The Little Book of Inspirational Teaching Activities E-Book

David Hodgson

• Herausgeber: Crown House Publishing
• Kategorie: Bildung
• Serie: The Little Books
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2009

Seitenzahl: 228

Beschreibung

A collection of activities developed and used with teenagers all over the country that are short, easy to follow and engaging. They can be used as one off activities to spice up a session or can be put together to form one hour lessons or even whole day events. There are suggested combinations of activities to suit different topi such as PSHE, Successful Revision/Learning, SEAL.

Leseprobe

THE LITTLE BOOK OF

INSPIRATIONAL

TEACHING ACTIVITIES

Bringing NLP into the Classroom

David Hodgson Edited by Ian Gilbert

Crown House Publishing Limited

www.crownhouse.co.uk – www.crownhousepublishing.com

First published by

Crown House Publishing Ltd

Crown Buildings, Bancyfelin, Carmarthen,

Wales, SA33 5ND, UK

www.crownhouse.co.uk

and

Crown House Publishing Company LLC

6 Trowbridge Drive, Suite 5, Bethel, CT 06801, USA

www.crownhousepublishing.com

© David Hodgson 2009

The right of David Hodgson to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Illustrations © Les Evans 2009

Les Evans has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, to be identified as Illustrator of this Work

First published 2009. Reprinted 2009.

All rights reserved. The purchase of this book entitles the teacher to photocopy pages 63 and 64 for use in the classroom only. Except as permitted under current legislation no other part of this work may be photocopied, stored in a retrieval system, published, performed in public, adapted, broadcast, transmitted, recorded or reproduced in any form or by any means, without the prior permission of the copyright owners. Enquiries should be addressed to Crown House Publishing Limited.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue entry for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978-184590136-3 LCCN 2008936821eBook ISBN 978-184590429-6

Printed and bound in the UK by

Crowmwell Press Group, Trowbridge, Wiltshire

Dedicated to Jonty, John and Jason

Contents

Foreword

Preface

Introduction

Joker: Big Pants

Part One

Four Suits

The Activities

Joker: Body Parts

Joker: Tongue Twister

Diamonds

Believe in Yourself

Ace of Diamonds: Compliments Slip

2 of Diamonds: Inside Out

3 of Diamonds: Parachute Jump

4 of Diamonds: Paper Wait

5 of Diamonds: Body Talk

6 of Diamonds: Group Challenge

7 of Diamonds: Animal Impression

8 of Diamonds: First Date

9 of Diamonds: Speed Dating

10 of Diamonds: Line Up

Jack of Diamonds: Lie Detector

Queen of Diamonds: Mind Power

King of Diamonds: Memory Lane/I Believe

Hearts

Know Your Strengths

Ace of Hearts: MINTed

2 of Hearts: Number MINT

3 of Hearts: Word MINT

4 of Hearts: Picture MINT

5 of Hearts: Nature MINT

6 of Hearts: Body MINT

7 of Hearts: Music MINT

8 of Hearts: People MINT

9 of Hearts: Self MINT

10 of Hearts: Identity

Jack of Hearts: Personality Words

Queen of Hearts: Strength Test

King of Hearts: Dry River Crossing

Clubs

Have a Plan

Ace of Clubs: Percentages

2 of Clubs: Wheels on Fire

3 of Clubs: Pictures of You

4 of Clubs: Time After Time

5 of Clubs: Money, Money, Money

6 of Clubs: Walk This Way

7 of Clubs: A Little Time

8 of Clubs: SMART

9 of Clubs: The Miracle Questions

10 of Clubs: Two Out of Three

Jack of Clubs: I Predict a …

Queen of Clubs: Timeline

King of Clubs: Marge or Homer

Spades

Go For It

Ace of Spades: Go For It State

2 of Spades: Time Bandits

3 of Spades: Shoe Swap.

4 of Spades: Sign Your Name

5 of Spades: Sit Down

6 of Spades: How to Have a Goal in Mind

7 of Spades: Thank You For the Music

8 of Spades: Take a Break.

9 of Spades: Relax

10 of Spades: Sucking Lemons

Jack of Spades: Teach Someone Else

Queen of Spades: Memory Technique

King of Spades: I’ve Changed My Mind

Part Two

Bringing NLP into the Classroom

An NLP Machine

Danger: Boiled Sweets

Memorable Experience

Real Strategic Management

The Meta Model – the way to turn negative to positive

The Milton Model – a way to develop positive behaviour

Bonus Activity for Good Teachers: Star Sign

Bonus Activity for Good Teachers: Logical Levels

Suggested lesson plans

Could it be Magic?

