Christopher O'Neil Peer Education Program

Loyola Blakefield

P.O. Box 6819

Towson, MD 21285

Contact:

Brennan Prodey

bprodey@loyolablakefield.org

Loyola Blakefield's Page

Loyola Blakefield's Program Summary Page

Loyola Blakefield's Training Page

Loyola Blakefield's Lesson Plans Page

Member Schools Page

 

Lesson Plans

The heart of a lesson plan is its objective. The plan itself is no more than a map of one way to reach that objective. There are, in fact, more ways than one to drive an objective home. In fact, if a peer education team is able to generate a lively class discussion around the objective, they are encouraged to abandon the planned map and go with the discussion in which the class is involved.

Peer educators are trained to develop lesson plans that achieve the objective from experiences with which they are familiar. Young students like nothing better than a story. Each year, therefore, the lesson plans take a slightly different shape depending on the individual peer educators who develop and personalize them.

Peer educators are trained to plan lessons that shift every 12 to 14 minutes or so. They are warned that they will lose a class if one peer educators talks to them for more than a few minutes. The lessons should be active and interactive, involving the students in discussion of the objective.

The following is an outline of the format used at Blakefield.

Overview of the Elements of a Lesson Plan

Objective:
What is the objective of the lesson?
What will a student be able to do, to think, to feel as the result of the lesson?
Each team member should be able to phrase the objective in his own words.
What common misconceptions are associated with this lesson?
What oppositional attitudes might arise during the course of the lesson?
What questions is the lesson likely to provoke?
What feelings are likely to arise as a result of the lesson?

Motivation:
Why should students want to learn what you have to discuss with them?
When and where in their lives will students need to know the truth this lesson teaches?
How is this lesson relevant to them?
In a sentence how will this lesson help them?

Methods:
What interactive elements built into this lesson?
What is fun about the lesson?
How will the team engage the students in a dialogue or a discussion?
How will the team avoid a didactic monologue?
Who will bring energy into this lesson?

The Script:
What role will each team member play in this lesson?
Who will be the front man (Master of Ceremonies) for the lesson?
Who will keep the team organized and on the objective?
Who will summarize the lesson’s objective?
Where will each peer educators stand? Who will scan the class?
Is there a team member who is good at reframing and paraphrasing statements?
Who will insure that the lesson is a whole class interaction, and not a two party dialogue?

Evaluation:
How will the team check to see if the objective has been achieved?
Will the students be asked to summarize the point of the lesson?

Sixth Grade Lessons

Bullying

Dealing with Anger and Violence

Group Dynamics and Scapegoating

Loss and Disappointment

Nicotine

What Is Alcohol?

 

Ninth Grade Lessons

Alcohol and Other Drugs: Perceptions

Alcohol and Other Drugs: When a Problem

Marijuana