CrossRoads_Fnl_Unit1 PDF

One Unit Relationships Lesson 1 Looking Ahead Lesson 2 Understanding Yourself Lesson 3 Appreciating People Lesson 4 Building Friendships Lesson 5 Defining Genuine Love Lesson 6 Facing Choices  On Our Way We Go… There isn’t much that I can do, but I can share my...

One Unit Relationships Lesson 1 Looking Ahead Lesson 2 Understanding Yourself Lesson 3 Appreciating People Lesson 4 Building Friendships Lesson 5 Defining Genuine Love Lesson 6 Facing Choices  On Our Way We Go… There isn’t much that I can do, but I can share my bread with you, and sometimes share a sorrow, too—as on our way we go. There isn’t much that I can do, but I can sit an hour with you, and I can share a joke with you, and sometimes share verses, too—as on our way we go. There isn’t much that I can do, but I can share my flowers with you, and I can share my books with you and some- times share your burdens too—as on our way we go. There isn’t much that I can do, but I can share my songs with you, and I can share my mirth with you, and some- times come and laugh with you—as on our way we go. There isn’t much that I can do, but I can share my hopes with you, and I can share my fears with you, and sometimes shed some tears with you—as on our way we go. There isn’t much that I can do, but I can share my friends with you, and I can share my life with you, and oftentimes share a prayer with you—as on our way we go. Anonymous  UNIT ONE Teacher Preparation Looking Ahead 1 Objectives By the end of this lesson, your students will be able to: 1. Comprehend how the relationships they establish and the choices they make will affect the rest of their lives. 2. State that the purpose of this course is to learn to make choices that will enable them to live a healthy life. 3. Identify personal objectives. Key Concepts 1. Poor decisions can keep us from reaching our life goals. 2. Our relationships often determine whether or not we reach our goals. Key Terms Goal: the end a person hopes to achieve and to which his or her effort is directed Materials 10 4" × 4" (10 cm × 10 cm) squares of paper Chalkboard and chalk Sheets of paper Marking pens 1-1 Before Class: Cut 10 squares of paper. Write the word STOP on 5 squares. Write the word GO on 5 squares. Make sure the paper is thick enough so the words GO and STOP do not show through to the other side of the square. On the chalkboard, draw three lines representing roads (see diagram below). Draw the lines high enough on the chalkboard for students to see. Mark five STOP/GO stations along each line. 5 “Stop/Go” Stations ROAD 1 ——1——2——3——4——5—— MOUNTAINS ROAD 2 ——1——2——3——4——5—— BEACH ROAD 3 ——1——2——3——4——5—— BIG CITY Using the sheets of paper, make a sign for Road 1 that says MOUNTAINS. Make a sign for Road 2 that says BEACH. Make a sign for Road 3 that says BIG CITY. If possible, make signs so that they can be hung or fastened on student “travelers” to represent their destination. Otherwise, students can hold their signs. Make a copy of the story for each destination (located on pages 1-4 through 1-9). 40-Minute Lesson Suggestion Reduce the amount of time you spend playing “The Best Road” game. A normal game continues until all three players reach their destination. To shorten the time, stop the game when the first traveler reaches the destination. Background Information Every decision we make results in an outcome that will serve as the foundation for future decisions. Poor decisions may create situations that are increasingly difficult or may complicate the ability to make proper choices in the future. For example, a fifteen-year-old girl decides to sneak out of her home late one night to meet with her sixteen-year-old boyfriend. She knows that her parents would not approve, but she goes anyway. The boy has just received his driver’s license so he decides to take his parents’ car for a ride. They enjoy the ride and their newfound freedom. She urges him to drive faster. He accelerates beyond the speed limit. The excitement builds until the couple encounter a sharp turn. The inexperienced driver is incapable of determining a correct plan of action to avoid disaster. The car crashes because the driver lacks expe- rience and because the couple are ill-prepared for the consequences of the series of decisions they made. Young people need to understand that risky behavior has consequences. The early onset of sexual activity, the abuse of drugs and alcohol, smoking, violence, and other risky behaviors can kill them or 1-2 at the very least impair their health and limit their ability to respond to life’s opportunities. Research indicates that risky behavior is not isolated. Young people who engage in one type of risky behavior are highly likely to engage in other risky behaviors. And the relationships they choose will have a significant impact on their decision to engage in risky behavior. As you teach this course, you will be making a difference in your students’ lives—maybe the differ- ence between life and death. In this first lesson, you will play a game with your students called “The Best Road.” It introduces this unit’s focus on relationships by looking at how the choices we make and the relationships we establish affect our lives. Questions Students May Ask Q Q. I have made some poor decisions. Does that mean the rest of my life is ruined? A A. Sometimes poor decisions can have consequences that stay with us the rest of our lives. However, while it may be too late to change the consequences, we always have a choice about how we respond to them. We can allow them to ruin our lives or we can learn from our mistakes, take responsibility for the outcome, and become a better person as a result. Q Q. I feel very alone. How can I establish relationships that will be a good influence on me? A A. Loneliness is a common feeling, more common than you might think, so you are not the only one who feels that way. In a future lesson we will learn that to have a friend, you must first be a friend. That is a good place to start. People who have (or appear to have) a lot of friends may not be interested in making a new friend. However, someone who has only a few friends or feels like he has no friends may want to make a new friend. Try making friends with that per- son. But be careful how you choose. We never rise higher than the level of our friends. Aim high! famous quote “Do not look where you fell, but where you slipped.” African proverb 1-3  Story for Road 1: The Mountains STARTING LINE: A friend who lives in the mountains has invited you and a couple of friends to come for a visit. You decide that a nice, refreshing day up in the mountains is just what you need. It gets hot in the valley where you live, but it’s much cooler in the higher altitudes. So you and your friends get in the car and start driving. STATION ONE: Part of the way is along a dirt road. Ahead you see a large, deep mud hole directly in your path. If GO: You’re paying attention to the road and