Joker: The Splash Zone

Bibliography

Foreword

An academic, a psychologist and an NLP practitioner walked into a bar. While they’re there they have a discussion about NLP. The academic dismisses it outright as there is no specific academic research to back up its claims about helping people communicate better, understand each other better and get more out of everyone including ourselves. The psychologist also dismisses it, claiming that it is a pseudoscience using pseudoscientific language to pretend to be something that no-one has proved it is. The NLP practitioner, meanwhile, is enjoying his pint and has just managed to get a date with the girl behind the bar.

Whatever it isn’t, what NLP is is a fascinating way of experimenting with language, with communication, with thinking and with interactions that, regardless of what the theorists may say, does make a tangible difference in the real world (whatever that is as we all have different ones).

NLP or Neuro-Linguistic Programming (and here the psychologist may have a point) grew out of the work of academic linguist John Grinder and student Richard Bandler in California in the 1970s. They were looking at the language and strategies employed by three great therapists, Fritz Perls, Virginia Satir and Milton Erickson. Picking through hours of video and audio tapes of therapy sessions led by these three, one of the things that Bandler and Grinder identified was that there were just three main patterns of behaviour that could be found in successful communication:

To know what you want.To be flexible enough to try different things to achieve it.To have enough ‘sensory acuity’ to notice what is happening when it is.

From these early roots the huge sprawling empire that is NLP was born, spawning a thousand copyists and a million acolytes and more than just a handful of people who are very scathing about the whole thing.

For teachers who have not heard of NLP, be aware that the whole world of ‘VAK’ teaching and learning comes from it. This is the idea that when we take ideas into our head from the outside world they can only come in through our senses and, putting olfactory and gustatory to one side for most, if not all, classes, that means we must help people learn in visual, auditory and kinaesthetic ways. Good multi-sensory learning is not too controversial but the idea that we have a preferred way of learning across VAK does cause the academic theorists to get a bit agitated in their seats. Where some schools have taken it to an illogical extreme: ‘I’m a kinaesthetic learner so don’t ask me to listen to you as I’ll be too busy playing with this koosh ball.' I have seen it all too often where the child struggling to understand a concept in one ‘modality’, say by the teacher telling them it, gets it immediately when shown it or physically representing it.

Dave Hodgson has been successfully using NLP for many years to help young people get a little closer to their potential. What he has put together in this handy ‘Little Book’ is a collection of powerful but simple ideas, strategies and exercises that allow anyone to draw on some of the best elements of NLP and get the most out of their own students in the classroom and beyond.

Artfully arranged as set of playing cards with themes based around the four suits, a teacher armed with this book can immediately get to grips with NLP in the classroom and make their own conclusions about how effective it is as a tool for communication and inspiration.

And remember, as was once famously said, ‘The map is not the territory’. NLP may not exist, but it works.

Ian Gilbert, SuffolkMarch 2009

Preface

The little book of big pants?

I had an idea for an activity. I went into British Home Stores and hung around the bra and pants section, plucking up the courage to study the knickers on display. I didn't realise there was such a wide choice. Determined not to make eye contact with anyone, I focused on the pants. Then I saw what I was after. In the same way that a bride knows she has found the ideal wedding dress, I realised they were the ladies' pants for me. I took three pairs of size 22 in pink, white and green. That's a lot of 100% cotton for just £5. I hurried across to the counter and handed them over, thankful there was not a long queue. As the middle-aged lady assistant peered over the rim of her glasses to get a better look at me, I was reading her mind, 'It's OK,' I said helpfully, 'they're for my work.' I had hoped this would make it seem less odd, but I think it just made things worse. The next day I delivered a session to a group of students. I told the story of my shopping experience and then explained the game:

I divided them into three teams. When the music started they were to take turn in putting on the pants. But – and here's the twist – they had to do it wrong. Their task was to discover as many incorrect ways of putting on the pants as they could while the music played. And so they did, to the theme music from Benny Hill. Once each person had managed about three goes I stopped the music.

