Thursday, January 13, 2011
Touch Someone Who
This time of the year can be hard for not only the students but also the staff. When I was in college a girl in my Blocks did this activity with the class when we were all in a slump and feeling a little discouraged. It was really a humbling and encouraging activity for everyone who was involved. I know as teachers it can be hard to to find the time to encourage our colleagues but this activity is great. I am asking Mr. Leonard if I can do it at our next staff meeting because I feel like we all can use a little encouraging every now and then. This is also a great activity to do with older grades. You can change the words and add what you would like. This is the one I really like and want to share.
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Reach Out and Touch Someone…
ReplyDeleteObjective: An exercise in group affirmation and teambuilding.
Group Size: 15 or more.
Materials: Touch someone worksheet.
Space for participants to safely sit down on the floor.
Instructions: This exercise should be done with a group that has worked together for a
while as a way of affirming each member’s contributions. The facilitator will instruct
each of the participants to sit down on the ground with eyes shut. Once everyone is
comfortable the facilitator will tap 3-7 individual to open their eyes and stand up. Once
standing they will be instructed to tap (on the shoulder, arm or back) the individual that
the someone statement most pertains to. Once the facilitator has read through several
statements the tapped individuals will resume their positions sitting on the floor with eyes
closed and the next group will be tapped. This will continue until all members of the
group have had the opportunity to reach out and touch someone.
Processing Questions:
1. How did this activity make you feel?
2. How important is it to affirm the contributions of group members?
3. How did you feel when someone touched you?
4. At the beginning of this exercise you felt ____, now you feel ___?
5. What are some other ways to affirm each other?
6. What if any are some “someone” statements that you wished had been said?
Would you like to recognize a few of those who you would have touched had that
statement been read?
Reach Out and Touch …
• Someone who makes you laugh
• Someone you wish you knew better
• Someone who is a leader
• Someone you admire
• Someone who has taught you something important
• Someone who is a friend
• Someone you trust
• Someone you respect
• Someone who really lives out loud
• Someone who is a good listener
• Someone who has helped you when you need it most
• Someone who can really brighten your day
• Someone you can depend on
• Someone who really carries the team
• Someone who has made you try harder
• Someone who has inspired you
• Someone who is fun to be with
• Someone who has touched your life
• Someone who gives it their all
• Someone who has given you good advice
• Someone who is very special to you
• Someone who is very strong
• Someone who does a good job
• Someone who challenges you
• Someone who shows compassion
• Someone who you appreciate
• Someone you believe in
• Someone who has recently done something nice for you
• Someone with values that you admire
• Someone with a good sense of humor
• Someone with dreams and ability to make them happen
• Someone who is creative
• Someone with good ideas
• Someone reliable
• Someone who is patient
• Someone who is forgiving
• Someone who represents the group well
I love this idea, especially at this time during the school year. I'm starting to see a lot of my kids get tired of each other and annoyed with each other, so I think this could make a big difference in the classroom environment. I may give this a try next month when we focus on empathy. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI love it! Yes, I am definitely beginning to see friendship issues start to arise as the students have become really comfortable with each. I will have to try it. :)
ReplyDeleteI am thinking about doing this activity with my class. I wanted to do it before but I am nervous about the touching. With my 4th graders I can see it being a popularity contest and also the "touching" might need to be altered. Does anyone have any ideas where I might be able to modify this activity?
ReplyDeleteTed - I know your questions was a long time ago, but I have done an ativity as a camp counselor where campers can write affirmations to each other.
ReplyDeleteEach kid puts his/her name in the center of a piece of paper. They pass it to the next kid, who has 60 seconds (or whatever works for your students) to write something they appreciate about the person whose name is on the paper. Turn on some quiet music and continue to pass every 60 seconds until everyone has written on every paper. (If "60 seconds x 25 kids" is more than you want to spend, maybe you could break them into smaller groups or just stop the activity after 10 passes or so.)
I know from experience that this can be a big boost to one's own self esteem and to class morale - it helps remind each students about the good in others.