OVERCOMING OBSTACLES®BACK-TO-SCHOOL

ORIENTATION HANDBOOK

Published by Community for Education Foundation, Inc.

© 2000 Community for Education Foundation, Inc.

LESSON 4 SETTING EXPECTATIONS 23x

L E S S O N E X T E N S I O N S

Extension: Using Quotations

Activity: “A rock pile ceases to be arock pile the moment a single man con-templates it, bearing within him theimage of a cathedral.” – Antoine deSaint-Exupery, French author and aviator

Assessment: Discuss the meaning ofthis quote. Have students identify theirown “rock piles” and describe thecathedrals they hope to build. (Example:I’m great with kids and I’d like to ownmy own day care center one day.)

Extension: Addressing MultipleLearning Styles

Activity: Review ideas about what ittakes to realize a dream. Have studentscome up with slogans that will encour-age them to keep their dreams in mind.

Assessment: Have students use theslogans to make posters for the class-room or their rooms at home.

Extension: Writing in Your Journal

Activity: Have students interview aparent, grandparent, or member of thecommunity about a dream/goal theyhad when they were younger. Did theyexperience any setbacks? How did theyaccomplish that goal or fall short of it?Write about their experiences.

Assessment: Have small groups sharewhat they learned and come up with“Advice for Young People” on achiev-ing goals.

Extension: Using Technology

Activity: Media Watch. Assign stu-dents to surf the Internet, watch TV, orcheck out newspapers and magazines insearch of stories about people who’verealized their dreams. List the impor-tant facts of their news item(s): who,what, when, how and where.

Assessment: Have students take therole of news anchors, individually or inpairs, to share their “news flashes” withthe class.

Extension: Homework

Activity: Distribute copies of “TheMaya Lin” story (Blackline Master 2)for students to read at home. Havethem list on the back of the handoutsome reasons why they think Maya Linwas able to realize her dream.

Assessment: List student responseson a flipchart during the next class ses-sion.

Extension: Additional Resources

Activity: Distribute copies of LangstonHughes’ poem Dream Dust. Explain thatHughes was a black man whose poetrycelebrated the experiences of blacks inAmerica. Choose a volunteer to read thisseven-line poem aloud. Add voices untilthe whole class is reading together.

Assessment: Have students discusswhat the poem means, particularly thelines about “splinters of hail” and “notfor sale,” and how it makes them feel.

Overcoming Obstacles is a registered trademark of Community for Education Foundation, Inc.

Overcoming Obstacles is a registered trademark of Community for Education Foundation, Inc.

To ensure that all young people learn the communication, decision making,

and goal setting skills they need to be successful in life.

Community for Education Foundation is the developer and publisher of the Overcoming Obstacles® Life Skills Program—curriculum materials, teacher training, and ongoing support. The curriculum covers more than 20 important life skills all young people need beginning with the most critical: communication, decision making, and goal setting. Overcoming Obstacles is uniquely comprehensive and engages middle and high school students with over 600 activity-based lessons. Its modular format offers educators the flexibility to incorporate life skills into core academic classes, a stand-alone course, or after-school settings for an entire school year. For more information on our programs, visit www.overcomingobstacles.org.

OUR MISSION:

Heading back to school after summer vacation brings out a variety of mixed emotions in students. While there is a sense of excitement at the thought of beginning a new school year, many students are uncertain about teacher expectations, confused over complex course schedules, and anxious to approach a new social scene.

To help students manage the stress associated with coming back to school, we have developed this handbook of activity-based lessons to help them learn more about their classmates, build self-esteem, develop personal management skills, and understand the importance of teamwork. The lessons are intended for use with a group of students who are just becoming acquainted with each other. For maximum flexibility, we have selected activities that require few or no materials. Please contact us if you have any questions. Good luck on a productive school year!

WELCOME

LESSONS:

1. Name Tag Grab .....................................................................................................................................1

2. What Would Your Best Friend Say? ...........................................................................................2

3. Human Scavenger Hunt .................................................................................................................3

4. School Commercial ...........................................................................................................................5

5. Glory Story ...............................................................................................................................................6

6. Shoe Pile ...................................................................................................................................................7

7. Take the Challenge ............................................................................................................................8

8. Create a Country .................................................................................................................................9

9. The Numbers Game .......................................................................................................................11

10. Guess the Feeling ...........................................................................................................................13

ABOUT OVERCOMING OBSTACLES LIFE SKILLS PROGRAM .....................................14

TABLE OF CONTENTS

NOTES

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LESSON OBJECTIVE: To help students learn the names of their fellow classmates.

