ontario,
there has been a significant increase in racial and cultural diversity. It is
therefore more important than ever before that students develop the values,
skills, and knowledge needed to live productively and harmoniously in a society
that values diversity and is committed to equity and social justice.5
Values may be defined as those qualities that an individual or a
society considers important as principles for conduct and that are intrinsically
worthwhile.
Societal values, which serve as expectations for everyone, are the
values that are generally accepted by a society, and that form the basis of its
cultural traditions, structures, practices, and laws. The most important
societal values in Canada include freedom, fairness, honesty, respect,
compassion, and justice.
There are a number of values that Canadians consider to be essential to the
well-being of our society. These values are those that reinforce the democratic
rights and responsibilities of individuals and are based on a belief in the
fundamental worth of persons of all races, creeds, ethnic backgrounds, ages, and
physical and mental abilities.
Personal values are values that are acquired and held, consciously
or unconsciously, by each individual. An individual's personal values profoundly
affect his or her thinking and behaviour, although personal values are strongly
influenced by the values held by society in general.
Each child is a unique individual with physical, intellectual, social,
emotional, cultural, and spiritual dimensions. These dimensions develop through
a process that is identifiable and somewhat predictable and that can be traced
from infancy through childhood and adolescence to adulthood. This development
may be either fostered or impeded by the child's environment and experiences.
Much more is involved in contributing to children's moral growth and values
development than simply telling them about important societal values such as
compassion and respect. Children are neither empty vessels to be filled with
knowledge nor computers to be programmed. Rather, children actively develop
their personal values and capabilities as they interact with others and with
their environment. Consequently, the teacher must be sensitive to the influence
of the classroom and school environments and must also encourage students to
think about and assess their values and those of others.
Teachers and others working with this document should also be aware of
students who have been identified as exceptional through the school board
Identification, Placement, and Review Committee (IPRC) process. For example,
students who have been identified as exceptional in the behavioural, learning
disabled, or intellectual areas may show behaviour that is different from that
of other students. Strategies that are helpful to such students will have been
identified already through the IPRC process and there may be particular
components of individual programs that could be incorporated into aspects of the
VIP program and vice versa. Such modifications will help the students benefit
more fully from the VIP program.
Individuals who feel good about themselves and who have a positive sense of
their own identity are much more likely to interact with others in positive ways
and to respect the values and laws of their society. When children have
developed the feelings of self-respect and self-worth that they require to
function independ-ently, they are better equipped to cope with negative
influences and pressures from others. Because their own identities are not in
doubt, they are less vulnerable to peer pressure, and their behaviour is more
likely to reflect the values they have acquired. This positive view of human
nature is the basis of this document.
The early years of adolescence are perhaps the most challenging for the
maturing child. It is at this time that major physical changes begin, and these
changes tend to be accompanied by a need for group acceptance. Together, these
forces can create emotional stress for adolescents. To cope with this stress,
young people need to understand the changes they are experiencing. They also
require a strong sense of self-worth and a coherent set of values, both of which
are essential to the well-being of individuals and of society.
Without this understanding and these values, young people may become
involved in a number of antisocial activities. They may be more inclined to show
off, to react negatively to authority, and to become involved in truancy. They
may also attempt to escape the difficulty they are having in solving their
personal problems by using alcohol or taking drugs.
Students entering Grade 7 are at a particularly vulnerable age. Some
students begin to experience emotional conflict at this age. For some, this is a
crucial time for deciding whether or not to smoke, use alcohol, take drugs, or
participate in antisocial activities. It is for these reasons that the
activities in this resource guide are intended for use with students in Grade 6.
The involvement of young people in unlawful activities sometimes occurs as a
result of peer pressure. Young people must learn to recognize and to cope with
negative peer influences. Peer pressure is one of the primary issues dealt with
in this resource guide.
The predominant methodology of the activities in this resource guide is
collaborative learning, in which students work in groups and develop a high
level of involvement in their learning. The instructional strategies used by
teachers must be appropriate to the students' cultural background and faith.
The VIP program encourages positive social behaviour by increasing students'
awareness and building their feelings of self-confidence and self-esteem, and by
providing them with the skills and insights needed to examine the value issues
inherent in particular circumstances. Implicit in this approach is the basic
assumption that students with a positive self-image will develop positive
relationships with their peers and will also be more likely to develop the
ability to cope with peer pressure.
The sample activities included in this resource guide encourage students to
become involved in discussion and self-expression without fear of embarrassment
or ridicule. Thus anonymity is important; a "no name" rule should be
established for students relating incidents of a personal nature. Teachers are
also urged to read the caution at the end of the Preface, on page 4.
Teachers should use or adapt the activities in this resource guide to help
students become aware of:
- the personal and societal choices with which they will be confronted;
- the possible consequences of these choices;
- the relationship of these choices to personal and societal value systems.
Thus, a program based on this resource guide should help young people
develop a positive self-concept and the habits and values that will help them
become good citizens. This, in turn, should help them cope with negative peer
pressure.
The topics in this resource guide are all interrelated. VIP begins with an
examination of personal and societal values and standards and the way they are
translated into rules and laws that give society the authority to enforce them.
Within this context, VIP also examines areas in which students traditionally, to
a greater or lesser extent, have had problems or have been influenced in a
negative way.
To a large degree, children learn about values by actively making decisions,
trying them out, and learning from the consequences of their decisions. There
are many supervised school activities through which students can safely
experience this process; group work, team sports, and science fairs can all
provide important learning experiences related to human relationships, plans,
contributions, and accomplishments. The experience of making group decisions can
also be beneficial.
VIP provides learning activities, based on scenarios and real-life examples,
that can be used to develop that experience.
Some of the values that form the foundation of the school curriculum in
Ontario include:
| – acceptance | –
freedom | – peace |
| –
compassion | – generosity | –
respect for the environment |
| – co-operation | – honesty | – respect for life |
| – courage | – justice | – respect for self |
| –
courtesy | – loyalty | –
responsibility |
| – equality of opportunity | – moderation | – self-discipline |
| – fairness | – patience | – sensitivity |
While no person or institution has exclusive responsibility for the
development of values in children, the home has the primary responsibility. For
many children, the community also has a profound influence, often within the
religious or faith tradition of the parents or guardians. Educators must
recognize and respect these areas of influence.
At the same time, society has frequently turned to the school for assistance
in helping young people learn to cope with such problems as the use of tobacco
and the abuse of alcohol and other drugs. Although schools cannot, nor should be
expected to, solve such problems alone, VIP programs can help focus attention on
this particular area of personal need.
To help achieve the goals discussed above, value-related activities appear
throughout this resource guide. It should be understood that these activities
are provided as samples only and are not intended as a program of study.
Teachers are encouraged to adapt or expand on these activities or to use them to
involve their students in the discussion of some of these issues.
The units of study outlined in this document will provide opportunities for
students to:
- become aware of some of the basic values of our diverse Canadian society
and in particular of the set of values considered essential to the well-being of
individuals and of society;
- learn to accept responsibility for their own actions;
- understand that each person may be influenced by peer pressure;
- become aware of the importance of self-respect and self-confidence in
meeting the challenge of peer pressure;
- gain insights that will help them make good choices when confronted with
negative peer influences;
- develop a respect for the rights of others and for the rule of law.
The units of study can be expanded, or additional units can be developed, to
meet the needs of the students in the local community. Additional topics could
include crime prevention and shoplifting, vandalism, and violence, with an
emphasis on the personal and societal costs of these crimes.
Students should be encouraged to maintain personal VIP journals, in which
they can record their thoughts and feelings about the value-related activities
and reflect on the concepts and ideas covered in class. Since the VIP journals
should be learning journals, not personal diaries, students should be
comfortable sharing their contents with teachers, classmates, and parents or
guardians.
Although the individual units do not contain assessment strategies, it is
expected that teachers and police officers will continuously evaluate the
content and strategies of the VIP program, as well as students' acquisition of
knowledge, skills, and attitudes and their achievement of the learning outcomes.
Program and student evaluation can be done in many ways:
- Teachers can use observation sheets, which they can share with students.
- Students can be encouraged to evaluate their own work and the program. For
example, they can be encouraged to write in their VIP journals about their
growth in understanding or their need to develop certain skills.
- Teachers can provide students with checklists, which students can use to
assess the program and their own progress.
Such continuous monitoring of the program and of student progress will help
ensure both that students' needs are met and that the VIP learning outcomes are
achieved.
1. Values and Rules
Personal values are values that are acquired and
held, consciously or unconsciously, by each individual, and that influence his
or her thinking and behaviour.
Societal values are the values that are generally accepted by a
society, and that form the basis of its cultural traditions, structures,
practices, and laws.
Values are qualities that an individual or a society considers important as
principles for conduct and that are intrinsically worthwhile. This unit is
designed to introduce students to the concept of values and to lead them to
discover and analyse some of their own values and those of society.
An important goal of this VIP resource guide is to help Grade 6 students to
explore and understand the values that underlie the choices they make and to
respect their own and others' values. This unit will help students to understand
how values shape an individual's behaviour, the development of personal rules,
and, ultimately, the laws that regulate society.
Learning Outcomes
· Identify personal behaviour that is shaped by family values
and beliefs and by the influence of peers. (P1, page 86)
In helping students achieve the above outcome, teachers should ensure that
the students are able to:
- identify personal and family values;
- understand the ways in which an individual's family background, language,
and culture influence his or her ideas and behaviour.