This exercise was inspired by watching my 3-year-old daughter getting ready in the morning. Could there really be that many wrong ways to put on a pair of pants? In preparing for the session I had come up with 12, but I hadn't thought of using arms and head as well as legs. The students were far more creative. How did they feel after the activity? 'Great,' they said, 'it was fun.' It's OK to be silly if everyone else is joining in; the thought of doing something potentially embarrassing is worse than actually doing it.

And the point of the whole pants exercise? – Leaving a group of teenage children with the feeling of being motivated, of believing in themselves and knowing that, if they wanted to, they could go for it. Not a bad result for a three-pack of big ladies' smalls.

(In fact, the session and this activity went so well, the teacher suggested I put all the materials together. Which is why you're now reading this book.)

Introduction

The mediocre teacher tells.The good teacher explains.The superior teacher demonstrates.The great teacher inspires.

William Arthur Ward

I'm delighted that this book is being published as part of the Independent Thinking Series of Little Books. I used to think only Stephen Fry or the BBC could save Britain from itself. Now I think it's up to teachers and people such as myself who are doing our best to blaze a trail. Richard Bandler, co-founder of Neuro Linguistic Programming, has said, 'There is no such thing as learning disabilities, just teaching disabilities.' Before you throw down this book in disdain, with a Jeremy-Paxman-interviewing-a-politician look on your face, don't worry. This isn't about slating teachers. There's enough of that already. 'Respec' to da teachers' I say. I genuinely believe the only way we can change the world is by changing the way we teach children.

Independent Thinking Ltd is doing to the curriculum what Jamie Oliver did to turkey twizzlers. The challenge is to convince all of the brilliant teachers out there to believe in themselves as much as they believe in their students. I'm looking forward to the day teachers strike – not for extra pay but because they don't want to let the politicians mess up education anymore. Fire fighters did this a few years ago and received massive public support.

John Taylor Gatto, a teacher for over 30 years, writes eloquently about the need for a rethink on education in his book Dumbing Us Down. He describes the real curriculum obscured by the sound bites and pronouncements from politicians, business people and religious groups. It makes uncomfortable yet enlightening reading and I consider it a call to arms for teachers. It has inspired me to put together this collection of activities.

Did you see that programme about naturism?

A rather pleasant, plump, middle-aged woman, wearing only her handbag, was being interviewed by the pool. She remarked that most naturists were, physically, 'nothing much to look at.' The evidence – assorted middle-aged naked people milling around the pool or splashing in it – supported her observation. She went on to assert that younger people don't enjoy naturism when their bodies are at their best because their confidence is at its lowest. What would the world be like if it were the other way round? Listening to this woman, with rapt attention, I had two thoughts. First, isn't education about building and boosting young people's confidence so they can be and do their best? Second, can sitting naked on slatted plastic garden furniture really be comfortable?

The purpose of this book is to provide you with 62 activities designed to inspire people to be their best. So come with me. The activities are described succinctly on a series of playing cards and many require little or no preparation.

They adhere to the following Rules of Inspiration:

The Rules of Inspiration

They RING!

For an activity to work, it should be Relevant, Interesting, Naughty or a Giggle. If they are all four you're really chiming.

If you're not sure whether an activity is relevant, put yourself in the shoes of your audience and ask the 'WIIFM?' question, 'What's in it for me?' What do the students gain from listening and taking part? Are they clear about the gain?

You can judge whether it is interesting or not by measuring the response of the students. Do they sigh with boredom when you introduce the lesson, or sigh in disappointment when it ends?

'Naughty' is not about content but about the style and construction of the session. We learn and remember better if we are taken out of our comfort zones. The number one question astronauts are asked by adults and children is about 'number twos'!

You don't need to be a stand-up comedian to have a giggle; use the humour from within the group. If it is relaxed and engaged, humour will flow automatically from unexpected places and make your session unique and memorable.

For more on these simple but effective tips on motivating and inspiring your students, plunge into Ian Gilbert's Essential Motivation in the Classroom.

They can be made into stories

A good session is like a perfectly balanced five-course meal; all parts complementing each other to create a satisfying whole. The least satisfying meals I've encountered are buffet leftovers, unconnected and unbalanced cold items usually including enough scotch eggs to sustain a class of Year 11 boys for a month. This book can be used in the following ways:

•  Select individual card activities to complement or refresh your existing sessions.

•  Create full sessions using a collection of cards. The suits and numbers can act as a guide. One activity from each suit, in the sequence followed (diamonds, hearts, clubs then spades) and the same number provide a coherent session including a consistent theme using a range of activity styles (for example the 3 of diamonds and 3 of hearts both use a parachuting metaphor and if followed by the 3 of clubs and 3 of spades allow students to use a wide range of learning styles).

