Learning from Our Decisions
In Search of Self - Identity and Sense of Self
Student Page
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Key Concept:

We all make decisions that help mold who we are and who we will become.  The decisions we make may be negative or positive.  We may see them as a mistake, and in turn, we may regret that decision later in life.  However, it is important to realize that we all make mistakes.

Objectives:

You will be able to
- function effectively as both a group member and a group leader
- speak to share thoughts, opinions, and feelings
- speak to clarify and extend thinking
- listen to understand and learn
- read a wide range of material to extend experience
- explore human experiences and values reflected in texts
- use appropriate pre-writing and planning strategies
- write to create and entertain

Resources:

- personal response map

- One of the following selections:
1.  "Under the Influence" (R. Sanders, USA- Art of the Personal Essay)
2.  "The Enemy" (P. Neruda, Chile - Literature and Language: English and World)
3.  "The Crack-Up" (F. Scott Fitzgerald, USA - Art of the Personal Essay)

- peer and self-evaluation

Teaching-Learning Strategies:

We all make mistakes at one time or another, but it is important to see how we react to those mistakes and discover whether or not we learn anything from the situations. 

Task One: What Do I Regret?

Consider the following statement: 

Life should be full of regret 

With your classmates , discuss the meaning behind this idea.  Do you agree or disagree with the statement?  Try to think of a situation that you regret where a positive lesson was learned. 

For example:  I may regret my decision to procrastinate on an assignment and be disappointed in the low mark I received. However, this instance has helped me to realize I need to budget my time more effectively and now I work hard to get things done in advance.

Fill out the following personal response map.  Consider how your own regretful actions have changed your behavior.

Task Two: How Do Decisions Affect Others?

Break into groups of three or four and read one of the following pieces of literature provided by your teacher: 

Possible Selections:
1.  "Under the Influence" (R. Sanders, USA - Art of the Personal Essay)
2.  "The Enemy" (P. Neruda, Chile - Literature and Language: English and World)
3.  "The Crack-Up" (F. Scott Fitzgerald, USA - Art of the Personal Essay)

Read the selection out loud, and as a group, use the a reading technique known as snowballing.  Follow these steps:

1. To begin, each member of your group should write down three questions about the text as it is read. Your questions should revolve around a detail you are not sure about with respect to content, format, or language. (If there are four of you in group, you should have approximately twelve questions at the end of the reading)

2. When your group has finished reading the selection, each one of you in the group will choose one of your questions to share with the group.

3. The group will then answer all of the shared questions and choose two to share with the class.

4. You will share your group's questions and the other members of the class will answer them.  You, in turn, will answer the questions that other groups share.

Task Three: How Could the Situation have been Different?

With your group, brainstorm ideas for an alternate ending for the selection you have just read. 

Remember, there are many diferent decisions that can be made in any situation.  Everyone reacts differently depending on his/her experiences. 

When you are finished, share one of your group's ideas for the alternate ending with the class and explain:

- what new decision the character could make
- how the new decision would impact the character
- how the new decision would impact others in the story

You have worked in groups throughout most of this class. Using the peer and self-evaluation handout determine how well each of the members of your group worked.