Topic 1: Values
Resource: Information
Sheet 1: Types of Values
Key Words: equitable, equality of opportunity, harmony, rule, value,
value system
Sample Activities:
- Have the class define values. You might start with the following:
- Have each student identify something tangible that has value to him
or her (e.g., a family pet, a favourite jacket).
- Briefly discuss value as it relates to monetary value, noting
that we do not always think of something as more valuable because its
monetary value is greater.
- Explain that the values the class will be talking about relate
to a different kind of values, ones that guide our behaviour and influence
our decisions and the standards and rules we set for ourselves.
- Distribute a copy of Information Sheet 1 to each student and ensure that
students understand the three types of values: personal, family, and societal.
- Ask students to brainstorm to extend the lists of values on Information
Sheet 1. Then have them work in small groups to determine ten values that
are important to them and the rules or behaviours that are based on these
values. When the groups' lists are complete, ask them to refine them further,
reducing them to the five values that they consider most important.
- Have students examine and assess their own values and those of their families
and their community, noting these values in their VIP journals.
- Ask students to discuss the values they identified with their parents
or guardians.
- Have students make collages that represent the values that are important
to them.
- Have students select a character from a short story, novel, television program,
or film and describe his or her values. Have them share their findings in
small groups.
Topic 2: Values/Rules in School
Resources: your school's code of behaviour and other policies
Key Words: policies, code of behaviour
Sample Activities:
- Have students, working in small groups, examine the school's code of
behaviour and list the value(s) on which each of the rules is based.
- Have students look at other school policies and determine the values on
which they are based.
- Have students examine the class and school rules and policies, and discuss
how these support values considered important in the local community or society.
Ask students to consider the following:
- Do any of the school's rules or policies contradict societal values?
- Are there any societal values that are not currently supported by the
school's rules or policies but should be?
- If the answer to either or both questions above is "yes", what
can students and teachers do to solve these problems?
Topic 3: How Values Guide Behaviours and Decisions
The following examples show how our values underlie our behaviours and
decisions. Note that these values are only examples.
| Value | | Behaviour or Decision |
|---|
| ............................... |
| ............................................................ |
| patience | · | giving others time to express their ideas |
| cleanliness | ·
· | attending to personal hygiene
disposing of litter in
containers designed for that purpose |
| responsibility |
·
· | putting away equipment
after using it
returning borrowed items |
| punctuality |
·
· | meeting deadlines for
school assignments
being on time for appointments |
| respect for self | · | taking
only those drugs that have been medically prescribed and only according to
directions |
| fairness | · |
ensuring everyone has equal opportunities to succeed |
Sample Activities:
- Have students list in their VIP journals an appropriate behaviour or
decision resulting from values such as:
| –
acceptance | – freedom | –
peace |
| – compassion | –
generosity | – respect for the environment |
| – co-operation | – honesty | – respect for life |
| –
courage | – justice | –
respect for self |
| – courtesy | – loyalty | – responsibility |
| – equality of opportunity | –
moderation | – self-discipline |
| – fairness | – patience | – sensitivity |
- Have students look at the list of values used in the previous activity and
note in their VIP journals those values that they have and those that they would
like to acquire. Have them prepare a plan for developing the latter values.
- Have students, working in small groups, examine their classroom and school
values to see if all the values listed in the earlier activity are represented.
Ask students to determine what they should do if their classroom or school lacks
some of these values. Have the groups of students share their ideas with the
whole class and determine if anything can be done to reinforce any of these
values in the classroom or school.
- Discuss the key points of the following with the students as a summary to
this unit:
- If we are to live in a society that upholds the rights of the individual,
encourages mutual respect, and treats everyone fairly, we must have some common
values and rules. Our class has its rules. The school has a code of behaviour,
developed jointly by parents or guardians, teachers, and students. The community
is regulated by by-laws that reflect our values. The country is governed by laws
that reflect the values underlying the Constitution of Canada.6 Any group or
organization to which we belong has rules that are based on a particular set of
values.
Information Sheet 1: Types of Values
Values are the beliefs on which people base their individual, family, and
societal expectations and rules.
Personal, or Individual, Values
The following are some of the personal values that many people find
important:
- a belief in the importance of maintaining one's health and fitness
- a belief in the importance of achieving one's personal potential
- a belief in the importance of learning
- self-discipline
- trustworthiness
- fairness
- honesty
- punctuality
- kindness and generosity
- compassion
- open-mindedness
- patience
- courtesy
- respect for others
- respect for oneself
- a belief in the importance of personal spiritual values
- cleanliness
- a belief in the importance of cherishing one's first language and culture,
as well as any other languages and cultures acquired
Family Values
Family members have expectations of each other based on their own family
values. These values may differ from person to person even within the closest
family. The following are some common family values:
- loyalty to the family unit and to individual family members
- sympathy for family members
- a belief in the importance of sharing resources with family members
- co-operation
- respect for family members
- respect for family rules
- a sense of responsibility towards the family
Societal Values
To maintain the kind of democratic society in which we want to live, we must
share important values such as:
- peace
- respect for the law
- a belief in the importance of examining our laws for fairness and working
within the law to change those that are unfair
- respect for the local community
- participation in public life
- respect for diversity
- respect for others
- willingness to compromise
- respect for the environment
- respect for property and society
- a commitment to fairness and equality of opportunity
- a commitment to equality
2. Decision Making
A decision is the process of selecting one or more
alternatives from a number of choices.
Everyone makes a multitude of decisions every day. Many of these daily
decisions do not require much thought and could be called habits rather than
decisions. However, each individual will also make many important decisions that
will affect the quality of his or her life. It is therefore crucial that
students examine the way decisions are reached.
Problems are part of human existence, and problem solving is a skill that
everyone must acquire. Without an understanding of the problems that are common
to their age group and the ability to deal with those problems, young people are
in danger of developing other, more serious problems. In fact, much antisocial
behaviour exhibited by maturing children is really a reaction to troublesome
problems or worries.
Studying the issues that are important to most adolescents and the ways in
which people make decisions increases students' understanding of themselves and
others. By helping students understand and cope with their problems, teachers
can help them grow into self-confident individuals who are capable and desirous
of becoming good citizens.
In a democratic society, individuals have the right to make their own
choices in many aspects of their lives, and thus each individual may make
choices that differ from those made by others. Teachers must respect this right
to choose and help increase students' ability to make effective choices by
teaching decision-making skills. In making their decisions, students must
consider their own and others' feelings, preferences, and goals and their own
and others' rights and responsibilities, as well as the feasibility of their
alternatives.
The sample activities are based on a decision-making model that is commonly
used in the Ontario curriculum. Teachers should be aware that people from other
cultures and in other regions of the world may use a different decision-making
process. If possible, teachers should provide students with opportunities to use
a decision-making process related to their own culture and integrate it with the
sample model.
Learning Outcomes
· Apply a problem-solving model. (P5, page 87)
In helping students achieve the above outcome, teachers should ensure that
the students are able to:
- identify factors that influence decisions;
- identify the steps in making decisions;
- make a decision using a decision-making model.
Topic 1: Defining Decisions
Key Words: alternatives, choices, decisions, consequences,
compromise, consensus, dissention
Sample Activities:
- Have students brainstorm to find a definition for the word decision
(the process of selecting one or more alternatives from a number of choices).
Then have them discuss the following questions:
- What is a good or responsible decision?
- Why is it important to know how to make good, responsible decisions?
- How do you feel when you make a good, responsible decision? Why do you feel
this way?
- Have each student list in his or her VIP journal:
- a recent decision he or she made;
- a recent decision made for him or her by another person;
- a decision he or she made jointly with another person or a group of people.
- Have students form small groups to discuss what they wrote in their
journals. Then ask them to discuss the following questions with reference to
what they wrote in their journals:
- What kinds of decisions do we make ourselves?
- What kinds of decisions are made for us by others?
- Why is it appropriate that some decisions should be made by others (e.g.,
fire drill procedures that are developed by someone responsible for the safety
of everyone in the school)?
- What kinds of decisions are made jointly with another person or a group of
people?
Topic 2: A Decision-making Process
Resource: Information
Sheet 2: A Decision-making Model
Key Words: alternatives, consequences, decision-making model,
dilemma, process
Sample Activities:
- Have students list the following in their VIP journals:
- three decisions that each one made related to the day on which this
activity is taking place
- the way each student made his or her decisions
- the consequences of the decisions
- Have each student select one of the decisions that he or she made and do
the following:
- list alternatives to the decision made
- select one of the alternatives and list the consequences to the rest of the
day had she or he chosen that alternative
- Distribute a copy of Information Sheet 2 to each student and present the
decision-making model. Have students work in small groups and discuss some of
the decisions they recorded in their VIP journals in the first sample activity.
Ask each student to apply to one of his or her decisions the model
outlined on Information Sheet 2. Observe students to determine if they
understand the five steps involved in making a decision. Have students explain
how their values, feelings, experience, and knowledge influence their choices.
- Have students record in their VIP journals a situation that will require
them to make a decision in the near future, and then use the decision-making
model to determine the best decision or choice to make.
Have students
explain in their VIP journals how their choices were based on their values,
feelings, experience, and knowledge.
Encourage students to ask
themselves such questions as the following when evaluating their personal
decisions:
- Which of my values are consistent with this particular solution or
decision?
- Does my decision actually deal with the situation?
- What is the best possible result of my decision, for me and for others?
- How might other people react to my decision or solution?
- How does my decision recognize the rights of others?
