If your class is meeting online, invite your students to bring supplies with them to class.
As your students enter, make index cards and pens/pencils available. Invite students to think about a time when their life changed, for good or for bad, and to write this instance down on their index card.
After all students have arrived, invite volunteers to share their example of when their life changed, keeping their story to one-minute maximum. Examples: “I broke my leg skiing and was no longer able to play basketball that season” or “My parents announced last January that they were getting a divorce,” etc.
Things can happen suddenly that change a person’s life forever. For instance, a car accident that leaves a person with a limp, an overdose that causes a child to live without a parent, or a school shooting that leaves casualties and fear in its wake.
Sometimes, though, dramatic life changes can be good things.
- What kind of big changes might actually be good? (Answers will vary, but examples include: recovering from an injury, getting a new job, going to college, etc.)
We’re going to watch a video clip about a young woman whose life changed dramatically after getting a dog—let’s find out why.
Play the following video [2:11]:
Service dog hopes to aid young NY girl with rare disorder
- How did Maddy’s life change after getting a service dog? (Answers will vary but may include: she was able to live like a typical middle schooler, she could have more privacy and independence without having a night nurse, she always had someone looking out for her health and safety.)
Maddy experienced big changes with getting a service dog—a change that allowed her to have more privacy and independence while still being safe. A changed life…that is what today’s lesson is all about.
