Grades 11 and 12 Lesson: Planning for Future Healthy, Satisfying Relationships

Considerations for Lesson Planning

Location: Classroom

Strand: Healthy Living

Topic: Human Development and Sexual Health

Students:

Student with global developmental delay (GDD) who is impacted in the areas of cognition, language development, and task focus
- Consideration: Incorporate strategies to support the student with GDD.
Students are part of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community
- Considerations: Foster a supportive, affirming, and safe environment for students who are part of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.
Students are newcomers and multilingual; one student is from the Middle East and speaks English, French, and Arabic and the other student is from South America and speaks English, Spanish, and Portuguese
- Consideration: Incorporate strategies to support students who are newcomers and multilingual.

Supports: Assistive Technology (voice to text, read aloud)

Lesson: Planning for Future Healthy, Satisfying Relationships

Lesson Overview

Through engagement in diverse activities and whole group discussions, students learn the various stages of relationship development, as well as the skills and strategies needed to maintain a satisfactory relationship as the relationship evolves. Students learn how to proactively plan for transitions to more independent futures and ways to maintain their personal health and well-being.

Overall and Specific Expectations

Grade 11: 1.4 C1: C1.2; C3: C3.4

Grade 12: C1: C1.3; C2: C2.4, C2.5

Learning Goals

We are learning about how relationships develop through various stages, and the skills and strategies needed to maintain a satisfactory relationship as the relationship evolves.
We are learning to identify our own personal interests and beliefs to develop healthy boundaries, our goals, and life plans.
We are learning to proactively plan for transitions to more independent futures and managing stressful situations.
We are learning to identify the skills and resources needed to maintain our personal health and well-being.

Materials

Access to a shared document (for example, chart paper and markers, online interactive tool)
Blank pieces of paper and a target (for example, recycling bin, hoop, bucket)
Teacher Resource: Recordable Anecdotal Recording Chart

Assessment for Learning

Use theTeacher Resource: Recordable Anecdotal Recording Chart to observe student conversations and responses from their Snowball Activity, Mind Map, and Gallery Walk and the products created from the Choice Board to assess their understanding of intentional planning to maintain healthy relationships and boundaries throughout their lives.

Minds On

Share the learning goals with the class and co-construct success criteria with students. Consider posting the success criteria in the learning space for reference throughout the lesson.

Remind students of general group rules, including the importance of showing respect for others’ ideas and opinions.

Use a Snowball Activity (consult the Notes to Teachers section for a description of the strategy) to have students reflect on how relationships develop and change through various life stages and the skills needed to maintain one's health and well-being. Provide students with multiple slips of paper. Post the following question and sample responses to model the task and for students to reference.

Question 1: Who are the important relationships in your life right now? Think about friends, trusted adults, someone you consider a mentor, or an intimate partner. What qualities make this an important relationship for you?

Student responses may include:

“My caregiver because they take care of me and help me make important decisions.”
“My coach because they help me feel confident that I can achieve my goals.”
“My teacher because they inspire me to explore my interests.”
“My friend because we listen to each other and are always there for each other when we are stressed.”
“My partner because I can always count on them to be there, we have the same interests, it is easy to talk to each other, and we respect each other.”

Ask students to write their response to the question on one of their slips of paper. Have students repeat their responses for two to three other people they feel are important, writing each response on a separate slip of paper. Allow students to choose to work with a partner to help each other generate ideas for their individual responses. Once students have had a chance to write their responses, instruct them to crumple their slips of paper into a “snowball” and send them at a chosen target when given permission.

Have students retrieve two or three random snowballs from the target and uncrumple them. Using the responses already on the snowballs students collected, have them respond to question 2, adding their response on the “snowball and then sending their snowballs back to the target. Post question 3 for students to reference and repeat the process.

Question 2: Reflect on the type of relationship identified on the snowball you retrieved and the important qualities that are important in that relationship.

How might that relationship evolve or change as we become more independent?
What other skills might we need to develop as we become more independent?

Question 3: What might you need to think about to care for yourself and your health as you become more independent, which might impact the relationship identified?

Action

Create purposeful groupings of four to five students, considering students' needs and relationships and assign each group a space to minimize distractions and optimize their communication with their group. Divide the class-generated snowballs even among groups.

Provide groups with materials to create a Mind Map (consult Teaching Strategy Descriptions). Instruct groups to create a Mind Map using the information on their snowballs to illustrate various important relationships, qualities that make relationships satisfying/healthy, how relationships might evolve as an individual becomes more independent, and the skills and strategies needed to maintain a satisfactory relationship as they become more independent.

Have groups post their Mind Map in a designated space. Have students travel around the classroom on a Gallery Walk (consult Teaching Strategy Descriptions) to make connections to the similarities and differences between their own contributions and those of others. Invite students to share their ideas with other students as they travel. Circulate around the room to assist students with understanding.

Using the following teacher prompts, have a whole group discussion to consolidate student learning about:

relationship skills that are needed to maintain healthy and satisfying relationships
the importance of knowing one's interests and beliefs to goals and life plans
the skills and strategies needed to care for their health to maintain satisfactory relationships as they become more independent

Teacher Prompt: “Setting boundaries to maintain a satisfying relationship involves clearly communicating your needs, limits, and expectations to ensure mutual respect and understanding. We use our understanding of what we want in healthy relationships and our own interests and beliefs to establish boundaries that work for us as individuals. What are some key features that we can identify about boundaries to ensure they are set effectively?”