TIME ESTIMATE: 10-15 minutes

REQUIRED MATERIALS: Adhesive name tags, pens or pencils for each student.

PROCEDURE: n Gather the group into a circle and provide each student with an adhesive name

tag.

n Have each student write his/her name on the name tag (DO NOT remove the backing).

n Collect all of the name tags, mix them up, and redistribute them so each student in the group has someone else’s name tag (students should not have their name tags or the name tag of the student standing to his/her right).

n Students should not reveal to anyone whose name tag they are holding.

n Ask students to place the name tag they are holding on the back of the classmate standing to their right.

n On the “go” signal, everyone must move among the group and try to locate their own names while at the same time trying to avoid having someone find his/her own name on their backs.

n Once a student finds his/her own name tag he/she should grab it off the back of the person who had it and place it on their own chest for all to see.

n Each student stays in the game until he/she finds his/her own name tag and the classmate whose name tag was on their back finds his/her own name.

n Once everyone has their own name tags, have each student introduce himself/herself by saying his/her name and sharing one personal fact.

Lesson 1 | Back-To-School Orientation Handbook | Page 1 of 1

NAME TAG GRAB

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NOTES

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LESSON OBJECTIVE: To help students become better acquainted.

TIME ESTIMATE: 10 minutes

REQUIRED MATERIALS: 3” x 5” index cards and pens or pencils for each student.

PROCEDURE: n Ask students to imagine that someone has asked their best friends to name the

three best things about them. What would they say?

n Allow students to reflect for 1 minute.

n Next, have students write on the 3” x 5” index cards the three things their best friends would say.

n Collect the cards, then read each one to the entire group and have students guess to which student in the class the card applies.

Lesson 2 | Back-To-School Orientation Handbook | Page 1 of 1

WHAT WOULD YOUR BEST FRIEND SAY?

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NOTES

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LESSON OBJECTIVE: To search for commonalities among students and to get to know classmates.

TIME ESTIMATE: 15-20 minutes

REQUIRED MATERIALS: A copy of the list that follows this game description.

PROCEDURE: n Divide the class into groups of 4-7 students.

n Have each group stand or sit together in a place that is separate from the other groups but of equal distance from the facilitator.

n Read one item from the list at a time (see list). The team who sends up a person or group of people to you first that fits the description earns a point. For example, you might say, “Two people who have the same middle name.” Within each group, the members must talk, find out if any two have the same middle name, and then quickly send those people up to you. The first group of people with the same middle name to reach you earns a point for their team.

n The group with the most points at the end of the game wins.

continued >

Lesson 3 | Back-To-School Orientation Handbook | Page 1 of 2

HUMAN SCAVENGER HUNT

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NOTES

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List of things to find:

1. Two students with the same birthday.

2. Someone who likes to stay up late at night.

3. Someone who likes to wake up early.

4. Someone who has the same color hair as the facilitator.

5. Someone who owns a dog.

6. Someone who owns a cat.

7. Someone who has the same middle name as the facilitator.

8. Someone who is right-handed.

9. Someone who is left-handed.

10. Someone wearing glasses.

11. Someone who has a brother.

12. Someone who has a sister.

13. Someone who likes to play basketball.

14. Someone who likes hip hop.

15. Someone who likes to dance.

16. Someone who reads the newspaper everyday.

17. Someone who has traveled outside the country in the past year.

18. Someone who is afraid of heights.

19. The student in your group who lives closest to the school.

20. Someone who has read a book in the past week.

21. A group of students who can spell a word by putting together the first letter of their first names.

22. Two students who have the same birth month.

Lesson 3 | Back-To-School Orientation Handbook | Page 2 of 2

HUMAN SCAVENGER HUNT

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NOTES

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LESSON OBJECTIVE: To increase class interaction, develop school pride, and provide the opportunity for students to exercise their creativity.

TIME ESTIMATE: 30 minutes

REQUIRED MATERIALS: None.

PROCEDURE: n Divide the class into groups of 3-4 students.

n In their groups, have students design a 2-3 minute “television commercial” that advertises the benefits of attending their school. Inform students that each group will act out their commercial at the end of class. Questions for students to consider might include: What services does your school offer that make it unique? What type of classes does your school offer? Who are the best teachers in the school? What kind of extracurricular activities and/or athletics does your school offer?

n Encourage students to be as creative as possible when designing their commercials. Remind them that the goal of the commercial is to convince the audience that their school is an exciting and inspirational educational institution!

n Throughout the project, provide students with “insider” information about the teachers, activities, cafeteria food, etc. to help them develop an engaging commercial.

n Allow students 10-15 minutes to design their commercials.

n Have each group present their commercial to the entire class.