driving carefully, so you slow down and are able to avoid the mud hole. You continue on your way. If STOP: Because you’re joking around and talking with your friends, you’re distracted. You don’t see the mud hole, so you get stuck in it until someone comes along to help you. STATION TWO: Still in the valley, you find yourself on a long, straight stretch of road, and the driving starts to get a little boring. Your friends challenge you to see how fast your car can go. If GO: Knowing that speeding is a risky behavior, you decide to ignore your friends’ idea and relax and enjoy this part of the trip. If STOP: You take the challenge and begin to accelerate. Unfortunately, a police officer sees you speeding and gives you a ticket. STATION THREE: You mention that you’re getting thirsty. Your friends open up a cooler, pull out a beer, and offer it to you. If GO: Since you’re driving, you decline the beer and stop at the next gas station for a soda. If STOP: You accept the beer. Unfortunately, it makes you very sleepy. You run off the road, dent the car badly, and narrowly avoid crashing into a deep ravine. STATION FOUR: Halfway up the mountain, your car gets a flat tire. If GO: With your friends’ help, you change the tire quickly and continue on your way. If STOP: You get angry, kick the car, and hurt your foot. You have to wait for the throbbing to subside before you can continue. Then you fix the tire. 1-4 Story for Road 1 (continued) STATION FIVE: You realize that because of the flat tire you are going to be late to meet your friend. If GO: You don’t worry about it too much because your friend will understand when you explain all that happened. If STOP: You speed up to try to reach your destination sooner, but a police officer sees you speeding and pulls you over. You get a ticket and arrive even later than you would have if you had stayed within the speed limit. 1-5  Story for Road 2: The Beach STARTING LINE: You decide to take a group of friends to the beach for the day. A nice swim in the ocean will feel great. So you all get into your car and head toward the ocean. STATION ONE: Unfortunately, after only a few minutes, you discover that the road ahead is closed because of an accident. If GO: You find another route on the map and keep going. If STOP: You wait an hour for the accident to be cleared off the road. STATION TWO: One of your friends notices a child standing by the road screaming, “Help! Our home is on fire!” If GO: You stop the car. Everyone gets out, and you run toward the house where you grab a bucket of water and quickly put out the fire. It only takes a few minutes, and the child thanks you for stopping to help. It looks like everything is going to be okay. If STOP: You decide not to take the time to stop and help the child. Fifteen minutes later, your friends convince you to go back and help. But when you get back, the house has burned to the ground and the child is crying uncontrollably. You take the time to comfort her, but end up losing two hours. STATION THREE: Halfway to the beach, it starts to rain a little, and the road gets slippery. If GO: You slow down and drive extra carefully until the rain stops. If STOP: You figure you can handle the road conditions, but your tires hit a puddle that’s deeper than you expected. The car skids into the opposite lane, and narrowly misses getting hit head-on. You pull your car to the side of the road and wait until your heart settles down before starting more slowly toward the beach. STATION FOUR: Your car is almost out of gas, and you won’t have enough to get home. You decide to stop and buy some gas now instead of waiting until the trip home when it will be dark. Your friends protest, because they want to get to the beach. If GO: You stand by your decision and buy gas. It delays your arrival at the beach by only a few minutes. 1-6 Story for Road 2 (continued) If STOP: You give in, even though you think it would be safer to buy gas now. You head toward the beach, but you are in a grumpy mood because you feel that you made a bad decision. You argue with your friends, which slows your driving. STATION FIVE: Finally, you get to a point where you can see the ocean. But you get distracted looking at the waves, and hit a parked car. If GO: You stop and leave a note for the car’s owner, apologizing and letting the person know how you can be contacted. If STOP: Since you see no witnesses, you just keep driving. Unfortunately, a police officer down the street saw you hit the car and pulls you over. 1-7  Story for Road 3: The Big City STARTING LINE: You’ve never driven to the big city yourself, but you and a friend decide to see a movie there. So the two of you get into your car and you start driving. STATION ONE: Halfway to the city, you see a stop sign ahead. But you don’t see any other cars around. If GO: You stop and are glad you did, because you see a police car hidden behind a tree with a police officer watching the intersection. If STOP: You drive through the intersection without stopping. Unfortunately, a police officer parked behind a tree was watching the intersection. He stops you and gives you a ticket. STATION TWO: Once you arrive in the city, you take a wrong turn. If GO: You notice your mistake and correct it by driving around the block. If STOP: You get angry about the mistake and start yelling at your friend for not helping you navigate. Because you are paying more attention to the argument than to the road, you run into the car in front of you. STATION THREE: At this point, you become completely lost in the city; after half an hour, you have no idea where you are. If GO: You stop and ask for directions. Soon you are back on the right road. If STOP: You refuse to ask anyone for directions, and end up driving around the city lost for two more hours. STATION FOUR: You get thirsty and stop at a store to buy something to drink. Your friend offers to buy you some beer. If GO: Since you are driving, you refuse and have a soda instead. If STOP: You accept your friend’s offer and have a couple of beers. Unfortunately, the alco- hol impairs your driving ability. You have a bad accident in which you and your friend are killed. 