Lesson 9.4: Dating Relationships

Overview

This lesson focuses on advocating for safe and respectful dating as well as refusal skills to stay true to the emotional and physical boundaries you have set for yourself. The advantages of abstinence are discussed as well as the consequences of early and unprotected sexual behaviors.

Learning Targets

  • LO15: Examine the characteristics of a healthy dating relationship.
  • LO16: Explain three advantages to choosing abstinence.
  • LO17: Practice your refusal skills for a potential physically intimate situation.
  • LO18: Summarize the consequences of early and unprotected sexual behaviors.

Preparation

For the Warm-Up Activity: Write the Journal Question on the board or identify (and copy as needed) the worksheets you plan to use:

For the Content Focus: Open the Lesson 9.4 PowerPoint slides or make copies of the Lesson 9.4 Note-Taking Guide.

For the Lesson Focus: Copy the 9.4 Skill-Building Challenge Worksheet: Healthy Communication.

Warm-Up Activity

Select a warm-up activity to help get your class focused and on task.

  • Journal Question: List three qualities the person you date must have and explain why you need them to have those qualities.
    • Option: Write or project the question and have students respond in their journal or on their “bell ringer” sheet as they enter class.
    • Option: Have students discuss the question with a partner or in a small group.
  • Vocabulary Review: Have students work individually, in pairs, or in small groups to complete the Lesson 9.4 Vocabulary Review Worksheet.
  • Quiz: Have students complete the Lesson 9.4 Quiz to assess their prior knowledge.
    • Option: Collect the quiz and use it alongside a posttest to demonstrate student learning.
    • Option: Have students share their answers with a partner and then go over the answers together as a class.

Lesson Content

Review the content from the textbook lesson.

Lesson Focus: Healthy Communication

  1. Provide one copy of the Lesson 9.4 Skill-Building Challenge Worksheet: Healthy Communication for each student.
  2. Have students read the scenario and answer the questions in order to write a refusal response for the scenario presented.
  3. If time allows, have students share their refusal response with a partner.

Challenge Activity

Have students needing an additional challenge work on the following Thinking Critically task.

Why do you think it would be important in a relationship to establish boundaries around physical intimacy?

Reflection and Summary

Review the critical content from today’s lesson. Review the learning targets and ask students to answer each question posed.

Can you...

  • Examine the characteristics of a healthy dating relationship?

    A healthy dating relationship should have the following characteristics: honesty, good communication, mutual respect, mutual affection, physical and emotional attraction, respect for individuality, stability, safety, and equality.

  • Explain three advantages to choosing abstinence?

    No health risks; won’t get pregnant; won’t contract an STD; no need to plan for abstinence; abstinence is free and readily available; emotional and social problems are reduced; able to wait until you are ready for a sexual relationship; able to honor your personal, moral, or religious beliefs.

  • Practice your refusal skills for a potential physically intimate situation?

    Refusal skills are techniques you use to say no to something you don’t want to do. You should always use a combination of verbal and nonverbal communication to emphasize your point.

  • Summarize the consequences of early and unprotected sexual behaviors.

    Physical risks can include becoming pregnant or contracting a sexually transmitted disease (STD).

    Social risks may involve feelings of not belonging or not being “normal” if teens are comparing their own sexual activity or lack of sexual activity to what their peers may say they are doing or what they see in social media.

    Mental health risks include possible anxiety about the consequences or about being pressured to be sexually active. Depression may also be a factor if an individual feels guilty about being sexually active.

    Emotional risks and consequences can include not having the emotional maturity to manage a sexual relationship, which can be damaging to teens’ self-esteem.

Assessment

Complete one or more of the following assessment tasks for this lesson.

  • Quiz: Have students take the Lesson 9.4 quiz.
  • Reviewing Vocabulary: Collect the Lesson 9.4 Vocabulary Review Worksheet and evaluate it for accuracy.
  • Note-Taking Guide: Collect the completed Lesson 9.4 Note-Taking Guide and spot-check one or more items for completion and accuracy.
  • Skill-Building Challenge Worksheet: Have students submit the 9.4 Skill-Building Challenge Worksheet: Healthy Communication and use the Holistic Rubric: Healthy Communication to evaluate their skill development.
  • Journal Question: Ask students to respond to the Journal Question again, adding information they learned from today’s class. Require a one-paragraph response that uses proper grammar.
  • Test: Have students take the Chapter Test, which covers material from all four lessons, or create a test using the online test bank.
  • Test: Have students take the Unit III Test, which covers chapters 7, 8, and 9. You may also create your own unit test from the individual chapter tests, if you prefer.

Take It Home

Talk to a family member or trusted adult about expectations of dating. Are your expectations about dating and what rules apply to dating the same as those of your family member or trusted adult? Write a paragraph explaining your response.