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Activity
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Methodology
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Resources
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1. Introduction to Unit
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Motivate the unit by discussing how working together in teams and in groups can be more fun and is the way of the workplace. However, there are certain ways to make it productive, and steps to follow.
Take a note on how to be a good team player/group participant, and roles within a team/group. Use a "looks like, sounds like, feels like" matrix to demonstrate group work.
Review the Group Activity Checklist that will be used by teacher and student to assess various working together exercises.
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Exploring p. 130-131
Group Activity Checklist including elements from Exploring p. 131 and provides a space for student reflection on the groupwork given a prompt question specific to the activity being done
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2. Establishing Groups
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a. Placing students in groups
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Explain that throughout this unit students will be working together mostly in the same student groups. This is because the emphasis is on improving team work.
Ask each student to write down three different people that they would like to have in their group. Using this information create groups of four students, warning students that they will be in a group with at least one other person of their choice.
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Tribes, p. 109
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b. Community agreements
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With students in groups discuss agreements to make sure everyone feels included. (Tribes community agreements: attentive listening, appreciation/no put downs, the right to pass, and mutual respect).
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Visual of community agreements for posting on the wall
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d. Practising the community agreements: attentive listening
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Discuss how to listen attentively (gestures, rephrasing, and reflecting feelings). Demonstrate using a student, asked to talked about some topic that is easily discussed and teacher listens attentively.
In pairs (within groups), one listens attentively and the other speaks on some comfortable and neutral topic. Roles are then reversed. Checklist prompt questions: How can you tell if someone is being a good listener? and How did it feel to be listened to in that way?
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Tribes, p. 251
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e. Practising the community agreements: appreciation/no put-downs and mutual respect
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Each student will draw a self-portrait, that will also include individual drawings of each other group member. Hand out art materials, and remind students of agreements being practised. Sketches are done with pencils at first. Artists check with their subjects for additions or corrections. Following that pens are used to complete the portrait. Discuss with class how well agreements were followed.
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Tribes, p. 338
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3. Building Group Skills
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a. Consensus: Build the tallest tower possible
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Provide supplies to build a paper tower. Working in groups, students must construct the tallest tower possible using only the equipment they have at hand and their own ingenuity. Do not tell students how to build the tower, nor mention that they have to negotiate amongst themselves how to construct it. After towers are completed, discuss with class how each group came to a consensus about how to build the tower, and the trial and error process followed. Define consensus.
Checklist prompt questions: How did your group decide the best way to build a tower? Did you reach a consensus? Explain. Did the group have a leader or did you all share equally in the decision?
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construction paper, scotch tape; Relationships p. 80
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b. Consensus: Class trip decision
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Explain that a wealthy benefactor has given the Grade 9 class as much money as necessary to send the whole class on a trip to anywhere in the world for one week. The only catch is the whole class must go to the same place.
Distribute pieces of paper and each student, alone, must write down four ideas of where to go. Students then pair, within groups, and the pairs must narrow their list of eight ideas down to four they both agree on. The whole group gets together, and must narrow their list of eight down to four. Using a silent voting, or sticker voting procedure, the class then determines the final destination. Discuss the difference between the consensus process used throughout, and the voting procedure at the end.
Checklist prompt questions: What four ideas did your group come up with? Why might making decisions this way be easier/difficult sometimes? When would you use voting, and when would you use a consensus? How did your group come to a consensus?
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Tribes, p. 327
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c. Consensus: Space pioneers
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Explain that a new planet has been discovered, just like Earth, except there are no human beings. Who from Earth will settle it? Provide a list of ten characters, and each student must determine five individuals that they would like to have settle it. Following a consensus, not a voting process, each group must choose five characters to settle the planet. Checklist prompt question: What did you have to do to reach consensus on who you would take?
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List from Tribes, p. 312-313
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d. Cooperation: Complete a puzzle using non-verbal communication
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Hand out the puzzle sets as described to each member of a group. The puzzle pieces are distributed among the puzzle sets. Group members must not speak, or point/signal for puzzle pieces necessary to complete the puzzle. Each group member may give puzzle pieces to others to help them complete their squares.
Checklist prompt questions: What did you learn about non-verbal communication? How did you feel when someone held a puzzle piece and did not know you needed it?
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puzzle sets created from Tribes p. 307-308 and/or from Exploring (Teacher's Edition), p. 163
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e. Creativity: Graffiti
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Remind students of "mind maps" and brainstorms that they have done invidually in this and other classes. Each group receives a large piece of mural paper. For three to five minutes group members must quickly "brainstorm" as a group as many pet peeves as they can. They should work on their own area of the paper but be aware of what others are writing and build on it. Give several minutes for groups to illustrate their graffiti. Papers are switched between groups and the process is repeated.
Checklist prompt questions: How is writing graffiti as a group easier/more difficult than brainstorming alone?
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mural paper, markers; Tribes, p. 300
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f. Problem solving
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Explain that it is up to each group to decide how to divide up tasks. Each group will receive the same logic problem and the first to complete it will receive a prize. If no-one has solved the problem in a 30 minute period, distribute answer sheets and move onto a second problem. Repeat for third problem if time. Checklist prompt questions: How did your group try to solve the problems? Who did what?
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several simple logic problems and answers on separate photocopied sheets of paper
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4. Communication and Conflict
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a. Self-study exercise
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Explain that communicating effectively can make our lives much easier, and reduce the conflict in our lives. Using two handouts Communication DOs and DON'Ts, fill the spaces between the various points with simple illustrations of the idea. Ask class for input after the first few.
Explain that this is mostly a self-study exercise using a series of worksheets. Class time will be given to complete them, with occasional interruptions to explain certain concepts. Review the checklist provided with the package. Topics include: split-level communication, body language, listening skills, door slammers and openers, passive/aggressive/assertive, "I" statements.
Interrupt during the first day to do the Body Language Matching Game, which involves interpreting drawings of people with emotions and descriptions of those emotions. In groups, each player takes a turn at turning over two cards in the manner of "Memory" until the emotion and description match. For another interruption, have students identify the emotions represented using a selection of printed "Screen Beans."
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handouts from Relationships p. 55-56
handouts from Relationships p. 86, 60, 61, 64, 74, 95, 71, 72, 73, 26, and 76
Relationships p. 57-59; collection of Screen Beans printed
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b. Teen and parent dialogue assignment
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Create two dialogues (in stage script or quotation format) between parents and student (may or may not be authentic). One where good communication and conflict resolution techniques are used and one where ineffective ones are used. Complete a Teen and Parent Dialogue Worksheet to prepare for writing.
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Teen and Parent Dialogue assignment sheet
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