1-8 Story for Road 3 (continued) STATION FIVE: You now try to get to the movie theater, but the road you need to take is closed for repair. You take an alternate route and get lost. You miss the movie and have to go home. If GO: You and your friend decide to make the most of a bad situation. You stop on the way home for a nice meal and enjoy each other’s company. If STOP: Despite your friend’s attempts to get you out of your bad mood, you’re so annoyed about missing the movie that you are silently angry all the way home. 1-9  Teacher’s Notes Beginning the Lesson Introduce Class Today is the first of thirty sessions we will have together. This 3 minutes class will be different from most of your academic subjects like mathematics, history, or science. The subject in this class is Explain the details of this course: much more personal. We are going to study about you and Number of lessons your life. We’re going to focus on your hopes and dreams. We Purpose will learn about some of the problems and decisions you may Content be facing. We’re going to talk about friends, family, relation- Number of assessments ships, love, marriage, and health. You’re going to learn many Use of Family Connection pages things that will help you have a happy, exciting, and fulfilling life. And we’re also going to see how you can avoid some dangers that might hurt or even destroy your life. So let’s get started. The first thing we are going to do is play a game called “The Best Road.” Introduce Game The Best Road 1 minute Let’s imagine that you are old enough to drive and that you own a car. Imagine that you live in a small town called Rialto that is in a valley. From Rialto, it takes two hours to drive to the mountains. It takes two hours to drive to the ocean. And it takes two hours to drive to the nearest big city. You have a free day coming up, and you want to go somewhere. Make 3 Teams How many of you would like to go to the mountains? 3 minutes Allow students to choose a destina- tion they would like to visit. If groups are unevenly divided, divide them more equally. (You can also divide the room into three equal sections.) Ask one student to be the traveler to the mountains on Road 1 and stand at the starting line. On each travel- er, hang or fasten the sign that rep- resents his destination, or have each student hold his sign. 1-10  Teacher’s Notes Ask one student to be the traveler to How many of you would like to go to the beach? the beach on Road 2 and stand at the starting line. Ask one student to be the traveler to How many of you would like to go to the big city? the big city on Road 3 and stand at the starting line. Place five students along the board at stations one, two, three, four, and five. Distribute 1 GO square and 1 STOP square to each student. Ask students to hold the GO square in one hand and the STOP square in the other. Encourage them to occa- sionally switch the squares from one hand to the other during the game so no one knows whether each hand holds GO or STOP. Choose one student from each group to narrate his team’s trip to the mountains, the beach, or the big city. Give each narrator a copy of the story for his team’s destination. Explain Now we will play the game to find out which of the three trav- 2 minutes elers will have the best day and reach their destination first. Here are the rules of the game: Explain the rules of the game. 1. As a narrator reads a story about Road 1, the traveler on Road 1 (the mountains) will begin by moving to the first station. 2. The student standing at each station will hold two squares of paper for the traveler. Upon reaching the sta- tion, the traveler will choose one of the squares, which the student then reveals to the traveler. Students at each station must not let travelers see the words written on the squares until after the travelers make their choice. 3. If the paper says GO, the traveler will proceed to the next station. The traveler will choose a square of paper from the student at the new station. 1-11  4. If the paper says STOP, the traveler must wait at that sta- Teacher’s Notes tion, and the student on the next road will begin traveling. 5. The game rotates among the three roads until all three travelers reach the finish line. Play the Game Story for Road 1: The Mountains 20 minutes STARTING LINE: A friend who lives in the mountains has invited you and a couple of friends to come for a visit. You decide that Begin with the student at the start- a nice, refreshing day up in the mountains is just what you ing line of Road 1. Ask the team’s narrator to read the starting line need. It gets hot in the valley where you live, but it’s much text, then have the student “travel” cooler in the higher altitudes. So you and your friends get in to station 1. the car and start driving. Ask the narrator to read the STA- STATION ONE: Part of the way is along a dirt road. Ahead you TION ONE story text. Encourage see a large, deep mudhole directly in your path. the student at the station to rub his hands together vigorously while the IF GO IF STOP team enthusiastically coaches their Because you’re joking traveler to draw a STOP or GO. You’re paying attention to around and talking with Then have the traveler choose a the road and driving care- your friends, you’re dis- square of paper from the student at fully, so you slow down this station and show it to the class. tracted. You don’t see the and are able to avoid the mudhole, so you get stuck mudhole. You continue Read the text that goes with the cor- in it until someone comes on your way. rect word. If the word is GO, travel- along to help you. er 1 continues traveling. If the word is STOP, the traveler remains at that station and the next traveler has a turn. Be sure to read the text to explain why the traveler had to stop. As the play rotates among the three roads, have each team’s narrator read the story for their road. Have the traveler choose a square STATION TWO: Still in the valley, you find yourself on a long, of paper. straight stretch of road, and the driving starts to get a little bor- ing. Your friends challenge you to see how fast your car can go. IF GO IF STOP Knowing that speeding is You take the challenge a risky behavior, you de- and begin to accelerate. cide to ignore your friends’ Unfortunately, a police idea and relax and enjoy officer sees you speeding this part of the trip. and gives you a ticket. 1-12  STATION THREE: You mention that you’re getting thirsty. Your Teacher’s Notes friends open up a cooler, pull out a beer, and offer it to you. Have the traveler choose a square IF GO IF STOP of paper. You accept the beer. Unfortunately, it makes Since you’re driving, you you very sleepy. You run decline the beer and stop off the road, dent the car at the next gas station for badly, and narrowly avoid a soda. crashing into a deep ravine. Have the traveler choose a square STATION FOUR: Halfway up the mountain, your car gets a flat of paper. tire. IF GO IF STOP You get angry, kick the With your friends’ help, car, and hurt your foot. you change the tire quick- You have to wait for the ly and continue on your throbbing to subside way. before you can continue. Then you fix the tire. Have the traveler choose a square STATION FIVE: You realize that because of the flat tire you are of paper. going to be late to meet your friend. IF GO IF STOP You speed up to try to reach your destination You don’t worry about it sooner, but a police offi- too much because your cer sees you speeding and friend will understand pulls you over. You get a when you explain all that ticket and arrive even happened. later than you would have if you had stayed within the speed limit. 