California Career and Technical Education Standards

• HSMT.FS.2.0 Communications
• HSMT.FS.5.3 Use critical thinking skills to make informed decisions and solve problems.

California Academic Content Standards (Reinforced)

• ELA.9-10.W.2.4b Write persuasive compositions that use specific rhetorical devices to support as...
• ELA.9-10.W.2.4c Write persuasive compositions that clarify and defend positions with precise and...

• Assess prior knowledge and beliefs about death and dying - Hooks / Set

  After the students get seated and the bell rings, I pass out the worksheet, "How do you feel about death?"  The students complete the worksheet while I complete attendance.  After the students finish their worksheet, they then share their responses and discuss how they feel about death with the person sitting next to them.  My student assistant will collect and tally the responses on the worksheet to use later in this lesson.

  • how do you feel updated [ Download ]
• Introduce concepts of the death and dying - Lecture

  Using powerpoint, students will be provided with an overview of the death and dying process; the five stages of death, what dying people need and how to help them, characteristics of hospice care, Bill of Rights for the terminally ill, and the features of a living will.  Students will take notes on the powerpoint, which will be turned in at the end of the unit with their packet before the unit exam.

  • D and D powerpoint [ Download ]
• Reinforce understanding by providing examples - Demo / Modeling

  Review each stage in the acceptance of death and  provide an example of how to be of help to someone at each of the five stages. Share with students that individuals can move from one stage to another i.e shock to anger and then move back to shock.  It is very normal and people will not always progress through stages of death at the same time.  For example, the patient may move into the anger stage while the family is still in the shock stage.

  • death and dying/help [ Download ]
• Group work - Group Work

  Break the students up into small groups of 3-4 students per group. 

  The students will:

  1.  Explain how a person might respond at each stage in the acceptance of death.

  2.  List at least two things that they can do to help the person at each stage in the acceptance of death.  They may not use the same example of help more than once.

  3.  The students will choose only one of the stages in the acceptance of death and share their responses to questions 1 and 2 with regard to specific stage they chose.

  4.  Each group will turn in their completed group worksheet.
• Death and Dying-Independent Practice - Other

  The students will outline the five stages in the acceptance of death and provide an example, see worksheet

  • independent practice [ Download ]
• share results of anticipatory set - Closure

  Review the results of the "How do you feel about death?" with the students.  This is the tally my student assistant did at the beginning of class.  We will then have a whole class discussion about our differing beliefs on death.