Lesson 4: Important People in Your Life
Objectives
- Pupils explore the social environment they live in and the influence of people close to them;
- Pupils gain an understanding of the issues involved in being an adolescent in relation to their friends and family;
- Pupils are encouraged to look for support.
- Describe the influence of their own social environment (family, friends, other people) on their opinions and behaviour;
- Explain that all young people experience challenges and uncertainties during adolescence in their search for their own identity and autonomy;
- Explain that having friendships is important and needs negotiation in taking their own decisions;
- Describe at least 3 important positive aspects of friendship; Sexual behavior, peer pressure;
- Describe the support friends can provide during adolescence.
- Describe the possible negative influence friends can have during adolescence;
- Describe at least 3 qualities of a good friend;
- Explain the difference between sexuality, friendship and love with the opposite sex;
- List three situations that might be leading to sexual contact when they are together with someone of the opposite sex, and describe how to avoid such situations;
- Describe that most young people become less dependent on their parents during adolescence, and that experimentation and disagreement with boundaries set by the parents is part of that.
- Demonstrate how to negotiate with friends in taking their own decisions, without breaking off the friend- ship; Explain step by step how they would deal with any negative influence or pressure from peers; Demonstrate that they can set boundaries for themselves and make these clear to peers, friends and parents; Demonstrate how to ask for support from peers, friends and parents.
- Argue that other young people are dealing with the same autonomy issues, even if they look much more self-confident and mature, Value friendship and disapprove of bullying/teasing peers, Value the positive aspects of friendship and disapprove the negative aspects, Show awareness that friends can also have negative influences
- Argue whether platonic (with no sexual contact) friendship with someone of the opposite sex is possible or impossible in their opinion and respect other people who have friendship with someone of the opposite sex. Respect parents’ instructions and value their positive intentions and respect the need of maintaining a mutual understanding between parents and children.
Introduction
In the previous two lessons, the focus has been on the changes young people go through, physically and emotionally, when they mature to become adults with their own responsibilities. Young people become more independent from their parents and need their own social network of peers and friends. In this lesson, we will be focusing on friendships and relationships. In answering questions, pupils learn from their peers Almaz and Tariku on this theme. The main exercise is called Me ‘n My World. This exercise invites pupils to make a map of their personal relationships with family and friends, characterizing these relationships.
This is how you can introduce this lesson to the pupils: We see change physically as well as emotionally, while growing up. There is another important change during the period you are going through: your friendships and relationships! Friends are becoming more important in your life and, in some ways, your parents seem to be getting less important. This is also the theme of today’s lesson. You are going to explore what friendships and other relationships mean to you and how friendships can influence you. We will hear what Tariku and Almaz have to say about friendships and relationships. After that, we will create a visualization on paper of the people in your world. But before we continue the lesson, we are going to move our bodies!’
Learning Resources
Teaching Methodologies
In this lesson teachers and learners can use different teaching methedologies like
- Method1
- Method2
- Method3
- Method4
Delivery of this lesson will be done with minimum requirement that discussed in the following steps.
Delivery method
1. Reflect (some minutes)
- Ask a few pupils to tell something about their reflection activities in the previous lesson.
Trust (5 mins)
Aim
- In a physical way, pupils experience how to trust their friends.
How
Pupils work in groups of four. They take turns to stand with three people behind one person. This person lets him/herself fall backwards. The other three must catch the person and NOT let him/her fall. A way to make sure someone does not fall is to stand quite close behind this person; do not let him/her fall far before catching. It is not easy to close your eyes, let yourself fall backwards and have trust. But if you do it and your friends catch you, it feels great! That is what it is like to know you can trust your friends.
What is a good friend? (20 mins)
Aim
- Pupils are aware of important qualities of their friends.
How
Pupils work individually: They write down in their personal MWML notebook three important characteristics of one of their best friends. They write down the same 3 characteristics on another paper. The teacher will stick all the papers on the wall. The teacher discusses all the characteristics and qualities that are written on the papers with the pupils. The teacher asks pupils to write down again (after the discussion) the 3 most important good qualities of a good friend. Maybe they want to change the original list of 3 characteristics after listening to the discussion. Some pupils are invited to share their selection with the class.
Presentation: Friendship and Relationships (30 mins)
Aims
- Pupils understand the importance of friends as part of the process of becoming adults.
- Pupils understand their changing relationship with their parents or guardians.
- Pupils understand the influence of peers/friends on their behavior and opinions.
How
Students should address discussion points in the presentation together, before they continue with the presentation. The presentation covers the following topics: The process of autonomy and its characteristics, the importance of friends, testing boundaries and how to handle conflicts with parents, influencing friends and being influenced by them, Peer pressure. Conclude with a group discussion, in which you emphasize that students have the right to take their own decisions.
Me ‘n My World on paper (45 mins)
Provide each pupil with a sheet of paper to work on. The pupils follow the guidelines to fill their ‘World’. See Handout 1 at the end of this lesson. Depending on how familiar the pupils are at drawing, they can embellish and use their own flair to liven up their world. (See an example at the back of the pupils’ book, appendix lesson 4)
Looking for a friend; make an advertisement (45 mins)
Pupils write down on a paper If they are a boy or a girl, next they write 3 characteristics of themselves (look back at lesson one), for example: I’m a boy, who likes playing football, who is good at mathematics, and I’m a good listener.
Then they write what they are looking for: I’m looking for a friend with whom I can play football, who can help me with homework, and who likes to talk with me. (The pupils can use the list of characteristics from exercise. The pupils make their ad as attractive as possible, with drawings, colors, or pictures, etc. All the ads, are stacked to the wall. The teacher starts a discussion about important positive characteristics and qualities of a good friend and for friendship and what is not supposed to belong to friendship.
Conclusion and homework (5 mins)
Conclude the session by discussing with the pupils what they have been doing. Talk with them and ask some of them to summarize what they have learned in making their personal ‘Map’. Homework Instruct pupils that, before the next lesson, they should tell two significant people from their map something they discovered about them or about themselves in relation to them.
They can write down their responses in their personal notebooks. Possibly, pupils feel shy to do this. Remind them that they do not necessarily have to do or write something very intimate but that they can also say something nice to those people.
Hand out 1
Guidelines for making “Me ‘n My World” on paper. All pupils:
Have a big sheet of paper to work on and are instructed as follows:
1. Place an image of yourself – a drawing or a picture – in the middle of the page. 2. Write your own name, under the drawing of yourself. 3. Draw two big circles around yourself 4. Fill this space to make a ‘map’ of your world: place six figures around you to represent the six people you have named as being closest to you. The middle ring is for those who are closest to you and so on, 5. Write their names under each person 6. Draw an arrow to connect you to this person like a diagram and write who they are: mother, brother, friend etc. 7. Add a thought bubble for each person or group of people; write in this bubble how you think these people see you, what they think of you as a person. 8. Add a speech bubble to yourself and write about the person or group of people to explain how they influence your life and the way you live. What role do they play in your life?
Examples include:
Bread winner, love, role model, someone to talk to, to share problems, to have a laugh with, music, fashion, teaches me new words, influences my attitude towards the opposite sex, influences my attitude towards learning or school, influences my attitude towards your parents or grandparents and influences my future dreams. Choose your own categories, but be as specific as possible. Although there is always more to say, you have to keep it short due to available space. See an example of a ‘Me and My World’ at the end of the pupils book.