Peer Pressure Lesson Plan: Social and Emotional Learning

Grade Levels: 3-5, 6-8

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This lesson accompanies the BrainPOP topic Peer Pressure, and supports students in developing strategies to resist negative social pressure. Students demonstrate understanding through a variety of projects.

Step 1: ACTIVATE PRIOR KNOWLEDGE

Prompt students to think of a time they felt pressured to do something they didn’t feel comfortable with. Ask:

  • How did you feel?
  • How did you respond?

Step 2: BUILD KNOWLEDGE

  • Read the description on the Peer Pressure topic page.
  • Play the Movie, pausing to check for understanding. 
  • Assign Related Reading. Have students read one of the following articles: “Arts and Entertainment” or “Quotables.” Partner them with someone who read a different article to share what they learned with each other.

Step 3: APPLY and ASSESS 

Assign Peer Pressure Challenge and Quiz, prompting students to apply essential literacy skills while demonstrating what they learned about this topic.

Step 4: DEEPEN and EXTEND

Students express what they learned about peer pressure while practicing essential literacy skills with one or more of the following activities. Differentiate by assigning ones that meet individual student needs.

  • Make-a-Movie: Produce a movie that explains strategies for resisting peer pressure.
  • Make-a-Map: Create a concept map identifying different ways to respond to peer pressure.
  • Creative Coding: Code a comic where one character resists peer pressure from another. 

More to Explore 

Social and Emotional Learning: Continue to build understanding around empathy and respect with BrainPOP’s six-week SEL curriculum that addresses the five CASEL competencies.

Teacher Support Resources:

Lesson Plan Common Core State Standards Alignments

Related:

    Filed as:  3-5, 6-8, BrainPOP, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.3.3, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.3.4, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.3.7, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.3, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.4, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.7, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.5.3