Making Good Decisions

In the wake of election day, use this lesson plan idea from Science NetLinks to teach your preschoolers about making good decisions.

Lesson Objectives

• Learn how to analyze different alternatives when decision making.
• Introduce the concept of trade-offs.
• Introduce the concept of compromise.
• Practice decision making in a social setting and reaching an agreement as a group.

While they won't be able to read it themselves, provide students with a hand-out of the Little Planet Times, a student learning publication created by Little Planet Learning. Begin by reading the article, "A Hill Too High to Climb?" in Volume 2, No. 2.

In the article, the townsfolk of Little Planet have called a council meeting in the hopes of determining what to do with the hill outside a community member's home - tear it down or leave it stand. The article details the stance of several council members - the Science NetLinks lesson creator suggests dividing the class into four groups, having each group research the opinion of a different councilman/woman. With the research presented, have students come together and discuss each possible solution to the problem and its possible consequences. While this is likely to be a guided discussion (your preschoolers needing to be prompted on specific topics - e.g. "What do you think are the possible consequences of tearing down the hill? Do you think it will affect any animals living there?", etc.), this format will give you the ability to assess students' reasoning skills and promote good decision making processes. Finally, have them vote on the issue.

For more information, links to activity pages and worksheets, as well as expanded lesson objectives, be sure to visit the full lesson post at Science NetLinks!