1-13  Teacher’s Notes Story for Road 2: The Beach STARTING LINE: You decide to take a group of friends to the beach for the day. A nice swim in the ocean will feel great. So When it is traveler 2’s turn, ask that team’s narrator to read the starting you all get into your car and head toward the ocean. line text, then have the student travel to station 1. Have the traveler choose a square STATION ONE: Unfortunately, after only a few minutes, you of paper from the student at this sta- discover that the road ahead is closed because of an accident. tion and show it to the class. Ask the narrator to read the matching IF GO IF STOP story text. You wait an hour for the You find another route on accident to be cleared off the map and keep going. the road. Have the traveler choose a square STATION TWO: One of your friends notices a child standing of paper. by the road screaming, “Help! Our home is on fire!” IF GO IF STOP You decide not to take the You stop the car. Everyone time to stop and help the gets out, and you run child. Fifteen minutes toward the house where later, your friends con- you grab a bucket of vince you to go back and water and quickly put out help. But when you get the fire. It only takes a few back, the house has minutes, and the child burned to the ground and thanks you for stopping to the child is crying uncon- help. It looks like every- trollably. You take the thing is going to be okay. time to comfort her, but end up losing two hours. Have the traveler choose a square STATION THREE: Halfway to the beach, it starts to rain a little, of paper. and the road gets slippery. 1-14  IF GO IF STOP Teacher’s Notes You figure you can handle the road conditions, but your tires hit a puddle that’s deeper than you expected. The car skids You slow down and drive into the opposite lane, extra carefully until the and narrowly misses get- rain stops. ting hit head-on. You pull your car to the side of the road and wait until your heart settles down before starting more slowly toward the beach. Have the traveler choose a square STATION FOUR: Your car is almost out of gas, and you won’t of paper. have enough to get home. You decide to stop and buy gas now instead of waiting until the trip home when it will be dark. Your friends protest, because they want to get to the beach. IF GO IF STOP You give in, even though you think it would be safer to buy gas now. You You stand by your deci- head toward the beach, sion and buy gas. It delays but you are in a grumpy your arrival at the beach mood because you feel by only a few minutes. that you made a bad deci- sion. You argue with your friends, which slows your driving. Have the traveler choose a square STATION FIVE: Finally, you get to a point where you can see of paper. the ocean. But you get distracted looking at the waves, and hit a parked car. IF GO IF STOP Since you see no wit- You stop and leave a note nesses, you just keep for the car’s owner, apolo- driving. Unfortunately, a gizing and letting the per- police officer down the son know how you can street saw you hit the car be contacted. and pulls you over. 1-15  Teacher’s Notes Story for Road 3: The Big City STARTING LINE: You’ve never driven to the big city yourself, When it is traveler 3’s turn, ask that but you and a friend decide to see a movie there. So the two of team’s narrator to read the starting line text, then have the student travel you get into your car and you start driving. to station 1. Have the traveler choose a square STATION ONE: Halfway to the city, you see a stop sign ahead. of paper and show it to the class. But you don’t see any other cars around. Ask the narrator to read the match- ing text. IF GO IF STOP You drive through the intersection without stop- You stop and are glad you ping. Unfortunately, a did, because you see a police officer parked police car hidden behind behind a tree was watch- a tree with a police officer ing the intersection. He watching the intersection. stops you and gives you a ticket. Have the traveler choose a square STATION TWO: Once you arrive in the city, you take a wrong of paper. turn. IF GO IF STOP You get angry about the mistake and start yelling at your friend for not You notice your mistake helping you navigate. and correct it by driving Because you are paying around the block. more attention to the argument than to the road, you run into the car in front of you. Have the traveler choose a square STATION THREE: At this point, you become completely lost in of paper. the city; after half an hour, you have no idea where you are. IF GO IF STOP You refuse to ask anyone You stop and ask for for directions, and end up directions. Soon you are driving around the city back on the right road. lost for two more hours. 1-16  STATION FOUR: You get thirsty and stop at a store to buy Teacher’s Notes something to drink. Your friend offers to buy you some beer. Have the traveler choose a square IF GO IF STOP of paper. You accept your friend’s offer and have a couple of Have the student return to his seat if beers. Unfortunately, the Since you are driving, you he is “killed.” alcohol impairs your driv- refuse and have a soda ing ability. You have a instead. bad accident in which you and your friend are killed. STATION FIVE: You now try to get to the movie theater, but the When a traveler reaches the desti- nation, congratulate him or her. road you need to take is closed for repair. You take an alternate Then have the student be seated. route and get lost. You miss the movie and have to go home. IF GO IF STOP Despite your friend’s If you have extra time, you may You and your friend attempts to get you out of play the game again with three decide to make the most your bad mood, you’re so other students acting as the travel- of a bad situation. You annoyed about missing ers. stop on the way home for the movie that you are a nice meal and enjoy silently angry all the way each other’s company. home. Ask for Feedback Analyze the Game 5 minutes 1. Why did _______________ reach his/her destination first? Ask these questions as you discuss the game with your students. 2. Why did it take the others longer? Emphasize the following answers during your discussion: 1. How quickly the travelers arrived at their destinations depended on the choices they made at the sta- tions along the way. 2. Friends influenced the choices the travelers made. Commend your students for their observations. 