8 leap retreat - initiatives descriptions

8/3/2019 8 LEAP Retreat - Initiatives Descriptions

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InertiaMarble Madness Inertia Challenge

ObjectiveTo get as many marbles into the can as possible using the PVC pipes during the allotted time

MaterialsOne length (6" approximately) of PVC pipe per person1 larger can to catch the marblesApproximately 1 .0 marbles per groupTime40 minutesSetUp

w.Set out the start bucket and the end bucket. The distance between the two should be approximately double the length of thegroup standing with their pipes in a line. Give each student one length of PVC pipe. Explain the guidelines and give themsome time to plan their strategy for getting the marbles in the bucket. As an additional challenge, there will be variousobjects that the group must go up, around, or over while keeping their marble moving.

FramingAn object in motion will stay in motion and an object at rest will stay at rest. The same tends to be true for theeffort people expend towards getting on board with creating social change. In this challenge you and yourteammates will experience inertia in action as you attempt to get as many individuals (marbles) to get to thepoint of action (the end bucket). Good luck!Gui(lelines

1. Once a marble has been picked up from the start bucket and placed into the first PVC pipe, it cannottouch anything other than the pipe or the end bucket (no fingers!!)

2. Pipes cannot touch other pipes3 . Your feet can't move when marble is in your pipe4. Any marbles dropped during transport will go back to the start bucket5. If any guidelines are broken while a marble is in transport, it must be returned to the start bucket6. Marbles must roll forward at all times.7. Containers cannot be moved8. Every person has a pipe and every pipe must be used

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No major safety concerns with this activity.J

Debrief In what ways was the group successful in accomplishing the task? What posed the greatest challenge inmoving the marbles into the bucket? What would you do differently ifyou could do this task again? Why? What specific skills did it take to get your individuals (marbles) to the point of action (end bucket)? When did the marblejump the track? Why? How can this be explained by Newton's first law? How can the ideas of inertia and Newton's first law of motion be applied to groups of people?

How is it that inertia affects us? What are some forms of physical, mental, or social inertia inour own society? What sets these forces in motion? What can be done to change that?

VariationsIf the group is struggling, feel free to move some of the objects from the playing field. If they areflying through it, add more. For an additional challenge you can blindfold one or more of yourstudents. The blindfolded students must still follow all of the guidelines of the challenge.

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F=M(A) Relay Race ..Materials:2 large tarps per homeroom group

One fruit set per homeroom groupCones to mark start/finish lines

SetUp:Let the students know that they will be participating in a three-part challenge during this activity time.As soon as they finish one part of the challenge, they may move on to the next part. The first part isthe fruit challenge, the second the tarp pull, and the third is a relay fruit toss involving all the groups.Read the rules for each of the parts of the activity and then give them a few minutes to plan theirstrategy. All groups will begin at the same time.Activity Rules:Fruit Toss: The group must work together to successfully launch and catch each piece of fruit. Onegroup will toss it to the other group and the other will the catch it, and launch it back to the originalgroup. Students may use their hands to pick up the fruit and place it on the tarp, but they may only usethe tarp to launch and catch each piece of fruit. If the fruit hits the ground, the group must start againwith that particular piece of fruit.*Safety concerns: remind students to be particularly careful as larger pieces of fruit are beinglaunched. The launching group must ask the catching group ifthey are ready and wait toreceive confirmation before launching. Also, make sure the ground is free from any large sticks,holes, etc. that may trip up students during the activity.Tarp pull: Once they have finished the fruit toss, students should move to the starting line for the tarppull. The objective of this activity is to successfully transport as many team-members as possible onthe tarp from the start line to the finish-line. All members who make it successfully across on the tarpmay take part in the final activity (the Relay Fruit Toss). If any body parts of individuals on the tarptouch the ground during the pull, the pullers must immediately stop and that individual must get off thetarp and help the pullers. All individuals who are being transported on the tarp must remain seatedduring the entire tarp pull challenge. If they do not follow these rules, then they will be asked to exitthe tarp and help the pullers.*Safety concerns: remind students that they must remain seated while being transported on thetarp.Relay Fruit Toss: As soon as the group crosses the finish line of the tarppull, all students who aresuccessfully transported on the tarps are eligible to participate in the relay fruit toss. The objective ofthis final activity is to pass the fruit from tarp to tarp until it has made it full circle. All others willcheer the group on. IHopefully they will realize that all homerooms should work together to finish this final piece ofthe challenge .... but let them come to that conclusion on their own.

Debrief Points:9


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., What did you notice about the force needed to launch the fruit as the size of the fruit increased?How about the impact that the fruit had on the tarp when you caught it?

