Problem Solving and Decision Making


What is the “big idea” for this lesson?

  • Bad days are going to happen to all of us.

  • Even if some things have gone wrong we can keep our eyes open for what is going right!

  • We can choose to make a choice on how to solve a problem or to learn something new. (We can be the egg or the bouncing ball - showing resilience!)

Reflection questions:

  1. What did we learn was at the center of a problem?

  2. How do you tackle your problems?

  3. What are some of your character strengths that help you solve a problem? Or how do others solve a problem in your family?

Problem Solving and Decision Making Activity

We can have a problem (like having a hard day)  and still keep our eyes open for what is going right or the chance to learn something new.  Every problem has an opportunity for something good, you just have to look for it. (We can bounce back like the ball even if we feel at first like the egg that felt splat!) That is Resilience!

Brainstorm:

  1. What was a recent problem that you had or that you were a part of? Choose a problem that is manageable for you. 

  2. If you can’t come up with a personal problem that you are ok with sharing, then create a “problem” that you can use here for this activity.

  3. Think about how the problem started, what the problem was, and how the problem was solved. 

  4. Did you find any opportunity that came from having this problem? What helped you look for the good?

Materials: 

  • Paper

  • Pencil or pen and your favorite drawing supplies (markers, crayons, pencils, etc.)


Directions:

  1. Draw 4 squares on your paper (one line from top to bottom and one from side to side in the middle) to make 4 equal areas.


  2. In the first box on the top left, write “The Problem” at the top of the box.


  3. In the next box to the right, write “What happened next?”.  Write this same thing for the bottom left box.  


  4. In the last box on the bottom right, write “Problem Solved”.



  5. Use the boxes to create a comic strip with characters, anything that they are saying to each other to show what the problem was, how the characters in the comic worked on solving the problem and what happened, and finally, how the problem was solved.



  6. If you would like to make your comic longer, you can extend the comic to another 4 squares on the backside of this paper you are using or on another sheet.  *This is optional.*

 
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Bonus Video:

 
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