Responsible Decision-Making
Family Resources on
Making Responsible Choices
Project and Purpose
By explicitly teaching social-emotional learning skills while honoring diverse identities, creating a sense of belonging, and promoting student agency toward personal growth and social impact, the teacher better creates a classroom environment that fosters well-being for self and others.
If the lesson is used in the classroom: In this lesson students brainstormed strategies for making choices by considering health and safety. Students also played a game called “Responsibility Taboo” where they had to describe and discuss how to make responsible choices.
Getting Ready for the Conversation
Learning to make responsible choices is something that everyone has to learn how to do. This lesson helps students think about and develop strategies for making responsible choices.
Conversation Starters and Practice at Home Activities
Ask your child to share some of the examples shared in the “Responsibility Taboo” game. What did you learn about how to make responsible decisions?
Discuss the following questions:
- Describe a time you have had to make a decision on your own. Did you make a good decision? Describe why or why not.
- Is it a good idea to talk to someone about a decision before you make it? Why or why not? Who are some people in the neighborhood/community that you could talk to about making a decision? Why do you think this person/these people would be able to help you make a good decision?
- What is the decision-making process that we use at home to make
decisions for the family?
School to Home Resources on Making Responsible Choices
In this lesson students will learn how to make responsible choices through considering the “ripple effect” of people’s decisions on themselves and others.
Format
This 25–35 minute lesson is designed for flexibility. It can be taught in one day or over the course of a week.
- Warm Welcome
- Feelings Check-in
- SEL Skill Spotlight
- Active Engagement
- Closing Connection
