To better gauge student understanding, it is important to have them expand on the refusal skills they have learned. In this activity, students will create a story showing a successful use of a refusal skill discussed previously. Have the students chose one of the following refusal skills and depict its use in a narrative.
After completing the storyboards, you can have students present their storyboard and discuss why they believe the refusal strategy they selected is the best for the situation they created.
Lower Level: Use the example storyboard and edit out the conversation. Have the student show a conversation with a successful broken record refusal.
(These instructions are completely customizable. After clicking "Copy Activity", update the instructions on the Edit Tab of the assignment.)
Student Instructions
Create a storyboard narrative in six cells where a person is successfully using a refusal skill to pressure from a peer.
Role-playing helps students practice realistic peer pressure scenarios in a safe setting. This builds confidence and ensures they know how to apply refusal skills outside of class.
Assign students to be the peer pressurer, the resister, or observers. Clear roles ensure everyone knows their part and can focus on practicing specific skills.
Demonstrate a brief role-play with another adult or student, clearly using one refusal skill. This helps students visualize effective responses and sets expectations for their own performances.
Allow students to rotate roles so each can experience being both the person pressured and the one refusing. This deepens understanding and empathy.
After role-playing, discuss as a class which refusal skills felt most natural or effective. Encourage students to share challenges and insights so everyone benefits from the collective experience.
A refusal narrative is a storytelling activity where students create a scenario showing how to say no to peer pressure using specific refusal skills. This helps them practice and internalize strategies like being assertive or using an excuse in real-life situations.
Guide students to create a six-cell storyboard depicting a peer pressure situation and demonstrate a successful use of a refusal skill. Encourage discussion on why the chosen strategy works best, and allow for individual, partner, or group work.
Common refusal skills include being assertive, repeating a firm response (the "broken record"), giving a polite excuse, or ignoring the pressure ("cold shoulder"). Teaching these provides students with practical ways to resist unwanted peer influence.
Practicing refusal skills prepares students to handle real-life situations where they may be pressured to do something they don't want to do. It builds confidence, decision-making abilities, and helps reinforce healthy boundaries.
For lower-level learners, use a sample storyboard and remove the dialogue. Have students focus on illustrating a conversation using the "broken record" refusal skill, making the activity more accessible and guided.