Lesson Plan

Your Choices, Your Story

Students will be able to identify different choices and predict their potential consequences, understanding the impact of their decisions on themselves and others.

Understanding choices and consequences is a fundamental life skill that helps students navigate social situations, academic challenges, and personal growth. This lesson fosters responsible decision-making and self-awareness.

Audience

4th Grade

Time

30 minutes

Approach

Through discussion and scenario-based activities, students will explore decision-making.

Materials

Your Choices, Your Story Slide Deck, - Teacher Script, - Choices & Consequences Warm-Up, - Consequence Connect Activity Cards, and - Reflect & Decide Cool-Down

Prep

Review Materials

10 minutes

Review all generated materials: Your Choices, Your Story Slide Deck, Teacher Script, Choices & Consequences Warm-Up, Consequence Connect Activity Cards, and Reflect & Decide Cool-Down.

Print and cut out the Consequence Connect Activity Cards if using physical cards. Alternatively, prepare to display them digitally.

Ensure projector or interactive whiteboard is set up for the Your Choices, Your Story Slide Deck.

Step 1

Warm-Up: Choices Brainstorm

5 minutes

Begin with the Choices & Consequences Warm-Up activity. Ask students to share examples of choices they made recently and briefly discuss them. Use Your Choices, Your Story Slide Deck Slide 1-2 to guide this section.

Step 2

Introduction to Choices and Consequences

5 minutes

Introduce the concept of choices and consequences using Your Choices, Your Story Slide Deck Slides 3-4. Explain that every choice, big or small, has an outcome. Use the Teacher Script for key talking points and questions.

Step 3

Activity: Consequence Connect

15 minutes

Divide students into small groups. Distribute or display the Consequence Connect Activity Cards. Each card presents a scenario with a choice. Students will discuss and predict both positive and negative consequences for each choice. Circulate to facilitate discussion and provide guidance. Use Your Choices, Your Story Slide Deck Slide 5 to introduce the activity and Slide 6 to summarize.

Step 4

Share & Discuss

5 minutes

Bring the class back together. Have a few groups share one scenario and their predicted consequences. Facilitate a brief discussion on how different choices can lead to different outcomes, emphasizing personal responsibility. Refer to Your Choices, Your Story Slide Deck Slide 7 for wrap-up discussion points and the Teacher Script for prompts.

Step 5

Cool-Down: Reflect & Decide

5 minutes

Conclude the lesson with the Reflect & Decide Cool-Down activity. Students will reflect on one choice they can make in the near future and its likely consequence. Collect these for a quick assessment of understanding. Use Your Choices, Your Story Slide Deck Slide 8.

Slide Deck

Choices, Choices Everywhere!

Every day, we make lots of choices!
What did you choose today?
(Think about what you wore, what you ate, how you got to school!)

Welcome students and introduce the day's topic in an engaging way. Ask them to think about choices they make every day, from what to wear to what to eat. This helps activate prior knowledge and connect the topic to their lives.

Ready for a Warm-Up?

Let's kick things off with a fun activity to get our brains buzzing about choices!
Find your Choices & Consequences Warm-Up paper.

Transition from personal choices to introducing the warm-up activity. Explain that the warm-up will get them thinking more deeply about choices and their outcomes. Guide them to the Choices & Consequences Warm-Up activity.

Choices and Consequences

What is a choice?
A decision you make!

What is a consequence?
What happens after your choice.
It can be good or bad!

Introduce the core concept: every choice has a consequence. Emphasize that consequences aren't always negative; they can be positive too. Use simple language and examples relevant to 4th graders. Refer to the Teacher Script for detailed explanations.

Examples!

Choice: You choose to study for a test.
Consequence: You get a good grade and feel proud!

Choice: You choose to call a friend a mean name.
Consequence: Your friend feels sad and doesn't want to play with you.

Choice: You choose to help your classmate with their homework.
Consequence: Your classmate feels grateful and you both learn something new!

Elaborate with examples to make the concept clear. Use relatable scenarios. Ask students for their own examples if time permits, or use pre-planned examples from the Teacher Script.

Consequence Connect Activity!

Work in small groups.
Each card has a choice.
Talk about: What are the possible good consequences? What are the possible bad consequences?
Write your ideas down!

Introduce the group activity. Explain the Consequence Connect Activity Cards and how students will work together to identify consequences. Provide clear instructions for group work. Use the Teacher Script for guiding questions.

Consequence Connect: Remember!

Read the choice on the card.
2. Discuss good and bad consequences with your group.
3. Be ready to share one example with the class!

Provide a brief summary slide for students to refer to during the activity. This reinforces the task and helps keep them on track. Circulate and support groups as they work.

Your Choices, Your Story

What did your group discuss?
How do our choices shape our day?
You are the author of your own story! Every choice you make writes the next sentence.

Facilitate the class discussion, asking groups to share their findings. Guide the conversation towards understanding personal responsibility and the power of thoughtful choices. Connect back to the idea that they are 'authors' of their own story. The Teacher Script has prompts.

Time to Reflect!

Think about one choice you will make soon.
What are the possible consequences?
Write it down on your Reflect & Decide Cool-Down sheet.

Introduce the cool-down activity, Reflect & Decide Cool-Down. Explain that this is a personal reflection to solidify their learning. Encourage thoughtful responses. Collect cool-downs at the end.

Script

Teacher Script: Your Choices, Your Story

Warm-Up: Choices Brainstorm (5 minutes)

(Display Your Choices, Your Story Slide Deck - Slide 1)

"Good morning/afternoon, everyone! Today, we're going to talk about something super important that we all do every single day without even realizing it: making choices!"