•  For Inset.

Suggested combinations of activities are provided in Part Two of this book. The activities are written mostly with teacher and their students in mind but are suitable for all trainers and professionals working with teenagers. The text alongside each card provides ideas on how to adapt and develop each activity. The card description is a clear description of the activity itself.

A story I've heard a few times in NLP circles is the one about the elephant chained by the leg to a post from an early age that learned to move only the short distance the tether would allow. It became so conditioned that, as an adult, it would only move within the same area, even though the chain was no longer capable of restraining the strength of an elephant and it was no longer attached to the post anyway. Despite being bigger and stronger than its captors the elephant was trapped within the boundary it perceived as real. The story ticks a number of NLP boxes. Which ones? Well, when I deliver presentation skills training, delegates give a short discourse that has to start, 'If there's one thing in life I've learned it's …' They are not allowed to say what the one thing is. At the end we ask each person in the audience what they thought the message was. What's fascinating is that they all have a different interpretation – interestingly, an interpretation that is best suited to their own lives and situation. A version of the elephant story, using a bird illustration, appears on the bottom right corner of each page of this book. Flick the pages quickly and the bird appears to be caged; slow down and you see it is able to fly … if it wants to.

They apply learning theory and research

The best bits of NLP are drawn together through activities: accelerated learning, multiple intelligences, brain development, memory techniques, coaching, and even illusionist Derren Brown. I know that many people regard NLP as a bunch of odd people jousting with jargon. But for me, NLP has as much to do with intellectual jousting as Victoria Beckham has to do with Gordon Brown, and unless there is a juicy scandal around the corner, I don't think the two are meant to be together.

The voices of those questioning the way we educate our children are becoming louder. They're going to have to speak up.

The education system we have is perfectly suitedfor the needs of the century we're in.

This statement may have been true if I were writing in 1850.

Politicians are either clueless or too scaredto make the changes needed.

This statement tends to be true in whatever year you write it.

The best theories are often beautifully clear and balanced, such as the double helix structure of DNA. The premise of this book – find meaning in your life through a cycle of four steps that allow you to explore the world within you and around you – is also easy to understand. Putting it into practice can be tricky.

Maintaining a healthy weight is not really complicated. The Billy Connolly diet is 'eat less, move more'. Beautifully simple. It wouldn't make a book though, with just four words. Even poetry books and books with pictures have loads more words than that. So the advice is straightforward, the practice needs a little work.

These steps seem to be used by all the successful people who are prepared to share their methods, and probably many people who don't. I've looked all over for the meaning of life. Philosophy? No deal. Science? Religion? You're having a laugh. Pop music is the source of the best wisdom and advice. And not just the Beatles and Morrissey; even the much-derided Eurovision Song Contest delivers more answers than the most beardy academics. In fact, I can prove it. In an activity I use with adults and young people I ask, 'Imagine your life in five years time as if you are at your absolute best'. They list their achievements and I ask, 'What advice would you send back to yourself from the future to ensure this best happens?' Their advice: 'Stop procrastinating and go for it. Just do it. Believe in yourself.' Such phrases could easily be titles of Eurovision entries. You know the sort: 'Boom bang a bang live your dreams yey!' Their advice is about the inner wisdom we all possess and which is the path to fulfilling their own potential. Songs usually follow this pattern, with verses about the obstacles in the way and a rousing chorus that is a simple call to action.

They involve groups

We can enjoy many things on our own, and sometimes we have no choice, but there are some things best done with at least one other person in the room. Passing on skills, advice and information can be equally effective to individuals or groups but inspiration is best delivered to a number of people. We're social animals. Why else would people go to Glastonbury when they could buy a CD and listen to the same songs in better sound quality and in dry surroundings? Or go to a football stadium or theatre when there are 50-inch plasma screens? It's because a powerful energy can be created and absorbed in a crowd that can inspire us to believe we are able to achieve more and think we might be better than we thought. As a teacher or trainer we can create and direct this energy like the conductor of a symphony orchestra.

They don't include the most important ingredient: your attitude

This has the biggest impact of all. If you're positive, curious and genuinely interested in the people out front, you should be fine. If you'd rather be somewhere else, then please go somewhere else. Change career – you and those around you deserve it. I attended a fascinating 10-day NLP trainer course a few years ago and a great deal of time was spent on this part of presenting. For more on this see Presenting Magically by Tad James and David Shephard.