- What might happen if everyone decided to solve this kind of problem in the
way I have?
You might post these questions on the bulletin board or ask
students to list them in their VIP journals.
Topic 3: Applying Decision-making Skills
Resource: Information
Sheet 3: Decision-making Scenarios
Key Words: priorities, questioning, ranking
Sample Activities:
- Have each student write a scenario in which a Grade 6 student is faced with
a situation requiring a decision. Ask each student to:
- use the decision-making model to determine alternatives and the
consequences or outcomes of each;
- choose the alternative that he or she thinks best and give reasons for
selecting it.
- Have each student present his or her scenario, alternatives, and decision
(with reasons) to the class or a small group. Then have the class or group
discuss:
- whether the decision-making model has been applied appropriately;
- whether the decision is a responsible one.
- Ask students to share the decision-making model with their parents or
guardians and, with them, identify the decisions their parents or guardians make
for them and the decisions they can make for themselves.
Information Sheet 2: A Decision-Making Model
| Identify the
problem or situation. |
| | |
| List the
alternatives. |
|
|
| A1 | A2 | A3 | A4 |
| | |
Weigh the
alternatives according
to predetermined criteria and predict
outcomes
for each one. |
| | |
| Choose and use the
best afternative. |
| | |
| Evaluate the choice
and method of choosing. |
Information Sheet 3: Decision-making Scenarios
Scenario 1
A group of boys and girls go outside during a lunch break. One of the girls
has brought the class soccer ball. She asks whether any of the others want to
play a game. They decide they would like to, but realize there isn't enough
space.
Younger students are playing in a part of the schoolyard they claim as their
territory. The older students tell the younger children to leave, insisting the
area is theirs. Some of the youngsters refuse to move, saying emphatically, "We
were here first." The older students physically push them out of the way.
Scenario 2
Three boys – Michel, Raj, and Bill – are busy eating lunch in the
school classroom that doubles as a lunchroom for students who don't go home for
lunch. Bill asks Michel to lend him enough money for a drink; his friend
refuses, saying he has no money.
Raj interrupts, "I know you have money; you showed me some on the bus
this morning. You sure aren't acting like Bill's friend any more."
Michel tells Raj to mind his own business. More words are exchanged, and Raj
pushes Michel's lunch off the table.
Michel's older brother arrives, grabs Raj, and tells him not to touch
Michel. Almost simultaneously, the teacher on lunch duty comes to the table and
tells all four boys to report to the office.
Scenario 3
Effie is about to board the school bus for home, when she tells the
supervising teacher that she urgently needs to use the washroom. The teacher
gives her permission, and Effie re-enters the school.
However, instead of going to the washroom, she heads directly for her
classroom. The door is partially ajar, and the room is almost dark. Effie
enters.
She walks to the teacher's desk and picks up the miniature piano music box
the teacher had been given earlier in the day. Effie puts it into her bag and
leaves. She returns to the bus and sits beside Nonie, her best friend. After a
few minutes, Effie shows Nonie the piano. Nonie, stunned, doesn't know what to
say or do.
3. Peer Pressure
Peer pressure affects all individuals throughout their lives. Individuals
who have a strong belief in their own worth cope most successfully with peer
pressure. Preadolescents and adolescents, however, are at an age when they are
particularly susceptible to the influence of their peers. It is for this reason
that young people are often persuaded to challenge authority by skipping school;
by using alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs; and by vandalizing or stealing.
The dangers of giving in to such pressure – of allowing oneself to be
misled – must be impressed on young people and fully discussed in the
classroom. The sample activities for this topic provide students with
opportunities to examine ways in which people may be influenced by their peers;
to become aware of the strategies people use to influence one another, either
positively or negatively; and to consider ways of coping with such pressure.
Students should understand that peer pressure can be both positive and
negative. For example, it can be used to persuade a student to help protect the
environment or to violate school rules.
It is important to teach students strategies for dealing with negative peer
pressure and to give them time to practise these strategies successfully. This
knowledge will increase their confidence and self-esteem and make it easier for
them to reverse the negative pressure into something positive.
Learning Outcomes
· Use different forms of communication to express their
thoughts and feelings, explain their actions, and affirm their identity. (L32,
page 59)
In helping students achieve the above outcome, teachers should ensure that
the students are able to:
- identify positive and negative peer pressure and recognize the consequences
of each;
- understand the relationship between a person's self-image (self-esteem) and
the ways in which he or she responds to peer pressure;
- identify and demonstrate/practise strategies needed to respond
appropriately to negative peer pressure;
- identify ways of avoiding situations in which they are likely to be exposed
to negative peer pressure.
Topic 1: Peer Pressure
Key Words: peer, pressure
Sample Activities:
- Introduce the topic of peer pressure, using questions like the following:
- Who are your peers?
- Why do you want to feel accepted by them?
- In what kinds of situations – at home, in school, in the community –
have you felt peer pressure?
You might share personal examples of peer pressure to show
students that peer pressure does not end with adolescence.
Summarize the main points of the discussion on the chalkboard for students
to copy into their VIP journals.
- Have students discuss, in small groups, the various tactics and types of
peer pressure, both positive and negative, that people, particularly
adolescents, use. Then have them share these ideas with the whole class and
record them in their VIP journals.
- Encourage students to discuss peer pressure with their parents or
guardians. Have them question their parents or guardians about the types of
pressure they feel at work, in the community, or with friends, and then record
the responses in their VIP journals. If students' parents or guardians are
willing to have their comments shared, ask students to share their findings with
the class.
Topic 2: Peer-Pressure Tactics
Resource: Information
Sheet 4: Peer-Pressure Scenarios
Key Words: confidence, role play, strategies
Sample Activities:
- Review what negative peer pressure means to students.
Have students
list in their VIP journals strategies for saying "no" to negative peer
pressure. Have them share these ideas with the whole class and list them on the
chalkboard. Encourage students to compare the ideas presented with their own and
add new ones to their own lists.
Discuss with students the merits of each
strategy, ranking each as "excellent", "good", "fair",
or "poor". Record these rankings on the chalkboard beside the
strategies and have students record them in their VIP journals as well.
Have
students discuss possible consequences of saying "no" to peer
pressure, as well as ways of avoiding negative peer pressure. The discussion
should include strategies for exerting positive peer pressure.
- Divide the class into pairs and provide each pair of students with a
scenario involving peer pressure (e.g., a student pressuring another student to
try smoking a cigarette or to stop smoking). Have students discuss and practise
the strategies that they would use to resist negative peer pressure or exert
positive peer pressure, and explain why they would use the method(s) selected.
- Have students form groups of three or four and give each group a copy of
Information Sheet 4. Using the role-play situations outlined, assign to each
group a situation to role-play. In their role plays, students must use one of
the strategies discussed.
When the groups present their role plays to the class, have students
identify the strategy that each group used. Have students practise as many
role-play situations as time allows. In each one, they should try a different
strategy.
Topic 3: Group Dynamics and Peer Pressure
Key Words: group dynamics, mob mentality, petition
Sample Activities:
- Have students list examples of organized and unorganized groups and
group situations, both in school and in the community (e.g., sports teams,
clubs, fans at a rock concert). Discuss the ways in which groups and individuals
function differently. For example, everyone on a sports team has a specific task
so that the team will be successful. Ask students whether people sometimes
behave differently in group situations than they would as individuals. Talk
about mob mentality and ask students the following question: Why do people do
things when they are part of a crowd that they would never do if they were on
their own?
Have students form groups of two or three. Ask them to search
current newspapers and magazines for articles about people working in groups to
deal with diverse situations. Have them set up a page of their VIP journals as
in the following example:
|
Situation Described in Article
|
Group Involved
|
Method Used
|
Effectiveness of Method
|
|
Neighbourhood upset that trees are being cut down
|
John Street Neighbours' Association
|
Developed a petition and obtained signatures for it
|
Positive, peaceful, effective
|
When students have completed a similar analysis of examples from
five articles, discuss what they have discovered. Ensure that they pay close
attention to the positive and negative ways in which groups deal with
situations. Ask them how peer pressure is related to group dynamics.
- Have students apply the principles of group dynamics to their own groups:
- Are any students members of groups because of peer pressure? If so, is the
peer pressure positive or negative?
- When in a group, do they behave in positive or negative ways? When the
group wants to do something negative, does it respect individual wishes or does
group opinion always dominate?
- Have students describe in their VIP journals actual negative peer pressure
incidents that they have experienced or observed and list the strategies that
were used or could have been used to resist the peer pressure. Ask students to
indicate why these methods were, were not, or could have been successful. Have
students present their descriptions to the class. Consider adding them to a
class book dealing with peer pressure.
Information Sheet 4: Peer-Pressure Scenarios
Scenario 1
Uri, John, and Donovan are in a variety store, and Uri slips a chocolate bar
into his jacket pocket. John and Donovan watch, but are unsure what to do. They
whisper at the magazine rack: Donovan wants to tell Uri to put it back, but John
tells him to mind his own business. If you were Donovan, what positive
strategies would you use to convince John that this wasn't the time to mind
their own business and to convince Uri to put the chocolate bar back?
Scenario 2
A group of friends playing on the playground at recess notice that another
group of kids of the same age are destroying old, but still usable, sports
equipment belonging to the school. This second group encourages members of the
first group to help them destroy the equipment. What should they do?
Scenario 3
A new student in Grade 6, Kelly, seems to spend all her time at recess and
before school standing against a wall by herself. Often she hums and sings to
herself. One of her classmates, Gill, is involved in a new choir at the school.