How did you strategize who would sit on the tarp and who would pull? Was your strategysuccessful? Why or why not? If you had people fall off the tarp during the challenge, what did you notice about the force that

was needed to pull the tarp as the mass on top of it decreased? How many people did yourhomeroom have left to participate in the Relay Fruit Toss? Was it difficult or easy? Why?

C D Did you rely on anyone outside your homeroom for help to accomplish this task? Why or whynot?

What connection does this have to Newton's Second Law concerning force, mass andacceleration?

C D If you had to label each piece of fruit as a global issue we are facing, what names would givethem?

Can you think of an example of a global challenge you have heard about that has become easierto address as more people joined the cause.

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Equal and Opposite ReactionsMaterials:1 large play rope

28 tennis balls per group2 crates2 blindfolds

Part 1:Set-up: Arrange a large rope circle on the floor and place the tennis balls all around the outside justover the average-height-of-a-student's distance away from the rope. Have all the students enter thecircle.Object: The goal is to have each student retrieve two balls from outside the circle by leaning out whilebeing supported by the entire group. The more support they receive, the further they will be able toreach. It is not unusual for students to get almost completely horizontal while retrieving the tennisballs.Rules:

1. Students may not step outside the circle or have any body part touch the ground outside thecircle at any time. If this happens during a retrieval, the ball will be replaced and the studentmust try again. This includes hitting the ground in the process of bringing the ball back to thecircle, or with ball in hand.

2. Students may not move the rope circle at all.3. Only one retriever in motion at a time, and everyone in the group should be supporting that

person in some way (physically, supporting a holder, spotting, bracing a foot/ankle, givingencouragement)

4. Every student must retrieve 2 balls (i.e. one student may not do all the reaching)5. No tools may be used to get the balls, and they must be picked up off the ground from where

they are, not rolled closer.Par-t 2:Set Up: Four students standing in the same rope circle. The rest of the students divided in half holdingone of two crates about twenty feet outside of the circle.Object: Students inside the circle try to bounce as many of the retrieved tennis balls into the cratesbeing held outside the circleRoles: Bouncers (2): The bouncer stands in the circle blindfolded and will be the person who tries to

bounce the tennis ball into the crateGuides (2): The guide is in charge of trying to line up the bouncer to bounce the tennis ballinto the crate. They may not physically touch the bouncer, but may give them instructions onwhere to stand, aim, and how hard to bounce the ball.Holders (9-11): These people are in charge of holding the crate and trying to catch the tennisballs. While attempting to catch, each catcher must have one hand on the crate and may notmove his/her feet.

There will be 2 sets of this challenge occurring at once within the same circle but on opposite sides(Ex. Ifyour group has 14, there will be 2 guides each guiding their own bouncer who are eachthrowing at their own group of 5 holders. (2+2+10=14)).

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Rules:1. In order for a ball to be counted as "caught", it must bounce once (and only once), come to rest

in the crate, and be fairly caught by the guidelines that apply to the holders2. Ifany of the different roles do not follow the guidelines that apply to their role, the ball they are

throwing will be forfeit.After you have gone through the first round of28 balls.comeback together as a homeroom, discussstrategy and what worked or did not within the sub groups. Decide on better strategy and try it again.Debrief Points:

C It How did your group decide the strategy to retrieve the balls?C It What did you notice about the number of people needed to support the team members who

went after tennis balls further outside the circle versus those closer to the rope?C It How did it feel to be a retriever? Did you prefer leaning or supporting? Why?C It How did your group do in the second challenge?C It What did you notice about the way the tennis balls bounced?C It What did your group change in their strategy for a second attempt why?C It How did that affect the outcome of the challenge?C It How did you see Newton's Third Law acted out, concerning action and the equal and opposite

reaction?C It Can you name a specific time in your life when your efforts to make a change mirrored the

movement of the tennis ball? When did your efforts fall short? When did they go to far or getout of control?

C It How does the term "just right" relate to the force required to effect social/global changewithout negative consequences, such as turning people off, alienating those you would help, orcreating new problems from your solutions?

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Perspectives RulesDivide groups into Islands before you explain the individual IslandObjectives .Island 1Objectives: To get everyone to the same island

To get two tennis ball into a bucketRules: In order" to move off of your island, you must first get two tennis balls into a bucket. Any materials(except polyspots) which hit the ground will be swept back to your island. You may not touch the groundat any time. You may not remove your blindfold until the challenge is complete.Resources: Three tennis balls, one bucket, three blindfolds

Island 2Objective: To get everyone to the middle islandRules: No one may touch the ground at any time. Anything, except the polyspots, that touches theground will be swept back to the first island. You may not speak at any point during this activity.Resources: 1 polyspot per person

Island 3Objectives: To get everyone to the same island

To solve as many brain teasers as you canRules: No one may touch the ground at any time. Any materials (except polyspots) which touch theground will be swept back to the first island.

