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David
Haines has facilitated learning in middle school classrooms for 31 years as
a teacher of social studies, writing, reading, and science. He gives high
priority to stimulating students' desire to learn and to creating an
environment in which respect for self and others is a priority. Becoming
involved in the R.I.Sk program has given him the opportunity to integrate
training in behavioral skills and values clarification into his curriculum.
During
the ten years Dave spent as a summer camp director, he was introduced to
team building, experiential learning, and character education activities.
Motivated by that experience and his background in guidance, he initiated a
summer orientation program for his school's incoming sixth graders and a
three-day two-night outdoor educational experience for the entire sixth
grade. The impact of those innovative programs is reinforced and heightened
through the school year through his classroom teaching and interdisciplinary
units created by his middle school's team of teachers.
His goal
as a teacher is "to make my students aware of their relationships with each
other and to help them clarify their values so they can make good,
responsible choices in life."
Here are
just a few of the activities Dave Haines uses to achieve those goals….
There's an Alien in My Closet:
One of Dave's own creations, this intriguing activity
gives students' imaginations a radical workout as it introduces them to
basic communication, teamwork, and leadership skills. In groups of four,
students draw "the alien" with whom they need to communicate and with whom
they will have an accepting/rejecting relationship. On the back of the
drawing they write 3 facts about the visitor (examples: It is purple. It has
five eyes), 3 Opinions (examples: It likes the stuffed animals on my bed, I
like its laser ray gun), and 3 Feelings (examples: It is scared of me, I am
scared of it, It hopes to be accepted, I hope it accepts me).
On the
back of each drawing the group also writes the names of its members and
describes the role(s) he/she played, addressing topics such as Who spoke
most? least? Who made suggestions? Who rejected a suggestion? Who asked
others for their Opinions? Did anyone get off the subject? (examples: Tanya
suggested we color it green. Brad disagreed. Jason asked for other
suggestions. Liz suggested we vote. Tanya spoke most. Jason spoke least.
Brad got off task and started talking about his sister's stuffed animals.)
Two Good
Ears and a Mouth:
In this
great listening activity, adapted from an idea of Dr. Tom Smith of Raccoon
Institute in Wisconsin, three students are asked to take the roles of
Communicator, Listener, and Judge. The teacher gives the group a topic--for
example, "Being a friend means…., or "My favorite place is…." The
Communicator talks about the topic to the Listener, who is responsible for
repeating what has been said. The Judge rates each of the other role players
on a scale of 1 to 5. The judging is based on the content communicated, eye
contact, voice tone, conversational distance, and the ability to repeat what
was heard.
Role
Playing :
This
activity emphasizes becoming aware of and practicing roles in a group and
also provides practice in problem-solving. In groups of four, students
roleplay a machine secretly assigned by the teacher (a stoplight, a steam
shovel, a dump truck, etc.). Each person in the group must take part in the
roleplay while the other groups guess what is being portrayed.
The
activity is then repeated, but this time the teacher names a category and
each of the groups chooses what to act out (example: roleplay an animal).
Before the groups begin the process, the teacher informs them that they will
be asked what they said during the planning stage of the activity.
After
the roleplays, the teacher asks the students to report what happened in
their groups. Using information based on how they reached a consensus in
their group and how they reported what they did, the teacher begins to
introduce the idea that people play roles when they interact in groups. The
students are made aware that when they offer suggestions, support others'
ideas, ask others what they think, summarize what the group discussed, etc.
they are helping the group reach a decision, and when they don't
participate, get off task, talk too much, etc. they are hindering the group.
The
teacher can also use this activity to review the four steps of the
problem-solving process:
1.
Understand the problem or situation
2.
Plan as a group.
3.
Carry out your plan.
4.
Evaluate.
I am Lovable and Capable (IALAC)--Based
on the book of the same name written by Sidney Simon, this is a great
activity to make students aware how incidents and remarks can build or
destroy self-esteem. After reading the story to the class, the teacher can
open a discussion about the situations in the story, then ask the students
to make their own IALAC signs and wear them the next day. They are also
asked to begin to keep a journal recording the positive and negative remarks
that have affected their self-esteem. Each time they receive a negative
remark they must tear off a portion of their IALAC sign.
Sometimes students will intentionally make negative remarks to destroy a
peer's sign. They should be encouraged to take such behavior seriously
because "joking" can also have a negative effect on self-esteem.
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