Aunt’s Love Interest Scenario Activity

H&PE Curriculum Connections

Grade 7: A1.1, A1.2, A1.4, A1.5, A1.6, D1.1, D1.3, D2.2

Grade 8: A1.1, A1.2, A1.4, A1.5, A1.6, D2.2, D2.3, D3.2, D3.3

Grade 9: 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, C1.2, C2.2, C2.3, C3.2, C3.3

What Is It All About?

Respect, trust, and establishing healthy boundaries are all characteristics of a healthy relationship. Youth need to understand the characteristics of healthy relationships and know the signs of unhealthy relationships in order to equip themselves with the skills to develop and maintain healthy relationships throughout their lives. This Draw the Line scenario explores the characteristics of a healthy relationship, warning signs that a relationship may be unhealthy, and the importance of intervening in a safe and empathetic manner as a bystander.

During this activity, students identify their feelings and explore the feelings of others regarding healthy relationships and establishing healthy boundaries. The activity encourages students to think about their core values and beliefs about healthy boundaries in intimate relationships, the importance of privacy, and the challenges of intervening as a bystander in subtle yet impactful ways.

The video used for this activity has two parts.

In Part 1 of the video, Julie Lalonde presents the complexity of the issue presented in the Draw the Line Aunt’s Love Interest scenario including:

• The characteristics of a healthy relationship
• The importance of maintaining one’s independence
• The importance of privacy, trust, and boundaries in relationships

In Part 2 of the video, Julie summarizes the key lessons from the Draw the Line Aunt’s Love Interest scenario.

What Do We Need?

• Link to the Aunt’s Love Interest scenario video and projection equipment
• Draw the Line Aunt’s Love Interest scenario card or poster, or a projected copy of the card
• Guided discussion questions:
  • Why is it important to respect other people’s privacy?
  • How do you establish boundaries and maintain your independence in relationships?
  • How do you communicate your boundaries to your partner?
  • How can you manage your insecurities in a relationship?
  • How would you respond if someone shared something private about you without your consent or violated your privacy?
• Chart paper or shared electronic document
• Student Resource Placemat Tool
• Student Worksheet
• See also Ophea’s Gender-Based Violence Prevention Education Resource Database for additional resources.

Opportunities for Assessment

During the Minds On, observe small-group conversation in order to assess student understanding of privacy, respect, and trust and use this to inform next steps.

During the Action, use students’ responses from the Placemat and Student Worksheet to assess their understanding of consent, the impact of control in a relationship, and how to apply strategies to respond to such situations.

During the Consolidation, use the student Exit Card to assess student understanding of strategies that may be used to respond to such situations.

How Is It Done?

Minds On

Have students work in small groups, each with their own copy of the Placemat tool (or a group chart paper or shared document). In the middle of the Placemat, have students write this statement: “Everyone has a right to privacy.” Have small groups then generate ideas about some or all of the following questions, making notes on the outer squares of their Placemat.

• Why is it important to respect other people’s privacy?
• What does it mean to violate someone’s privacy?
• What kinds of things might people say or do that violate another person’s privacy?
• Why is it important to be able to keep some things private?

Facilitate a whole-class discussion and have students share their thinking to consolidate the ideas from their small groups.

Present the Draw the Line Aunt’s Love Interest scenario card to the class. Facilitate a whole-class discussion to capture students’ initial reactions to the first part of the card. Consider facilitating the discussion with guiding questions such as:

• What is the issue?
• How do you think your aunt feels about having her text messages monitored?
• How does this situation make you feel?
• Do you think your aunt’s privacy has been violated?

Action

Watch Part 1 of the Aunt’s Love Interest scenario video.

Have students work in their small groups, revisit their Placemat ideas, and add what they learned about privacy from watching Part 1 of the video.

