Life Skills & Leadership: Unit 1, Session 1: Me and My Assets | Page 3 of 93Instructional Sequence
I. Motivation (15 minutes)
Materials:
Ball or other soft, safe object suitable for tossing
A. My Name is ...
Rationale: Participants introduce themselves to one another by sharing something unique to them.
Many of our unique characteristics are displayed in the single word of our name.- Welcome people to the Life Skills and Leadership course and this first session. Say:
“I’m really excited to begin this course with you because it will be a great opportunity to build skills
and to strengthen friendships that will help you for years to come. This first session begins with a
look at you: Who you are, the strengths you have, and the resources you can build upon to become
a successful adult and leader in your community.”- Invite everyone to form a circle in the center of the learning space. Say:
“I’d like each of you to say your name and briefly tell the story behind your name: For example,
what it means, how your parents chose it, for whom you are named. You can talk about your whole
name, part of your name, or a nickname. Your story doesn’t have to be funny or clever. You know
your own name best and whatever you share will tell us a little something about you. We’ll keep our
stories short so everyone has time to share. I’ll start and then I’ll throw the ball to the next person.”- Tell the story of your name in 30 seconds or less to model brevity for the participants. Toss the ball
to another participant. Make sure each person has a chance to share his or her story.
B. Summary
Summarize by asking:
“What were some new things you learned about other people? Each of us has unique
characteristics, skills, and strengths. We’ll be learning more about each other and ourselves
throughout this session.”II. Information (30 minutes)
Materials:
Handout 1: Becoming Resilient
Flip chart 1: Successes
Flip chart 2: Helping Factors