Lesson Plan

What's so hard about saying no? Refusal Skills Role-Playing

Objectives

You will create a one-act play illustrating the use of refusal skills in a situation involving peer pressure and tobacco.

Time Required

50-100 min. of groupwork time (plus overnight homework if skit is not completed); 2 hrs. to perform all the skits (for a class of 32).

Materials

Poster paper or newsprint, markers, a tape and/or CD player, lined paper, pencils.

Introduction

This lesson is designed to complement the Bob's Comic Studio activity on the Dig Deeper CD. Adolescent health classes often teach teens to use refusal skills strategies to confront peer pressure. However, when these skills are presented outside the context of an actual situation, it can be difficult to see how to apply them. This activity will is a group-work activity designed to help students imagine situations in which refusal skills would be relevant. Ideally, this activity would take place over several days to allow students to prepare and rehearse.

Background Information

The refusal skills techniques taught on the Dig Deeper CD are:

when you refuse, use the word "no"
reject the tobacco, not the person
hold your ground and don't change your mind
use a firm voice and strong body language
walk away if you have to
offer an alternative
reverse the pressure

Activity

Divide students up into groups of 4-5. Each group must have at least one director, one script-writer, one time-keeper, and one stage manager. Any of these jobs can be shared if you have more than 4 members. Everyone in the group will also be an actor and will help with all the tasks.
Each group will create a one-act play between 10-15 minutes, using the questions (below) to guide them.
After several days of preparation, each group will perform its play in front of the class.

Tasks for Each Group Member

The director's job will be to coordinate the group, and to help everyone rehearse the play.
The script-writer's job will be to write down the dialogue and answer the questions, although everyone else can help with the answers.
The time-keeper's job is to make sure the play is within the time limits, and to make sure any rehearsal or preparation done in class is on-time.
The stage-manager's job is to handle any of the props that are needed for the play, and to be in charge of starting and stopping any music or sound effects.

Questions for Each Group

What is the setting for your play? Create a poster that will hang as a backdrop behind your actors.
Is there any music that you would like to use, either to begin or end the play, or to use as background music? If there is, have one of your group members bring this music into class on a tape or CD.
The theme of this play is tobacco use and refusal skills, and to drive this play, we need a conflict. Think of a situation where a conflict would come up about using tobacco, and describe it in a few sentences.
How many characters will you need for this play? List them by name, and describe each character briefly.
Try improvising your situation a few times to try different outcomes and possibilities. When you find some dialogue that you all like, have the script-writer write them down.