9th Grade Guidance Lesson

FlagstaffHigh School

Rachel Geanious

Teachers: Rachel Geanious

Grades: 9th

Week of:Fall/Spring Semester

Lesson Title: Assertiveness

Counseling Competencies

A:A1.5ASCA Academic Development Standard: Identify attitudes and behaviors that lead to successful learning.

PS:A1.5ASCA Academic Development Standard: Identify and express feelings.

PS:A2.6ASCA Academic Development Standard: Use effective communication skills.

PS:C1.6ASCA Academic Development Standard: Identify resource people in the school and community, and know how to seek their help.

Content Objective: SWBAT distinguish between passive, aggressive, and assertive behaviors and apply that understanding to real life situations.

Language Objective: SWBAT discuss how assertive behavior will help them in a variety of real life situations.

Key Vocabulary: passive, aggressive, assertive, mediation, advocate, compromise.

Counselor Materials

Pre-test, paper, white board

Student Materials

Paper and pencils

Learning styles addressed

Auditory, Visual, kinesthetic

Lesson

  1. Students will be given a pre-test in which they will be asked to define the behaviors passive, aggressive and assertive. They will also be asked to explain a response for each type of behavior given a real life situation: Ex. You are standing in line and are finally the next one when someone steps in front of you.
  2. Pre-tests will be collected.
  3. Divide the class into groups of three or four. Explain to the students that they will watch a role play by the Peers and their job is to come up with 5 adjectives to describe each behavior.
  4. Have thePEERS act out a passiveresponse to the above given conflict scenario while groups record adjectives for that behavior. Repeat for Aggressive and Assertive behavior as well.
  5. As a class, record all the adjectives on the board for each behavior.
  6. Explain to students that it is difficult to be assertive, and that acting assertively will not always guarantee a positive consequence. However, it is often the best choice in the long run. Ask students to come up with three areas where acting assertively is especially important: 1)with friends, 2)at school and 3)at home with family.
  7. Have groups come up with examplesituations in each of the three areas where it is important to be assertive.
  8. Have groups give examples of a passive, an aggressive and an assertive response for each situation they came up with. Ask students to write each APPROPRIATE scenario and their response examples on a separate piece of paper.
  9. Put all the papers into a bucket or a hat.
  10. Each group will then choose a paper from the hat and role play an assertive, a passive or an aggressive response to the given scenario. Other groups will guess which type of reaction it is. If it was not an assertive response then the class will come up with an assertive way to deal with the situation together. (Peers will go first as an example.)
  11. After role playing, lead class in a discussion of the following questions:
  12. Why is it important to be assertive in school?
  13. Why might it be hard to be assertive?
  14. Can you remember a time when you were assertive? How did it turn out?
  15. How can you be assertive and avoid sounding aggressive?
  16. Are there ever times when you might try to be assertive and it could backfire?
  17. Tell the class it won’t always be effective but it is a start and as you get older you will get better and better. Remind students that it is important to be assertive in school by asking for what you need.
  18. Discuss how in conflicts with friends it might be difficult to be assertive if the other person keeps being aggressive or passive.
  19. Let class know that PEERS are in school to help with conflict through peer mediations.
  20. Give post-test
  21. Give assertiveness quiz.
  22. Discuss results and let students know that scoring high on this quiz is not something most adults even do, but it is something we can all work toward. Being more assertive can be empowering and can help you to be successful in many areas of your life.
  23. If there is time, complete learning style inventory.

Homework

none

How did the students change as a result of this lesson?

Students will understand that learning to be assertive in all situations will help them to be successful and that learning to be assertive is a process. Students will also be introduced to the Peers at FlagstaffHigh School as resources for conflict resolution and peer counseling.