1-17  Teacher’s Notes Student Goals Let’s compare your life to a road. The players had a destination Discuss and Write that they were traveling toward, a goal they were trying to 10 minutes reach. Some obstacles got in their way, and they had to make decisions about how to get around them. Each of you probably Hand out the Student Activity and has goals in life that you would like to achieve. There are some Application pages. things you want and some things you don’t want. 1 LESSON S T U D E NyT act iv it & application Looking Ahea d What would you like to accomplish in life in the next few THIN I DON GSGS THIN ’T WAN I DON T T ’T WAN weeks or three years from now or even ten years from now? T THINGS I WAN Now In 3 years You are going to have the opportunity not only to think about this question, but to actually write goals for yourself. Each class In 5 years day, you will be given a Student Activity and Application work- In 10 years sheet to reinforce your learning and to help you remember the key concepts of the lesson. Sometimes we will do these pages Inc. World AID © New Life e. CrossRoads, together, and sometimes you will be asked to complete them to reproduc Permission 1-14 on your own. Have students write their own goals on their Student Activity and On your Student Activity and Application page is a chart where Application page. you can write goals for yourself—goals for right now, for three years from now, for five years, and for ten years from now. Let’s take a few minutes to do that. Discuss As you move toward these goals, what are some of the things 2 minutes that could get in your way? Give students an opportunity to What kinds of choices will you have to make? answer. Commend them for their answers. This information will be valuable for you as a teacher. Therefore, you may want to collect these pages. If you do, inform students beforehand and assure them that the informa- tion will be kept confidential. Return them to the students during the next class. 1-18  Teacher’s Notes Lessons from the Game During the game, our travelers moved forward or got stuck Explain based on the choices they made and the things that happened 3 minutes to them. But they never knew what was on the square of paper before they chose it. Sometimes life can be like that. We don’t have much choice about some things, like if the weather turns bad, if we get a flat tire, or if a road is closed for construction. But we do have a choice about how we react when these things happen. And usually we face consequences depending on the choice we make. For example, we know that if we drink alcohol, we won’t be able to drive as well and may have an accident. So we make our decision based on that knowledge. key concept Poor decisions can keep us from reaching our life goals. As we continue this course, you will look at some of the road- blocks that may come up as you travel down your life road. We will discover some information that will keep you from having to make decisions by choosing between two unknowns —like the squares of paper in our game. You will develop skills that will help you make the best decisions using the knowledge and values you have gained. Another thing we will discover is that... key concept Our relationships often determine whether or not we reach our goals. We are not on our life journey alone. The family members and friends who travel with us will influence our journey. Our rela- tionships often determine whether we will succeed or fail. 1-19  Teacher’s Notes Ending the Lesson In our next lesson, we will talk about “being special.” Your Explain assignment is to bring to class something that is special to you 1 minute and be ready to tell the class why it means so much to you. It could be a piece of clothing, a gift from someone you love, or If you choose to have your students something you have made. It can be just about anything as use journals, allow time to explain long as it is something you feel is special. If you can’t bring it their use. to school, draw a picture of it and bring that in. 1-20 STUDENT activity & Looking Ahead LESSON 1 application THINGS I WANT THINGS I DON’T THINGS WANT I DON’T WANT Now In 3 years In 5 years In 10 years Permission to reproduce. CrossRoads, © New Life World AID Inc. 1-21 Journal Reflections LESSON 1 We are often given opportunities to go somewhere or do something with another person. Sometimes the answer to whether we should is an obvious yes or no. But there are times when we are not sure how to respond. The choice to accept or decline the invitation is a difficult one. 1. Write about a time when you said yes or no to an opportunity and it proved to be the right choice. 2. Write about a time when you said yes or no to an invitation and the consequences of that decision showed you that you had made the wrong choice. Permission to reproduce. CrossRoads, © New Life World AID Inc. 1-22  Connections Family LESSON 1 Looking Ahead down goals they have for their future. LESSON SUMMARY Throughout this course, we hope to provide This is the first of thirty lessons in students with information to help them make which your teenager will take a informed, wise decisions and to anticipate the look at the choices he or she is consequences of their choices. making or may be tempted to make in the future. The students will also learn how their relationships and choices will affect the rest of their lives. famous quote “Do not look where you fell, but where you slipped.” The goal of this lesson is to equip and encourage students to establish some short- and long-range goals for their African proverb lives. We considered how good decisions can help them achieve their life goals while poor decisions can delay or prevent them. KEY CONCEPTS 1. Poor decisions can keep us from reaching our To do this, the students played a game to illustrate how choices move them in a given direction. At life goals. several points during the game, each player en- 2. Our relationships often countered roadblocks and was given two options. The players experienced consequences because determine whether or of the option they chose. Then the students com- not we reach our pared the game to their lives. They also wrote goals. Family Discussion ▼ When you were your teenager’s age, did you know someone who made a choice that affected the rest of his or her life? It could be a good choice or a bad one. Tell your son or daughter about that person. ▼ Think about someone in your area who is successful. Talk about how that person became successful. What significant relationships may have contributed to his or her success? Permission to reproduce. CrossRoads, © New Life World AID Inc. 1-23  Introduction to Core and CorePlus Lesson 2, “Understanding Yourself,” is the first lesson if you are teaching through Life at the CrossRoads using the Core or CorePlus option. Though the lessons are no different than in the Comprehensive option, you will encounter a few unique facets when utilizing either Core or CorePlus. Here are some helpful suggestions for responding to these issues. Lesson 2: At the end of Lesson 1 an assignment is given that is essential to Lesson 2. In Lesson 1 stu- dents are asked to bring something that has special meaning to them to the next class session and be ready to tell the class why it holds such special significance. Then, in Lesson 2 (top of page 2-6) the students are asked to spend a few minutes sharing their special items with the rest of the class in order to help illustrate the item’s uniqueness. The item could be a piece of clothing, a gift from someone they love, or perhaps something they have made. They are told that it