Resources: paper, pencils, brain challenges

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Brain Challengeslternating Coins

Find four pennies and four nickels. Place them in a row like this:

Rules1. Move only pairs of neighboring coins together as a set.2. The coins in any pair you move can't swap places.3. Move pairs only to the end or into blank spots in the row.4. Make only four moves!5. You must finish with no blank spaces between coins.

Following the rules above, can you rearrange the row so that the pennies and nickels alternate like this?

Crawling AlongA spider wants to walk from point A to point B on the outside of the cube, but it also wants to travelthe shortest path. One edge of the cube measures 3 in.What is the shortest path the spider can take, and what distance will it travel?

B

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FishIf a man and a half can catch a fish and a half in a day and a half ...Question: How many fish will six men catch in seven days.

VacationFour women, Louise, Lise, Carole and Lily are seated at a table.They are chatting about their holidays.They went to California, Texas, Florida and Arizona riding a lion, tiger, zebra and a pony.Hints : 1- The woman riding the zebra did not smoke.2- Carole declared that she loved Miami.3- The woman riding the tiger had a cigarette with Lily.4- Louise said :" Buy your pony a new saddle, Carole. I saw some during ourtrip toCalifornia?"5- The woman riding the tiger mentioned that she had seen the Alamo in Texas.6- Lise was a chain-smoker.Question : What are the destination and method of transportation for each woman ?

BoatA woman has two dogs, three rabbits and lettuce.She must cross a river.The dingy is unable to transport all in one crossing.If she transported the dogs, the rabbits would eat the lettuce.If she transported the lettuce, the dogs would eat the rabbits.Question: How is she able to transport them all safely?

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WordsFigure out the common phrases represented by these word pictures:1. faredce 2. gesg,segg,gegs,gges 3. poFISHnd 4. knee

light light

Riddles1) Pronounced as one letter but written with three, only two different letters are used to make me.

I'm double.Tm single I'm black, blue, and gray.I'm read from both ends and the same either way.

2) 1=32=33=54=45=46=37=58=59=410=3What does 11=What does 12=

3)

Four men are standing in a line as shown above and they cannot turn their heads. There is a brick wallbetween A and B that they cannot see through. They know that they each have one hat, and that of thefour hats two are black and two are white. They cannot see the color of the hat that they are wearing. Inorder to be released from the line, they must-callout the color of their hat. If they are wrong, no onecan leave. They are not allowed to talk to each other, and they have been given ten minutes to figureout their hat color. After 1 minute: One of them calls out -- which one called out?

How can he be 100% certain of the color of his hat?This is not a trick question and there are no outside influences nor any other ways of communicating.They cannot move or see behind them, nor can they see through the wall.

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SLLC-NAflGATION(,toaB/Life suuProblem SolvingTrust BuildingCommunicationObjectiveTo work with a small group of people to successfully navigate through a field filled with obstacles,touching as few as possible.

lUatel'irusA bounded area (can be inside or outside) made with ropes, masking tape, or marked with conesItems for students to go around ... cones, papers, balls, rubber chickens, carpet squares, trashcans ... etc.Tilne30 minutesSetUpSet up a large area that has a boundary ... ltems are scattered randomly, but relatively equal within a boundedarea. Have a safe zone that is visually apparent marked with a play rope, masking tape or line boundary. Thenbreak the group up in to smaller groups of three. Ifthere is not an even number, it is preferable to use groups offour rather than groups of two.

Fl"mningHow would you get around inthis world if you suddenly lost your ability to see or speak? What sortof problems do you think you might face? Do you ever feel as though you can't see a clear path aheadof you? Inthis activity we will have the opportunity to put our trust inour teammates as we attempt tonavigate through a maze of obstacles.

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Gui(lelines1. Choose one person in your group to be the compass (they can see, but not speak or move), onewill be the ship (they can move, but not see or speak), and one person will be the captain (theycan speak, but not see ormove).2. Create a plan for communicating within your group to get your ship safely across the circle,touching as few obstacles as possible.3. When all groups are ready, have the ships step up to the circle and be blindfolded (you maywant to rearrange the obstacles so that they can't rely on their memory to get them through themaze).4. Count the total number of times the people who are moving through the playing field touch anobject.5. Have themembers of the groups switch roles and re-plan their strategiesto reduce the numberof times they touch the obstacles.6. Once the second round is completed, have the group members switch roles one last time andthen ask them to come up with a common goal for the number of times they will allowthemselves to touch an obstacle while moving through the playing field.

SafetyHave the person walking through the maze keep their bumpers up (arms slightly bent, hands up toprotect themselves).

Debrief How did you feel when you were the captain/ship/compass? Which role did you prefer? Why? What was the most difficult thing about this activity for you?