Lesson 4 | Back-To-School Orientation Handbook | Page 1 of 1

SCHOOL COMMERCIAL

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NOTES

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LESSON OBJECTIVE: To help students compliment each other and share what they see as the positive traits of the group.

TIME ESTIMATE: 20 minutes

REQUIRED MATERIALS: Paper, pens or pencils for each student.

PROCEDURE: n Divide the class into groups of 2-4 students.

n Separate the groups so they cannot hear each other.

n Supply each group with a couple of sheets of paper and a pen or pencil.

n Assign each group to one of the other groups and ask them to write down all of the names of the people from the other group on their paper.

n Ask each group to write a story that includes all of the members of the other group as characters, with each character in the story using his/her positive traits, strong points, and assets as a part of the story line (it may be necessary for students to conduct interviews beforehand).

n Once all of the stories are written, ask each group to read their story to the entire class.

n Possible discussion questions include:

•Wereyousurprisedbyanyoftheattributesthattheothergroupgavetoyourcharacter?

• Canyouthinkofanymorepositivetraitsthatyouwouldaddtoyourcharacteror to anyone else’s character in the group?

• Howcanyouuseyourstrongpointstoimprovethegrouportoimproveyourself?

Lesson 5 | Back-To-School Orientation Handbook | Page 1 of 1

GLORY STORY

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NOTES

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LESSON OBJECTIVE: To help class members build trust and communication skills.

TIME ESTIMATE: 15-20 minutes

REQUIRED MATERIALS: Blindfold.

PROCEDURE: n Ask everyone in the class to take off his/her shoes and put them into a big pile.

n Ask for a volunteer and blindfold that student.

n Mix up the shoes in the pile and ask the rest of the class members to verbally direct this student to his/her own shoes.

n The directions must be purely verbal without any touching, guiding, or moving of the shoes.

n Once the student finds his/her own shoes, he/she must put them on while still blindfolded. Continue doing this until every student has found his/her own shoes.

n For added fun, divide the class into two teams and time each group as they guide their own team members through the shoes.

n Possible discussion questions include:

• Howdidyoufeelwhenyouwereblindfolded?

• Couldapersoneasilyfindhis/herownshoeswithoutanyhelpfromthegroupwhen blindfolded?

• Howwasteamworkafactorinthisactivity?

• Howdoesthisactivityrelatetoyourownlife,ifatall?

Lesson 6 | Back-To-School Orientation Handbook | Page 1 of 1

SHOE PILE

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NOTES

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LESSON OBJECTIVE: To help students understand how their individual talents and skills contribute to a group.

TIME ESTIMATE: 20 minutes

REQUIRED MATERIALS: Paper, pens or pencils for each team.

PROCEDURE: n Divide the class into teams of 5-15 members each.

n Give each team paper and a pen or pencil and give them five minutes to come up with five challenges for the other teams to complete successfully. The team creating the challenge must be able to demonstrate that they can do it before another team is challenged.

n The challenge may be physical (build a pyramid, do 25 push-ups, etc.) or the challenges may be anything else the team decides upon (our team has the most birthdays in one month, our team can sing any song on the charts, etc.). Obviously, the challenge must not be impossible for the other teams to accomplish.

n Once the challenges are written down, each team gives out one challenge at a time and demonstrates it, then the other teams get a chance to try to accomplish this task in a given amount of time. You may give points to the teams who can “take the challenge” successfully.

n Possible discussion questions include:

• Wasiteasyforyourteamtofindthingsthateveryonecouldsuccessfullydo?

• Didyouhavetorelyonthetalentsoftheteammembers?

• Didanyteamfeellikeitwashardtofindtalentswithintheirteam?

• Howmuchdoyourelyonthetalentsofotherswhenworkinginateam?

• Doyoualwaysrevealyoutalents?Whyorwhynot?

Lesson 7 | Back-To-School Orientation Handbook | Page 1 of 1

TAKE THE CHALLENGE

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NOTES

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LESSON OBJECTIVE: To build teamwork and participate in a group decision making process.

TIME ESTIMATE: 30 minutes

REQUIRED MATERIALS: Paper, pens or pencils for each student.

