What are our values, and why are they important in our lives? Materials:Prepared questions - for Questions from a HatHat - for Questions from a Hat"This I Believe" student worksheets
Engage: Questions from a Hat Teacher leads discussion: What do we mean when we talk about “values.” What are some values that some people hold? Prior to this activity, the leader will write questions on scraps of paper and place them into a hat. Gather participants in a circle and explain that the hat will be passed around, and when it gets to them they must draw a question from the hat and answer it. There are no wrong answers. Format of questions in hat: “What does _____________ mean to you?” “Tell about a time when you displayed ___________________.” Possible Side-coaching: “Don’t think too hard; just blurt out whatever comes to mind.” “Have fun with your answers.” “Anything you say is right.”
Explore: Donkey Space: Room for a circle Procedure: Players stand in a circle with the leader in the center. The leader points to a player and calls out a shape. That player, plus the two players on either side of him or her, rushes to make the shape before the leader counts to ten. For example, if the leader calls “Elephant,” the player pointed to makes a long trunk with one arm, while the peoples on either side each form an ear in a “C” shape. Besides shapes, the center player can also call “Donkey- one-two-three”, which simply means to freeze in place. If the player pointed to moves when “Donkey” is called, they switch places with the center player. Possible shapes include: Horse: The player pointed to makes a wide, neighing horse mouth with 2 hands; other players make triangle ears on either side of the head. Rabbit: The player pointed to turns around and indicates a cotton- tail. Players on either side make ears by putting an arm straight up on either side of his/her head. Toaster: The player pointed to jumps up and down in place (the bread), while other players hold hands across his/her front and back to make the toaster. Elephant: The player pointed to makes a long trunk with one arm, while other players form ears in a “C” shape on either side. Play a few times, with teacher serving as leader. Teacher leads group in coming up with a three-person image for one value previously mentioned in “Questions from a Hat” activity. Teacher leads group in creating an image for this particular concept. Repeat, using two more concepts from previous game. Review three new images as a group. Resume play, using value images that students created. Give a few students a chance to serve as leader. Processing Questions: · D: What did we do in this game? What skills did we use? · A: What kinds of images did different groups create? · R: Were you surprised by any of the images? Was there an image you found especially interesting?
Reflection: “This I Believe” Values Worksheet Students write personal definitions for each of the values listed on a worksheet provided with “This I Believe” curriculum.