Your students make decisions every day (hopefully they all made the decision to come to class today). This may have been a “no decision” for them; a few different people are making sure they are in school everyday. There are two other types of decisions: snap decisions and reasonable decisions. Whether or not they raise their hand in class is a “snap decision”. They must decide quickly before someone else raises their hand. This decision is usually made without contemplation of consequences or outcomes. Doing their homework after school or during lunch is a “reasonable decision”. This is because they weigh their options and choose the best possible outcome. Should I do my homework at school while I eat so I can watch a movie later, or do it at night after dinner at home?

Asking the students to create a storyboard showing the three different types of decisions will help them remember content. If you ask them to depict decisions they either made today or in the last few days will reinforce another learning goal. The fact that they make decisions every day may ease the pressure and give them confidence in making those more consequential decisions, such as applying for colleges or refusing to fall into peer pressure.

Have students create a three cell storyboard with a title and description. Each title should indicate which type of decision, the cell should depict a decision they made, with the description describing how it classifies as the decision type.

Students typically do not get positive praise for every good decision they make. When they take a step back and reflect on their good decisions, it will reinforce them to continue their behaviors. Also, having the student share with the class will allow others to look at what the peers are doing each day, the goal being to support a positive decision making environment.

Ask students to make a five cell storyboard all about positive decisions. The first two cells should depict things they have done the day before. The middle cell should show what they will do or have done today. Finally, the last two cells should show what they should decide tomorrow. This will help them paint a positive picture of themselves and mimic goal setting for the future.

Tough decisions are only difficult because of hard choices. We tend to get high anxiety when it comes to major life decisions. The truth is, whenever there is no clear winning option for any decision, it’s classified as a hard decision. An example would be trying to decide which one dollar scratch ticket to buy. Each option has similar risks with no guarantee for results.

When it comes to big life decisions, you can usually find your answer while looking at the short-term and long-term outcomes of each option. Eventually students will be facing the difficult decision of what to do after high school. There is pressure from their parents, the school, society, and themselves to choose wisely. In reality, they have a lot of time to really figure out what they want to do and they can change their mind at anytime. Their answers may get a lot clearer if they look at the short-term and long-term outcomes.

Creating a decision through a storyboard can help visualize what the future may look like. Have them create a usually stressful decision. They will be looking at the short-term and long-term outcomes and then reflecting. After weighing them out, the decision should be easier to make.