Gill hears Kelly singing and decides to encourage her to become a choir member.
Gill tells Kelly about the advantages of joining the choir. What reasons could
Gill give Kelly to convince her to join the choir?
4. Healthy Friendships
Developing and maintaining friendships is an essential part of growing up,
and adolescents' choice of friends strongly influences the way they think, act,
and relate to others. It is vital, therefore, that students examine the
importance of friends in their lives.
If they haven't already done so, students should broaden their perspectives
and develop friendships with people who come from backgrounds different from
their own, have abilities different from their own, or are older or younger than
they are. Learning to relate to and understand others and to appreciate
individual differences helps students learn more about themselves.
Rewarding friendships can provide students with self-confidence and a
feeling of self-worth. However, some friendships can have a negative impact. For
this reason, students should explore both the positive and the negative ways in
which friends can influence their behaviour and their decisions. Students also
need to become aware of their personal responsibility for each of their
decisions and the consequences of these decisions.
Learning Outcomes
· Identify connections between the stages in their personal
growth and changes in their roles, responsibilities, and interests. (P16, page
88)
In helping students achieve the above outcome, teachers should ensure that
the students are able to:
- recognize indicators of healthy friendships and come to understand the
values on which true friendships are based;
- compare views on choosing friends with their parents or guardians;
- say "no" – even to a friend – when it is important to
do so and be comfortable accepting "no" for an answer – even from
a friend.
Topic 1: Defining Friendship
Key Words: friend, friends' qualities
Sample Activities:
- Have students, working individually, reflect on and list the ten
qualities they would most want in themselves and in a friend. Ask them to find
partners, compare their lists of qualities, and discuss and agree to a "top
10" list of qualities.
Then have the pairs combine to form foursomes
and, once again, have students create a composite "top 10" list. This
time ask them to present the qualities in chart form (see sample below). The
chart should show the impact of the qualities on them. Note that the qualities
in the chart below are examples only. Students should be given the headings and
perhaps one example and asked to list the qualities they have chosen.
Discuss
with the class the importance of recognizing their friends' qualities and the
ways in which those qualities can affect their friendships.
- Ask students to write an article for a popular teen magazine on one of the
following topics:
- How to Make and Keep Friends
- A Friendship Survival Guide
- Are You Building Positive Friendships?
- When Should You Not Keep a Secret?
- Have students create "Teen Line", a school magazine that includes
articles such as those suggested in the previous activity as well as responses
to teenagers who write letters such as the following:
Dear Abby,
I'm new in this school and don't have any friends. I'd like to be
popular with the other kids. How can I make new friends?
Signed: Lonely and blue
- Have students write their versions of Abby's answer to this letter.
- Have students write entries in their VIP journals about difficulties that
can occur with friends (e.g., participating in inappropriate activities,
spreading rumours).
- Have students find articles about friendship in magazines in the school or
local library and summarize them in their VIP journals. Then have them work with
partners to compare the ideas expressed in the articles with their own ideas.
Topic 2: Choosing Friends
Resource: Information
Sheet 5: Case Studies
Key Words: personal values, choosing friends
Sample Activities:
- Have students write responses to the following questions in their VIP
journals:
- What image do you think you project of yourself by the way you look? The
way you act? The way you talk?
- What might these characteristics tell others about your personal values?
About the way you think?
- What observable characteristics in others give you a positive or negative
impression?
- Have students brainstorm to list a number of activities or groups in which
they could participate to meet new people and make good friends.
- Discuss with students the qualities that they feel they should have or
should develop so that others would like to have them as friends, and how they
would go about developing such qualities.
- Distribute a copy of Information Sheet 5 to each student. Have students
consider the case studies and brainstorm to find solutions, possibly by acting
them out.
- After students have fully discussed the case studies on Information Sheet
5, have students write on cards scenarios of similar dilemmas involving
themselves and their friends. Collect the cards and divide the class into small
groups. Distribute the cards randomly to the different groups and give students
time to discuss the scenarios or act them out. Then have a class discussion of
the issues raised by the scenarios.
- Have individuals or groups of students create role plays or dramatic
presentations on the theme of friendship. They could then present them to the
class or videotape them.
- Ask students to identify comic strips that are based on the theme of
friendship. Then give them opportunities to create their own comic strips based
on this theme.
Topic 3: Diversity in Friendship
Discrimination is the practice or act of excluding
or demeaning individuals or groups based on such factors as race, ethnicity,
nationality, gender, age, faith or creed, or physical or mental abilities.
Key Words: acceptance, discrimination, inclusion, intergenerational,
multicultural
Sample Activities:
- Discuss with students the range of their friendships:
- How diverse are they?
- Do they include people in other generations: adults, seniors, younger
children?
- Do they include people with disabilities?
- Do they include people from racial, ethnocultural, or socio-economic
backgrounds different from their own?
- Do they include people of both genders?
- Discuss the following issues with students:
- What can students learn and what new experiences are possible when they
choose as friends people who have different backgrounds from their own (e.g.,
different gender, race, culture, physical or mental abilities, faith)?
- What stops some people from making friends with those who have different
backgrounds from themselves? (Examples include bias, stereotyping,
discrimination, racism, lack of understanding, lack of experience with various
cultures, preconceived ideas or prejudice, and parental pressure.)
Encourage students to have similar discussions with their
parents or guardians.
- As a class project, have students make a collage mural celebrating
diversity in friendships. The mural might include photos of all the interesting
people with whom members of the class have become friends.
- Have students bring to class articles or stories, from a variety of media,
that involve positive or negative relationships between people of diverse
backgrounds and abilities. Then ask them to analyse the relationships to
identify the positive benefits to those involved or to explain the foundation
for any negative experiences. Students should note how any negative experiences
could have been avoided. After students have done this activity individually,
have them discuss their findings in small groups to see if others agree with
their conclusions.
- Have each student select and research an example of a healthy friendship
known to him or her. To find out what makes a healthy friendship work, students
should interview the friends being studied and people who know them (e.g.,
parents or guardians, relatives, friends, teachers). They should ask them to
describe (1) what makes the friendship healthy, and (2) what qualities each of
the friends has that keeps their friendship healthy.
Information Sheet 5: Case Studies
Case Study 1
Oksana and her parents have moved to a different house and she has to go to
a new school. When she goes to her first class, she feels awkward because she
doesn't know anyone. In the schoolyard at recess, Oksana talks to some students
who appear to be very popular. However, they also seem rather rough; they bully
other students and use coarse language. These students ask Oksana to come with
them to the mall after school. What should Oksana do?
Case Study 2
Aaron has a friend, Maurice, whom he has known for two years, ever since his
family moved next door to Maurice's. Aaron and Maurice are the only two boys in
the area who are close in age, but every time they plan to do something
together, Maurice backs out. What should Aaron do?
5. Authority Figures
Authority is the legal power of one person to give
commands to others and to enforce regulations and exact obedience.
Authority refers to the legal power of one person to give commands
to others and to enforce regulations and exact obedience. It can also refer to
the respect that is given to knowledgeable or esteemed individuals or can even
refer to the informal and temporary power that a group may give to one of its
members.
The exercising of authority by some individuals over others is one way in
which society applies its values and standards to people's activities. In fact,
giving some people authority over others is an expression of a societal value or
set of values. In this unit, students examine how people are placed in positions
of authority and why authority is necessary to the orderly functioning of
society.
From time to time throughout this unit, teachers may wish to invite various
authority figures to take part in panel presentations and discussions in the
classroom and to have the students (individually, in small groups, or as a whole
class) conduct interviews with the visitors.
Learning Outcomes
· Identify and give examples of their legal rights and
responsibilities. (P18, page 89)
In helping students achieve the above outcome, teachers should ensure that
the students are able to:
- identify positions of authority and their significance;
- describe the consequences of ignoring authority;
- recognize that those in authority are accountable;
- recognize that there are misuses of authority.
Topic 1: The Who, What, Why, and How of Authority
Key Words: authority, authority figures, responsibilities
Sample Activities:
- Have students list in their VIP journals some of the responsibilities of
those who act under lawful authority (e.g., the principal and teachers under the
Education Act,7
police officers under the Police Services Act8), under the
following headings: Authority Figure, Basis of Power, Responsibilities, Values
Needed.
- Have students record in their VIP journals instances in which they act as
authority figures in relation to each of the following: themselves, their
families, the school, the community. Ask students to include the following
information for each of these instances:
- the source of their authority (e.g., the child's parents in the case of
baby-sitting)
- the values they must demonstrate (e.g., fairness) and the kinds of power or
authority (e.g., a position of authority as baby-sitter) and qualities they
require (e.g., firmness) to be effective
- their responsibilities
- Have groups of students list examples of individuals who wield unlawful
authority and consider how such people control the members of their groups.
- Have students list five to ten authority figures with whom they come into
contact on a regular basis. Have them also ask their parents or guardians to
list five to ten people in authority whom they see regularly. Ask students to
compare their lists of authority figures with the lists compiled by their
parents or guardians and discuss similarities and differences. Have students
report their findings to the class.
Topic 2: The Rights and Responsibilities of Those in Authority
Key Words: accountable, consequences, responsibilities
Sample Activities:
- Have students examine the role of laws in making some of the authority
figures on their lists responsible for their actions. For example, they might
consider the duties of teachers and principals as outlined in the Education Act.
- Have groups of students examine and list the challenges they would face and
the responsibilities they would have if they were in a particular position of
authority. (You might wish to assign different positions to different groups.)