"Can anyone tell me some choices you've already made just today? It could be anything! What did you wear? What did you eat for breakfast? How did you get to school?"

(Allow 2-3 students to share briefly. Affirm their responses.)

"Great examples! We make choices all the time, big and small. Now, let's get our brains really warmed up with our Choices & Consequences Warm-Up activity. Please find your warm-up sheet."

(Display Your Choices, Your Story Slide Deck - Slide 2)

"On your paper, you'll see a few questions about choices. Take a couple of minutes to quickly jot down your answers. Don't worry about being perfect, just get your ideas down."

(Give students 2 minutes to complete. Circulate to offer help if needed.)

"Alright, class, can a few of you share one choice you wrote down and what you think happened as a result?"

(Allow 2-3 students to share. Transition smoothly.)

Introduction to Choices and Consequences (5 minutes)

(Display Your Choices, Your Story Slide Deck - Slide 3)

"Fantastic! You've already started thinking about what happens after a choice. And that brings us to our big topic for today: Choices and Consequences."

"So, what is a choice? A choice is simply a decision you make. It's like picking which path to take. You decide, 'I will do this!' or 'I will do that!'"

"And a consequence? A consequence is what happens after your choice. It's the result, the outcome. Think of it like a cause and effect. Your choice is the cause, and the consequence is the effect."

"Consequences can be good, or they can be bad. They can be exactly what you expected, or sometimes, they can be a surprise!"

(Display Your Choices, Your Story Slide Deck - Slide 4)

"Let's look at some examples together to make it super clear."

"Imagine: You choose to study hard for a big math test. What do you think a good consequence of that choice might be?"

(Pause for student responses, guide towards 'getting a good grade', 'feeling proud', 'understanding the material'. If no one offers, provide it.)

"Exactly! You might get a good grade and feel really proud of yourself. That's a positive consequence."

"Now, what if someone chooses to call a friend a mean name during recess? What could be a bad consequence of that choice?"

(Pause for student responses, guide towards 'friend feeling sad', 'friend not wanting to play', 'getting into trouble'. If no one offers, provide it.)

"That's right, their friend would feel very sad, and maybe not want to play with them anymore. That's a negative consequence."

"One more: You see a classmate struggling with their reading assignment and you choose to offer to help them. What might be a good consequence of that?"

(Pause for student responses, guide towards 'classmate feeling happy', 'you both learn', 'feeling good about helping'. If no one offers, provide it.)

"Wonderful! Your classmate feels grateful, and you both get to learn together. You also feel good for being a kind person. See how our choices can affect others, and how we feel?"

Activity: Consequence Connect (15 minutes)

(Display Your Choices, Your Story Slide Deck - Slide 5)

"Now it's your turn to be choice detectives! I'm going to divide you into small groups. Each group will get some Consequence Connect Activity Cards."

"On each card, you'll find a different choice. Your group's job is to discuss and decide: What are the possible good consequences of this choice? And what are the possible bad consequences?"

"You should try to come up with at least one good and one bad consequence for each choice. You can write your ideas directly on the cards or on a separate sheet of paper. Work together, listen to each other's ideas, and be ready to share with the class."

(Display Your Choices, Your Story Slide Deck - Slide 6)

"Remember these steps:"

"1. Read the choice on the card."
"2. Discuss good and bad consequences with your group."
"3. Be ready to share one example with the class!"

(Divide students into groups and distribute Consequence Connect Activity Cards. Circulate around the room, listening to discussions, prompting students with questions like, "What if...?" or "How would that make someone feel?", and offering support.)

Share & Discuss (5 minutes)

(Display Your Choices, Your Story Slide Deck - Slide 7)

"Alright, everyone, let's bring our attention back together. You all did a fantastic job discussing those scenarios!"

"Can I get one group to share one of their cards and what choices and consequences you discussed? Who would like to start?"

(Call on 2-3 groups to share one scenario each. After each group shares, ask follow-up questions:)

"Why did you think those were the consequences?"
"Could there be other consequences for that choice?"
"How might that choice affect the person making it, or other people?"

"Excellent thinking, everyone! It's clear that our choices truly shape our day, our relationships, and even how we feel about ourselves."

"Remember, you are the author of your own story! Every choice you make writes the next sentence. You have the power to make thoughtful choices that lead to positive consequences."

Cool-Down: Reflect & Decide (5 minutes)

(Display Your Choices, Your Story Slide Deck - Slide 8)

"To wrap up our lesson today, I want you to take a moment to reflect. Please find your Reflect & Decide Cool-Down sheet."

"On this sheet, I want you to think about one choice you will make very soon—maybe today after school, or tomorrow morning. Write down what that choice is, and then predict one or two possible consequences of that choice."

"This is for you to practice thinking ahead. When you're done, please hand in your cool-down sheet as you leave."

(Collect cool-down sheets as students finish or before they leave.)

"Thank you, everyone, for an insightful discussion today! I hope you'll keep thinking about your choices and their consequences!"

Warm Up

Choices & Consequences Warm-Up

Name: ____________________________ Date: _________________

Think about the choices you make every day!

What is one choice you made this morning before coming to school?
What happened after you made that choice? (This is the consequence!)
Think about recess. What is a choice you might make during recess today?
What do you think will happen as a result of that choice?

Activity

Consequence Connect Activity Cards

Instructions: In your group, read each choice. Discuss and write down at least one good consequence and one bad consequence that could happen because of that choice.