PEER PRESSURE TEACHER S GUIDE:

Transcription

1 TEACHER S GUIDE: PEER PRESSURE LEARNING OBJECTIVES Students will be able to identify peer pressure as both a positive and negative force. Students will understand how peer pressure impacts everyone. Students will learn how to handle peer pressure in different situations. Estimated Viewing Time: Completing the entire episode will take approximately minutes. A breakdown of time by segment follows: WATCH: TRY: APPLY: 5 minutes 3-4 minutes 4-6 minutes SYNOPSIS OF THE WATCH SEGMENT Willard and Lorenzo pressure Nermal into letting them copy his homework by saying that cool people help out their pals and that they ll let him borrow their new video game so he can be even cooler. Although Nermal understands that this is cheating, he gives in to the peer pressure. However, when he gets home, he melts down and confesses all to Arlene and Garfield because he feels so guilty. Garfield leaves to become Professor G and contacts Nermal through the hotline. Dr. Nova and Professor G explain to Nermal what peer pressure is and how it affects everyone. Nermal gets confused when Dr. Nova says that peer pressure can be both a good and a bad thing. She explains that Nermal needs to consider what he thinks is the right thing to do before he acts and not do something just because everyone else is doing it. Professor G and Dr. Nova provide Nermal with some questions to ask himself when he is confronted by a confusing decision and then some tips on how to say no if he feels he should not do something. BUILD BACKGROUND Provide a story about a student giving in to peer pressure and going along with the crowd. This should be from something the kids know about something that happened in school, in the news, in a recent movie, or in a book you ve read as a class. Whatever your example is, it should be one that the majority of the students are familiar with. SAY: Why do you think (the main character) did what he or she did? [Elicit responses, some of which may even mention peer pressure.] We have to make a lot of choices to make every day from what to wear to school, to what to eat for lunch, to what to do when someone is trying to get us to do something we don t think we should do. Even adults have to handle these kinds of situations and make these kinds of decisions!

2 INTRODUCE VOCABULARY Write and discuss the definition of each keyword. Pause after each definition to answer questions and provide examples. Use each keyword in a sample sentence to show students how each is used in context. cheating peer pressure guilt shame making decisions acting responsibly positive negative choice situation courage to break the rules on purpose to gain something when you feel like you have to do, say, be, or have something to be part of a group the feeling of being sorry for having done something you know is wrong or for not doing something you know you should the feeling of being disappointed in yourself for having done something you know is wrong choosing what to do, say, be, or get acting in a way that shows you make good decisions about what is right and wrong something that is good and right something that is wrong or not helpful the act of making a decision between two or more things a specific time or place when you must make a decision the ability to face fear and still take action GUIDE THE VIEWING OF PEER PRESSURE SAY: Now, we re going to complete an interactive lesson containing characters from Garfield and Friends. The lesson will help us learn more about peer pressure. After students complete the interactive lesson, have them join the rest of the class in a circle or another seating arrangement conducive to an informal class discussion.

3 TRY Answer Key Students answer questions about how Nermal should deal with peer pressure. 1. What is peer pressure? When you feel like you have to do, say, be, or have something to join a group 2. What should Nermal do when he feels peer pressure? STOP, THINK, and ACT RESPONSIBLY 3. What questions should Nermal ask himself when he stops and thinks about a situation before he acts? B, D, E, F, G APPLY Answer Key Students identify situations that demonstrate negative or positive peer pressure and help Nermal balance the scale by removing rocks that weigh him down. 1. Willard challenged Nermal to cut class and go to the local comic book store. Is this negative or positive peer pressure? Negative 2. What should Nermal say back? No, I don t think that s a good idea. 3. One of Nermal s classmates is sick with a cold. A group from school is going to bring him soup after class. They ask Nermal if he wants to come along. Is this positive or negative peer pressure? Positive 4. Two cats from school asked Nermal to go for pizza with them, but they said he couldn t bring his friend Otto Octopus. Pizza sounds like fun, but Nermal doesn t want to exclude Otto. Is this positive or negative peer pressure? Negative 5. What should Nermal say back? No thanks. If my friends aren t welcome too, then I don t want to go. 6. Nermal is going to ski camp. Everyone keeps telling Nermal that he ll need to bring special winter clothes because that s what everyone at camp wears. Nermal wants to be warm, but is this an example of negative or positive peer pressure? Positive 7. A friend of Nermal s told him that he found a box of rubber wristbands with cool sayings that someone left behind and that Nermal can have some. Nermal thought they should turn them into lost and found, but he really likes the wristbands and everyone else is taking them. Is this an example of positive or negative peer pressure? Negative 8. What should Nermal say back? No thanks. Maybe the kid will come back for them. We should turn them in to lost and found.