- Have students, individually or in groups, prepare interview sheets and then
interview authority figures in the community to find out their views on the
topics considered in this lesson. The following are examples of the types of
questions students might include in their questionnaires:
- To whom do you answer directly?
- What rules must you follow as a result of your position?
- What are the consequences for people who do not follow your directions?
- What could happen to a person in your position who misuses his or her
authority?
Topic 3: Knowing When to Say "No" to People in Positions of
Authority
Key Words: unfair, unjust
Sample Activities:
- Have students discuss, in groups, examples of situations in which a rule or
directive of an authority or authority figure might justifiably be disregarded
(e.g., ignoring a "No Trespassing" sign to help find a younger child
who has wandered off).
- Discuss with students what is meant by the "misuse" (or "abuse")
of authority. Give students (or have students suggest) examples of each. Discuss
with them how the respect given to an authority figure who misuses his or her
authority is affected and how his or her effectiveness as an authority figure
may be reduced (e.g., loss of respect can lead to loss of authority).
- Have students discuss or research, in small groups, past or present
examples of the misuse of authority. Have students consider the following:
- What happened to the authority figures involved?
- What controls (e.g., laws, rules) exist to prevent the misuse of authority
or for disciplining authority figures who misuse their authority?
- Discuss with students effective ways of saying "no" to or dealing
with an irresponsible authority figure (e.g., in cases of child or sexual abuse)
and some examples of action they can take (e.g., a verbal reprimand, a report to
a person of trust). Have them role-play scenarios in which they have to oppose
the authority of someone who is acting irresponsibly.
- Invite a guest speaker (e.g., a probation officer) to visit the class to
discuss steps that students should take if they experience the misuse of
authority (e.g., whom they should tell).
6. Youth and the Law
This unit examines the legal rights and responsibilities of people living in
Canada. The main focus is on the provisions and implications of the Young
Offenders Act.9
The involvement of local police officers is integral to the full development
of this unit of VIP. Therefore, a representative of the local police force
should be involved in planning the teaching of this unit. Schools that are
located in remote areas can communicate with police for the same purpose by fax
or mail. French-language schools must seek French-speaking police officers to
assist in planning the teaching of this unit.
Before dealing with the material in this unit, students should have dealt
with the material in the preceding units, so that they have a good understanding
of the following:
- society's values and the way rules and laws uphold these values
- the ways in which rules and laws protect individuals and property
- the role of police officers in maintaining and upholding laws and
protecting individuals and property
Learning Outcomes
· Identify and give examples of their legal rights and
responsibilities. (P18, page 89)
In helping students achieve the above outcome, teachers should ensure that
the students are able to:
- explain what happens to young persons charged with breaking the law under
the Young Offenders Act;
- describe the possible consequences faced by a young person found guilty of
an offence in Youth Court.
Topic 1: Rules and Laws
Key Words: federal, provincial, municipal
Sample Activities:
- Give (or have a police officer give) a short presentation on the
differences between a law and a rule:
- A rule tells us how to behave in society.
- A law tells us what kind of behaviour is unacceptable to that
society and therefore illegal.
- Have students list in their VIP journals five rules and five laws and
explain why each one belongs in that category. Have students discuss their
explanations with the whole class or in small groups.
- Arrange to have a police officer, a local member of the federal or
provincial legislature, or a representative of the local city or town council
explain to the class how laws are made, by whom, and why.
- Have students work in groups to research how early societies organized and
regulated themselves, and then make a bulletin board display of their findings.
Topic 2: Police, Rights, and Crime
Key Words: crime, legal, obligations, rights, young person, young
offender
Sample Activities:
Have the groups compare their summaries and work together to
prepare a class chart. Then ask students to reproduce the class chart in their
VIP journals.
- As an alternative to the previous activity, arrange a field trip to a
local police station so that students can learn about the topics suggested above
through first-hand observation of the police at work.
Topic 3: Youth Court
Key Words: court, court reporter, crown attorney/prosecutor, defence
attorney, judge
Sample Activities:
- If possible, try to arrange a visit to a youth court so that students can
see the justice system in action and possibly interview some of the people
involved in the functioning of the court. In preparation for the visit, discuss
with students the role of each of the following:
- the judge
- the crown attorney/prosecutor
- the defence attorney
- police officers
- probation/parole officers
- members of the public
- the accused
- the clerk of the court
- court reporters
Ask each student to identify in his or her VIP journal one person
involved in youth court whom he or she would like to interview, as well as
questions that he or she would like to ask that person. Alternatively, divide
the class into small groups and have each group select a person to interview and
develop questions to ask that person. Then have a class discussion to determine
the three best questions to ask each of the people involved in youth court. Have
different students, individually or in groups, interview different court staff
members and share the information they obtain with the whole class after their
visit.
- If a court visit is not possible, discuss with the class other ways of
obtaining answers to their questions (e.g., by inviting a police officer,
probation/parole officer, staff member of a correctional institution, or judge
to visit the class). Then have students follow up on their suggestions; for
example, they can write invitations, send out interview letters, or do research
in libraries.
- Have each student list three legal rights that everyone has and three
corresponding responsibilities.
- Have students work in small groups to write scenarios showing various
consequences of being found guilty of stealing for a thirteen-year-old boy or
girl. Have the groups role-play their scenarios for the whole class. Ask
students to list in their VIP journals the consequences raised by the role
plays.
Topic 4: Crime and Its Consequences
Key Words: consequences, disposition, incarceration, punishment,
reform, restitution
Sample Activities:
- Arrange for a police officer, probation/parole officer, or other official
involved in the justice system to visit the class and present information to
students on crime and its consequences. In preparation for the police officer's
presentation, have students brainstorm for possible answers to the following two
questions:
- What influences a judge's decision?
- What are the different consequences of a conviction?
Record students' ideas on the chalkboard for further discussion
with the guest police officer.
Among the considerations that influence judges' decisions are the
seriousness of the offence, the safety of society, the need for deterrence, and
the punishment, rehabilitation, and reform of the offender.
The consequences of a conviction include the various types and levels of
punishment to which a judge may decide to sentence a young offender. These
include probation, a fine, restitution, incarceration, an Order of Disposition
with conditions, the possibility of being tried in adult court where penalties
are harsher, and the Alternative Measures Program for first offenders (e.g.,
counselling programs, rehabilitation programs, restitution programs).
- Divide the class into small groups and have students brainstorm for ideas
on the implications of a youth court record for a young person. Have them share
their ideas with the whole class, listing them on the chalkboard or on chart
paper under the heading Consequences of a Youth Court Record. The consequences
might include the following:
- A young offender will have a finding of guilt (not a conviction) for five
years.
- Prospective employers may ask a young person if he or she has a youth court
record, and they may discriminate against a young person on the basis of a youth
court record, if it is a reasonable and bona fide qualification because of the
nature of the employment.
- A young person with a youth court record may find it difficult to enter
certain countries, depending on their immigration policies.
- Police officers and other individuals specified in the Young Offenders Act
or other legislation may have access to a young person's youth court record.
If a police officer or other official of the justice system
visits the class, ask him or her to comment on students' list of consequences
and suggest any additional ones that students may have missed.
- Have students, working in small groups, write scenarios that
illustrate the consequences of a criminal record for a twelve-year-old boy or
girl.
Have each group role-play the court scene involving the twelve-year-old
boy or girl in their scenario. The roles to be performed could include the
judge, crown attorney, accused, police officer, probation/parole officer,
lawyer, and parents of the accused.
Topic 5: The Law and Your Community
Extortion is a serious form of stealing in which
money or property is obtained by threatening or intimidating someone.
Key Words: extortion, fraud, mischief, perpetrator, theft,
threatening, vandalize, vandalism
Sample Activities:
- Ask small groups of students to brainstorm for definitions of the following
terms: theft, fraud, mischief, extortion. Then have them share their definitions
with the whole class. Ensure that students end up with definitions that
approximate the following:
- Theft is stealing. It includes everything from shoplifting to
taking something without the owner's consent.
- Fraud is a different kind of stealing that involves cheating or
deception. It includes such activities as switching price tags in stores, using
another person's bank or credit cards, and leaving a restaurant without paying
the bill.
- Mischief is vandalism. It includes activities that result in damage
to private or public property, such as spray-painting or writing graffiti on
others' property, or vandalizing cars by scratching the paint or breaking
windows or tail lights.
- Extortion is a more serious form of stealing in which money or
property is obtained by threatening or intimidating someone.
- Have students bring in articles reporting offences in which young people
have been involved. Ask students, in small groups, to discuss the articles and
determine which offences are reported most frequently.
- Have students monitor the news on television or on the radio, and list in
their VIP journals the offences reported that involved young people from twelve
to seventeen years of age. Ask students to determine which offences were
reported most frequently.
- Have students discuss, in small groups, the effects of youth offences both
on the victims and on the community (e.g., in terms of both tangible and
intangible costs). Have students report their findings to the class and record
the information in their VIP journals. They might also discuss this information
with a visiting police officer who can provide specific information on offences
in the community and on their costs to individuals and to the community at
large.
- Have students work in small groups to develop plans or programs that would
help potential perpetrators understand the detrimental effects of criminal
actions, and would prevent them from committing criminal offences. Have each
group select its best plan or program and present it to the class.
7. Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs
Drugs are substances that increase or retard the
activity of the part(s) of the body that they affect.
