Session 7.1
Exploring Life Skills
Expected Outcomes
Peer Educator will become aware of the life skills that the participants possess and
use in their day-to-day life.
Participants will know about life skills and their use in day-to-day life.
What Skills Do I Have?
Objective To explore the concept of life skills.
To know the life skills used by the participants in their day-today life.
Materials Flash cards, markers, flip charts, gum/ tape.
Time 1 hour.
Process Invite the participants to sit in a circle. Ask them if they have
heard of the term “life skills”?
What do they know about it?
Explain that all of us possess certain skills that allow us to live
our lives. For example, the skill to write, work with others or
make a decision.
Pass out one flash card to each participant, and ask him/her to
write the most important skill he/she possesses.
Allow the participants 5 minutes to do this exercise.
Invite the participants to display their cards on the floor. Ask
them to group similar cards.
Ask if the cards represent most of the skills required for
leading a healthy and productive life. If not, ask them to add
the remaining skills.
While the participants are busy doing their work, prepare
three flash cards with the headings – “All of us have”, “Some
of us have” and “None of us have”.
After the participants finish writing and grouping the flash
cards, ask them to arrange the flash cards in a horizontal line
on the floor.
Place the three cards, which you have prepared, in a vertical
line next to the horizontal line of cards. Once this is done, you
should be able to draw a matrix of rows and columns on the
floor.
Module 7:
Life Skills
7-7
You should have 4 rows and as many columns as there are skill cards.
Now, ask the participants to start from the top and fill the matrix.
Move from the left to the right.
Once the matrix is complete, ask the participants to discuss the
reasons for its outputs. For example, why is it that only some people
have certain skills, and why are certain skills absent?
Request volunteers to copy the matrix on a chart, and put it up on the
wall.
Summarize and close the discussion by using the WHO definition of
life skills.
Notes for the Facilitator
This simple exercise creates a mutual understanding of the concept of life skills and
ascertains the level of life skills available within the group. The WHO categorization
of life skills is given at the start of the module. Th
