Leadership Course
(GOELT "Gubkin Rainbow". Belgorod English Language Summer Camp)
Day 1
Materials
1. Icebreaker
Objectives: The teacher and students will learn each others’ names and some information about each other.
Activity: Start with a ball of yarn. Say your name and an interesting fact about yourself. Then, holding the end, toss the ball to a student. The student will say his/her name and an interesting fact, then, holding on to part of the yarn, toss the ball to another student. By the time everyone has spoken, there will be a large web of yarn that can be displayed on the bulletin board with thumb tacks. (This activity can also be used as a review tool – each student says something about the subject, then tosses the yarn.)
2. Know Yourself Test
Look at the chart below. Think carefully about yourself and place ticks in the corresponding boxes.
| Outstanding | Above average | Average | Below average | Poor | |
| Loving | |||||
| Selfish | |||||
| Passionate | |||||
| Loyal | |||||
| Jealous | |||||
| Secretive |
Now count the points you have scored.
| Outstanding | Above average | Average | Below average | Poor | |
| Loving | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Selfish | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Passionate | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Loyal | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Jealous | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Secretive | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Key:
If you have scored 30 you are a saint!
If you have 20 or more you are nicer than most people.
If you have 15 you are OK, but only just!
If you have less than 15 – try changing some of your habits!
| outstanding | выдающийся, ярко выраженный |
| average | средний |
| selfish | эгоистичный |
| passionate | страстный, темпераментный |
| loyal | верный |
| jealous | ревнивый |
| secretive | скрытый |
| saint | святой |
3. Four Quadrants Introduction
| One thing you do well | One thing you would like to learn while in the camp… |
| Dreams / Goals | Bumper Sticker / Motto to the World |
Mottos to live by
• If you want to be happy, be it!
• Your life is what you make of it.
• If you want to be happy for life, love what you do.
• God helps those who help themselves.
• All for one and one for all.
• Be unique, like everyone else!
• Let love be our password.
• If at first you don't succeed, try, try, try again.
• The harder the struggle the sweeter the victory.
• If it sounds nice, play it twice.
• It is better to have done something than not to have done anything at all.
• Everything is impossible for the person who doesn't try anything.
• Live and let live.
• Miracles happen to those who believe.
• Of all the gifts both great and small friendship is the best of all!
• Hope always awaits you.
• Never say never.
• They say. What do they say? Let them say.
• If you want to be on top, don't let education stop.
• On the keyboard of life, always keep one finger on the escape key.
• Hope for success and prepare for failure.
• If a task is once begun, never leave it till it's done. Be the labour great or small, do it well or not at all.
• A book read is a life lived.
• Life is a coin. You can spend it any way you wish, but you can only spend it once.
• If it was easy, anybody could do it!
• Cherish yesterday, dream about tomorrow, live today.
• He who turns the other cheek gets his jaw broken.
• To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research.
• Sleep is for the weak.
• The grass may be greener on the other side, but it still has to be mowed.
• The smallest deed is greater than the biggest intention.
• If you judge people, you have no time to love them.
• If you see a person without a smile then give them yours.
• Paint your own rainbow.
• Anything is possible if you have faith.
• Climb every mountain until your dreams come true.
• Dreams really do come true.
• Friends are friends forever.
• Friendship has no ending – just new beginnings.
• Love makes the world go round.
• Make a wish, take a chance!
• Never stop believing you can touch the sky.
• The best things in life... are not things.
• The heart that gives, gathers.
• To make the world a friendly place, one must show it a friendly face.
• To make your dreams come true, wake up!
• You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving.
• Anything is possible when you let your imagination take flight.
Useful Quotations
Tell me and I forget,
Teach me and I remember,
Involve me and I learn.
(traditional)
Start by doing what is necessary, then what’s possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible.
Francis of Assisi
Don’t limit yourself. Many people limit themselves to what they think they can do. You can go as far as your mind lets you. What you believe, you can achieve.
Mary Kay Ash
Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you’ve imagined.
Henry David Thoreau
The very first step toward success in any occupation is to become interested in it.
William Osler
Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.
Mother Teresa
Happiness comes of the capacity to feel deeply, to enjoy simply, to think freely, to risk life, to be needed.
