Introduction
Decision-making is an essential life skill that plays a significant role in our daily lives. It’s estimated that the average person makes close to one million decisions in their lifetime! As educators, it’s crucial to teach elementary students how to make informed decisions, which will help them navigate through life’s challenges. This blog post will provide an overview of decision-making skills, a no-prep activity, discussion questions, related skills, and next steps to help your students develop this vital skill.
No-Prep Activity: The Stop, Think, and Choose Game
This activity requires no preparation or materials from the educator and is designed to help students practice decision-making skills in a fun and interactive way.
- Ask students to form a circle and have them stand up.
- Explain that you will present a scenario with a decision to make.
- Students will then stop, think, and choose between two options by stepping to the left or right side of the circle.
- Discuss the choices and the reasons behind them as a group.
- Repeat the process with multiple scenarios to encourage further practice.
Discussion Questions
Use these discussion questions to stimulate further conversations about decision-making with your students:
- What are some decisions you’ve made recently? Were they easy or difficult to make? Why?
- How can you use the “Stop and Think” strategy in your daily life to make better decisions?
- Why is it important to consider all of your options before making a decision?
- How can peer pressure influence the decisions we make? How can you resist peer pressure when making decisions?
- Can you think of a time when you made a decision that you later regretted? What did you learn from that experience?
Related Skills
In addition to decision-making, there are other essential skills that students can benefit from learning:
- Problem-solving: Identifying and resolving issues in a systematic and effective manner.
- Effective communication: Expressing thoughts and feelings clearly and assertively without offending others.
- Self-awareness: Recognizing one’s strengths, weaknesses, and emotions to better understand oneself and others.
- Empathy: Understanding and sharing the feelings of others to foster supportive relationships.
Next Steps
Teaching decision-making skills to elementary students is a crucial aspect of their personal and social development. Incorporating principles of Social-Emotional Learning in your classroom can support students in becoming responsible, well-rounded individuals. To explore more activities and resources related to decision-making and other essential skills, sign up for free sample materials at Everyday Speech today.