can be just about anything as long as it holds some meaning for them. If they cannot bring it to school, they are asked to draw a picture of it and bring that instead. If you have the opportunity to make this assignment before you begin teaching Lesson 2, you are encouraged to do so. It will make the lesson more interesting for the students. However, if you do not, ask the students to draw a picture of the item and describe it to the class. Give your students 3 to 4 minutes to draw the item and another 3 to 4 minutes to describe it (top of page 2-6). You will be able to compensate for the additional time required to draw the picture by reducing the time for the “I AM” poem activity later in the lesson or by assigning the poem as homework for the next session. Beginning and ending each lesson: At the beginning and conclusion of each lesson there are one or two paragraphs that review the previous lesson and anticipate the next lesson. As you prepare each of the Core or CorePlus lessons, be sure to note that the current lesson connects with the previous lesson in an attempt to develop appropriate transitions. This is to help your students briefly review what was presented in the previous lesson (or session) and anticipate what is coming next. However, because the Core and CorePlus lessons are not always in sequential order, the beginning and ending para- graphs may not be accurate. It will be up to you to reword these paragraphs to accurately connect the lesson to both the previous Core or CorePlus lesson and the next Core or CorePlus lesson. Multiple-session lessons: Two lessons have multiple sessions: Lesson 7, “Building Character” (Core #3 and CorePlus #5), and Lesson 15, “HIV/AIDS and Other Sexually Transmitted Infections” (CorePlus #11). In each instance the Teacher Preparation section at the beginning of the lesson applies to both sessions, not just Session 1. There is no separate Teacher Preparation section for the second session. 2-i Therefore, when preparing Session 2, please refer back to the beginning of the lesson to review any information you will need for Session 2. Lesson 11: This lesson (Core #4 and CorePlus #7) reviews and summarizes Unit 2, “The Character Connection.” The JESUS film is not fiction or drama. It is created to be used as an accurate portrayal of Jesus’ life based on documented historical evidence. Although the actors are professionals, the film is not intended to be entertainment. Its purpose is to help people understand Jesus, what he thought, and how he lived his life. It is important that your students understand this distinction because the film looks and sounds like most of the movies they have seen in a theater or on television. There are several versions of the film. We recommend the version titled The Story of JESUS for Children. It is shorter than some others (62 minutes), yet it covers Jesus’ entire life. You need to plan either two sessions for the film, or design a special session that is long enough to accommodate the film’s length. The Story of JESUS for Children is especially good for students since it portrays the life of Jesus through the eyes of several middle school aged children who might have been like children who lived during Jesus’ time and could well have asked the questions they ask. Though the scenes documenting Jesus’ life are historically accurate, the children and their stories are fictional. Lesson 21: One activity in Lesson 21, “Standing Strong,” requires information from an activity in Lesson 20 that appears toward the beginning of the lesson under the heading “Pressure to Be Sexually Active.” As you prepare to teach Lesson 21, please review this section in Lesson 20. You will need to list some of the pressures to be sexually active in each dimension of life: physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual. C Core 1: Lesson 2, “Understanding Yourself” CORE Core 2: Lesson 4, “Building Friendships” Core 3: Lesson 7, “Building Character” Session 1: “Defining Good Character” Session 2: “Developing Good Character” Core 4: Lesson 11, “A Role Model of Good Character” Core 5: Lesson 13, “Intimacy and Marriage” Core 6: Lesson 22, “How to Say No” Core 7: Lesson 23, “Amazing Love” Core 8: Lesson 26, “Your Life at the CrossRoads” 2-ii UNIT 1: RELATIONSHIPS C+ CORE Plus CorePlus 1: Lesson 2, “Understanding Yourself” CorePlus 2: Lesson 4, “Building Friendships” CorePlus 3: Lesson 5, “Defining Genuine Love” CorePlus 4: Lesson 6, “Facing Choices” UNIT 2: THE CHARACTER CONNECTION CorePlus 5: Lesson 7, “Building Character” Session 1: “Defining Good Character” Session 2: “Developing Good Character” CorePlus 6: Lesson 10, “Respecting Others” CorePlus 7: Lesson 11, “A Role Model of Good Character” CorePlus 8: Lesson 12, “A Closer Look” UNIT 3: SEX IN PERSPECTIVE CorePlus 9: Lesson 13, “Intimacy and Marriage” CorePlus 10: Lesson 14, “The Hawk and the King” CorePlus 11: Lesson 15, “HIV/AIDS and Other Sexually Transmitted Infections” Session 1: “Sexually Transmitted Infections” Session 2: “HIV/AIDS: The Facts” CorePlus 12: Lesson 16, “Prevention Strategies” UNIT 4: LIFE SKILLS CorePlus 13: Lesson 21, “Standing Strong” CorePlus 14: Lesson 22, “How to Say No” UNIT 5: NAVIGATING YOUR FUTURE CorePlus 15: Lesson 23, “Amazing Love” CorePlus 16: Lesson 26, “Your Life at the CrossRoads” 2-iii  UNIT ONE C C+ CORE CORE Plus Understanding Yourself Teacher Preparation 2 Objectives By the end of this lesson, your students will be able to: 1. Identify the five dimensions of a person. 2. State two evidences for why each person is special and valuable. 3. Identify some of the qualities that make them unique by writing a poem about themselves. Key Concepts 1. I am special because I am unique. 2. I am special because I am wonderfully made. 3. Human beings are not perfect. 4. I am valuable because I am deeply loved. 5. We need to take care of special things. Key Terms Unique: one of a kind Health: the state of complete mental, physical, and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease 2-1 Materials Chalkboard and chalk 1 egg and if possible 2 or 3 dyed or decorated eggs Bowl One object that is special to you 40-Minute Lesson Suggestion Reduce the amount of time given to students to write the “I Am” poem. Background Information Adolescents with a high sense of self-worth are motivated to make good decisions and to seek the best for their future. High esteem enables them to postpone immediate gratification of their impulses. They will avoid dangerous behaviors so that they can invest in their future. They want the best because they know they are worth the best. They know they are worth waiting for because they consider themselves quality people. Adolescents who have a low sense of self-worth see nothing about themselves to protect. They see no reason to postpone pleasure, to avoid dangerous behaviors, to be concerned for their future, to invest in their education or health, or to try to change the things about life that are