A Lesson Plan from Life Planning Education: A Youth Development Program

Purpose: To practice communicating comfortably and effectively about AIDS

Materials: Leader's Resource, Role Play Situations (pdf); paper

Time: 60-90 minutes

Planning Notes:

• Adapt the situations included on the Leader's Resource so they are appropriate for your group or ask a few group members to create new role play situations that are realistic for their peer group.
• Write the situations on sheets of paper, to distribute in Step 4.

1. Explain that role play is an educational technique that allows individuals to take on the role of another person. The actors practice feeling, talking and acting like someone else. Role play helps the players increase their empathy for others and it allows the audience to observe how people deal with each other in difficult situations.
2. Remind group members of previous role play they've done. Explain that this role-play will focus on avoiding HIV.
3. Have participants work in small groups on a situation for 15 minutes to prepare a two  to three minute role play performance.
4. Divide into small groups and give each a situation. Allow them 10-15 minutes to read over their situation, assume their roles and work out their performance. In each group, several people will play the various roles and others can offer ideas and coaching during the rehearsal. Ask the actors to demonstrate positive and realistic behavior that protects against HIV. Visit each group and offer ideas, if necessary.
5. After 15 minutes, reconvene the large group and begin the presentations. After each, use the following process to discuss the role play:
• • Actors will discuss what it was like to play their roles.
• The audience will offer reactions to the role play. Was the situation realistic? Which characters were most likeable and why? How did the actors try to prevent HIV? What assertive behavior did you see? How could the situation have been handled differently?
• In addition, use the discussion points from the Leader's Resource to explore the specifics of each situation.
6. Repeat this procedure for all of the assigned role play situations. When discussing each, you might choose to have all the boys answer the questions while the girls listen, and then have all the girls answer while the boys listen. This is a good way for each gender to hear the other's point of view.
7. Conclude the activity using the Discussion Points.

1. Consider videotaping the presentations. Ask teens to comment on nonverbal as well as verbal messages.
2. Assign more than one group the same role play situation. After each one has performed, discuss the dilemmas, options chosen and different outcomes.

1. Which of the situations was the easiest? The most difficult?
2. How would it be to deal with these situations in real life?
3. What skills or information do you need to protect yourself from HIV?
4. What lesson can you take away from this activity? How will you use that lesson in your life?