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Life Transitions 20/30: Conflicts & Action Plan Mini-lesson

Date:
Nov.3rd, 2015
Subject:
Life Transitions 20
Author:
Nicole Marquis
Grade Level:
11
Time Duration: 25 mins
Overview of Lesson:
In this mini-lesson, the student should gain an
understanding of how to create an Action Plan, including goal setting, points of
re-evaluation, steps needed to achieve the goal, and how to reward yourself.
Student will then create a scenario in which they need to create an action plan
and follow through with the necessary steps.
Professional Growth Guide Goal(s):
1.3 a commitment to social justice and the capacity to nurture an inclusive and
equitable environment for the empowerment of all learners
4.3 the capacity to engage in program planning to shape lived curriculum that
brings learner needs, subjective matter, and contextual variables together in
developmentally appropriate, and culturally responsive and meaningful ways.
Outcomes & Indicators:
Goal 1) Develop a positive self-concept and the skills necessary to maintain it.
Students will recognize that decisions about sexual behavior affect life plans.
Students will explore some of the personal, family, community and career
transitions they may face in terms of how such transitions may change their
life roles.
Students will develop the ability to design and carry out action plans to
prepare themselves for independent living.
Goal 2) Develop the attitude and skills to grow with change.
Students will develop the lifelong skill of making decisions about managing
change in their personal lives.
Goal 3) Acquire and practice the skills needed to progress from dependence to
independence.
Students will develop the ability and the confidence to design and carry out
actions plans to manage conflict in their personal, family, community, and
career relationships.
Cross Curricular Competencies:
In this lesson, students explore their own personal challenge and explore the
alternative options available and the consequences of each of those alternatives
while trying to formulate a decision in an action plan. The student displays
communication while talking ideas out with others. They show critical and creative
thinking through analyzing information and situations related to their action plan;
generating and evaluating alternative solutions to problems; and making systematic
decisions. Independent learning takes place as they set and meet their personal

learning goals, while also organizing their time and work. Personal and social values
and skills will develop as one considers and evaluates their personal options, and
justifies their judgments about various options.

Materials:
-Life Transitions work booklet
-pen/pencil
-internet
Activities and Procedures:

Overview/Agenda/Review/Introduction:
o
o
o
o
o

Have student teach me an overview of the prior section leading up to

this point in the action plan
Brainstorm possible action plan ideas/challenges/conflicts concerning a
personal transition in their life (interactive instruction)
As group contemplate some didactic questions pertaining to
alternatives and possible consequences to each
Explore implications or consequences of the actions
Reflection

Subject Content and Teaching Strategies:

This mini-lesson is mainly geared to teach students the importance of making
informed decisions. They will be asked to state a particular challenge or
conflict in their life, and create an action plan for it. Students will explore
alternatives and consequences to decisions surrounding it. After this
exploration process, students are asked to determine their decision and map
out an action plan for the scenario.
Direct instruction was used mainly through exploring didactic questions. This
allowed the student to make new connections about societal supports and
benefits such as maternity leave and social assistance to previously known
information about employment benefits, to navigate her conflict. Indirect
instruction was used in reflective discussion about alternative solutions and
consequences. Interactive learning also occurred throughout by way of
conversation, discussion, critical thinking, and looking up information in the
internet.
First I had the student teach me a brief overview of the previous concepts she
had just learned in the booklet section prior. This gave me a base from which
to work with the student, while also being able to assess if there were any
misunderstandings or gaps in her previous knowledge. Next, we
brainstormed some possible conflicts/challenges that she was facing
concerning a personal transition in her life. She informed me that she wanted
to use a hypothetical conflict involving her teen friend becoming pregnant
while still in high school, because she could not think of a conflict correlating
directly to herself. I realized that this "hypothetical" conflict may not be

hypothetical at all, and could possibly be a real and present conflict in her
friends,' or even her own, life.
In discussing this pregnancy conflict, I explained how there would be several
decisions that "her friend" would need to consider in regards to the
pregnancy, education, work, money, support, short-term and long-term goals,
and how each could result in different consequences. Using a critical thinking
paradigm and probing her with didactic questions I guided the student
through mapping out some differing scenarios. I provided some real-world
knowledge through interactive conversation and discussion, answering her
questions pertaining to various social supports and she linked these to her
prior knowledge of her own employment history and experience. I provided
some in-depth information about the supports that are available in our
society, such as social assistance, employment supplement, rental-housing
supplement, maternity leave, etc., and we looked up additional information
about these supports using the internet. We explored some implications and
possible consequences of her friends actions in this scenario. Then the
student decided the best course of action would be to for her friend to stay
in high school and work a part-time job to save money until the baby was
born. Then once the baby was born, "her friend" would put the baby in free
daycare provided by the high school, and she would quit working, but
continue to go to high school until she graduated. At this time, she would
entertain maternity leave (as she planned on working the necessary hours
prior to qualify). After graduation, she intended to work full-time and support
the baby using the supports discussed above.

Consolidation:
o

Reflection: how our society supports real-life people in these

situations/conflicts

Reflection: how an assignment such as this could serve as a very

relevant and important tool in real-life situations. Further, by talking
these situations out with a more informed individual can help us see
the situation from different angles, and see different options we might
not have thought about ourselves.

Assessment:
Reflections on the lesson:
1) How was this lesson effective/not effective?
o In this type of lesson the process is just as important as the product.
Through conversation, the student was able to learn about and
question many components of our social service system here in
Saskatchewan. The student was able to inquire about particular things
that were of interest to her, such as maternity leave, subsidized
daycare, and social assistance.
2) Suggestions for a future lesson of this type
o This mini-lesson was conducted with an individual student in a
modified learning classroom. While the student in this classroom all
work within their individual programs, this task would also be

conducive to learning in small groups for the purpose of discussion and

brainstorming, and then perhaps some peer teaching with earlier
components of the course.
3) Changes made to the lesson while teaching
o This is a retrospective lesson plan; the actual teaching took place in an
unplanned manner in a modified classroom with students working on
individualized programs.
4) What strategies could I use to reinforce this lesson?
o More inquiry-based learning could be utilized in this lesson by
researching further societal supports in regards to this students
conflict/action plan. We could have researched more fully the details
surrounding maternity leave, rental housing and employment
supplement amounts, child tax benefit, how much it costs to raise a
child. The student was not very open to considering outcomes related
to abortion or adoption in this case, so more could have been
researched in regards to that as to allow her to understand and
perceive a different angle versus keeping the baby.