wrong or unjust. Some of your students may undervalue themselves. They have discounted themselves and need a more accurate self-assessment. But the task is not to inflate their egos. Your students need an objective assessment of their worth that they can use as a foundation for increasing their sense of personal value. In this lesson, we will be discussing the dimensions of a person: physical, emotional, social, mental, and spiritual. This is a critical theme of the curriculum and is the foundation for many activities and discussions. Young people need to see that the decisions they make reflect who they are as a person. Questions Students May Ask Q Q. What if no one thinks I’m special? A A. Some of you may live in very difficult situations where you are experiencing abuse and neglect. You may have received very little positive input, respect, or love from others. As a result, you have a difficult time believing that you are special. However, no matter what your experience has been, you are special because you are unique and wonderfully made. This gives you value, and no one can change that. 2-2 Q Q. What if I don’t like the way I look? I have a hard time believing that I am wonderfully made. A A. When we look in the mirror, we all see things that we don’t like. Some of us may think that our noses are too big or too small. Others may think that their ears stick out too far or that their hair is too thin or too thick. The list of physical inadequacies is practically endless. We tend to think of those things as flaws or mistakes—things that make us “imperfect” and that we want to hide. No one is perfect. We all have flaws, and each person’s flaws are different from the flaws of others. Therefore, we tend to consider our own flaws as worse than another person’s. But like the potter’s special vase, the fact that it has a flaw doesn’t make it any less special. Even with the flaws you think you have, you are intricately made. There is no one else on earth like you. famous quote “What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us.” Ralph Waldo Emerson, 19th century American author 2-3  Teacher’s Notes Beginning the Lesson Illustrate Egg Illustration 3 minutes You may wonder why I have this egg in my hand. It looks like an ordinary egg, and it is. There is nothing special about it. Bring at least one egg to class. (You may want to dye a couple of eggs and use them to illustrate that even though the shells look different, they still have the same characteris- tics.) Don’t actually throw the egg, but If I were to throw this egg to (say a student’s name) sitting two give students a chance to respond rows back, you would be more concerned than if I were to to the question. throw a tennis ball. Why? Break the egg into the bowl. Give Right! The egg might break and cause a mess. It might splatter students a chance to respond to the all over you or someone sitting next to you. That’s because question. eggs are fragile. They break easily. If I break the egg into this bowl, what do I have? Now we can see three different dimensions of the egg: the shell, the white, and the yoke. They were all together just a minute ago. Nothing has really changed except the shell is now broken and you can see inside. Humans are both similar to each other and yet unique. If we could see inside each of us as a person (not just the physical part of us—the blood, bone, muscle, tendons, organs—but our person, the sum of who we are), we would see five dimen- sions, not just three like the egg. Personal Five Dimensions of a Person Activity Let’s look at this circle on the chalkboard. We are going to divide the circle into five parts. Each part represents one 10 minutes dimension of a person. You will see a similar circle on your Student Activity and Application page for today. As I fill in the Distribute the Student Activity and circle on the board, please copy the words onto your Activity Application pages. page. 2-4  The PHYSICAL part of you includes your skin and everything Teacher’s Notes inside it. The things you do involving your body are also the physical part of you. It includes your muscular strength, 2 LESSON endurance, flexibility, and your body composition. S T U D E NyT act iv it & g Yourself application Understandin Five Dimension s of a Person The EMOTIONAL part of you is the part that experiences a wide range of feelings such as anger, love, jealously, passion, sadness, and desire. An emotionally healthy person is able to give and receive love, find joy in life despite difficulties, and responsibly recognize, control, and cope with difficult feelings I am special because ____ ____________ ____________ ____________ ____________ ____________ _. __________. in positive ways. ____________ ____________ ____________ ________. because ____ ____________ I am special ________ ____________ ________ ____________ World AID Inc. I am valua ble because to reproduc e. CrossRoads, © New Life Permission The SOCIAL part of you involves your interactions with others. 2-12 It includes empathy (seeing things from the perspective of oth- ers), showing respect, and the ability to be your own person Draw a large circle on the chalk- and follow through with your personal decisions, even if others board. Write the bold words in the don’t agree. circle. The MENTAL part of you is the part that thinks, reasons, solves problems, and understands. This part also involves creativity and mental alertness. The SPIRITUAL part of you relates to your beliefs and your values. It includes your ability to find meaning and purpose in life. It involves your beliefs about faith and hope and under- standings related to God. When we say someone is “healthy,” most people think about the physical dimension. But you can see that each of us is made up of so much more than just that one dimension. So a truly healthy person is someone who makes good choices in each of these five areas of his or her life. We will be talking about this throughout the curriculum. Group We Are Each Special and Unique Activity Even though we each have these five dimensions, we are clear- ly not all identical. We are each made up of unique and special 5 minutes characteristics within each dimension of life. These character- istics make us who we are. 2-5  To help illustrate the uniqueness of each of us, let’s spend a Teacher’s Notes few minutes sharing the special items we brought to class. You’ll see that no two items are the same and that they are spe- cial to us for a huge variety of reasons. Each is a unique reflec- tion of who we are! I’ll go first: Share the special object you I brought with me _________________________. It is special to brought to class. me because __________________________________________. Because time is limited in this part Please take a few minutes to show the special object you of the lesson, encourage students to brought to two people sitting next to you and briefly describe give very brief descriptions. why it is special. If you