The Darkest Dark by Chris Hadfield – Lesson Plan
After hearing Chris Hadfield speak at the Canadian Student Leadership Conference in Edmonton (CSLC 2018) I was inspired to share his children’s book The Darkest Dark with my Leadership class. It went great – below is the lesson plan and assignment we used.
I began by reading the book to the class elementary school style with me holding the book up front and making sure they see the pictures. After the page that says “Dreams that actually can come true” I then show them this You Tube video of Chris Hadfield singing Space Oddity on the International Space Station.
Some of the students knew who Chris was in the story but some didn’t put it together until I showed the video. Then I read the last two pages “About Chris Hadfield” and “A Message From Chris” to the class.
When we were finished I had them get in partners and they had 2 minutes to talk about what some of the big leadership ideas were that jumped out at them. In a smaller class I would ask them each to share one thing their partner said that stood out to them. In a bigger class I might just choose a few students to report to the class. I then share the attached assignment with them which invites them to take action on one of their dreams this week. Hope this is a help with your Student Leaders.
Scaredy Squirrel- Leadership Role Model!!!
Our Gr. 10 Leadership students always complete an assignment based on the fantastic book Scaredy Squirrel by Melanie Watt. Start by reading them the story elementary school style. (one time we tried showing the pages by powerpoint but reading straight from the book went way better) Be sure to give it a very dramatic reading. 🙂 Then have students get in partners. Have them first share one big leadership idea that jumped out to them from the book. Invite some students to share with the class or group what their partner’s big idea was. Then have the partners talk about one thing they could do in the next few days to become a better leader that they learned or were reminded of from Scaredy Squirrel.
Attached is the assignment we hand out. It is a joint effort from Michelle Lowey and myself. The quality of assignments we have gotten back have been great. Enjoy
Kindness – Dew It!!!
Centennial Leadership is launching our latest Be Kind day. We pick a day and encourage students to wear their Be Kind shirts. We bring in a different shirt design each time and bring in limited numbers so that they sell out and leaves our school wanting more. This time we are going with the Mountain Dew theme. Students who wear their Be Kind shirts on that day are given two cans of Mountain Dew. One for you and one for someone who is important to you. Each can has a note of thanks on it. Students can wear any of the Be Kind shirts from the past to qualify. Thanks to Weyburn School who gave us the original Be Kind shirt idea.
Be Kind – Share A Flower
Recently at Centennial we held a Be Kind day. Students are asked to wear a Be Kind shirt that we sell at the school store for a reduced price of $8. The original shirts said “Be Kind” on the front and “…Just Because” on the back. We got the original idea for the shirts and Be Kind days from Weyburn Comprehensive School. We just added a new shirt which looks similar to the retro Coke logo.
If a student wore their Be Kind shirt they received a yellow rose which symbolizes friendship. They were then encouraged to pass the rose on to someone they appreciate. A Leadership student approached Michelle’s Floral Boutique near Centennial and they generously donated 4 dozen yellow roses.
It was fun to watch the yellow roses get passed on throughout the day. There were lots of postings on Instagram and Snapchat featuring the roses.
Sometimes a small gesture can make a difference.
Guest Speaker follow up assignment
Phil Boyte Reflection Assignment
Looking for an assignment you can use to build on a keynote or guest speaker presentation. Try this one attached above. Phil Boyte spoke at our school. His presentation was excellent and I highly recommend him. His website:
The day after his session we spent time debriefing what stood out to them. Then the class received this assignment so they could take the next step. What I like most is challenging them to apply a concept in their life and then report back. The quality of what I get back has been very good. You can adapt this assignment to any keynote or guest speaker. Good luck!
Centennial’s Got Butter!!??
Fun lunchtime activity to try. We advertised “Centennial’s Got Butter” all over the school and on Instagram. We did a take on America’s Got Talent. The Centennial’s Got Butter logo looked the same as America’s Got Talent. One of our ads put the faces of our teacher judges over the actual AG Talent judges. Using a pop culture reference like America’s Got Talent helps promote because kids already get what that is all about. Teams of two made their best butter sculptures with teacher judges picking the winner. Each kid got microwave hot buttered popcorn and the judges a chocolate disk as thanks. Happy butter sculpting.
Gen Z may see the world a little different
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HR9956gDpUY
Tim Elmore from Growing Leaders shared this video and 3 reasons why Generation Z is succeeding where previous generations may have struggled.
1. They can see what we often cannot envision.
2. They will attempt what we often believe is illogical.
3. They can collaborate when we often only feel conflict
A great TED video to share with young leaders – click the URL link above to view
Easter Egg Smash
We ran a fun and simple activity this week that may work for you. We advertised all around the school about the upcoming Easter Egg Smash. We also filmed a video of a kid getting an egg smashed on his head and put it on Instagram. On the day of we had six volunteers with garbage bags and shower caps on. There were 3 raw and 3 hard boiled eggs. Each contestant chose their egg and a leadership student did the smashing. The raw egg heads were out and the hard boiled carried on to the final round. In the final round there was two raw eggs and one hard boiled. Our winner got a Starbucks gift card and everyone got chocolate for participating. Give it a try – even works when it isn’t Easter!
Grattitude Class Discussion
Here is a quick lesson on grattitude that worked well with my students the other day.
- Have each student on their own write down as many things as they can that they are grateful for. Give them 2 minutes and tell them it can be big or small things, just stuff they are grateful for.
- Next they share with a partner. Have them name 3 things they are grateful for and then learn 3 things their partner is grateful for. Take turns until time is up. Encourage them to ask each other open ended questions about what they share.
- Invite class members to come to the whiteboard and write down things they are grateful for, big or small. If someone else puts up the same thing put a checkmark beside it.
- Have a group discussion about what they put down. Ask students to share with the class the stuff they think is most important. Share what you think is most important. Let the class decide where the discussion goes.
- Share the following Ted Talk by Louie Schwartzberg about Grattitude https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXDMoiEkyuQ
Hopefully you find this useful
Leadership Class of 2017
A huge shout out to our 3 year Student Leadership grads. They have made a huge difference in their 3 years at Centennial. At lunch today we had treats, watched the traditional powerpoint with three years of pictures, and handed out the “Oh The Places You’ll Go” signed books. Thanks to Ms. McGregor (Mama McGreggs) who put the powerpoint together. We will miss Ms. Marschall who after 5 years as an amazing Leadership Advisor is moving on to Bowness and an 8 minute commute. All the best to our Leadership Grads who we know will make a difference wherever they go. Go Yotes!