The term drugs includes any substances that increase or retard the
activity of the part(s) of the body that they affect. According to this
definition, alcohol, cigarettes, cough syrup, aspirin, coffee, barbiturates,
amphetamines, LSD, cannabis, heroin, and cocaine are all drugs. While some of
them are more socially acceptable than others, they all have a greater or lesser
effect on the body, and their use can be habit-forming.
Alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs all have an influence on people's bodies
and, in turn, on their minds. Some people use drugs to relieve physical pain,
others to escape from mental pain or to make themselves feel "up". In
this unit students examine the use, misuse, and abuse of drugs, consider why
people use drugs in situations in which they shouldn't, and become aware of how
abusing drugs can become a personal problem.
This unit of the VIP resource guide can be used with the drug education
segment of the health course.
Learning Outcomes
· Explain different consequences of taking harmful and
beneficial drugs or other substances. (P9, page 87)
In helping students achieve the above outcome, teachers should ensure that
the students are able to:
- define the term drugs;
- demonstrate an understanding of some of the reasons why drugs are used;
- learn how to make informed choices about drugs.
Topic 1: The Definition and Classification of Drugs
Key Words: use, abuse, misuse, addiction, drug, non-prescription
drug, prescription medication
Sample Activities:
- Write the following three column headings on the chalkboard:
Prescription Drugs, Non-prescription Drugs, Street Drugs. Then have students
copy the headings into their VIP journals. Discuss the names of drugs that
belong under each heading and write them on the chalkboard. Have students list
these in their VIP journals.
Divide the class into small groups. Have each
group select some prescription and non-prescription drugs from the lists on the
chalkboard and discuss their uses and effects (both positive and negative). They
should also consider why a prescription is needed for some drugs. Ask the groups
to report their findings to the whole class and record them on the chalkboard
under the following two additional headings: Uses of Drugs, Effects of Drugs.
- Have students develop a definition of drug, considering the lists
they prepared in the previous activity. Ensure that the students' definition
corresponds to the definition provided at the beginning of this unit.
- Have students discuss, in small groups, reasons why people use alcohol and
tobacco, with particular reference to use and abuse by students (e.g., peer
pressure, curiosity).
Topic 2: Consequences of Drug Use, Misuse, and Abuse
Sample Activities:
- Discuss with students the distinction between alcohol use, alcohol misuse,
and alcohol abuse.
- Have students evaluate their knowledge of products that contain nicotine,
alcohol, and caffeine by listing as many of them as they can in their VIP
journals. Have students discuss their lists with their parents or guardians and
examine labels on items at home (e.g., soft drinks) to check the accuracy of
their lists.
- Have students examine how the media portray the use of alcohol and tobacco
through lifestyle advertising. Tell students that, in 1995, the Supreme Court of
Canada ruled against the federal government's plan to prohibit the advertising
of tobacco products because it recognized the right of the tobacco industry to
advertise its products. The exercising of this right may nonetheless be subject
to some government regulation. Encourage discussion of the values and issues
involved.
- Write the following scenario on the board:
- Mr. Jones allowed his son Jim, a responsible secondary school student, to
borrow the family car to drive to a party. Several of Jim's older friends drank
beer and liquor at the party, and they offered alcoholic drinks to Jim. However,
Jim had chosen to be the designated driver and only had non-alcoholic drinks.
Have students discuss the consequences of Jim's decision and
his actions. Ask students what the consequences would have been if Jim had drunk
alcohol.
Following the discussion, have students each create in their VIP journals a
scenario involving a student who chooses to use or chooses not to use alcohol or
tobacco. Each scenario should show the consequences of the individual's decision
on the individual, the individual's family, and society in general (including
the costs to the medical and justice systems). Then have students share their
scenarios in small groups and select one to role-play for the whole class.
- Have pairs of students develop role plays that illustrate strategies for
countering peer pressure to drink or smoke. Ask students to share their role
plays in small or large groups.
- Have students evaluate their knowledge of the content and effects of "street
drugs" – for example, cocaine and marijuana and the substances used to
dilute them – by first writing down everything they know about these drugs
and then comparing their knowledge with information about the drugs found in the
school resource centre or the local library.
8. Responsible Citizenship
Communities are regulated by rules, which smooth the interaction of their
members. These rules take different forms; they may be verbal or written or
simply a set of assumptions that are understood and observed without being
formalized. They range from written laws, which apply equally to everyone, to
customs, which vary from group to group, according to age, gender, cultural
background, and other factors.
Canadian laws are intended to protect the rights and freedoms of Canadians,
whatever their social or economic level, their strengths, or their differences
may be. Clearly, this places some limitations on individual rights and freedoms,
when these rights and freedoms interfere with those of others.
Responsible citizenship involves personal responsibility for one's actions.
All Canadian citizens must understand what is expected of them, what is
acceptable behaviour, and what are the consequences of acceptable and
unacceptable behaviour. For the purposes of this unit, a citizen is anybody
living in Canada.
Learning Outcomes
· Perform an activity that demonstrates awareness of their
responsibilities as citizens. (P15, page 88)
In helping students achieve the above outcome, teachers should ensure that
the students are able to:
- identify behaviours that students themselves must practise in order to be
responsible citizens;
- identify individual and group strategies for promoting responsible
citizenship;
- participate as responsible citizens in school, local, national, and global
communities.
Topic 1: Rights and Responsibilities of Citizens
Key Words: citizen, citizenship, duties, rights, responsibilities
Sample Activities:
- Discuss the terms rights, responsibilities, and duties
with students.
- Have students examine the following "Duties of Pupils":
- to exercise self-discipline
- to accept such discipline as would be exercised by a kind, firm, and
judicious parent
- to be courteous to fellow pupils and obedient and courteous to teachers
- to show respect for school property
Every pupil is responsible for his or her conduct to the
principal of the school that the pupil attends,
a) on the school premises;
b) on out-of-school activities that are part
of the school program; and
c) while travelling on a school bus that is
owned by a board or on a bus or school bus that is under contract to a board.12
Discuss with students their right to go to school and their corresponding
duties and responsibilities.
- Have students list examples of their rights and corresponding
responsibilities (e.g., the right of pedestrians to use sidewalks and their
corresponding responsibility to obey the rules and laws that govern the
sidewalks and to respect the right of others to use them). Then ask students to
share their lists with the class.
- Divide the class into small groups and ask students to discuss the
questions that follow. One member of each group should write down the group's
conclusions.
- What is meant by the term citizen?
- What is meant by citizenship?
- What are the rights and responsibilities of citizens?
- Why are citizens entitled to certain rights and why do they have certain
responsibilities?
- Is it right to inform authorities such as the police about the
irresponsible or illegal behaviour of another citizen? Why or why not? If it is
right, how is it done?
Have the groups share their findings with the class.
- Ask students to discuss whether all students in their school have the
same rights or opportunities, and to find out what measures the school takes to
ensure fairness.
Topic 2: Behaviour of Responsible Citizens
Key Words: behaviour, responsible citizen
Sample Activities:
- Have students list in their VIP journals the types of behaviour that they
feel should be demonstrated by a responsible citizen with regard to self,
family, school, and the community. Have students discuss their lists in small
groups and ask each group to decide on three or four main types of behaviour for
each category. Have the groups share their lists with the class. You may wish to
have students establish a class list of key behaviours for each category.
- Have students, working in groups, select one category or more from the
previous activity and find examples of people demonstrating the behaviours
identified. Students' examples can be taken from real life, television,
magazines, books, or films.
- Invite a guest speaker (e.g., a judge, police officer, human rights
advocate, lawyer) to discuss with students the rights and responsibilities of
citizens in terms of self, family, school, and the community. Have students
compare the lists they prepared in the first activity with the information
provided by the speaker.
- Have students, in pairs or small groups, write and role-play scenarios in
which people act as responsible citizens. Have students discuss their
characters' actions.
Topic 3: Strategies to Promote Responsible Citizenship in the School and
Community
Key Words: action plan, issues, strategies
Sample Activities:
- Have students identify in their VIP journals those behaviours that they
should promote in themselves to become more responsible citizens. Have them
develop plans that would help them acquire and demonstrate these behaviours.
Students can choose to keep their plans private or share them with you, a
friend, or a parent.
- Have each student select from his or her personal plan a behaviour to
practise in (1) a role-playing situation, and (2) a real-life situation.
- Have students, working in groups, identify some issues related to
responsible citizenship in the classroom as well as appropriate strategies to
address them. Have the groups share the results of their discussions with the
whole class. Ask students to select one or two issues to be addressed and
develop a plan of action, which should include the following steps:
- seeking permission from the appropriate authorities
- establishing timelines for the project
- allocating tasks
- identifying the resources required
- assessing the project
- completing any necessary follow-up
- Have students follow the same procedure as that outlined in the previous
activity to identify some issues in the school and the community related to
responsible citizenship, and to develop strategies to address them.
- Have students identify projects taking place in the school and the
community that demonstrate responsible citizenship. Have them each present their
findings in a collage, report, collection of articles, poem, or some other way.
- Have students do research to find out about some of the strategies that
could be used with young children to promote responsible citizenship in the
home, classroom, school, and community. Have students work in groups and select
the particular strategies that they will then develop for and present to young
children (e.g., flyers, posters, presentations, skits).
9. Service to the Community
Community service is volunteering done in the
community.
Community service is volunteering done in the community. Many community
facilities and services are built, organized, and staffed largely by volunteers.
Volunteers provide their time, skills, resources, energy, and commitment to make
their communities better places in which to live and work. These people
obviously derive much satisfaction from serving their communities.
