Body Image Grade 8

Body Image Grade 8

Outcomes:

Recognize and accept that individuals experience different rates of physical, emotional, sexual, and social development
Develop personal strategies to deal with pressures to have a certain look/lifestyle; e.g. accept individual look

Lesson 1

Brainstorm, as a group, the different style labels people have, e.g. nerd, prep, emo etc.

Discuss the following questions:

Why do people choose to dress and look like they do?

Why is it a good thing that people have different styles?

What would life be if we all dressed and looked the same?

Can they think of anything that is totally identical? (They will come up with twins, leaves etc.) Enforce the idea that there is nothing on earth that is exactly the same as anything else. “Every snow flake is different.”

Have the kids line up shortest to tallest.

Then have them line up from youngest to oldest. They must get right to the birth day even hour if some kids share the same day.

Have them sit down. Hopefully the tallest kids are not the oldest.

Discuss how they all have different heights and that the oldest kids are not the biggest. Lead them to the idea that we all mature at different rates. Have the girls talk about how “immature” the boys are. Talk about how the boys will catch up. Bring them to the idea that physical change does not match emotional change.

Bring the discussion to sexual development and social development. Not all kids want boyfriends and girl friends right now and that’s ok. Help them realize that they can’t rush things and people can’t help when they develop.

Have them write down all the positive reasons that it’s good to develop at different rates.

Lesson 2

Show the kids the movie Mirror in My Mind P: Drive/United Streaming file/Health File/Body Image File.

-It’s 29 min long

Hand out the Checking comprehension sheet and have them do it. If time permits mark it.

Lesson 3 Self talk

Discuss in more detail what self talk is.

Put up some examples like the one below.

For this example reinforce the idea that even though the dog may be the nicest dog in the world your self talk made you feel scared for no reason.

Talk about how people never try food because they think they won’t like it. Ask if anyone did that then tried it and liked it?

Do a few more examples to show the kids how what they think affects their actions.

Hand out the “Healthy Self-Talk” sheet. Have them complete it.

If time permits go over possible answers.

Lesson 4

Each student will need an 11”x14” sheet of paper.

They are going to make a poster representing the effects of self talk.

Half the page is for negative self talk; the colours, shapes, feelings, pictures faces of negative self talk. The other half is for positive self talk.

CHECKING COMPREHENSION

Answer the following questions in the space provided. Use complete sentences. You may need a separate sheet of paper to complete someresponses.

1. How are self-perception and self-esteem related? ______

2. How does the media influence our general concept of beauty? ______

______

3. How can the media alter an individual’s perception of his or her own body?______

______

4. When a person becomes obsessed with imagined personal physical flaws, what can happen to his or her self-esteem? Why? ______

______

5. What effect does puberty have on our individual perception of body image? ______

______

6. What behaviors might be displayed by a teen who feels abnormal, inadequate, or embarrassed by an imagined physical flaw, such asbeing overweight orunderweight?______

______

7. Why do some teens use steroids? ______

______

8. How might a person try to escape the psychological pain of chronic low self-esteem? ______

______

9. What is BDD? ______

______

10. What are some common warning signs of BDD? ______

______

11. What effect does negative self-talk have on a person’s self-concept and self-esteem? ______

______

12. The program narrator states that there is something very attractive about a person “who is comfortable in their own skin.” What does this

mean? ______

______

ANSWER KEY for page 11

CHECKING COMPREHENSION

Answer the following questions in the space provided. Use complete sentences. You may need a separate sheet of paper to complete some

responses.

1. How are self-perception and self-esteem related? Self-perception refers to the positive and negative beliefs, attitudes, and images we hold about ourselves. For many people, self-perception is linked to body image. When a person becomes obsessed with inaccurate and flawed images about his/her body, his/her perception becomes distorted and self-esteem suffers.

2. How does the media influence our general concept of beauty? We are constantly bombarded with images of “beautiful people” in magazines, films, music videos, on television and billboards, etc. Many of these images of rock stars, models, actors, surgically perfected women, and athletes represent an ideal that the normal person cannot attain, yet people come to believe that they are realistic and something to strive for.

3. How can the media alter an individual’s perception of his or her own body? By comparing his or her body with ideals presented in the media, an individual can begin to place undue emphasis on imagined flaws and the perception of his/her body becomes distorted.

