The grade 9 component of
A Question of
Influence covers the three spheres of
influence—personal, social, and
cultural—in the form of three learning
themes: how I influence myself, how others influence me,
and how I am influenced by the world around me. Each
learning theme includes a set of activities and associated
teacher and student materials matched to the Nova Scotia
Healthy Living curriculum outcomes for grade 9. The three
learning themes are preceded by an introductory session
that introduces the complete unit to the students and lays
the foundation for the learning theme activities. A fifth
and final wrap-up session completes the unit. It is
designed to encourage students to reflect on what they have
learned. It also provides the teacher with an opportunity
to assess what students have learned from the unit as a
whole.1
Each of the three learning themes, the introductory
session, and wrap-up session begin with introductory notes
to help orient the teacher to the content of that session
or learning theme. A summary table is provided at the
beginning of each session/learning theme to identify the
Healthy Living curriculum outcome links, specific activity
objectives, estimated time frame, and preparation required
to work through each activity in class. Separate pages for
teaching aids, referred to as “slides” throughout the unit, and
student handout materials are found at the back of the
unit.
The time estimates included here are based on the actual
outcomes of the resource field test in the winter and
spring of 2006. The complete unit is intended to be
delivered in five to six hours of instructional time or a
maximum of eight 45-classes. Not every teacher will have
Healthy Living classes that run for 45 minutes, and the
delivery of the activities will have to be adapted based on
the length of class time available.
It is strongly recommended that none of the learning themes
be dropped in an effort to shorten the time required to
deliver the unit. Instead, suggestions for shortening
individual activities include the following:
- Reduce the
number of case studies or stories used for group
activities.
- Reduce the
number of groups and increase the group sizes. If
increasing the size of small groups is not an option,
assign the same story to more than one group, ask one
group to report back on the story and, once they finish
their report, ask the other groups with the same story if
they have anything to add.
- Place strict
time limits on brainstorming activities (five minutes,
for example) rather than try to get every last idea or
comment.
- Place case studies on slides and discuss them with the entire class.
1. Suggestions for assessing other aspects of student performance throughout the unit can be found in the Appendix D: Assessment Rubrics.