Lesson Plan from Guide to Implementing TAP (Teens for AIDS Prevention): A Peer Education Program to Prevent HIV/STD Infection

Purpose: To introduce vocabulary about HIV and AIDS and to present methods for seeking additional information about HIV.

Materials: A copy of the HIV/AIDS Vocabulary List handout for each TAP member, 5 x 7 index cards, pamphlets on HIV, and contact information for national and local hotlines and health departments.

Time: 45 minutes

Planning Notes: Write one word from the HIV/AIDS Vocabulary List on each index card. Select some or all of the words on the list to use in the game, adding others as appropriate.

Procedure: Ask for an even number of volunteers (eight to 16). Have each volunteer bring his/her chair and align the chairs so that the volunteers face each other in pairs. For example, if there are 10 volunteers, have one row of five facing another row of five to create five teams of two each.

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1. Explain the exercise to the participants. You will hold up a card with a word on it so that only one member of one team will be able to see the word. Half the participants will have their backs to you. The team member who can see the word must think of a one-word clue that will enable his/her partner to guess the word on the card. (For example, if the word is homosexual, the clue could be gay.) The partner has only one chance to guess the correct word. If he/she does not guess correctly, you will move on to the next team and again hold up the same card with the same word. Encourage participants to use slang terms to help their partners.
2. Proceed down the row until someone gives the correct answer. If either the clue giver or the one guessing takes too long, say the team has lost its chance and move on down the row. Participants may pass, but encourage everyone to participate even if they are unsure what the word means. This game is fun, and people can have a good time using some of the slang words they know.
3. Proceed on in this fashion, but give everyone a chance to be the clue giver and the one who guesses the word. This will mean that you will alternate the sides on which you hold up a new card.
4. After a team has guessed the word correctly, ask everyone to participate in explaining what the word means and why it is an issue in HIV/STI prevention.
5. Play the game for about 30 minutes and then process this activity by discussing how these words relate to HIV/AIDS and how the epidemic almost has a language of its own. Some of the most interesting words to process will be ones like fear and loneliness because they often bring up interesting discussions. You may also want to point out that we have many slang words for our sexual organs and sexual body parts, but few for other body parts—such as arm—with which we are more comfortable.
6. Give each participant member a copy of the HIV/AIDS Vocabulary List handout to keep. Go over the vocabulary quickly and ask youth to make note of any questions raised by any word(s) on the list. Suggest that they leave questions about particular words in the Suggestion Box for discussion at the beginning of the next session.