This unit focuses on learning about community service. As students do
volunteer work in their classroom, school, or school community, they gain
experience and self-confidence, which helps reinforce their communication,
problem-solving, and decision-making skills, and also expands their knowledge
base. Projects should be related to students' interests and needs. Initially,
students should be encouraged to undertake projects that can be completed within
two weeks. They should also be encouraged to share their thoughts with their
classmates and record them in their VIP journals before and after their
volunteer stints.
Learning Outcomes
· Perform an activity that demonstrates awareness of their
responsibilities as citizens. (P15, page 88)
In helping students achieve the above outcome, teachers should ensure that
the students are able to:
- define community (e.g., classroom, school, school community);
- identify community needs for a particular sector of the community;
- describe the skills they require to serve the diverse needs of the
classroom, school, and school community;
- undertake and successfully complete volunteer commitments in the classroom,
school, and school community.
Topic 1: Community Volunteers
Key Words: community, service, volunteer
Sample Activities:
- Have students identify the many communities to which they belong and record
this information in their VIP journals. Clarify the terms volunteer,
community, and service. Have small groups of students brainstorm
for examples of each.
- Have students brainstorm to determine the value of volunteering, both for
the individual and the community. Record their ideas on chart paper or the
chalkboard. Have students review the list and select the five most important
values for the individuals involved as volunteers and the five most important
values for the community. Have students record this information in their VIP
journals.
- Divide students into groups of four. Assign to each group (or have each
group select) a specific community (e.g., classroom, school, school community,
town/ reserve/city, region, nation) and ask students to research the
community-service activities of their assigned community. Each group will have
to decide where and how the information required will be obtained. Ask students
to:
- identify two community needs;
- identify community volunteers who deal with these needs;
- identify the skills these volunteers bring to their communities;
- determine the reason(s) why these people volunteer their skills to the
community;
- explain the benefits the community has received from their volunteering.
Have each group plan a brief presentation of its findings for
the class. Students might use newspapers, senior students, and volunteers from
the local community as resources for their presentations (e.g., interviews,
pictures). Following the presentations, have each group prepare a flyer,
collage, or newsletter outlining the findings. Students can take their flyers,
collages, and newsletters home to their parents or guardians.
Topic 2: A Class Project Involving Community Service
Resource: Information
Sheet 6: Project Planning
Key Words: service, volunteering
Sample Activity:
- Identify with students a class community-service project. Have the
class outline the project's goals. Then divide the class into committees of four
or five students each. Have each committee make decisions about the
responsibilities of the committee as a whole, the individual responsibilities of
committee members, and the timelines for the completion of each task.
Have
each committee complete Information Sheet 6. Review each committee's plans to
ensure that all students can complete their assignments. Then post copies of the
completed sheets on the class bulletin board.
After all the committees
have completed their parts of the project and presented their findings to the
class, have students respond to the following questions in their VIP journals:
- What did my committee accomplish? What did the class accomplish? What did I
accomplish?
- What did I learn about the project in performing my volunteer role?
- What new skills did I learn in carrying out my responsibilities? What
skills do I need to strengthen?
- What did I learn about myself? About my team members? About the class?
- How has the class community benefited from my community-service
contribution?
- What community service will I do as follow-up to this project?
Topic 3: Service to the Family Community
Key Words: family, extended family
Sample Activity:
- Have students, in groups, brainstorm to list the kinds of
community-service or volunteer projects that they could do for their families.
Then have them each identify from the list three or four projects that interest
them and that are most appropriate to their families.
Have students discuss
their lists with their parents or guardians and each select one volunteer
project or service to undertake. (This service is not to be something that the
student already does as a family member.) Have students develop with their
parents or guardians a plan of action for the project or service. The plan
should include such items as the following:
- time required (e.g., times and number of hours per week)
- location
- resources needed
- involvement or supervision of parent or guardian, if required
- timelines for the various steps involved, if appropriate
Encourage students to write logs of their activities in their VIP
journals, as well as ongoing personal assessments of their work and commitment
(e.g., What is going well? What do I need to do to make it better?).
After
students complete their projects (approximately one month later), encourage them
to assess the projects under the following headings:
- New Knowledge Acquired
- New Skills Acquired
- Value of Project to the Family
- Need for Follow-Up Project
Also encourage students to interview their parents or guardians to
obtain their assessments of the projects, and to compare these with their own
assessments.
If they are willing to do so, have students give presentations on their
projects to the class.
Topic 4: A Project Involving Community Service
Key Words: community members, intergenerational
Sample Activity:
- Help students identify a personal community-service project that can
be completed during a school term. Have them discuss possible projects with
their parents or guardians and then, in small groups, brainstorm to list
projects that interest them. Students may work on such projects individually, in
pairs, or in small groups, as appropriate. The following are some possible
projects:
School-related Projects
- help younger students read
- teach younger students co-operative playground games
- lead a play-day activity
- help make posters and flyers that promote school activities
- participate with senior citizens in the school's intergenerational program
(see Topic 5)
School–Community-related Projects
- develop posters and flyers that promote environmental awareness
- become involved in volunteer fall and spring clean-up services
- help take care of a park
- teach senior citizens how to use video cassette recorders, educational
computer programs, or video games
- repair discarded toys or make new ones for use in a day-care centre
Have students develop action plans for their projects and review them
with you and with their parents or guardians. When the plans have been approved,
have students enter them in their VIP journals.
You and the students' parents or guardians should monitor students' progress
towards completing their community-service projects. Have students record their
own impressions of their progress in their VIP journals and be prepared to share
their comments with their parents or guardians, with you, and with other
students during the school term.
As students complete their projects, have them prepare posters that tell
others about the projects and display the posters in an appropriate community
setting. Notify local newspapers and encourage them to report students' service
activities to the community.
Encourage students to assess what they have learned from their experience
(e.g., new skills, knowledge), as well as the value of their projects to the
community. Have them consider whether any follow-up activities are in order.
Topic 5: Community-Service Programs with Senior Citizens
Key Word: senior citizens
Sample Activity:
- Identify with students the location of the nearest senior citizens' centre
and have students obtain and record in their VIP journals the following
information:
- the name of the centre's supervisor
- the existence (or not) of an advisory board
- the interest or need for an intergenerational program
- the benefits of such a program
- the way to obtain approval for such a program
If representatives of the centre express an interest in an
intergenerational program, have students plan the following in consultation with
senior citizens from the centre:
- the nature of the program to be set up
- the goals and purpose of the program
- the specific elements of the program
- the role of individuals, small groups, and the whole class in the program
- the process of obtaining the centre's approval of the program design
- the location of the program
When the program has been designed, approval granted, and the location
chosen, have students work in small groups, with senior citizens from the
centre, to plan and prepare for the following:
- determining participants' roles in the program
- advertising the program
- celebrating the successes of the program
- assessing the program (during the program and at the program's completion)
to ascertain whether the goals were met
- determining the need for future or follow-up programs
Information Sheet 6: Project Planning
- Briefly describe the class project.
- What are the goals of the class project?
- My committee will be responsible for _______________________
- What are the committee's tasks?
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What jobs have to be done?
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Who will do them?
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When do they have to be done?
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- What materials or resources will be needed?
- Who might be able to help?
- What are my personal tasks?
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What are my Jobs? |
How will I do them?
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The following questions should be completed after the project is
finished.
- How do I feel about this project?
- What did I do well?
- How did this project influence my behaviour and attitudes?
10. Interpersonal Skills
Human relationships are complex and intricate, and even the smoothest of
them involve problems and negative emotions from time to time. Students need to
know that everyone experiences emotions such as anger, but that such emotions
must be carefully controlled. Thus, students have to develop strategies for
settling disputes and handling unpleasant situations. This involves fostering
self-esteem and developing skills to manage anger and resolve conflicts
peacefully. In this way, students practise acceptable social behaviour and
develop strategies for managing the antisocial behaviour of others.
Learning Outcomes
· Use a variety of social skills and describe their benefits.
(P6, page 87)
In helping students achieve the above outcome, teachers should ensure that
the students are able to:
- identify acceptable ways of promoting their values and beliefs;
- develop their sense of self-worth;
- demonstrate appropriate interpersonal skills.
Topic 1: Communicating
Resource:
Information Sheet 7: The Construction of "I Messages"
Key Words: active listening, "I messages", empathy
Sample Activities:
- Divide the class into groups of three, each with a listener, a talker, and
an observer. Give the talker two minutes to discuss a specific topic (e.g., a
favourite television show, a hobby, a like or dislike, an embarrassing moment),
while the listener practises active listening and the observer uses the
active-listening guide produced in the previous activity to record the
techniques used by the listener. At the end of the two minutes, the observer has
one minute to provide the listener and talker with feedback. Have students
repeat the activity until each student in the group has experienced all three
roles.
- Distribute Information Sheet 7 to students and explain the use of "I
messages" as a further refinement on the art of active listening. Describe
the method illustrated on the information sheet and show students how to use it
to communicate both positive and negative messages. Discuss the way an
individual's tone of voice, body language, and so on differ depending on the
situation (e.g., assertive, sympathetic). Have students practise "I
messages" for the situations described on the worksheet. Here are two
examples of the use of the method:
When you play your music loudly,
I feel
annoyed
because I cannot study for my test.
I
need you to turn the music down or use the headphones.
When you remember my birthday,
I feel
happy,
because I cherish our friendship and I want to be
your friend for a long time.