Storm Jameson
The whole art of teaching is only the art of awakening the natural curiosity of young minds for the purpose of satisfying it afterwards.
Anatole France
The important thing is not so much that every child should be taught, as that every child should be given the wish to learn.
Sir John Lubbock
What you think of yourself is much more important than what others think of you.
Seneca
Nothing in life is more exciting and rewarding than the sudden flash of insight that leaves you a changed person, not only changed, but for the better.
Arthur Gordon
Motivation is like food for the brain. You cannot get enough in one sitting. It needs continual and regular top up’s.
Peter J. Davies
It does not take much strength to do things, but it takes great strength to decide on what to do.
Elbert Hubbard
Coming together is a beginning,
Keeping together is a process,
Working together is a success.
Henry Ford
Do more than belong, participate,
Do more than care, help,
Do more than believe, practice,
Do more than be fair, be kind,
Do more than forgive, forget,
Do more than dream, work.
William Arthur Word
If you can imagine it, you can achieve it,
If you can dream it, you can become it.
William Arthur Word
If you don’t like something, change it.
If you can’t change it, change the way you think about it.
Anonymous
Remember not only to say the right thing in the right place, but far more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.
Benjamin Franklin
Peace is a rainbow of color.
It smells like a rose
And it tastes like sugar.
Peace sounds like a bluebird
And feels like a handshake.
Randy Baumgart
All you need in life is ignorance and confidence, then success is sure.
Mark Twain
Don’t walk behind me; I may not lead.
Don’t walk in front of me; I may not follow.
Walk beside me so that we may be as one.
Native American
Build a dream…
And the dream will build you.
Robert Schuller
Correction does much, but encouragement does more.
Encouragement after censure is as the sun after a shower.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Success doesn’t come to you… you go to it.
Marva Collins
Do what you can with what you have where you are.
Theodore Roosevelt
Imagination is better than knowledge.
Knowledge is limited.
Imagination encircles the world.
Thomas Edison
If you can give your son or daughter only one gift, let it be enthusiasm.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be cumbered with your old nonsense.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
4. A Short Course in Human Relations
The Six Most Important Words:
“I admit I made a mistake”
The Five Most Important Words:
“You did a good job”
The Four Most Important Words:
“What is your opinion?”
The Three Most Important Words:
“If you please”
The Two Most Important Words:
“Thank you”
The One Most Important Word:
“WE”
The Least Important Word:
“I”
5. Face Song
The Facial Movement Song
This is a good introduction to Movement Songs. Sometimes students are reluctant to stand up away from their desks, and sometimes there’s simply no room.
But this 42-second song has actions that are primarily done with the face. That means it can be done right at students’ desks. And the language is useful and common. So even if students never move themselves, they will benefit from listening and writing down the verbs.
First do a listening activity, see if students can write down the words. Play it several times. You might do some pre-listening, like writing on the board words that students probably don’t know: blink, wink, frown, etc.
After the students are well familiar with the tune, they should write their own words. They don’t have to limit themselves to actions of the face or head. Anything goes. Each group of students can sing their version to the karaoke (Recycle Song!) while other groups listen and write down those instructions.
Close your eyes
Open your eyes
Give a nod
Give a wink (Подмигнуть)
Make a frown (Хмурить брови)
And then blink (Мигать, щуриться)
Put your hand on your chin and really think
Open your mouth
Close your mouth
Show your teeth
Wrinkle your nose (Морщить нос)
Brush your hair back
Stick out your tongue (Показать язык)
Blow a kiss to someone
The Facial Movement Song [0:42m]
The Facial Movement Song, Karaoke [0:42m]
Source: www.etseverywhere.com
6. Team Building Activity “All Aboard!”
| Objective: | To get everyone onto a small support with no one being lost |
| Important | This activity requires working together in close physical proximity in order to solve a practical, physical problem.
It tends to emphasize group communication, cooperation, patience and problem solving strategy, as well as issues related to physical self and physical proximity. |
| Equipment Needed: | 10 foot string per each group of 12 (foot = 30,48 sm)
or Something that can support the entire group |
| Rules: | Place string on floor to make a 2–2.5 foot square.
