Life Skills & Leadership: Unit 1, Session 2: Stages of Adolescence | Page 15 of 95Instructional Sequence
I. Motivation (15 minutes)
Materials:
(None)
A. That’s Me!
Participants identify characteristics about themselves that have changed over the past few years,
including their interests and physical changes.- Conduct a brief envisioning activity. Slowly say the following, pausing along the way to allow
participants to create clear pictures in their minds:
“Think back to just a few years ago when you would consider yourself younger, more of a ‘kid’ and
not yet a teen. You might even want to close your eyes to get a really good picture of yourself.
(pause) Think about what you looked like, how you wore your hair, games that you played, who
your closest friends were, stories you read or liked read to you (or the stories that your parents or
grandparents, or community elders told to you), music you listened to, and movies and television
shows that you liked to watch. (pause) Think about how you spent most of your time. (pause) If you
were in school, who was your teacher? What did you do in school? What did you study and learn?”
(pause)Note: Depending on the culture, movies, television shows, etc. might not be culturally appropriate. Select
characteristics that best reflect the lives of your participants. You could also just use broad categories, such as “What
did you look like?” and “How did you spend most of your time?”- If participants are not already seated, ask them to take a seat and then explain the activity:
“Now pretend that your younger self is standing next to you. You are going to compare your present
self to him or her. I’m going to make a few statements, say a few things aloud one at a time, and if
that describes changes you have made, jump up and shout ‘That’s Me!’ Once you have jumped up,
stay standing for a moment so everyone else can see that you have jumped to your feet. Then sit
down and wait for the next statement.”- Practice. Say:
“We are going to try this out. Jump up and shout, ‘That’s Me!’ if you are older now than you were
then!”
Note: Everyone should have jumped up and shouted, “That’s Me!” If they didn’t, go over the directions again, making it
clear that if what you say refers to who they are now, compared to when they were younger, they are to jump up and
shout.- Choose from the list of the following statements to read aloud one at a time. Select at least four
statements that are reflective of the culture and of the particular sensitivities of the group that will
also give everyone a chance to jump up and shout “That’s Me!” at least once. You can also ask for
more details when participants are standing. For example, if they identify that their taste in music
has changed, you can ask them what they used to like and what they like now.