A Better Way to Make Decisions: The DECIDE Model for High School

This decision making lesson for high school gives students a practical process they can use when a choice has meaningful consequences. Rather than telling students to “make good choices,” the lesson teaches the DECIDE model: define the decision, establish what matters, consider realistic options, identify consequences, decide and act, and evaluate afterward.

This is Lesson 1.08 in the Life Management course. It is designed as the direct follow-up to Why We Make Bad Decisions.

Learning Goals and Standards

Students identify influences on a decision, compare at least three realistic options, examine immediate and later consequences, defend a choice using stated priorities, and identify a first action and backup plan. The lesson aligns with Ontario Personal Life Management expectations in C1, especially C1.1 through C1.4, with supporting financial decision-making connections in C2.1 and C2.3.

The resource also includes cross-curricular literacy connections for collaborative discussion, clear presentation, and evidence-based writing. Teachers can match those skills to the grade-level standards used in their setting.

Lesson Length and Materials

The lesson is designed for approximately 70 minutes. Students need the slideshow and the Decision Challenge handout. The main scenario is fictional so the class can evaluate a realistic financial and social decision without asking students to disclose personal finances.

Bell Ringer: What Would You Do with $500?

Give students a simple hypothetical: someone unexpectedly has $500 available and several competing priorities. Ask what information they would want before deciding how to use it.

The best answers usually move beyond the amount of money itself. Students may want to know what bills or goals exist, whether something needs replacing, how urgent each option is, and what the person values most. That naturally introduces the idea that good decisions begin by defining what matters.

Mini-Lesson: The DECIDE Model

D — Define the decision. State exactly what choice needs to be made. A vague problem creates vague options.

E — Establish what matters. Identify the priorities, limits, deadlines, values, or responsibilities that should guide the choice.

C — Consider options. Generate more than two possibilities when possible. A third option often reveals a compromise or alternative that was easy to miss.

I — Identify consequences. Compare what could happen immediately and later for each option.

D — Decide and act. Choose the option that best fits the established priorities and identify the next concrete action.

E — Evaluate afterward. Check the result and decide whether the plan should continue, change, or be replaced.

Main Activity: Jordan’s Decision Challenge

Jordan has saved $600 toward a school laptop. The current laptop is becoming unreliable, but an appealing trip with friends would cost about $350. Students must generate three realistic options rather than choosing immediately between “laptop” and “trip.”

They then establish priorities, compare immediate and later consequences, and use a simple decision matrix to test the options. One possible solution is a lower-cost social alternative that preserves more of the laptop fund, but the lesson is designed so multiple answers can be strong if the reasoning is consistent.

Why Three Options Matter

Students often treat decisions as a forced choice between two extremes. Requiring a third option can change the quality of the discussion. The third option might delay one choice, reduce its cost, combine pieces of two options, or identify a different way to meet the same need.

Ask students whether their third option is truly different or merely a small wording change. The goal is to expand the decision space.

Decision Coach: Partner Review

After students make a tentative decision, partners act as Decision Coaches. They check whether the stated priorities match the final choice, whether important consequences were ignored, and whether the first action is specific enough to carry out.

The partner is not asked to choose for Jordan. The purpose is to test the reasoning. Students then revise one part of their plan.

Exit Ticket

Ask students to name the DECIDE step they think is most often skipped and explain why skipping it could create a weak decision. A strong response should connect the missing step to a realistic consequence.

Assessment

Assess the consistency of the process rather than whether students select the same final option as the teacher model. Look for a clearly defined decision, reasonable priorities, genuinely different options, comparison of immediate and later consequences, a defended choice, and a workable first step or backup.

Differentiation

Provide a partially completed decision matrix, a bank of possible priorities, or sentence starters for explanations. Students can work in point form, use speech-to-text, or explain a choice orally. For extension, change one fact—such as the laptop failing completely or the trip cost dropping—and ask students to decide whether the original choice should change.

First-Hand Teaching Suggestions

The most important teaching move is to avoid turning the lesson into a debate over the “right” thing to buy. Students should be able to defend different choices if they establish different but reasonable priorities. I would keep returning to one question: “Does your final choice actually match what you said matters most?”

Ready-to-Teach Life Management Materials

The full lesson includes the slideshow, student Decision Challenge, teacher guidance, model answers, partner-review prompts, and assessment guidance. You can find it with the rest of my Life Management materials on Teachers Pay Teachers.

Continue the Unit

Next: Building Your Adult Support Network. Return to the Life Management course page for the full sequence.

Featured photo credit: Avi Waxman via Unsplash.