4. When a person becomes obsessed with imagined personal physical flaws, what can happen to his or her self-esteem? Why? The person’s self-esteem is lowered because, for most people, body image and self-esteem are linked. If the body image is distorted and perceived as

imperfect or ugly, the self-esteem suffers.

5. What effect does puberty have on our individual perception of body image? Up until puberty, most people have a positive perception of their body. With the rapid physical changes associated with puberty, teens begin to compare their changing bodies with peers and media

images. Many begin to attach unnecessary importance to imagined flaws.

6. What behaviors might be displayed by a teen who feels abnormal, inadequate, or embarrassed by an imagined physical flaw, such as being

overweight or underweight? This person could become anorexic or bulimic; he or she could begin to abuse laxatives or water pills, exercise excessively, or begin to use drugs such as cocaine to control weight, or steroids to bulk up.

7. Why do some teens use steroids? There is a cultural pressure to bulk up that some teens give in to. Steroids temporarily increase muscle mass and strength.

8. How might a person try to escape the psychological pain of chronic low self-esteem? In these cases, a teen might use alcohol or other drugs to escape the pain.

9. What is BDD? BDD is Body Dysmorphic Disorder, a disease of imagined ugliness.

10. What are some common warning signs of BDD? Common warning signs include frequently checking the perceived defect; avoiding mirrors; avoiding having your picture taken; obsessively comparing yourself to others; camouflaging supposed defects with make-up, clothing, a hat, etc.; excessive grooming; compulsive or obsessive touching of the defect; or cosmetic surgery.

11. What effect does negative self-talk have on a person’s self-concept and self-esteem? Negative self-talk damages a person’s self-concept, undermines confidence, and lowers self-esteem.

12. The program narrator states that there is something very attractive about a person “who is comfortable in their own skin.” What does this

mean? STUDENT RESPONSES WILL VARY. ACCEPT ANY WHICH DEMONSTRATE UNDERSTANDING OF THE TOPIC.

HEALTHY SELF-TALK

As stated in the program, we often are our own worst critics. We’re usually unaware of how negative and self-destructive the private discoursein our heads can be. For most of us, substituting positive self-statements for negative ones is accomplished only through a conscious effort.

PART A: Below are some common silent criticisms. They are very general, and can apply to many different situations. How many have you saidto yourself? What positive thoughts can you substitute for the negative when your internal critic pops up?

1. I’m not very good at this. ______

2. He/She would never go out with someone like me. ______

______3. I’ll never be good enough. ______

4. I hate my (fill in the blank: hair, nose, eyes, skin, body, etc). ______

5. Everyone must think I’m an idiot. ______

6. Nobody likes me. ______

7. I feel/look so stupid! ______

8. I could never look that good. ______

9. Why try? I’ll just mess it up. ______

10. What if someone laughs? ______

PART B: Short Answer - Think about your personal experience and answer the questions below.

11. How many “perfect” or “flawless” people do you know? ______

12. How do you feel about friends, family, or classmates who are less than “perfect?” ______

13. If you can accept the people in your life who are less than “perfect”, is there any reason that those people cannot or would not accept youas you are, perfect or not? Explain your answer.

______

14. What kind of person judges others solely on their physical appearance?______

15. In your opinion, does anything positive come from “beating yourself up” with negative self-talk? Explain your answer. ______

Making A Poster : Body Image
Student Name: ______
CATEGORY / 4 / 3 / 2 / 1
Graphics - Relevance / All graphics are related to the topic and make it easier to understand. All borrowed graphics have a source citation. / All graphics are related to the topic and most make it easier to understand. All borrowed graphics have a source citation. / All graphics relate to the topic. Most borrowed graphics have a source citation. / Graphics do not relate to the topic OR several borrowed graphics do not have a source citation.
Required Elements / The poster includes all required elements as well as additional information. / All required elements are included on the poster. / All but 1 of the required elements are included on the poster. / Several required elements were missing.
Title / Title can be read from 6 ft. away and is quite creative. / Title can be read from 6 ft. away and describes content well. / Title can be read from 4 ft. away and describes the content well. / The title is too small and/or does not describe the content of the poster well.
Attractiveness / The poster is exceptionally attractive in terms of design, layout, and neatness. / The poster is attractive in terms of design, layout and neatness. / The poster is acceptably attractive though it may be a bit messy. / The poster is distractingly messy or very poorly designed. It is not attractive.