didn’t bring your special object, you can just describe it. After 4 minutes, conclude the activity. Thank you for sharing a special part of yourself with us. Explain Our Uniqueness 2 minutes We can see from this exercise that we all have different likes, dislikes, thoughts, feelings, histories, and relationships that make us special and unique. We know from our experiences that unique things are very valuable. Consider this. If a potter makes 10,000 vases that are all the same size and shape and decorates them in exactly the same way, each one would probably not cost very much. But if the same potter made a special vase in a unique and unusual shape with beautiful decorations unlike any other, that vase would be worth a much higher price. Each of you is like that specially created vase. You are valuable because no other human who has ever lived is exactly like you. Each of you has unique fingerprints. Every drop of blood in your body carries genetic information (DNA) that is specific to you. No one has your exact thoughts and feelings. You have a combination of ideas, opinions, tastes, talents, and feelings that are unique to you and that make you special. Remember: Instruct students to fill in the blank key concept I am special because I am unique. on their Student Activity page. 2-6  Take a look at your hands. It would be difficult to invent a tool Teacher’s Notes more useful than the human hand. Think about how your body turns the food you eat into energy. Think about your heart beat- ing. It has beaten approximately 70 times per minute since before you were born. By age 15, your heart has beaten almost 550 million times without failing! You really are an intricate, marvelous, and wonderfully made creation, aren’t you? Something so intricate and marvelous must be very valuable. Remember: Instruct students to fill in the blank key concept I am special because I am wonderfully made. on their Student Activity page. Explain To Be Special 2 minutes As we think about what makes each of us special and valu- able—our uniqueness, our wonderfully created human bod- ies—let’s ask ourselves a few questions. Does what we do or how we act determine our value? Does how well we perform in school or at home determine our value? Are some people more valuable than others because they perform better or make fewer mistakes? Certainly not! We know that no one is perfect. We all make mistakes. That is a natural part of being human. Unfortunately, it’s also a painful part of being human. At one time or another, we have all: Told a lie Been unkind to a brother, sister, or friend Disobeyed our parents Done things we are not proud of key concept Human beings are not perfect. 2-7  Do our mistakes make us less special, less unique, less valu- Teacher’s Notes able? Let’s go back to the illustration of the vase. The potter who made the unique vase could certainly point out blemishes and imperfections that neither you nor I would notice. But would that make the vase any less valuable? No. The vase is valuable because it is unique and wonderfully made, not because it is perfect. The same is true of us. If we had to be perfect to be valued and loved, we would all fall short. Each of us is valuable because of who we are on the inside, because of those special things within each of us that make us one-of-a-kind. And whether we are aware of it or not, we are each deeply loved. We are loved by members of our family and our friends. But more than that, we are deeply loved by God. God is the One who created us unique and special. Instruct students to fill in the blank key concept I am valuable because I am deeply loved. on their Student Activity page. What Makes Me Who I Am? Now that you understand how special you are, you can write a poem about yourself that will be unique to you. Each poem will be different, just like each person is different. You can keep this poem and read it to remind yourself of how special you are. Read “I AM” POEM 5 minutes Here is an example of an “I Am” poem written by a boy in the United States. Read this “I Am” poem to your stu- dents as an example to help them I am the flowers in our garden. get started. Or have your students I wonder where my father is. brainstorm as a group about how a I hear the whispers of the wind. couple of the lines could be com- I see my mother day by day. pleted. I want to see my father. I am the flowers in our garden. I pretend to be the man of our house. I feel I can do whatever I want. I touch the heart of my mother. 2-8  I worry with my brother. Teacher’s Notes I cry when I’m alone. I am the flowers in our garden. I understand why he left. I say a lot of the pain is behind. I dream I can stay strong. I try to ignore the hurt. I hope I can make it through. I am the flowers in our garden. Personal On the back of your Student Activity page is an “I Am” poem Activity for you to complete. Write a poem about yourself, filling in the qualities that are suggested in the parentheses. We’ll take about 15 minutes 10 minutes to do this. Have students write an “I Am” poem on the back of their Activity page. I AM I am (two special characteristics you have) “I Am” Poem ____. I wonder (something you are curious about) __________ __________ __________ __________ I am __________ (two special I wonder _____ (something __________ _____ characteristics __________ you are curio you have) __________ us about) __________ __________ __________ _______. __________ __________. I hear (an imaginary sound) __________ __________ __________ ________. I hear _____ I see (an imaginary sight) sound) __________ (an imaginary __________ __________ __________ __________ ______. I see __________ sight) _____ __________ (an imaginary __________ __________ _____ __________ _____ ________. I want _____ ) __________ (an actual desire __________ I want (an actual desire) __________ __________ _____ __________ ted) I am _____ repea of the poem (the first line __________ _________. __________ __________ __________ __________ _______. I pretend _____ pretend to do) __________ you actually __________ I am (the first line of the poem repeated) (something __________ __________ _____ __________. I feel _____ nary) __________ something imagi __________ (a feeling about __________ __________ __________ __________ __________. I touch _____ ) _____ (an imaginary touch __________ __________ _____ __________ __________ ________. I worry _____ rs you) __________ that really bothe __________ (something __________ __________ _____ __________ ___. I cry _____ you very sad) __________ _____ that makes I pretend (something you actually pretend to do) (something __________ __________ __________ __________ I am __________ repeated) of the poem ______. (the first line __________ __________ __________ __________ _____ __________ I understand ________. you know is true) __________ I say (something _____ _____ (something __________ you believe __________ __________ in) __________ __________ __________ ) __________