·       Scholastic Choices: A Brilliant Activity to Teach Healthy Relationships

General Information:

•   This internet resource describes an interactive activity that students could do in their free time or even at home. It would work best if they did it together in pairs or groups. This is a strong resource because it provides hands on creation time as well as a wide variety of relationship issues to discuss and interpret. The teacher can create as many different scenarios as they want, and they can alter them depending on the age of their students. This activity allows students to role play with each other and explore the many aspects of healthy and unhealthy relationships. One of the main reasons I chose this activity was that one of the scenarios listed was about a friend’s dog dying and the other friend wanting to talk about something else. I appreciate that this activity is not just about romantic relationships but all relationships that students will participate in. I also thought it was important that both “Bip” and “Bop” are gender neutral. Core Integration:
•   The first part of this activity, where the students are creating “Bip” and “Bop” could be done during art. The creation of these characters is important because students have some freedom to use the materials and be creative. Making the characters themselves gives them ownership over them and they will be more invested during the actual activity. The second part of the activity where students are given scenarios to discuss would fit perfectly into a social skills lesson. Often social skills lessons are focused on how to solve problems but rarely discuss why the problem is occurring and what kinds of relationships there are. Standards:
• Describe how peers influence healthy and unhealthy behaviors (NHES 2.8.3)
• Engage in exploration and imaginative play with materials. (VA:Cr1.1.K)