Discuss whether the images pupils see in magazines and television from fashion influence the way they feel about themselves. Does it make them feel they should be slimmer or taller? Does it make boys want to be more muscular?Â
Brainstorm the other things that influence our self-esteem and self-image (friends, family, TV, fashion, our mood, etc.). Write the list of influences on separate pieces of paper and place around the room. Give the pupils five post-it notes and ask them to label them from 1 to 5.Â
Ask them to think about what influences how they feel about themselves and their bodies the most. They then place the post-it note with ‘5’ on this piece of paper. They then have to think about the next most important influence, and place the post-it note with ‘4’ on the corresponding piece of paper. Continue this exercise until all the post-it notes have been used.
Add up the scores against each influence and create a table of the influences on our self-image. Ask the class to discuss ways of improving our self-image – display these ideas in the classroom.