Student responses may include:

"It's important to talk openly about what you need and expect in a relationship."
"Respecting each other's boundaries helps both people feel valued."
"Consistency in setting boundaries builds trust and stability."
"Healthy boundaries promote emotional well-being and reduce stress."
"Both people should agree on and respect each other's limits."
"Setting boundaries isn't about controlling or manipulating people."
"Boundaries shouldn't be rigid; it's okay to compromise."
"Using boundaries as a form of punishment is unhealthy."
"Avoiding difficult conversations by setting boundaries isn't helpful."
"A relationship can't thrive if only one person's needs are considered."

Teacher Prompt: “How might our self-awareness of our interests and beliefs influence how we create healthy boundaries in a variety of relationships as we become more independent?”

Student responses may include:

"I value my privacy, so I set boundaries around personal space and alone time to ensure I feel comfortable and respected."

"Being honest is important to me, so I create boundaries that encourage open communication and discourage secrets."
"My cultural background emphasizes family loyalty, so I set boundaries that prioritize family time and responsibilities."
"I believe in taking care of my mental health, so I set boundaries to ensure I have time for self-care activities like reading or exercising."
"Trust is a core value for me, so I set boundaries that help build and maintain trust in my relationships."
"I value personal growth, so I set boundaries that allow me to pursue my interests and goals without feeling pressured to conform."
"I believe in respecting differences, so I set boundaries that acknowledge and appreciate the diverse perspectives of my friends and family."

Teacher Prompt: “Something we may not immediately consider when we set goals and plan for our future is our reproductive and sexual health. What can we do now to care for our health as we become more independent, and our relationships evolve?”

Student responses may include:

“Anything someone can do to stay healthy in general – such as eating well, sleeping well, reducing stress, and taking all things in moderation – will also beneﬁt reproductive and sexual health.”
“Have regular medical check-ups also benefits your reproductive and sexual health.”
“Avoid unprotected sex, since a sexually transmitted infection could do long-term damage to your reproductive and sexual health.”

Consider using an elbow partner strategy in addition to a whole group discussion to provide students with time to formulate and articulate a response before sharing with the larger group.

Consolidation

Use a Choice Board strategy (consult Teaching Strategy Descriptions) to have students begin to develop a life plan that will help them maintain healthy, satisfying relationships and for their health and well-being in a variety of social settings as they become more independent.

Choice Board examples may include:

Have students choose three of the relationship Mind Map options.
Have students select the product they will use to create their life plan (for example, vision board, create three to four S.M.A.R.T goals, a timeline, write a letter to their future self) to demonstrate their understanding of skills and resources needed to maintain healthy relationships and care for their health and well-being as they become more independent.
Their product should include:
- important interests and beliefs
- healthy boundaries to respect and communicate with others
- skills they would like to develop as they become more independent
- two strategies for a “Caring for Your Reproductive and Sexual Health” plan of action

Notes to Teachers

Snowball Activity

This instructional strategy supports class critical thinking by providing a chance to gauge collective understanding and provoke thinking by adding layers of complexity through different brainstorming prompts. The scaffolded questions allow students to engage from multiple entry points and learn from their peers throughout the process.

How It Works:

Present the class topic and provide multiple slips of paper to each student.
Prompt students with an entry level brainstorming question.
Students will respond with each different brainstorming idea on a new slip of paper for the initial question.
Students will then throw their crumpled slips of paper (the Snowballs) to a target.
Students will retrieve a snowball and add an answer to the next question on their retrieved piece(s) of paper.
Through repetition, students will build up the answers to each question that is posed to help develop deeper understanding and allow time for critical thinking.
The finished product will be a more complex and collaborative answer ready to be shared.

CRRP Strategies Embedded in the Lesson

Components of this lesson are designed to incorporate strategies to support the student with GDD.

All strategies used throughout the lesson allow for multiple entry points to support student understanding and participation.
Purposeful groups and an assigned space for the Mind Map activity and consolidation tasks minimize distractions and supports concentration.
Clear instructions and structured tasks (for example, the Snowball Activity) help maintain focus.
Modelling activity instructions supports understanding.
Choice Board options are offered for students to engage in ways that align with their strengths, preferences, and comfort levels.
Providing language support through assistive technology supports student engagement.

Components of this lesson are designed to foster a supportive, affirming, and safe environment for students who are part of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.

Using gender-neutral language for questions and sample student responses respects all gender identities and fosters a safe and welcoming environment.
Encouraging and focusing student attention on a wide variety of relationships in life other than heteronormative romantic relationships helps to ensure students can see themselves in the learning.
Purposeful groups encourage peer interaction and support.
Emphasizing respect for diverse ideas and opinions helps create an inclusive atmosphere.
Allowing students a choice of format to consolidate their learning supports self-expression and comfort.
Creating a classroom culture by establishing rules for respectful discussion and sharing that values each student's contributions and experiences fosters a sense of belonging.

Components of this lesson are designed to incorporate strategies to support students who are newcomers and multilingual.

Activities such as the Snowball and Mind Map support the inclusion of diverse cultural perspectives on characteristics that are important to maintain healthy and supportive relationships.
Purposeful groups based on student needs allow students to use a preferred language to express their ideas and promote peer interaction and support.
Activities such as the Gallery Walk promote understanding of key concepts and help students make connections between the intended learning and their experiences and perspectives.
Allowing students to choose formats for their explanations supports cultural expression and comfort.