Topic 2: Managing Anger
Samples Activities:
- Discuss very briefly with students the fact that anger is a normal
emotion and that it has the potential for either constructive or destructive
resolution. Point out that anger may be influenced by other emotions, such as
frustration, jealousy, rejection, and disappointment. Explain the importance of
discovering the emotion that is causing the anger so that it can be dealt with
in a positive way.
Have students identify (1) what they do themselves that
makes them angry, (2) what other people do that makes them angry, (3) what they
do to others that makes others angry, and (4) how they control anger that may
lead to violence.
Topic 3: Resolving Conflicts
Key Words: negotiating, active listening, "I messages",
win-win/win-lose/ lose-lose resolutions
Sample Activities:
- Discuss with the class the meaning of the following:
- win-win resolutions
- win-lose resolutions
- lose-lose resolutions
Provide examples of each.
- Have students identify in their VIP journals some of the qualities and
skills they feel they need to develop or strengthen in themselves. They should
include a plan of action for doing so. If they wish, they can then share this
information with a teacher, parent or guardian, or friend.
- Have students work in pairs or small groups and role-play win-win
resolutions of scenarios such as the following:
- Rheyane is annoyed because her friend always gets his choice when they
select a video.
- Patrick is annoyed because his older sister always watches her favourite
television program when he wants to watch something else.
Encourage students to create their own role-playing situations.
Then have them discuss with the class the qualities of the people reflected in
the role plays and the strategies they used to resolve the conflicts in win-win
ways.
- Have students examine the ways in which conflicts are resolved in stories
they are reading in literature. Have them discuss or write win-win resolutions
to replace any win-lose or lose-lose resolutions in the stories.
- Have students record the ways conflicts are resolved on their favourite
television shows, categorizing them as win-win, win-lose, or lose-lose
resolutions. Ask them to chart their findings in small groups or as a class.
Discuss with students whether the way a conflict is resolved is important to the
success of each show and whether all conflicts can have win-win resolutions.
Information sheet 7: The Construction of "I
Messages"
Method for Constructing an "I Message"
The following steps can be used in any order.
1. Describe the behaviour:
"When you . . . "
For example: "When you play your music loudly . . . "
2. Express your feelings or responses:
"I feel . . . "
"I get . . . "
For example: "I feel annoyed."
3. Explain why you feel that way, disclosing underlying needs, interests,
beliefs, values, assumptions, or perceptions:
"because I [assumed] . . . "
"because I [thought] . . . "
"because I [thought that we had agreed to] . . . "
"because I [value] . . . "
For example: "because I cannot study for my test."
4. Describe what you would prefer to happen:
"I would prefer . . . "
"I need you to . . . "
"Next time would you please . . . "
For example: "I need you to turn the music down or use
the headphones."
"I Message" Scenarios
Role-play the following scenarios using the method for constructing an "I
message" described above.
- A friend grabs your felt markers when you are using them to complete an
assignment.
- A classmate wants to copy your homework.
- You realize that a classmate is nice to you when certain students are
around, but not at other times.
- At recess, friends make nasty comments about you and will not allow you to
join them.
- A classmate does not do his or her fair share of work on your group
project.
- A teacher is angry with you because of something another student did.
- A classmate tells you a racist or sexist joke.
- A friend borrows books, compact disks, and clothes from you and doesn't
return them.
- You want to go to a friend's house after supper to work on a school
project, but your parent(s) refuses to give you permission.
- Your parent(s) wants you to tidy your room immediately, but your favourite
television show is about to start.
11. Social Diversity
Prejudice is negative prejudgement of a person or a
group. This judgement is made without adequate evidence.
The Ontario government is committed to excellence in education and to the
best possible educational outcomes for all students. It is, therefore, essential
to ensure that stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination based on such factors
as gender, race, ethnicity, faith or creed, age, or physical or mental abilities
do not occur in Ontario classrooms. Stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination
may contribute to students' development of low self-esteem and may also result
in unacceptable behaviour.
This unit focuses on the actions that students, individually and as a group,
can take to address any instances of stereotyping, prejudice, or discrimination
that may occur, and to facilitate the achievement of equality of opportunity
within the school environment and local community.
Learning Outcomes
· Identify examples of stereotyping or bias that they meet in
their daily lives and develop positive ways to counter them. (L33, page 59)
In helping students achieve the above outcome, teachers should ensure that
the students are able to:
- understand the meaning of the terms stereotyping, prejudice,
discrimination, and bias;
- understand how stereotyping, prejudice, discrimination, and bias lead to
racism and sexism and other forms of discrimination;
- work with their teachers to take appropriate action (for students in Grade
6) to address instances of sexism and racism in the classroom and the school.
Topic 1: Defining Stereotyping
Key Word: stereotyping
Sample Activities:
- Discuss with the class the following definition of stereotyping:
- Stereotyping: Attributing a false or generalized idea to a group of
people that results in thinking about each member of that group in the same way,
without regard for individual differences. Stereotyping may be based on
misunderstanding and false generalizations about gender or age; racial, ethnic,
linguistic, religious, geographic, or national groups; social, marital, or
family status; or physical, developmental, or mental abilities.
- Discuss answers to the following questions with the class:
- Who gets stereotyped in society?
- Where do these stereotypes come from?
- How are these stereotypes inaccurate?
- How are stereotypes harmful?
- What stereotyping occurs in the workplace?
- Divide the class into groups and ask students to list the most common
stereotypes that they can identify in their classroom, school, and community.
Then have the groups share their findings with the whole class. Ask students to
record the information in their VIP journals under specific headings suggested
by the questions.
Topic 2: Recognizing Prejudice, Discrimination, and Bias
Key Words: prejudice, discrimination, bias
Sample Activities:
- Discuss with the class the following definitions of prejudice,
discrimination, and bias:
- Prejudice: Negative prejudgement of a person or a group. This
judgement is made without adequate evidence.
- Discrimination: The practice or act of excluding or demeaning
individuals or groups based on such factors as race, ethnicity, nationality,
gender, age, faith or creed, or physical or mental abilities.
- Bias: An inaccurate and limited way of perceiving the world or a
given situation.
- Have students work in pairs or small groups to discuss the following:
- how the stereotypes that they identified in Topic 1 could lead them to make
judgments about individuals from particular groups of people
- how their prejudgments could influence their treatment of particular
individuals or groups of people and put these individuals or groups at a
disadvantage
Following the discussions, have the pairs or groups report the
results of their discussions to the whole class.
- Ask students to identify examples of stereotyping, prejudice, and
discrimination in textbooks and in the media.
Topic 3: Identifying Sexism and Racism
Sexism is discrimination based on gender.
Key Words: sexism, racism
Sample Activities:
- Explain to students, using examples, that discrimination based on gender
leads to sexism, and that discrimination based on race leads to racism.
- Have students, individually, research examples of discrimination in the
school, in textbooks, and in the media. Ask students, in small groups, to share
their findings to determine if any of their examples are similar (e.g., sexism
in the media, racism in the workplace). They should then categorize their
findings according to the type of discrimination and the place where it
occurred, and report them to the whole class.
- Have students find examples of stereotyping, prejudice, bias,
discrimination, racism, and sexism in print or non-print materials. Have
students explain how racism, sexism, and other forms of discrimination usually
occur as a result of stereotyping.
Topic 4: Taking Appropriate Action
Sample Activities:
- Explain to students that there are policies and laws that prohibit sexism
and racism and other forms of discrimination (e.g., Ontario Human Rights Code,
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and Violence-Free Schools Policy)
which affect school policies.
- Have students brainstorm for things they could do to address instances of
racism and sexism in the classroom and in the school; for example, students
might do the following:
- report any racist or sexist graffiti in the school
- exert positive peer pressure on schoolmates in instances of name-calling
and bullying
- Have students analyse the way in which members of various racial groups
and people with physical and mental disabilities are represented in the media,
and have them answer the following questions:
- What messages or impressions are you receiving from these representations?
- What conclusions can you reach on the basis of your analysis?
- Have students read books that are consistent with the principles of
antidiscrimination and that explore the themes of understanding and respecting
people who are different from oneself. Discuss with students the importance and
benefits of such understanding and respect to individuals who live and work in a
society composed of people from diverse backgrounds.
Foot Notes
- Ministry of Education and Training, Ontario, The
Common Curriculum: Policies and Outcomes, Grades 1--9 (Toronto: Ministry of
Education aand Training, Ontario, 1995).
- Ministry of Education and Training, Ontario, Violence-Free
Schools Policy (Toronto: Ministry of Education and Training, Ontario, 1994).
- Ministry of Education and Training, Ontario, Aménagement
linguistique en français, paliers
- Child and Family Services Act, R.S.O. 1990, Chapter
C.11.
- Ministry of Education and Training, Ontario, The
Common Curriculum: Policies and Outcomes, Grades 1--9 (Toronto: Ministry of
Education and Training, Ontario, 1995), p. 8.
- Constitution Act, 1982.
- Education Act, R.S.O. 1990, Chapter E.2.
- Police Services Act, R.S.O. 1990, Chapter P.15.
- Young Offenders Act, R.S.C. 1985, Chapter Y-1.
- Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Part I of
Constitution Act, 1982.
- Criminal Code, R.S.C. 1985, Chapter C-46.
- Material adapted from Ontario Regulation 298, and
cited in Ministry of Education and Training, Ontario, Violence-Free Schools
Policy (Toronto: Ministry of Education and Training, Ontario 1994), p. 30.
ISBN 0-7778-5322-1
