Objectives
Students will:
- Understand the importance of going out to places where they can meet people
- Identify good places to meet people
- Identify the negative consequences of never going out.
- Identify personal benefits of going out and meeting people
- Distinguish between safe and unsafe risks relating to going out
- Develop strategies for going out more in safe, gradual steps
- Develop strategies for having positive experiences when going out and meeting people.
- Model successfully going out and meeting people.
Step 1: Lesson Introduction
Last time we learned that becoming too personal with someone can make him/her uncomfortable and could scare someone off. You won’t make friends by getting too personal with someone you just met. There are other ways to make sure you don t make friends. One of these ways is by not going out to places where you’ll have the opportunity to meet people. Ask students to identify some places where they’ve met people. Then ask students for instances when they’ve met someone simply by staying home. Tell students that in today’s video, we’re going to see why staying home all the time is a good way not to meet people.
▶️ Show the video.
⏸️ Stop the video when the “Pause for Discussion” title appears on the screen.
Step 2: Guided Discussion, Part 1
What did Lani do that was NotSmart?
She turned down Leah’s invitation to go out and meet some people. She decided to watch a movie at home by herself.
What happened because Lani was NotSmart?
Leah went out and probably had a lot of fun meeting interesting new people and maybe even some cute guys. The next time she sees Lani she’ll probably tell her what a great time she had. Then Lani will feel bad that she decided to stay home by herself. Leah likes Lani and can see that she needs to get out more. But she’s not going to keep asking her forever. Then it’ll be even harder for Lani to go out. She’s likely to end up very lonely and bored staying home alone all the time.
How could Lani have been PeopleSmart?
Have students discuss how Lani could have been PeopleSmart in the same situation. Then tell students to watch the next part of the video to see one way Lani could have been PeopleSmart.
▶️ Start the video again.
⏸️ Stop the video when the “Pause for Discussion” title appears on the screen.
Step 3: Guided Discussion, Part 2
How was Lani PeopleSmart this time?
She decided to go out with Leah and Geneva. She was still nervous and anxious about doing this but decided it was worth taking a chance.
What happened because Lani was PeopleSmart?
She gave herself an opportunity to meet some interesting people and maybe even some cute guys. And even if she doesn’t make any new acquaintances this time, she’s sure to have a good time with Lani and Geneva and get to know them better. Also, by showing that she’s open to new experiences and is fun to go out with, Lani can probably expect that Leah will ask her to go out with her on other occasions.
What can we learn from this?
- Going out and meeting new people might seem risky. Maybe people won’t like you. Maybe they’ll put you down or reject you or make you feel bad about yourself. If you only think about all the negative things that might happen, you’ll probably stay home all the time and never go out. But that’s a pretty lonely way to live. Sure, people can be unpredictable and sometimes downright nasty. But they can also be wonderful and caring and fun to be with.
- If you want to experience all the good things that people have to offer, you have to be willing to meet them halfway. You can’t expect them to come sees you. You have to be willing to walk out that door, surrender a little control, put yourself in the world, take some reasonable risks and say yes to life instead of hiding at home and saying no to life.
- Don’t be discouraged if every experience in the world of people isn’t as positive as you hoped it would be. Keep giving people a chance, learn from your experiences, and you’ll find that the world of people can be very rewarding.
Step 4: Activities
Have students create a wall chart listing good places to meet people.
Have students roleplay the NotSmart and PeopleSmart vignettes from the video. After each roleplay, have students discuss how they feel.
Have students:
- Role play instances when they’ve declined an opportunity to go out and later regretted it.
- Identify the reasons they decided not to go out on those occasions.
- Identify how they would have benefited by going out on those occasions.
- Repeat the role plays, this time saying yes to the opportunity to go out. Have students:
- Discuss some ways that going out can be riskier than staying home.
- Identify some situations in which going out is a) a reasonable, safe risk, a risk worth taking, or b) an unsafe risk, or a risk not worth taking. For instance, it was a safe risk for Lani to go out with Leah because she knew Leah and could trust her.
But it would not be safe to go out with someone who will be drinking and driving or to go to a party where people will be using drugs.
- Create a wall chart of safe or unsafe risks to help guide students’ judgment about when it’s OK to go out.
Have students who are relatively unafraid to go out and meet people pair off with students who are afraid. Have each pair develop a strategy for the afraid students to go out more in safe, gradual steps. Then have each pair share these strategies with the class. Have the class give feedback and help refine these strategies.
Have students keep a journal of their experiences going out and meeting people. Have them report these experiences to the class. Have the class assist them in learning from their experiences and developing strategies for having positive experiences when they go out and meet people.
Have students work together in creating and performing a rap song entitled “I’m Goin’ Out!”
Have students identify the negative consequences of never going out and the personal benefits of going out and meeting people. Then have them create separate wall charts listing these consequences.