PROCEDURE: n Divide the class into groups of 2-10 members each. Provide each group with the

following information and all of the materials listed above.

n Say, “You and a group of people have claimed an uninhabited island as a new country. You have been selected to be the new government. Your first assignment is to make the following decisions and accomplish the following tasks…”

• Namethecountry

• Createanicknameforthecountry

• Designalicenseplate

• Designaflag

• Designcities

• Designatransportationsystem

• Chooseanationalflower

• Chooseanationalbird

• Writeanationalanthem

• Createanylawsthatyoufeelarenecessary

• Assigneachmemberofyourgrouparoleinthegovernmentofyournewcountry

continued >

Lesson 8 | Back-To-School Orientation Handbook | Page 1 of 2

CREATE A COUNTRY

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NOTES

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The group must work together to complete the task and then present it to the leaders or to the rest of the groups when finished. This activity may take more than one session to complete or you may wish to have the group simply select the things from the list that they can complete in the time given to them.

n Possible discussion questions include:

• Howweredecisionsmadeinyourgroup?

• Iseveryonehappywithwhatwasdecided?Whyorwhynot?

• Whatthingsareimportanttorememberwhenmakinggroupdecisions?

• Whatroledoyouusuallytakewhenmakingdecisionswithothers?

• Howcanyoutellifagrouphasbeensuccessfulwhenmakingadecision?

• Whyisitimportanttobeabletomakedecisionsasamemberofagroup?

Lesson 8 | Back-To-School Orientation Handbook | Page 2 of 2

CREATE A COUNTRY

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LESSON OBJECTIVE: To help students develop teamwork skills by working through a mathematical game.

TIME ESTIMATE: 15-20 minutes

REQUIRED MATERIALS: One copy of The Numbers Game handout for each student, pens or pencils for each student.

PROCEDURE: n Divide the class into groups of 3 or 4.

n Ask your class to imagine that they are being recruited by the CIA to be code breakers. Say, “Since space is limited and the job is very competitive, they can only hire 3 or 4 code breakers from our class (one group).”

n Explain that the CIA has decided to have the students compete in a code-breaking exercise to determine which 3 or 4 people will be hired for this position.

n Distribute The Numbers Game handout to each student. Tell students that they will have 10 minutes, as a group, to find the one number combination that adds up to 100.

n The team who figures out the combination first wins (53, 17, 6, 9, 15) and lands a job with the code-breaking department at the CIA.

n Possible discussion questions include:

• Whatdoesthisactivityteachusaboutteamwork?

• Wouldthishavebeeneasierormoredifficultifyouhadtoworkalone?

• Howmanypossiblecombinationsofnumbersdoyouthinkthereare? (There are over 4,000 number combinations, but only one works!)

• Forthoseofyouwhofigureditout,howdidyoudoit?continued>

Lesson 9 | Back-To-School Orientation Handbook | Page 1 of 2

THE NUMBERS GAME

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Lesson 9 | Back-To-School Orientation Handbook | Page 2 of 2

THE NUMBERS GAME

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9

53

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17

42

3

63

33

15

6

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THE NUMBERS GAMEDirections: Pick the combination of numbers from the list so their sum equals 100. There is only one

combination of numbers that adds up to 100.

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NOTES

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LESSON OBJECTIVE: To discover the importance of clearly stating your feelings when communicating with peers, teachers/administrators, and parents/guardians.

TIME ESTIMATE: 10-15 minutes

REQUIRED MATERIALS: Paper, pens or pencils for each student.

PROCEDURE: n Give each student in the group a small piece of paper and a pen or pencil.

n Select one student in the class and ask them to write down how he/she is feeling (this must be done as a feeling word, such as “happy” or “sad”, etc.).

n Ask the rest of the class to guess how the selected student is feeling and write their guess down on the piece of paper you had given them. Tell them to include their name with their guess. Once they’ve finished, collect each student’s paper.

n Tell the students you will read each of their guesses out loud twice. The first time will be for them to become familiar with everyone’s guesses. The second time will be for them to guess which one was written by the selected student. Tell them they should raise their hand to indicate their vote.

n Give a point to anyone who guesses correctly.

n Give a bonus point to anyone who wrote down the correct feeling on his/her paper. Do this for each student in the group if possible.

n Possible discussion questions include:

• Forwhominthegroupwasiteasiesttoguesshowhe/shewasfeeling?Mostdifficult?Why?

• Doyouhideyourfeelingsfromothers?Whyorwhynot?

• IsthereeveratimewhenitmaybeOKtohideyourfeelings?

• Howcanshowingandstatingyourfeelingshelpyouinyourlife?

Lesson 10 | Back-To-School Orientation Handbook | Page 1 of 1

GUESS THE FEELING

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© 2009 Community for Education Foundation, Inc.