Adult Roles and Responsibilities: Understanding Advanced Directives

Adult Roles and Responsibilities:  Understanding Advanced Directives

Grade Level: 10th-12th

Subject: Adult Roles and Responsibilities

Duration: 2 (50 minute periods)

DOK Level: 2

SAMR Level: 2

Indiana Standard:

Core Standard 3 Integrate multiple lifespan roles and responsibilities in family, career, and community setting

Objective:

Students will understand the nature of advance directives and formulate opinions/viewpoints regarding their own end of life decisions.

Essential Question:

  1.  What are advance directives and why should I understand and discuss it now?
  2.  What is the impact on families regarding one’s decisions about advanced directives?

Procedure:

  1.  Students will read the resource about entitled, What are Advanced Directives?

http://www.caringinfo.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3285

      2.    Students will discuss their opinions/viewpoints based on their current age and compare those with how they might feel as an aged individual.  Students will also discuss the impact their own viewpoint or decision might have on their family.

      3.   Student will be paired in groups of two and use iMovie to construct a one minute video of their own personal thoughts about advanced directives.  (Students will be given latitude on what material they include in the video - a statement of their own wishes, how they might address feelings with their families regarding death, their own personal feelings regarding death in general, how they handled the death of an important pet or person in their lives)

NOTE:  Great sensitivity on the part of the instructor in necessary.  It is helpful to guide students in understanding this is a decision that almost everyone has to address either for themselves or an aging parent/grandparent.  I had tremendous success with my students and they became quite mature about this delicate topic by the end of our unit.

Product or Assessment: Students will produce an individual iMovie regarding the topic of advanced directives.

Accommodations:

Students could complete research only on one of the following topics:  career fields that direct individuals about advanced directives - hospice workers, physicians, social workers. Students could verbally discuss their personal viewpoints instead of completing a video.

Enrichment:

Students could visit a hospice center or social worker to discuss advanced directives.  Students could research the specific laws that pertain to their state regarding advanced directives.

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