This sub-organizer contains the following sections:
Prescribed Learning Outcomes
Suggested Instructional Strategies
Suggested Assessment Strategies
Recommended Learning Resources

It is expected that students will:

• explain the relationship between emotions and abusive behaviour
• describe the dynamics of relationships as they apply to abusive situations
• demonstrate problem-solving and assertiveness skills as they apply to relationships
• identify appropriate services, support, or intervention for people in abusive situations

To view the prescribed learning outcomes for Personal Development (Child Abuse Prevention) in other grades click on an icon below.

SUGGESTED INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

ALERT:  When dealing with topics related to abuse, teachers should be aware of district policies regarding any disclosures that might occur.

• Conduct an informal debate on a resolution such as: "Lack of responsibility on the part of an abuser is the only explanation for sexual abuse." Have students on both sides prepare by conducting research (e.g., using sociological, psychological, or criminological findings) to support their arguments. Debrief by validating tenable points made by either side. Assign students to prepare brief reports describing the relationship between emotions and abusive behaviour.
• Have students use cartoons with blank speech and thought bubbles to depict assertiveness skills that could be used in harassment situations. Provide cartoons that show an adult and a teen, a teen and a teen, and a teen and a child, and ask students to fill in the thoughts and words of the characters.
• Have students identify factors that might contribute to a dysfunctional relationship (e.g., substance abuse, lack of emotional control, having been abused as a child).
• Use a carousel approach to have students identify a variety of behaviours that might result from various emotions (e.g., anger, happiness, sadness, confusion). Set up each station to represent an emotion, and have students record ideas about appropriate and inappropriate behaviours that might apply. Debrief by summarizing how inappropriate reactions to emotions might lead to abuse.
• Use role play to have students practise assertiveness in situations involving inappropriate or unwanted pressure.
• Invite a street worker or sexual abuse counsellor to the class to discuss services available to help prevent abuse.

• After students have participated in activities in which they explore the relationship between emotions and abusive behaviour, have them work in pairs to create diagrams or flow charts that illustrate this relationship. Work with students to develop criteria for assessing their representations. For example, to what extent do they present clear and logical information about:
  • the role of emotions in abusive situations
  • how two people's emotions interact
  • points at which emotions can be dealt with in either positive or negative ways
  • the effect of abuse on the emotions of those involved
• Provide questions and prompts such as the following to help students self-assess their understanding of the dynamics of relationships:
  • Power and control are important factors in abusive relationships because __________.
  • An example of this would be __________.
  • Abuse is less likely to occur in a relationship based on equality because __________.
  • Three danger signals that a relationship might be becoming abusive are __________.
• When students engage in role plays in which they demonstrate problem-solving and assertiveness skills, look for evidence that they are able to:
  • identify the issues or problems
  • recognize the other person's emotions
  • state their own positions or needs clearly
  • avoid being sidetracked by irrelevant arguments or appeals
  • suggest options or alternatives to defuse the situations (where appropriate)
• To check on students' knowledge of community resources available to people in abusive situations, distribute a series of relevant situations drawn from newspaper reports and have students identify for each:
  • the nature of the abuse
  • two appropriate local services
  • one source of relevant information
  • an appropriate way of intervening

• Right from the Start - A Look at Dating Violence Prevention for Teens (School Version)
• Mediation in the Schools Program Secondary - Training and Implementation Guide
• Preventing Violence in Families and in Relationships: A Resource Guide
• Managing Conflict: A Curriculum for Adolescents
• A.S.A.P.: A School-based Anti-violence Program - Units 7.1 and 7.2
• He's So Fine: Crossing the Line into Sexual Harassment
• The Walch Real Life Series - Way To Go; Person to Person
• Exploring the Issues: Promoting Peace and Preventing Violence - Part 2

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