Make one square for each group. The group is standing around the support object. Instruct the group that the ground has suddenly become covered with a gooey (липкий), sticky green slime (слизь, ил) (Or: The shark gets there and swims around looking for someone to eat.) When the facilitator yells “slime” (or “shark”) the group has to get everyone inside the square as quickly as possible to escape the green death. No feet can remain outside the square. The entire group must be aboard (no feet outside the string) for a full 60–30 seconds. |
Source: http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/committees/team-allaboard.html; http://wilderdom.com/games/descriptions/AllAboard.html
7. Evaluation
Evaluation
Topic: ____________________________________
Presenter: _________________________________
Date: July / August _____
Thank you for helping us to assess the effectiveness of our classes. We would appreciate your responses to the statements below.
For statements 1–3, please circle the number that corresponds with your opinion of the item in question. 1 is the lowest and 4 is the highest rating.
4 – excellent; 3 – good; 2 – average; 1 – bad
| Statements | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |||||
| 1. | This class was well-planned. | ||||||||
| 2. | Our discussions were interesting. | ||||||||
| 3. | I felt comfortable and enjoyed participating. |
Day 2
Materials
1. I am the best I
I must learn that I cannot be loved by everyone. That is the ideal. In our world it is not often found.
I can be the finest plum in the world, ripe, juicy, and succulent and offer myself to all. But I must remember that there will be people who do not like plums.
I must understand that if I am the world’s finest plum and someone I love does not like plums, I have the choice of becoming a banana. But I must be warned that if I choose to become a banana, I will be a second rate banana. But I can always be the best plum.
I must realize that if I choose to be a second rate banana, I run the risk of the loved one finding me second rate and – wanting only the best, discarding me. I can then spend my life trying to become the best banana – which is impossible if I am a plum – or I can seek again to be the best plum.
In other words, if I am a plum – I’ll be the best darn plum I can possibly be.
I am the best I.
I WILL DO MORE
I am only one, but I am one.
I cannot do everything, but I can do something.
And what I can do, I ought to do.
And what I ought to do, by the grace of God, I will do.
I will do more than belong... I will participate.
I will do more than care... I will help.
I will do more than believe... I will practice.
I will do more than be fair... I will be kind.
I will do more than dream... I will work.
I will do more than teach... I will inspire.
I will do more than earn... I will enrich.
I will do more than give... I will serve.
I will do more than live... I will grow.
I will do more than talk... I will act.
I will be more than good...
I will be good for something.
Anonymous
2. Venn Diagram “You and Me”
Use this special chart to compare yourself to your friend, telling the ways you are alike and different.
In “Me” circle, write 4 special things about yourself.
In the “You” circle, write 4 special things about the other person.
In the “Both of us” section, write 4 things you both have in common.
Source: English 3/2006
3. Person Types
Here are 10 common slangy terms to describe people:
1. good sport = someone who doesn’t complain when he loses.
2. egghead = an intellectual, knowledgeable and bookish.
3. go-getter = someone who takes action, who does lots of things
4. jerk = this person’s not nice. He’s rude, sometimes cruel. An ass.
5. smart-aleck = this person thinks he knows all the answers and tries to let you know it, often in a rude way.
6. blabbermouth = this person can’t keep a secret; he tells everybody.
7. worry-wart = a person who worries about everything.
8. has been = this person was once talented and esteemed in his field – but not any more.
9. scaredy-cat = this person’s afraid. A chicken.
10. show-off = this person likes attention; if he has any skill, he is certain to try to show it.
People Type Skits
Once students get a feel for the above words, put them in small groups of 3 or 4. Each student will choose a “person type.” Each group will design a short skit (one or two minutes long) in which a “person type” is demonstrated but not mentioned outright. After the performance, the rest of the class will guess which student represented which type.
