Choice Process Tools

Lessons and Strategies CHOICE

1. Use any of the resources below to discuss making choices.
2. Introductory lesson to choices:
   Brainstorm choices learners make before school, at school, after school.   See School Day Choice chart and School Day Example Choice Chart.  Add to the example or start with blank chart.
3. Tools:  May use the strategies below with:
   1. any general decision-making as a class or with an individual learner
      
   2. Problem-solving
      
   3. Conflict resolution
      
   4. any situation/story to analyze choices made by character/s.
      

Printable documents:

• C.R.O.S.S.ROADS™ Decision-Making Process – Explanation
• C.R.O.S.S.ROADS™ Decision-Making Process Worksheet
• C.R.O.S.S.ROADS™ Decision-Making Process Planning Sheet
• Choice Chart - Use with any story or situation to guide learners in recognizing that choices are being made.
• Choice Option Chart -  Use with any story or situation to help learners recognize that there are always choice options.
• The Right Questions Poster -  Use the three questions with any story analyzing if the character/s decisions.

Music:
Suggest use as introductory songs for Choice

Lower Elementary:

• Stop, Think, Go   Children’s song for helping make good decisions  2:28 min.    Click on Show More and lyrics and motions may be viewed.
• Jammer and Pop sing "CHOICES"   2:15 min.
• Stop and Think song - Sesame Street  1:17 min.
• "Making Choices"  song by Thornwood Elementary School  2:19 min. 
• Making Choices song by Mr. Heath  2:35 min.   
• The North Wind Doth Blow song  31 sec.
  A robin makes a choice during a snow storm.  Short.
• The Ants Go Marching song  2:04 min
  Ants make decisions during a march which cause distractions and reduce the number of marchers
• Tiny Tim the Turtle song
  Song about a boy who put his turtle in the bathtub. Was that a good choice?

Videos: 

• Ernie Learns to Stop and Think  - Sesame Street .   4:28 min. Shows Ernie going through choice process.  
• Cookie Choosing - Sesame Street  1:37 min.   Shows Ernie giving Cookie Monster choice between bag with one cookie and a bag with many cookies.
• Decisions, Decisions, Decisions  3:57 min.  Animated young people talking about making small and big decisions (British accent)
• Making Decisions:  Making the Right Choices.   Part 1  - Puppet Show   11:59 min.
• Decisions:  Making the Right Choices   Part 2 – Puppet Show  6:21 min. 

Elementary:

2)  Literature Lessons:
Since Choice is an integral part of every story, the decision-making process steps may be applied to analyze the choices being made along with the consequences.  This gives endless opportunities for reinforcing decision-making skills. 

Selection of Potential Questions for Discussion:

• What choice was most important to the story ending?
• What might be some other possible choices (options) ?
• What was the critical point in the story where the choice made affected everything afterwards?
• What effect did the choice have on the others in the story?
• Were there smaller choices made that affected the main one?   If so, what were they?
• What choice would you have made and why?

3)  Reflection: (Select one.)

Have learners draw or write about:
I agreed/disagreed with the choice to……because…..
For my own life, the story made me think…….
The decision that stood out was…..

Videos:

• Marshmellow Test    3:27 min.   Several kids wrestle with waiting to eat a marshmellow in hopes of a bigger prize -  Good for showing choices by very young children
• The Three Questions  - 6:13 min.  Based on story by Leo Tolstoy adapted by Jon Muth
• The Three Questions Poster    - Questions from book, The Three Questions by Jon Muth
• The Three Questions by Leo Tolstoy – simplified version - Printable
• Rocket -  Making a Choice to overcome a challenge  30 sec.   Fizzling Rocket provides opportunity for CHOICE.   Great for 2-6th
• Stories, T.V. Spots - Values -  Select from any of these very short video clips to analyze the choices being made.  EXCELLENT Resource!

Resources:

• Make Good Choices with Miss Jenny   - link to Songs for Teaching website and  list of songs on CD. All available for download on iTunes.