Teenagers need adults to be their guide. In his book Flow, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi suggests parents of happy children offer the following:

•  Clarity – clear goals and feedback.

•  Centring – a focus on the present, not harping on about past misdemeanours or future failures if you don't buck up your ideas etc.

•  Choice – with stated consequences.

•  Commitment – they trust their child and let them do their own thing.

•  Challenge – they stretch the child.

These five themes offer everyone working with children a useful reminder of the right attitude to choose. As well as your attitude, consider your appearance. Young people say they respect teachers that are good looking and cool. OK, before you make a dash for your nearest cosmetic surgery clinic, try these two ideas first.

Clothes: don't wear anything older than the students you teach. You may be sentimentally attached to a pair of trousers you bought when Wham! were in their heyday, but just because you can still squeeze into them doesn't mean you have to.

Personal grooming: give it a go! If you smell, have stray hairs growing from places other than the top of your head, or have breath that can wilt roses, then don't look up your nickname on Friends Reunited.

If like me you used to turn heads but now you turn stomachs, worry not. Like the hooded top, wrinkles receive a bad press. Greet each new wrinkle as a monument to your burgeoning wisdom. And the most cost-effective treatment for wrinkles is a dimmer switch in the bedroom.

Students need to be able to respect and trust us as professional adults, not mock our ageing sadness – that's what they have parents for. Luckily, although students say they prefer good-looking and 'cool' teachers, the teachers they most respect are those that offer warmth, respect, firmness and knowledge of their subject. We can all work out to improve these factors without paying for gym membership or expensive suits… though the suit will come in handy for parents' evenings.

I've shared many of the activities described in this book and it has been great to receive positive feedback from people working with some of the most challenging groups. I've never white water rafted or partaken in extreme ironing, but inspiring a year group of 150 teenagers must be every bit as exhilarating. I hope you find activities that inspire you and those around you. Is there anything better we can do?

And that brings us nicely back to my three pairs of pants for the larger lady activity, which I reproduce for you now in full, using the playing cards format. Give it a go. You know you want to …

Big PantsTime: 5–10 mins

 

Activity: Split the group into teams. Their challenge is to come up with as many incorrect wrong ways as possible to put on the pants. They demonstrate one and then pass the pants to the next person. The game is against the clock. They start when the music starts and stop when it stops. The game can be competitive in which the team with most variations wins, or collaborative, where you add all the scores together to reach 50.

Learning Point: We don't try stuff if we think we're going to look stupid. So some people never try anything, they never reach their potential. In most areas of life getting it wrong is not as bad as never trying anything. This attitude of 'feedback not failure' is central to success in life. The thought of doing things is often worse than the experience itself.

Preparation: You'll need a collection of big, oversized comedy pants and/or thongs, enough for one pair per six to eight people. You'll also need music. Comedy music like the theme to Benny Hill or other up-tempo songs are ideal.

PART ONE

Four Suits

It's 25 years since I left school. I don't remember much of what I was taught, though I do get excited when I see an oxbow lake, because I can remember how it is formed and could draw it for you in a series of three neat diagrams. I can still remember how a large proportion of the teachers made me feel. The teachers I remember fondly are those who taught me to believe in myself, discover my strengths, find a path to develop those strengths and go for it. The activities in this book can help students remember the impact you had 25 years from now. In a nutshell:

Students don't care how much you know until theyknow how much you care.

The four suits each represent a step within the process of being and doing our best. I read recently about the next generation of computer games. It sounds amazing, they'll make the Wii seem as old fashioned as the computer tennis of the 1980s. There will be a helmet with sensors locked on to areas of our brain that are able to respond directly to our thoughts and put them on the screen. Think 'spider' and it will appear in front of you. At least, that's the prediction. Perhaps we're getting ahead of ourselves. This book is based on the idea that we should learn how to interact with the real world first. Most of us don't interact with the world nearly as well as we could do. Think of the four steps outlined here as a kind of dress rehearsal for the computer games of the future.

Four Suits

Diamonds – Believe in Yourself

Hearts – Know Your Strengths

Clubs – Have a Plan

Spades – Go For It

And one last thought for your journey through my exercises: a life based on doing and being is more fulfilling than a life based on having. Remember, the best way to inspire others to be their best is for us to be our