Review of Earlier People Types 1 – Matching Activity
1. good sport
2. egghead
3. go-getter
4. jerk
5. smart-aleck
6. blabbermouth
7. worry-wart
8. has been
9. chicken
10. show-off
A. is afraid, a scaredy-cat
B. worries about everything
C. doesn’t complain when he loses
D. likes attention; wants people to watch him
E. is active and busy
F. was once talented and esteemed but not any more
G. is intellectual, knowledgeable and bookish
H. is rude, inconsiderate, sometimes cruel
I. can’t keep a secret; tells everybody
J. thinks he’s really clever and lets you know it through sarcasm
Answers: 1. C; 2. G; 3. E; 4. H; 5. J; 6. I; 7. B; 8. F; 9. A; 10. D
4. Bio Poem
Objective: telling each student’s biography in a poetic manner.
The format of a Bio Poem:
Line 1. First name only
Line 2. Four adjectives that describe yourself
Line 3. Brother/Sister or Son/Daughter of…
Line 4. Lover of… (3 people, places, or things)
Line 5. Who feels (3 things)
Line 6. Who needs (3 things)
Line 7. Who gives (3 things)
Line 8. Who fears (3 things)
Line 9. Who would like to (3 things)
Line 10. Resident of (your city and state)
Line 11. Last name only
An Example of a Bio Poem
Beth
Kind, funny, hard-working, loving
Sister of Amy
Lover of Computers, Friends, and Harry Potter books
Who feels excited on the first day of school, sad when she watches the news, and happy to open a new book
Who needs people, books, and computers
Who gives help to students, smiles to her husband, and letters to family and friends
Who fears war, hunger, and bad days
Who would like to visit the pyramids in Egypt, teach the world’s greatest third graders, and read on the beach in Hawaii
Resident of California
Lewis
Source: http://k6educators.about.com/mbiopage.htm
5. “I am” Poem
Objective: to get students involved immediately in the curricula, get to know each other, and to give the teacher some examples of student work.
• Hand out the two poems entitled I AM.
• Hand out the I AM MODEL; put a copy on an overhead projector, if available, for the entire class.
• Using the model, create an original poem as a class, incorporating ideas from the students.
• Assign I AM to the class.
• Optional: Each student does an art project (collage, diorama, anything that shows WHO they are) to accompany the poem.
• Students orally present their personal I AM poem to the class.
I am – Model
First Stanza
I am (two special characteristics you have)
I wonder (something you are actually curious about)
I hear (an imaginary sound)
I see (an imaginary sight)
I want (an actual desire)
I am (the first line of the poem repeated)
Second Stanza
I pretend (something you actually pretend to do)
I feel (a feeling about something imaginary)
I touch (an imaginary touch)
I worry (something that really bothers you)
I cry (something that makes you very sad)
I am (the first line of the poem repeated)
Third Stanza
I understand (something you know is true)
I say (something you believe in)
I dream (something you actually dream about)
I try (something you really make an effort about)
I hope (something you actually hope for)
I am (the first line of the poem repeated)
I AM
I am a carefree girl who loves horses.
I wonder if there ever was a horse that could fly.
I hear the stomping of a hundred mustangs on the desert in Arabia.
I see a horse with golden wings soaring into the sunset.
I want to ride swiftly over a green meadow.
I am a carefree girl who loves horses.
I pretend to be an Olympic jumper.
I feel the sky pressing down on me as I ride along a sandy shore.
I touch the clouds on a winged horse.
I worry that I’ll fall off and become paralyzed.
I cry when a colt dies.
I am a carefree girl who loves horses.
I understand that I will not be able to ride every day of my life.
I say, let all horses roam free.
I dream about the day when I have a horse of my own.
I try to be the best rider in the world.
I hope to ride all my life.
I am a carefree girl who loves horses.
Elly Tatum
I AM
I am a nutty guy who likes dolphins.
I wonder what I, and the world, will be like in the year 2000.
I hear silence pulsing in the middle of the night.
I see a dolphin flying up to the sky.
I want the adventure of life before it passes me by.
I am a nutty guy who likes dolphins.
I pretend that I’m the ruler of the world.
I feel the weight of the world on my shoulders.
I touch the sky, the stars, the moon, and all the planets as representatives of mankind.
I worry about the devastation of a nuclear holocaust.
I cry for all the death and poverty in the world
I am a nutty guy who likes dolphins.
I understand the frustration of mot being able to do something easily.
I say that we are all equal.
I dream of traveling to other points on the earth.
