Life Skills & Leadership: Unit 4, Session 4: The Project Cycle | Page 49 of 91“Let’s see what happens if someone drops the string. (Ask one person to let go of the string.)
What do you notice?” (Possible answers: There’s an empty space. The string has loosened. We
can’t ‘feel’ each other.)“What will happen if several people drop the string? (One at a time, ask two or three others to let
go of the string.)
What has happened now and what might it represent? (Possible answers: The string is harder
for fewer people to hold up. We have to stand further apart to keep the string tight and off the
ground.)
Again, if this stands for a team or group you belong to, what might this new situation
represent?” (Possible answers: Sometimes people are excluded from a group. Sometimes we
forget to include everyone who might want to join the group. Communication is more difficult
when fewer people are involved. When communication is poor, people are more “distant”
from each other. A team is weaker when just a few people try to hold it all together.)B. Summary
Summarize by saying:
“When we are a member of a team, we are all interconnected in ways that are obvious, as well as in
ways that are not obvious. When even one person is in need or makes demands, it has an effect on
everyone else. And when everyone is doing her or his part—contributing knowledge, skills and
talents—to keep communication going or to be responsible in her or his relationships, the team is
stronger and the things we do together are more likely to be accomplished successfully.”II. Information ( 20 minutes)
Materials:
Handout 1: Steps of the Project Cycle for each team, cut into five pieces
Handout 2: The Sports Equipment Story
Flip chart paper, tape
Trainer Material 1: The Sports Equipment Project
Flip chart 1: The Project Cycle
A. Learning about the Project Cycle
Participants learn the steps of the project management cycle.
- Introduce the concepts of planning and the project cycle. Say:
“We’ve talked before about the advantages of working on a team: You can solve problems creatively
and get more done. And the opening activity shows that if you are doing a project together, you will
usually be more successful if you can involve all the members of your group.“In this activity, we are going to learn about all the steps you’ll need to take in order to start and finish
a successful project that you might want to accomplish as a team. By ‘project’ I mean an activity, a
plan, or an assignment that takes more than one person to complete.”