1. Unit 7: Health & LifeSkills Intro Importance Purpose Ground Rules Lesson 1: Self-Image, Self-Improvement & Goal Setting

2. What is the LifeSkills Program? A program designed to teach students a specific set of skills that will help them effectively deal with the many problems facing them in today’s world. Surprisingly, these are not taught to us in school; they are not usually taught at home, in college or on the job; in fact they are rarely taught at all.

3. Purpose Developed by Gilbert J. Botvin, Ph.D., to provide an organized way for students to learn these important skills He discovered that students who received this program were not only better prepared to deal with challenges of life but also less likely to smoke, drink, or use drugs.

4. LifeSkills teaches the knowledge and skills necessary to: Increase your self-esteem Increase your ability to make decisions and solve problems Communicate effectively Avoid misunderstandings Manage anxiety Make new friends Stand up for your rights Say “no” to unfair requests

5. What are Ground Rules? Why should we have Ground Rules in place?

6. What are the Ground Rules? Only one person talks at a time. Everyone should have the opportunity to participate. Students are free to express their opinions or participate in group activities without being subjected to criticism.

7. Ground Rules cont’d Respect your fellow students; listen to them and their ideas. Anything discussed in the group remains confidential. We do not give names or other identifying info! You may say, “Someone I know…”.

8. Consequence for breaking Ground Rules Students who break a Ground Rule will be given a consequence, possibly assigned a DETENTION.

9. Self-Image & Self-Improvement What is Self-Image ? Self –Image is how we see ourselves. It is the mental picture we have of ourselves.

10. Now turn to page 12 of the LifeSkills book & complete Worksheet 1: How I See Myself. We will discuss once everyone has finished.

11. How do we develop our Self-Image? Formed by our past experiences (successes & failures) What people have told us about ourselves – like teachers, coaches & parents. For example, if you’re told you’re good at something, you generally believe it.

12. Self –image is generally a reflection of who we really are, but we don’t always see ourselves as we really are.

13. Positives Good grades=do well in school & work hard Satisfied with who we are Feel successful & popular Feel confident

14. Negatives Might drink, smoke, use drugs

15. Our general self-image is made of separate self-images relating to ourselves in specific situations. EX: good baseball player, bad swimmer, good writer, average math student, etc…

16. How can you improve your Self-Image? 1.Never form a negative self-image after 1 or 2 bad experiences. 2.Look at yourself realistically 3.Identify your strengths & weaknesses 4.Work to improve areas of weakness 5.Set goals for yourself & decide what you’d like to accomplish & DO IT!

17. Now turn to page 13 of the LifeSkills book & complete Worksheet 2: Taking Stock. We will discuss once everyone has finished.

18. How to Set Goals: 1.Pick a realistic goal 2.Pick something manageable & create sub-goals or small steps you need to take along the way 3.Choose something measurable to see if you’re getting there 4.Pick something meaningful to you, not just things you should do

19. Tips for Achieving Your Goals: 1.Maintain a positive attitude 2.Change things as needed 3.Remember mistakes are common & you can learn from them 4.Don’t give up 5.Praise yourself for progress towards your goal 6.Imagine yourself achieving your goal

20. Now turn to page 15 of the LifeSkills book & complete Worksheet 3: Recording My Progress. We will discuss once everyone has finished.

21. What did you learn today? How can you use what you have learned today to maintain a positive self- image?