4 MONITOR COMPREHENSION Begin a class discussion by asking students what they thought about the story on Peer Pressure. ASK: Were you suspicious when Willard and Lorenzo first called to Nermal in a friendly way, since they aren t usually his friends? (yes) What did Willard and Lorenzo want Nermal to do? (they wanted him to let them copy his homework) What did they say to convince Nermal he should do it? (they said if he was cool, he would do it; they offered to let him borrow their new video game, which all the cool kids were playing) What did Nermal think and do? (he thought it was cheating but really wanted to play the new video game and be cool) Why did Nermal melt down when he got home and confess everything to Arlene and Garfield? (he felt bad, guilty, and ashamed of what he had done; he knew he d done something he shouldn t) How did Professor G and Dr. Nova explain to Nermal about peer pressure? (they explained that it happens to everyone and that it occurs when you feel like you have to do, say, be, or have something to join a group) Why did Dr. Nova say that peer pressure can be a good thing as well as a bad thing? (because it can get you to do good deeds or do things that are positive) What advice did Dr. Nova give to Nermal about how to handle decisions he needs to make? (he needs to decide and do what is right instead of just doing what other people want him to do) What are the steps Dr. Nova and Professor Garfield gave Nermal to help him make good decisions? (stop, think, and act responsibly). SAY: Peer pressure is one of those things that is very difficult to handle. Sometimes, it helps to talk to a trusted friend or an adult before you make a decision that you don t feel good about. Remember, everyone feels peer pressure at some time or another. The important thing is to be true to yourself and do what you think is right. Saying no to friends can be hard, and it can take a lot of courage, but you will feel much better about who you are in the long run. CONSOLIDATE LEARNING Ask students to create a group list of movies, TV shows, or books where peer pressure is an important part of the plot. Post the list on your blog or send home a copy so students can learn more. EVALUATE Conclude the activity by asking students to share any of their questions or comments. Encourage students to continue the conversation at home with their parents or caregivers. Administer the Peer Pressure Quiz to assess whether students have met the learning objectives for the lesson. After evaluating the results of the assessment, you may wish to go over any learning objectives that students did not grasp.

5 QUIZ ANSWER KEY 1. C 2. B 3. B 4. A 5. C 6. B 7. A 8. C 9. open possible answers: say you can t go bowling that day, tell them you don t think it s funny to make fun of disabled people, say you don t want to go but you don t have to tell them why 10. open possible answers: say that you like your sneakers and that you just want to keep wearing them; tell your friend it s okay to be different; say you don t want to get new sneakers right now, but you don t have to say why

6 QUIZ: PEER PRESSURE NAME DATE MATCH In every situation in life, you need to STOP, THINK, and ACT RESPONSIBLY. In the following scenarios, decide what step the person is demonstrating: A. Stop B. Think C. Act Responsibly 1. Sherry s friends ask her to help them make posters for Earth Day at school. She is tired and sort of wants to go home but decides that she can show her support for the environment by helping her friends. 2. Carlos is being urged by his classmates to run for the school s student council. He finds it hard to say no because his friends will be disappointed in him if he doesn t run, but he s concerned about all the other activities he s already doing. 3. A boy in Nina s class stutters. At the lunch table, Nina s friends talk about teasing the boy by pretending to stutter when answering questions asked by their teacher. They think it will be really funny. Nina thinks that if she stuttered, she wouldn t want anyone making fun of her. 4. All of Brandon s swim team members start shouting at a member of the other team because they think he cheated on a race. Brandon asks them to stop yelling until they can get all the facts. 5. Jamie invites Shamil to go riding bikes together. Shamil doesn t want to wear a helmet because he thinks it looks dorky. Jamie says he won t go unless Shamil wears a helmet, so Shamil finally agrees. 6. The Science Club wants to set off its model rockets in an open field next to an old abandoned house. Rosalee knows that a colony of feral cats live there and wonders if the loud noise would scare them or harm them. 7. Ginny s best friend starts pulling her into the stairwell to hide during a school fire drill, saying it would be fun to make everyone panic when they aren t in line outside. Although she d like to be a little reckless like her friend, Ginny pulls back so she can think about it for a minute. 8. Sharp is invited by the cool kids in his class to hang out with them and go to a movie. Once he gets there, he finds out that they plan on going over to the nearby mall instead something his parents don t want him doing. Sharp says that he really wants to see the movie and that he ll see them later.

7 NAME DATE SHORT ANSWER Answer each question the best you can. How many ways can you think of to say no when you decide it is best for you not to do something? 9. A group of your friends are going to the bowling alley, where a team of disabled students are practicing for the Special Olympics. They want to make fun of the students by pretending to be disabled, too. You think this is hurtful. What can you say to your friends? 10. You ve just started at a new school and find out it s not considered to be cool to wear the kind of sneakers you ve always worn. The one person you ve become friends with urges you to buy the expensive kind of sneakers that everyone else has, even though yours are brand new. You decide that you like your sneakers, and you know your parents don t have enough money right now to spend on a new pair. What can you say to your new friend?