Assertiveness Skills

In the grade 7 health curriculum there is a unit on Assertiveness Skills. In this unit students develop the skills to access information, evaluate it, and then make an informed decision. The Assertiveness Skills Unit assists students in developing effective skills to say 'No' in particular situations. Deciding to say 'No', vocalizing it, and then sticking to it, can be very difficult for many students. Assertiveness training, combined with practising a variety of strategies for saying 'No', gives youth the skills to face persistent pressure regarding smoking, alcohol, drugs, or sex; in fact, pressure to do anything that they do not want to do or know to be wrong.

I found a great site called Why kids say no to tobacco on how that will teach children that it is okay to say no to smoking and other tobacco products. This site have tons of great information to show students how to say no when faced with the pressure of trying smoking. It teaches these children about all the effects the tobacco can have on their body and shows them what can happen if they do decide to smoke. I would have the students go and read all the information on the page about smoking and the tips on how to say no. I would then give the students a scenario that someone was pressuring them to try smoking and they would have to write a couple paragraphs on why they would say no and how they would say no.

This site is a great way to show kids how to say no. After they read all the information about what can happen to them if they smoked should also help in their decision just to say no. Also the tips on how to say no should really help them when they are faced with a situation to try these things.