I try to reach out to poor and starving children.
I hope that mankind will be at peace and not die out.
I am a nutty guy who likes dolphins.
Sandy Maas
6. Song “Buffalo Gals”
Gal is another word for girl. Buffalo is a city. First listen to the song and figure out the words. Once that’s done, you are going to do a dance…
chorus
Buffalo Gals, won’t you come out tonight?
Come out tonight, Come out tonight
Buffalo Gals, won’t you come out tonight and dance by the light of the moon?
verse
I danced with a gal with a hole in her stockin’
And her heel kept a-rockin
And her toe kept a-knockin’
I danced with a gal with a hole in her stockin’
and we danced by the light of the moon
Doing the Movement Activity
The principle is this: when certain words and phrases are sung in the song, members of the class take a certain action. Let’s start with the chorus.
buffalo = put your hands on the side of your head, with index fingers pointing up (mimicking, a buffalo’s horns. Anyway, that’s our buffalo).
come out = use both hands to beckon this imaginary person towards you.
moon = use your index finger to trace the shape of a big round moon in front of you.
For the instrumental section after the opening chorus, all you do is clap your hands, just as instructed in the song.
There. Now let’s practice the chorus and the clapping section which follows.
The song goes very fast, so let’s not listen to the audio file just yet. Let’s start by just speaking the words with the class and doing these actions. Remember, “come out” repeats three times so we’ll have to do the action three times.
Great. Next let’s take the verse.
a hole in her stockin’ = lift your right leg and point to the sock (where you might have a hole).
heel kept a rockin’ = lift your heel and rock it – i.e., swing it back and forth from left to right.
toe kept a knockin’ = tap your toes onto the floor
Okay, now it’s time to try it with the group. Do it slowly, just speaking the words. Remember to draw the “moon,” which comes at the end of the chorus AND the verse.
Now, if you feel the class can make these moves, you might try it with the audio – which is pretty fast.
If the group succeeds, congratulations! You have performed the easy dance.
The Advanced Dance: Next try adding just a couple more movements for other words.
dance = do a little dance of your own choosing
gal = do a little curtsy
Buffalo Gals [0:58m]
Source: www.etseverywhere.com
Day 3
Friendship Day
Materials
1. Moral Story “Nail in the Fence”
There once was a little girl who had a bad temper.
Her mother gave her a bag of nails and told her that every time she lost her temper, she must hammer a nail into the back of the fence.
The first day the girl had driven 37 nails into the fence.
Over the next few weeks, as she learned to control her anger, the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled down.
She discovered it was easier to hold her temper than to drive those nails into the fence.
Finally the day came when the girl didn’t lose her temper at all.
She told her mother about it and the mother suggested that the girl now pull out one nail for each day that she was able to hold her temper.
The day passed and the young girl was finally able to tell her mother that all the nails were gone.
The mother took her daughter by the hand and led her to the fence.
She said, “You have done well, my daughter, but look at the holes in the fence.
The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one.
You can put a knife in a person and draw it out.
It won’t matter how many times you say I’m sorry, the wound will be there.
A verbal wound is as bad as a physical one. Friends are very rare jewels, indeed.
They make you smile and succeed.
They lend an ear, they share words of praise and they always want to open their hearts to us.”
Author Unknown
2. “Thoughts” Activity
Finish the following thoughts about different things:
1. The greatest thing in the world
2. The greatest knowledge
3. The greatest need
4. The most useless asset (ценное качество)
5. The best day
6. The easiest thing to do
7. The greatest mistake
8. The greatest comfort
9. The most disagreeable person
10. The meanest feeling
11. The best gift
Here is an example for you:
1. The greatest thing in the world (love)
2. The greatest knowledge (goal)
3. The greatest need (common sense)
4. The most useless asset (ценное качество) (pride)
5. The best day (today)
6. The easiest thing to do (find a mistake)
7. The greatest mistake (giving up) (отказаться, уступить)
8. The greatest comfort (work well done)
9. The most disagreeable person (the complainer)
10. The meanest feeling (regret of another’s success)
11. The best gift (forgiveness)
3. Thoughts About Friends
Eleanor Roosevelt wrote:
Many people will walk in and out of your life,
But only true friends will leave footprints in your heart.