What might the obstacles in this maze represent in your life at Westminster? What happens when you hit an obstacle and have to start over? Not all obstacles can successfully be avoided, but some can. What can you do to avoid as many obstacles

as possible? Who or what might represent the captain/ship/compass in your life? Who or what can serve as thecaptain/ship/compass for the 8th grade leadership initiative? What are some obstacles you foresee with this initiative and what can be done to overcome them? How can you take what you've learned from this activity and applyit to your leadership initiative?Facilitntor NotesIfstudents do not wish to wear a blindfold, they may close their eyes for theduration of the walk. Although students may try to get through as fast as possible,remind them that this is not a race. Emphasis should be on trusting your partner toget you through the maze safely.Variations IIfyou have a particular goal that you would like each person to focus on, you can have him or her write it on anindex card. Before the start of the activity, have the partners discus their goals with each other. They can placethem somewhere in the maze. The captain and the compass will then lead the ship through the maze to theirgoal. This sets up a discussion about pitfalls or obstacles one might face while trying to reach their goal.

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Human LadderLeadership inActionGoals:Trust buildingCommunicationMate:rials:One ladder rung per pair (approx. 3' long 1.5" wide)Two chairs or some other objects to climb up/down on ladderSetup:Have the group members pair up with someone roughly the same size as them. Pairs should line up oppositeone another, forming two lines of people, shoulder to shoulder. Rung holders should hold the rungs with bothhands with arms comfortably extended. Rung holders should keep knees bent and their feet in spotting stance.The rungs should be all roughly at the same height and as level as possible.One climber will go at a time, with one spotter on each side, and a safety manager at the end.The climber will step up onto the chair in preparation to walk the ladder. The climber will ask all the rungholders, "Ladder ready?" and all rung holders should reply "ready". Once they have heard that affirmation, thewalker should then say "walking" and the rung holders should reply "walk away" ifthey feel that they are readyfor the walker.The spotters should walk on either side of the walker, providing an additional safety net if needed.The safety manager will hold the chair at either end of the ladder and ensure that all ladder holders are payingattention and doing theirjob.Safety-Issues:The ladder walker should always have three points of contact with the ladder and the rung holders heads (onefoot, two hands or two feet, one hand). Walkers shouldn't stay too long on anyone rung, and should only haveone foot per rung.*Make sure that the activity is briefed with physical and emotional safety in mind. No comments on people'sweight or strength should be allowed.VariBtious:Ifyou get through each person and have extra time, you can add obstacles so that the ladder rungs are atdifferent heights. You can also have the walker be blindfolded. Lastly, you can change the challenge to adistance challenge by having the pairs join the end of the line once the walker has passed over their rung.

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Beftective Hike(Meet atPlaygro1Dld.)

acilitation: Solo -- Experience will be staff led with homeroom teachers assisting.The Solo Walk: As a reflective exercise, students will be directed to take a solo walk. Inthisactivity, students would be spaced at I-minute intervals to walk along a trail alone and observe theirsurroundings and reflect on the Odyssey Course experience.Groups will re-convene and share their thoughts and observations from their 'solo' and then share theirthoughts/ fears "aboutthe Odyssey course. This will be adapted based on whether the walk precedes orfollows the Odyssey experience.Thought Questions for Students to Consider:

Compare being out of your natural element in the wilderness to being out of your naturalelement on the Odyssey course? How might you extend the metaphor?

What fears dol did you have about the Wilderness? About the Odyssey course? How were/ will you able to find your way through the Odyssey? How were you able to findyour way through the Wilderness? How do these traits/skills fit with your definition ofleadership? How can you apply any of these situations to your normal lives at school or elsewhere? What can you take from any or all of the Blue Ridge experience to help as you work to develop

your service initiative?

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Additional Activities - S t l l g..-ade Bille Ridge AssemblyNo-Prop ActivitiesThese activities can be used anywhere and at anytime, if you find your group with some downtime.The KnotStudents form a tight circle, everyone facing in. Have them raise their right hands. Reach

across the circle and grasp another person's hand. Then do the same with their left hands.Without losing contact, the group must untangle themselves.

21 Together, the group must count to twenty-one in random order. No member of the group cansay two consecutive numbers. There is absolutely no gesturing of any kind. No talking unlesssaying a number.

Animal line upStudents form one line, shoulder to shoulder. Go down the line and whisper an animal intoeach student's ear (elephant, mouse, frog, rabbit ... ). Students must then line up in order ofsmallest to largest animal. You can add certain parameters to the game, depending on what thegroup can handle. For example, students maybe blindfolded and can't talk. Or perhaps theycan see but can't talk and so they have to act out the animaL

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8 leap retreat - initiatives descriptions

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