1 - Getting Started ~5 mins
In this lesson you are participating in naming the values that actually drive your choices. A value only counts here if you can name a time you chose it over something else. "I value loyalty" is a wish until you can point at a real day. By the end you will open your Values document in your Strand 1.1 folder with a first evidenced list.
2 - Before We Name Them ~12 mins
Work three short decision scenarios. Each one forces a values-laden choice a senior-cycle student might face. For every card, pick what you would actually do, then name the value that most drove your call and one real time you faced a similar pull. You will meet the same ideas again when you build your evidenced list.
Key terms for this lesson
| Term | What it means for you | Real example |
|---|---|---|
| Values | Central beliefs that motivate action and shape character. They are the reasons behind the choices you will list in your Values document. | Honesty, loyalty, respect, fairness, ambition, kindness, family, independence |
| Priority | How strongly a value ranks when two good options clash. Today you evidence values; next lesson you will rank them. | Choosing truth-telling over covering for a friend on group work |
| Character | The pattern of choices other people can notice over time. Your occasions of choice are early evidence of character, not a final verdict. | Keeping to honesty on group work across several projects even when it costs friendship points each time |
Interactive activity
3 - Spot the Value in the Choice ~20 mins
Read Aoife's short account of three ordinary choices. Label each marked moment with the value it most clearly shows, then reveal the model and see where you agreed. The skill you are practising is the same skill your portfolio needs: value plus occasion, not a bare adjective.
After the model reveal, open your Values document in your Strand 1.1 folder. Write 2–3 evidenced lines now (value, real occasion, what you gave up or refused). If you cannot find an occasion yet, keep the value on the list and mark it clearly as no evidence yet. The end-of-lesson target is 8–10 lines; this step only needs a solid start.
Three choices, three values
4 - One Request, Two Values ~18 mins
Read the case of Sam and Leah. They face the same request from a friend who wants last-minute help on an assessed task. Their priority values differ. Work the three cards and the analysis prompts in discussion or private notes. Only your Values document is submitted work.
Case
Orla messages both friends at 9 p.m.: the Business task is due tomorrow; she is stuck and asks each of them to share their finished section so she can adapt it overnight. Sam's top value right now is loyalty to friends. Leah's top value right now is fairness and honest work. Neither wants to hurt Orla. Neither wants to land in trouble for academic integrity either.
Analyse (discuss or note privately)
- What would Sam most likely do, and what cost would that choice carry?
- What would Leah most likely do, and what cost would that choice carry?
- If you were Orla's friend, which value would win for you tonight, and what is one real past occasion that makes that answer honest rather than ideal?
Return to your Values document and push toward 8–10 lines. Each strong entry names a time, a choice, and what was refused or given up. Mark any value still lacking evidence. Quality of occasion-plus-cost beats empty labels. This list feeds Lesson 7's ranking and later Applied Learning Task evidence in Strand 1.1.
Portfolio entry: filename Values in your Strand 1.1 folder. What it shows: first evidenced values list, each value paired with an occasion of choice, gaps marked for Lesson 7 ranking.
Interactive activity
5 - What You Covered ~5 mins
By now your Values document should hold a first evidenced list, not a wish-list of adjectives.
- Values are central beliefs that motivate action and shape character
- A value only counts in your portfolio when you can name a real occasion you chose it over something else
- Two people can share a value label and still act differently when priorities clash
- Aim for 8–10 entries; any unevidenced values stay listed and marked
- Exit bar for today: several evidenced lines (value + occasion + cost) plus gaps marked is enough to leave. Finish toward 8–10 before Lesson 7. Quality of occasion-plus-cost beats empty labels.
- Next you will rank those values; weak evidence now makes ranking guesswork
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