To handle yourself, use your head;
To handle others, use your heart.
Anger is only one letter short of danger.
If someone betrays you once, it’s their fault; if they betray you twice, it’s your fault.
He who loses money, loses much;
He who loses a friend, loses much more;
He who loses faith, loses all.
Friendship with oneself is all-important, because without it one cannot be friends with anyone else in the world.
Learn from the mistakes of others
You can’t live long enough to make them all yourself.
Friends, you and me... You brought another friend...
and we started our group...our circle of friends...
and like a circle...there is no beginning or end...
Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is mystery.
Today is a gift.
4. Write an acrostic poem based on the word F-R-I-E-N-D.
5. Finish this sentence in as many ways as you can think of: “My friend is a great friend because…”
6. Create a friendship flag
A Friendship Flag
Ask children to look at the American flag and name the colours it contains. Explain that each colour used in a flag has a special meaning. In the American flag, for instance, the blue stands for justice, the white stands for purity, and the red stands for courage.
Not only the colours but also the symbols on the flag are significant. The original flag bore thirteen stars and thirteen stripes – one for each of the colonies. Today the American flag proudly displays fifty stars, one for each state in the union. The thirteen stripes remain unchanged, reminding America of its beginning as thirteen colonies.
Ask children to think of items that have special significance to them or their friends. Direct them to create a friendship flag, using only the most important of these symbols. You might also share the meanings of the following colours commonly used on flags so that children can choose appropriate colours for their designs.
blue – justice; piety (почтительность); sincerity
black – grief (горе, печаль); sorrow
green – hope
orange – strength; endurance (выносливость)
purplehigh rank
red – courage; valor (доблесть)
red-purple – sacrifice (жертвоприношение)
silver or white – faith; purity
yellow or gold – honour; loyalty
7. Team Building Activity “Balloon Trolley”
| Objective: | Participants must execute a challenging series of movements while holding balloons between their stomach and the back of the person in front of them. |
| Intention: | This activity focuses on teamwork and communication.
It requires participants to be physically close to each other as they work together. |
| Equipment Needed: | One balloon per person |
| Rules: | Give everyone a balloon, and ask them to blow it up to a good size and tie it.
Ask everyone to line up, shoulder to shoulder, facing you, holding their balloons in front of them against their stomach. Explain to them that the balloons represent children and the floor represents problem risk behaviours. If a balloon touches the floor, it represents a child engaging in problem risk behaviours. Have everyone turn to their right so that everyone is facing someone else’s back. Their balloons should be pretty tightly packed between their stomach and the back of the person in front of them. The rules are simple. At no time can the balloon touch any part of the arm, from fingertips to shoulders. It cannot be placed under clothing or in the mouth. The goal is for the entire group to take 20 steps forward without losing any balloons. Give them about three minutes to come up with a strategy, and allow at least three mistakes. |
| Variations: | Move backwards ten steps.
Place an object on the floor about five feet in front of them and tell them the person in the middle of the line must pick up that item. Have them dance and sing their way around the room! |
| Debrief | Objective:
What instructions did I give you? What was the goal of this game? What did you have to do in order to accomplish the goal? Interpretive: What was the most challenging part of this activity? What was the most fun? Decisional: What is one thing you will try to remember from this activity? How can you use the things you learned from this activity to better support youth? |
| A few of the metaphors from this activity heard around Alaska: | We have to listen to each other, and agree to move together.
The leader was the one out in front, but the movement had to start at the back of the line. We had to hold on to each other. If someone falls, everyone has to stop, back up, and work together to pick them up again. You have to keep the kids (balloons) close to your heart or they will fall. That’s where your passion comes from. |
Source: Association of Alaska School Boards (Электронный ресурс)
Day 4
Henry Ford hired an efficiency expert to go through his plant. He said, “Find the nonproductive people. Tell me who they are, and I will fire them!”
