Making Choices and Understanding Consequences
Students learn to list pros and cons for a choice and explain the reasoning, predict the most likely outcome and explain why, identify a choice that balances short and long-term consequences and explain the tradeoff, explain how the same choice can have different effects for different people, and compare what they expected to what actually happened, naming one factor they didn't consider.
Lesson Overview
What students will be able to do after this lesson: Students will be able to think through a choice by listing pros and cons with reasoning, predicting likely outcomes, considering short- and long-term tradeoffs and how choices land differently for different people, and reflecting on what they expected versus what actually happened.
Skill segments at a glance:
| Segment | Segment name | Primary standards |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Weighing the Options | RDM-CHO-3-1 · RDM-CHO-3-2 |
| 2 | Thinking Deeper | RDM-CHO-3-3 · RDM-CHO-3-4 |
| 3 | Looking Back | RDM-CHO-3-5 |
Supporting standards reinforced:
| Code | Why it connects |
|---|---|
| SA-VAL-3-2 | When students weigh pros and cons, they are naturally drawing on what matters to them — what they value — to decide which sides carry more weight. |
| RDM-PRB-3-3 | Predicting likely outcomes with reasoning (Segment 1) is the same cognitive move as using evidence to evaluate options — this lesson builds the thinking that RDM-PRB will formalize. |
Key Vocabulary
- Pros — the things about a choice that could help you, work well, or make something better
- Cons — the things about a choice that could cost you, create a problem, or make something harder
- Outcome — what actually happens as a result of a choice
- Consequence — a result or effect that follows from a choice — it can be helpful, challenging, or a mix of both
- Tradeoff — when making a choice means giving something up to get something else
- Short-term — what happens right away or soon after a choice
- Long-term — what happens later, after more time has passed
Materials
- Whiteboard or chart paper and markers
- Before the week begins: Post your unit anchor chart and I Can Statement where students can see them — you’ll reference both throughout the week.
- Optional: sticky notes for We Do Segment 2 (students can jot their tradeoff before sharing)
How this lesson is structured: Each skill segment below has an I Do (teacher models the skill with a realistic scenario) and a We Do (class practices together with your guidance). Independent practice — the You Do — lives in the practice resources that go alongside this lesson.
What Students Need Before This Lesson
- What’s inside
- What students should already be able to do
- Helpful to have in place
- 3 quick set-ups before the I DoThe difference between a reason and a preference · A prediction is not a wish · “It affects others” is not enough
- Rescue planIf students are significantly behind
This section opens when Grade 3 launches.
Introducing the Skill
- What’s inside
- Opening hook
- What we’re learning
- Why it matters
- Core sentence frameThe frame students use all week
This section opens when Grade 3 launches.
Weighing the Options
- What’s inside
- I do: 4 teacher modelsTextbook example: weighing a real choice using both frames · Wrong version → fix: listing without reasons · Adding the prediction: what will probably happen — and why · Non-conflict scenario: weighing a choice where both options are genuinely good
- We do: 4 guided scenariosWith sentence frames, pacing notes and what to watch for
- Coaching in the momentWhat to say when students get stuck
This section opens when Grade 3 launches.
Thinking Deeper
- What’s inside
- I do: 4 teacher modelsTextbook example: naming the short-term and long-term tradeoff · Wrong version → fix: picking “right now” without thinking about later · How the same choice affects different people differently · Both dimensions together: a choice with a tradeoff AND an effect on someone else
- We do: 3 guided scenariosWith sentence frames, pacing notes and what to watch for
- Coaching in the momentWhat to say when students get stuck
This section opens when Grade 3 launches.
Looking Back
- What’s inside
- I do: 3 teacher modelsTextbook example: looking back clearly and naming what was missed · Wrong version → fix: “it didn’t work out” is not a reflection · Positive surprise: looking back when things go better than expected
- We do: 3 guided scenariosWith sentence frames, pacing notes and what to watch for
- Coaching in the momentWhat to say when students get stuck
This section opens when Grade 3 launches.
Closing the Week
- What’s inside
- 3 partner-share roundsOne for each segment, with the frame students say together
- Round 1 — Pros, cons, and predictions
- Round 2 — Tradeoffs and effects on others
- Round 3 — Looking back
- Land the key idea
This section opens when Grade 3 launches.
Practice for every skill segment
Each lesson comes with independent practice — the “you do” — for each of its 3 skill segments, in print and digital.
Printable practice
Ready-to-copy practice pages for each segment.
- View and print in your browser
- Answer keys for quick checking
Digital activities
Share one link — students open it on any device, and you see their answers.
- Works on Chromebooks, tablets and phones
- Students just type their name to start
While you wait: from the SEL Resource Library
Responsible Decision-Making resources for Grade 3, ready to use today.
