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Lesson Life-Skills

LESSONS

Which values guide us?

Discover what we each stand for as we reconnect with the values that guide our behaviours and the choices we make.

What are the unwritten rules?

Discover the social contracts that exist in our lives and bring awareness to their role and the values that underpin them.

How should we live?

Explore fairness by viewing our values through different perspectives. Recognise how others feel in different circumstances and how this empathy may affect decisions.

Exploring our Values. In our everyday life we easily lose touch with what matter to us and often park activities that fill us up. Connecting to our core values is a powerful tool that supports decision-making. This enables us to make thoughtful and responsible choices, analyze their implications and to take meaningful action in every moment of our lives.

Social Awareness

Compassion

Empathy

Perspective-�taking

Decision-making

Understanding Myself

Where do values show up?

Explore the connectivity between morals, ethics and values, applying ethical reasoning when making decisions.

16+�year olds

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Lesson Plan: How Should We Live?

Lesson support:

  • Click on the lesson plan for a detailed guide to each activity.

  • There are supporting notes beneath each slide

  • Note: Learners will understand the activities in this lesson best when they are modelled and shared by the teacher.

Equipment needed:

  • Pen, paper, computer, projector.

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Lesson Video Guide: How should we live?

Lesson support

Click on the video for a 5 minute introduction on how to approach this lesson.

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The Curriculum for Life Classroom

Collaborative

Caring

Creative

Communication

Critical

The 5 C’s

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Check-in

Body Scanner

Blind Spots

The Fairness Test

Veil of Ignorance

Warm-up

Main Task

Reflection

Lesson guide: How Should We Live?

Explore fairness by viewing our values through different perspectives. Recognise how others feel in different circumstances and how this empathy may affect decisions-making.

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This body scan helps lessen anxiety. You may not even be aware of the anxiety-based tension you're holding in your body until you do a quick body scan.

  • Decreases stress levels.
  • Improves sleep quality.
  • Improves self-awareness.
  • Helps you relax.
  • Improves focus.

Check-in: Body Scanner

Whole group

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Warm-up: Hidden Blind Spots of Good People

Individually

Watch the short video

Write down your responses to the questions below.

  • What assumptions do people make about you?
  • Are these assumptions positive or negative?
  • How do you know about the assumptions?
  • Are these assumptions fair?

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First, nominate:

  1. One person in your group to assign roles
  2. One person to write the key points that arise in the scenarios that follow.

Scenario: Imagine that you could redesign our world from scratch

  • What would it look and feel like?
  • What would it be like to live there?
  • How would you distribute wealth and power?
  • How would you define fairness and equality?
  • Which values will you select to underpin your new society?

Main task: The Fairness Test–Setting the Scene

Groups of 4

This list of values may help with this task.

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Scenario: Imagine that you could redesign our world from scratch.

In your groups, you are now going to view the values in your new society through 4 different lenses.

Lens 1: The person responsible for assigning roles will randomly assign each member of the group one of the following roles: police officer, farmer, cleaner, kindergarten teacher.

Discuss your new world from your new perspective.

The example questions below are just to guide your discussion:

  • Are some jobs more advantageous in this society?
  • What opportunities do you have in your job in this society?
  • What limitations/restrictions do you have in your job?

Main task: The Fairness Test-Lens 1

Groups of 4

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Scenario: Imagine that you could redesign our world from scratch

Lens 2: Keep your assigned job role, now assign an age (Young person (18-24) /middle-aged /elderly)

  • What does it mean to be in your job in this age group?
  • What control do you have over the decisions in your life?
  • Where are you on the social hierarchy based on your age and job?

Main task: The Fairness Test–Lens 2

Groups of 4

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Scenario: Imagine that you could redesign our society from scratch

Lens 3: Keep your assigned job and age, your are now assigned a location (rural/urban)

Main task: The Fairness Test–Lens 3

Groups of 4

  • What difficulties might your location present for you?
  • How does your location affect the opportunities available to you?
  • How does society perceive you based on your location?

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Scenario: Imagine that you could redesign our world from scratch

Lens 4: Keep your assigned job, age and location. you are now assigned an income (Poor/Low Income/Middle Income).

Main task: The Fairness Test–Lens 4

Groups of 4

  • How does your life change based on your income level in this society?
  • How does your income affect your ability to make decisions about money?
  • How does the rest of society perceive you based on your income level?

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Reflection: How do your values change?

Groups of 4

The scribe for this task shares the key points discussed from the different perspectives with the group.

Discuss:

  • Study the picture, decide how this image reflects the task you have just completed.

  • Can you imagine who would thrive and who would struggle to cope in your new world?

  • What values did you identify that you may add, delete or change.

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Reflection: Veil of Ignorance–How should we Live?

Individually

  • Watch the video, it captures the task you have completed.

Write down your responses to the following questions:

  • How effective is the veil of ignorance in helping us consider different perspectives?
  • Has this experience influenced how you view your values?
  • Will this awareness affect what you may value in the future?

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Reflection: What do we already do well?

Groups of 4

Think back to the values underpinning in your world at the beginning.

  • What do we already do in our current world that reflects these values?
  • How could we better support the values?
  • What can we build on that is already being done well?�

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Let’s Reflect: Draw your window

Check-out: What next?

Whole Group

  • Reflected on how different perspectives may influence our perspectives
  • We identified values underpinning our co-created world
  • Reflected on these values through multiple lenses
  • How can you use what you have learned in the future?

  • Share your take away

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Together, we:

  • Discussed what, why and how we’d like to learn�
  • Curated resources

  • Created experiential learning activities

  • Weaved in evidence-informed approaches

  • Built-in opportunities for reflection and contextualisation

How was this lesson produced?

This lesson was co-created with youth, educators and topic experts from around the world.

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© 2023. Except where otherwise noted, this work by Curriculum for Life is licenced under a CC BY NC ND 4.0 license.