What Do You Think?

These discussion scenarios for Elementary School and Middle School provide the opportunity for participants to examine their thinking on a range of issues relating to gang activity, criminal behavior and other delinquency. It provides the counselor or teacher with a powerful tool for getting to know the mindset of a participant and for cognitive restructuring.

This resource is designed to be used flexibly with classes and groups or with individuals. They are an ideal way to begin a session, to end a session, or to break up a longer session by changing the focus for a few minutes.

Each scenario includes one or more questions intended to guide participants towards examining the thinking behind the scenario — and their own thinking.

The role of the leader is to encourage discussion and self-disclosure, and to gently guide a critical examination of where each participant stands on a particular issue. Using the questions, and counseling skills, the participant may be guided to challenge his/her own thinking.

These are open-ended activities. There is no single right answer. Ideally, the process of examining their thinking can lead to an awareness that some ways of thinking may lead to problems, or harmful consequence, for themselves or others.