Oh, the Problems You'll Face

Unit	Community-Building for High School Classrooms
Lesson Name	Oh, the Problems You’ll Face
Grade Band	High School (9-12)

Required Materials	High School Dilemmas, 1 per small group Large sheets of butcher paper, 1 per small group Notecards, 1 per student Post it notes, 1 stack per small group School approved tape/adhesive to hang posters
Standards / Competencies	SEL Core Competencies: Self-Awareness: identifying emotions, experiencing self-efficacy, linking feelings, values and thoughts, demonstrating honesty and integrity Self-Management: managing one’s emotions, exhibiting self-discipline Social Awareness: taking others’ perspectives, recognizing strengths in others, demonstrating empathy and compassion, identifying diverse social norms, showing concern for the feelings of others Relationship Skills: communicating effectively, developing positive relationships, showing leadership in groups, resolving conflicts constructively, seeking or offering support when needed ELA Standards: Listening and Speaking, Reading, Writing Social Studies Theme: Individual Development and Identity
Recommended Time	52 mins

Required Materials

High School Dilemmas, 1 per small group
Large sheets of butcher paper, 1 per small group
Notecards, 1 per student
Post it notes, 1 stack per small group
School approved tape/adhesive to hang posters

Standards / Competencies

SEL Core Competencies:

Self-Awareness: identifying emotions, experiencing self-efficacy, linking feelings, values and thoughts, demonstrating honesty and integrity
Self-Management: managing one’s emotions, exhibiting self-discipline
Social Awareness: taking others’ perspectives, recognizing strengths in others, demonstrating empathy and compassion, identifying diverse social norms, showing concern for the feelings of others
Relationship Skills: communicating effectively, developing positive relationships, showing leadership in groups, resolving conflicts constructively, seeking or offering support when needed

ELA Standards: Listening and Speaking, Reading, Writing

Social Studies Theme: Individual Development and Identity

Recommended Time

52 mins

Essential Question	What is the relationship between empowerment and problem-solving?
Learning Objectives	List and categorize the types of problems students might encounter in high school.

Activating Prior Knowledge	Hand out one “High School Dilemma” to each small group of students and ask them to discuss it. Once students have had time to discuss, as 3 different students to share their dilemma and takeaways from their discussion. Build off the activity by discussing the importance of problem-solving skills in high school and later in life. Emphasize that problems come in various forms, and being able to categorize them helps in finding effective solutions.
Core Instruction	Hand out large poster paper and sticky notes to each group. Ask students to brainstorm in small groups different types of problems they might encounter in high school. Encourage them to think about academic, social, and personal challenges; they might also want to consider societal or global problems that have the potential to impact them while they are students in high school. Write down their ideas on sticky notes and place those directly on the large sheets of paper. Once students have listed various problems, instruct them to sort and categorize the problems into different groups. For example, they could have categories like academic challenges, social issues, time management, extracurricular activities, etc. Once they determine the groups, they should write them on the large paper and organize the post-its under the categories. Ask students to hang their papers around the classroom (or in a designated area). Allow students to walk around and observe the different categories and types of problems. Encourage them to add sticky notes to share additional insights or solutions related to the listed problems. Bring the students back together for a group discussion. Discuss the patterns and commonalities they observed. Ask each group to share their thoughts on the types of problems and potential solutions. Encourage them to think critically about how different categories of problems may require unique problem-solving approaches, especially when it comes to problems they have more control over vs. problems that they don’t have control over.
Wrap-up	Hand out notecards and conclude by asking students to reflect on the exit question directly on the notecard: What challenge do you find to personally be the most significant? Why? Collect these reflections. Share that categorizing problems and understanding their impact can help them find ways to face those problems.

Activating Prior Knowledge

Hand out one “High School Dilemma” to each small group of students and ask them to discuss it. Once students have had time to discuss, as 3 different students to share their dilemma and takeaways from their discussion.

Build off the activity by discussing the importance of problem-solving skills in high school and later in life. Emphasize that problems come in various forms, and being able to categorize them helps in finding effective solutions.

Core Instruction

Hand out large poster paper and sticky notes to each group. Ask students to brainstorm in small groups different types of problems they might encounter in high school. Encourage them to think about academic, social, and personal challenges; they might also want to consider societal or global problems that have the potential to impact them while they are students in high school. Write down their ideas on sticky notes and place those directly on the large sheets of paper.

Once students have listed various problems, instruct them to sort and categorize the problems into different groups. For example, they could have categories like academic challenges, social issues, time management, extracurricular activities, etc. Once they determine the groups, they should write them on the large paper and organize the post-its under the categories.

Ask students to hang their papers around the classroom (or in a designated area). Allow students to walk around and observe the different categories and types of problems. Encourage them to add sticky notes to share additional insights or solutions related to the listed problems.

Bring the students back together for a group discussion. Discuss the patterns and commonalities they observed. Ask each group to share their thoughts on the types of problems and potential solutions. Encourage them to think critically about how different categories of problems may require unique problem-solving approaches, especially when it comes to problems they have more control over vs. problems that they don’t have control over.

Wrap-up

Hand out notecards and conclude by asking students to reflect on the exit question directly on the notecard: What challenge do you find to personally be the most significant? Why? Collect these reflections. Share that categorizing problems and understanding their impact can help them find ways to face those problems.

Instructional Content Adaptations

Mini Lesson (10 min):

The “High School Dilemmas” activity can be run as its own mini-lesson.

Lesson prepared by Ellen McCormick

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