Grade Level
5th, 6th, 7th and 8th
Objectives
Students will learn about how to identify problems and come up with a list of possible solutions. They will also think about the possible consequences of each decision.
Lesson Plan Title and Description
"The Decision Pyramid - Helping Students Learn to Make Better Decisions"
In this lesson plan, which is suitable for students learning about psychology or social studies, students are presented with a hypothetical situation. First, the students need to identify exactly what the problem is. Then, they need to come up with three or four different options for solving the problem. Next, they need to be able to identify possible consequences of each decision and finally choose the solution that they think is best.
The goal of this lesson is to get students to help students develop better decision-making skills.
Materials and Resources Needed
Create a "Decision Pyramid" worksheet. At the bottom of the pyramid, students have to write a brief paragraph about what the problem is. The next step moves them further up the pyramid, where they make a list of three or four possible choices that might solve the problem. The next step moves them further up the pyramid, where they write down the possible consequences of each decision. Finally, at the peak of the pyramid, students write down the option they have chosen to solve the problem.
Advice
- Provide a hypothetical situation for your students, but be careful not to identify specifically what the problem is. Part of good decision-making is being able to recognize what the REAL problem is.
- Make the hypothetical situation you present relevant to the lives of your students. Solving problems about things they face everyday (peer pressure, problems with friends, cheating) makes the situation seem more "real" and closer to home. Students are far more likely to relate to the situation, and then come up with realistic solutions.
