Choices That Strengthen Hauora

Overview

In this lesson, students explore healthy alternatives to tobacco use and the reasons people may choose them. They apply goal-setting knowledge from earlier lessons to create a personal decision plan that supports their hauora and can be shared through a chosen presentation format. The lesson uses non-judgemental discussion and does not ask students to disclose personal or family experiences.

Learning intentions

• WALT identify healthy alternatives to tobacco use and explain how they support hauora.
• WALT recognise influences that can affect health-related decisions.
• WALT use baseline information and SMART principles to create an achievable personal goal.
• WALT plan how to communicate a positive health decision to others.

Success criteria

• I can describe at least three healthy alternatives to tobacco and link them to dimensions of hauora.
• I can identify a possible pressure or influence and suggest a safe response.
• I can write a specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound goal.
• I can create a clear plan to showcase a healthy decision.

Curriculum links

• Health and Physical Education — Personal exercise plan: setting SMART goals based on baseline data.
• Health and Physical Education — Personal exercise plan: using accurate information to track progress and reflect.
• Health and Physical Education — Practices: applying goal setting and focus-control strategies to sustain performance.
• Hauora and wellbeing: making informed, health-enhancing decisions and considering influences on wellbeing.

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Safe hook. Teacher opens the hook and learning intention slides with the question, “What could someone choose instead of tobacco when they feel stressed, pressured or curious?” Establish that students may discuss scenarios rather than personal experiences, and remind them that support is available from a trusted adult, school health professional or counsellor. Students write one private response, then share only if comfortable.

2. 5–15 min · Build shared understanding. Teacher uses the hauora and healthy choices slides to clarify that tobacco can affect physical, mental and emotional, social, and spiritual wellbeing. Explain that “healthy alternative” means a safer action that meets a need, such as managing stress, connecting with others or feeling confident; it does not mean replacing one addictive product with another. Students complete a quick think-pair-share: identify one alternative for managing stress, one for social connection and one for physical wellbeing.

3. 15–25 min · Scenario discussion. Teacher displays the influence and scenario discussion slides and places students in six groups of five. Give each group one scenario, such as: friends offer a cigarette or vape; someone feels stressed before an assessment; a person wants to fit in at a social event; or someone is curious after seeing tobacco advertising. Groups discuss: What influences the decision? What could the person say or do? Who could support them? Students record two possible responses and one support person on the healthy choices and decision-planning worksheet.

4. 25–35 min · Model SMART planning. Teacher models on the SMART goal modelling slides how a vague intention becomes a useful goal. For example: “I will use a five-minute walk, music or breathing to manage assessment stress at least three times this week, and record what I tried after each occasion.” Connect the goal to baseline information, such as a current stress rating, number of active breaks or use of a coping strategy. Students improve one vague goal in pairs, checking it against each SMART feature.

5. 35–50 min · Create a decision plan. Teacher directs students to complete the individual planning section of the healthy choices and decision-planning worksheet. Students choose one healthy decision they could realistically practise, identify the situation or trigger, write a SMART goal, list two action steps, name a support person or service, and select a way to showcase the decision. Options include a mini-poster, three-slide presentation, spoken explanation, comic strip or short video storyboard. Students should not include personal tobacco-use information.

6. 50–57 min · Peer feedback and refine. Teacher uses the peer-feedback and showcase-planning slides to provide the feedback prompts: “Is the choice clear?”, “Is the goal measurable?”, “Does the plan support hauora?”, and “Could the message be respectful and safe?” Students exchange plans with a partner, give two strengths and one suggestion, then make one improvement.

7. 57–60 min · Plenary and exit check. Teacher returns to the plenary and exit-ticket slide and asks students to complete the final section of the healthy choices and decision-planning worksheet: one healthy alternative, one SMART feature they used, and one trusted source of support. Invite two or three volunteers to share general strategies, not personal stories.

Resources

• the Healthy Lifestyle Choices slide deck
• the healthy choices and decision-planning worksheet
• Whiteboard or projector
• Pens or pencils
• Timer
• Scenario prompts prepared on the worksheet
• School wellbeing or counselling support information

Assessment

• Listen during group discussions for students identifying influences, safe responses and links to hauora.
• Check the worksheet for a realistic healthy alternative, a complete SMART goal, action steps and a support person or service.
• Use the exit check to identify misconceptions and students who may need support refining a goal or accessing wellbeing services.

Differentiation

• Provide a word bank and sentence starters, such as “Instead of tobacco, someone could…”, “This supports my … wellbeing because…”, and “I will measure this by…”.
• Offer students a choice of written, visual, spoken or storyboard formats; allow speech-to-text, scribing or oral recording where appropriate.
• Pair students thoughtfully and provide pre-selected scenarios for students who need reduced cognitive load. Avoid requiring disclosure and allow a private teacher check-in.
• Extend confident students by asking them to explain how advertising, peers, stress or access can influence decisions and how their plan could be evaluated using reliable data over time.
• For EAL learners, preview key terms with simple definitions and visuals: influence, alternative, trigger, support, SMART and hauora.