Have student use the worksheet or another strategy (e.g., chart paper, Gallery Walk, Think Pair Share) and further examine the issue by answering these questions:

• What types of things do you keep private and what might you share with others? (e.g., passwords, journals/diaries, shared calendar, shared group message feed, individual messaging)
• Does this change based on your relationship with a person? (e.g., your best friend, your partner, your family member)
• Thinking of all of the people you communicate with (e.g., friends, best friends, partner, club or community group feeds), how do you establish boundaries and maintain your independence? (e.g., making your own decisions and you communicate it clearly and assertively, you are able to say “no”, you have governance over what they share)
• How would you respond if someone shared something private about you without your consent or if they violated your privacy? What would you say? What would that sound like? (e.g., assertive)
• How would you respond to your aunt in this scenario to let her know you are concerned about her, in a way that she will really hear you? (e.g., “I see . . .”, “I feel. . .”)

Then, watch Part 2 of the Aunt’s Love Interest scenario video. Encourage students to pay attention to the importance of intervening in a safe, empathetic, and respectful manner as the bystander. Encourage students to take notes in the section provided on their worksheet as they listen to Julie.

After watching the video, use the back of the Draw the Line card to engage students as a whole class to discuss which messages resonated with them. Co-create a list of trusted adults and local organizations who can provide additional support.

Consolidation

Have students work individually to complete their Exit Card on the Student Worksheet or record their responses (voice or video), encouraging them to anchor their responses to their understanding of consent and privacy and to list strategies they may use to respond to such situations.

Ideas for Extension

Before the activity: Review the IDEAL Decision-making Model with students to guide their thinking about possible actions. This framework includes five steps:

• I – Identify the problem.
• D – Describe all possible solutions.
• E – Evaluate the pros and cons of each solution.
• A – Act on the best solution.
• L – Learn from the choices.

After the activity: Use the IDEAL Decision-making Model with students when exploring other Draw the Line scenarios.

Review strategies for using effective means of communication, affirming oneself, setting boundaries, regulating emotions, encouraging others to take responsibility for their actions, and supporting a person in need.

Watch additional Draw the Line videos, such as Introduction to Gender-Based Violence Prevention or Introduction to Consent, to extend discussions about taking action.

Have conversations about what consent looks like in a variety of relationships (e.g., sibling, partner, friend). Have students discuss what these relationships look like, sound like, and feel like.

Complete the Great Graffiti activity in the Ideas for Action: Growth and Development resource.

Consider using additional activities from Ophea’s Ideas for Action: Growth and Development resource.

Educator Notes

• Before starting a classroom conversation, be aware that some students may have experienced situations related to the topic, either directly or indirectly, in the past or present. This includes recognizing that some students might have already experienced sexual harassment, and some might have already been on the receiving end of the kind of text message discussed and perhaps did not respond “appropriately.” Therefore, it is important to identify resources for support (i.e., trusted adult, educator, guidance counsellor, social worker, social services, health nurse, and/or school liaison officer) that you can share discreetly or generally with students.
• Ensure students are aware of and can access referral services and resources if they need to. Consult the Working with Adult Team Members section in the Ideas for Action: Growth and Development resource for more information. See also Ophea’s Gender-Based Violence Prevention Education Resource Database for additional resources.
• Co-ordinate with school support staff (e.g., school guidance counsellor, social worker, principal) to ensure they are aware and available to support or refer students if needed during and after any discussion.
• Allow students to capture their feelings in a variety of ways (e.g., notes, pictures, doodles, drawings). Understand that students might have a lot of different feelings in reaction to this scenario. Help students unpack the feelings that come up and work through them in a healthy way.
• Support students with strategies for identifying and managing their emotions in ways that allow them to focus on self-care and their overall well-being.
• Review effective means of communication and how to be affirmative.
• Remind students about the Better and Best Tips applicable before, during, and after the activity (refer to Tips for Constructive Classroom Conversations).
• We each have a responsibility to protect children and youth from harm. As a professional educator working directly with students and supporting others doing the same, you have a duty to report when you have reasonable grounds to suspect that a child is or may be in need of protection.