The expert made the rounds with his clipboard in hand and finally returned to Henry Ford’s office with his report. “I’ve found a problem with one of your administrators,” he said. “Every time I walked by, he was sitting with his feet propped up on the desk. The man never does a thing. I definitely think you should consider getting rid of him!” When Henry Ford learned the name of the man the expert was referring to, Ford shook his head and said, “I can’t fire him. I pay that man to do nothing but think – and that’s what he’s doing.”
1. “Aims in Life” Activity
Objective: thinking about one’s aims in life.
Step 1: Each student fills in the blanks in the handout by first choosing the area of his aims, and then by making a few notes on what he wants to achieve within this area in the time specified.
Step 2: When everybody has filled in the handout with at least one aim for each of the three time periods given, small groups are formed.
Students discuss and defend their aims in the groups.
Step 3: Each group presents its general aims.
Next year
Next 5 years
Next 30 years
Areas
| travel | friends | possessions | learning |
| job | hobby | appearance | lifestyle |
| family | partner | qualifications | the world |
Source: Keep Talking – Communicative fluency activities for language teaching
by Friederike Klippel (Cambridge handbooks for language teachers)
2. Song “Teenage Years”
First, try to fill in the missing words. They will rhyme with the final word of the preceding line, so that and the context are your clues. Afterwards listen to the song and check your answers.
Teenage Years, what are they for?
A time to study and to __________,
A time to look and to sound cool,
A time to daydream while you’re at __________,
A time to wear shabby jeans
A time to read teen ___________,
A time to hit cafes with friends,
A time to believe that life never __________,
A time to hang out at clubs all night,
A time to believe that you’re always _________,
A time to fall in love at first __________.
Now it’s your turn to write a similar poem. You’ll work in pairs or groups, and your song will be short, so don’t panic! You’ll also have a model to follow. Choose your own subject, a period of time, like “Childhood Years” or “Summer Nights” or “School Days.”
TITLE: ___________________________
1. ________________, what are/were they for?
2. That’s the time to…
3. A time to…
4. A time to…
5. A time to…
6. A time to…
7. A time to…
8. A time to…
9. A time to…
10. A time to…
11. A time to…
In the remaining lines you’ll describe actions or events or lessons learned during that time. Your poem may rhyme, but it doesn’t have to. When you’re finished you can read the poem to the class. Or you might create a gap-fill activity, just like with “Teenage Years.” You may decide to post the poems on the wall of the classroom, or even put them up on the web.
The final task, and the most fun, is to sing your song. You can create your own music if you like, or you may use the karaoke version of “Teenage Years.” Listen to it and adjust your words so that they fit.
Complete Text of “Teenage Years” by Zhenya Dudina
Teenage Years, what are they for?
That’s the time to study and to explore,
A time to look and to sound cool,
A time to daydream while you’re at school,
A time to wear shabby jeans
A time to read teen magazines,
A time to hit cafes with friends,
A time to believe that life never ends,
A time to hang out at clubs all night,
A time to believe that you’re always right,
A time to fall in love at first sight.
Teenage Years [1:04 m]
Teenage Years, Karaoke [0:59 m]
Source: www.etseverywhere.com
3. Handprint Rainbow
In this project, the handprints of many children form a beautiful rainbow. It makes a great classroom decoration or bulletin board. This project is good for a group of children.
Supplies Needed:
• Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple construction paper
• A large piece of neutral-coloured paper (about 2 1/2 feet by 1 1/2 ft long), or work directly on a bulletin board
• Scissors
• A pencil and a marker
• Glue
 | Using the coloured construction paper, have the children trace their hands. Make about 10 handprints of each of the colors of the rainbow (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple). |
 | Cut out the hand prints and put the child’s name on his or her print. |
 | Glue the handprints onto the paper (or staple on a bulletin board) in a rainbow shape. |
Source: http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/stpatrick/handprintrainbow/
4. Game “Twister”
| Equipment Needed: | A plastic sheet covered with large coloured circles, which is spread out on the floor.
One spinner, divided into fourths by colour; each quadrant specifies left foot, right foot, left hand, or right hand. |
| Rules: | After spinning, the combination is called; players must move the part to a matching location.
No two people can have a part on the same circle. Due to the scarcity of coloured circles, players will often be required to put themselves in unlikely or precarious positions, eventually resulting in someone’s fall. |
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twister_(game