GRADE LEVELS: 7-12
CONTENT AREA: Choose Your Path - Personal/Knowing Self
STUDENT PATHS OUTCOMES:
- 2-1: Students choose courses and activities that align with their interests and abilities.
IN THIS LESSON, STUDENTS WILL:
Learn benefits of extracurricular participation by
- Reflecting upon personal interests, passions, and strengths; and identify opportunities to learn through activities both in and outside of school.
- Reading two pieces from Student Paths, “Getting Involved” and “Diary of a Senior” in Student Paths Fall 2013 or online, and answer brief question sets for each.
- Browsing school’s extracurricular offerings to find possible matches to their interests, passions, and strengths, and/or come up with ideas for extracurricular activities that could be created to match these interests, passions, and strengths.
- Participating in a brief in-class “Activity Fair” to match their indicated interests and strengths to the school’s extracurricular offerings.
STANDARDS ADDRESSED:
This lesson aligns with the following American School Counselor Association Personal/Social Development and Career Development Standards:
PS:A1.2 – Identify values, attitudes, and beliefs
C:A1.3 – Develop an awareness of personal abilities, skills, interests, and motivations
C:C2.1 – Demonstrate how interests, abilities, and achievement relate to achieving personal, social, educational, and career goals
Common Core State Standard:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
PRIOR KNOWLEDGE:
No specialized prior knowledge is necessary to complete this lesson. It is helpful to be familiar with the extracurricular activities offered at the school.
MATERIALS:
- Class set of Activity Handouts A and A2
- Class set of Fall 2013 Student Paths issue OR online access to Student Paths
- Copies of school’s student handbook or resource listing school’s extracurricular offerings
LESSON PROCEDURE:
Anticipatory written response (5 minutes):
- Distribute the handout and explain that the day’s lesson concerns extracurricular involvement.
- Direct students to use the next 5 minutes to complete the individual portion of the handout according to the directions.
Large-group discussion (15 minutes):
Create space for three lists on a board, and write these three headings:
- Our Interests
- Related School Activities
- Positive Factors of Activities
After students have completed the questions, direct their attention to yourself as facilitator.
Invite students to volunteer items to populate each list, according to their individual written responses. Discuss each as necessary. Leave these items on the board for the brief post-reading discussion.
Segue into reading and questions portion of the activity. Explain that the readings and questions will deal with such issues from various points of view, and that a short discussion will follow. Distribute reading materials.
Silent Reading and Questions (15 minutes):
Instruct students to read “Getting Involved” and answer the questions on their handouts.
Post-Reading Large-group discussion (10 minutes):
When students complete questions, have students revisit the lists composed earlier.
Under each category, revisit and allow students to add new items under the existing headings:
- Our Interests
- Related School Activities
- Positive Factors of Activities
Perhaps spur discussion with questions such as, “With all those ideas about the benefits of participation, did any new items come to mind as interests, activities, or positive factors?” and discuss each as necessary.
ANSWER KEY:
“Getting Involved” Questions
1. Name 2-3 things pointed out by this article as the reasons extracurricular activities exist in the first place.
- Build new skills, foster discipline with curricular studies, make students feel connected to school
2. Complete this sentence: Extracurricular activities are good places to use school time and facilities working on your real ________ and _______________________.
- interests, passions
3. What might one’s level of participation in extracurricular activities predict, at least according to a study by the University of Illinois’ Christy Lleras?
- how much money or education an individual will earn in the future
4. What does this article suggest students do if their school doesn’t have an activity that would meet their particular interests and passions?
- Look into starting their own activity
“High School Diary” Questions
1. Looking at this article, written by a current high school student, name a couple ways they feel their extracurricular activities are helping them.
- Specifics will vary by article market
2. Would you say the student who wrote this piece is benefiting from extracurricular participation in ways described by the first piece? Explain your answer.
- answers will vary according to students’ interpretations and understandings
3. In your opinion, does your school offer activities for you to participate in that allow you to pursue things you’re passionate about or interested in? If so, what activities do you participate in and how do they benefit you? If not, explain what kinds of activities you might be interested in, but that your school does not offer.
- answers will vary according to students’ experiences
4. Identify a “dream club” that you’d belong to if your school offered it. Do you think you could find other students who would be interested? Is it the sort of thing you’d ever try to organize? Why or why not?
- answers will vary according to students’ experiences and preferences
Activity Fair (15 minutes):
“Activity Fair” exercise (10-20 minutes)—If omitting this stage of the lesson, have students move to final personal response, below.
Distribute the student handbooks/activity rosters and have students form small groups according to similar interests.
Instruct students to browse the offerings and to complete the short question set under “Activity Fair” on their activity handouts.
Circulate around the classroom to answer questions and discuss students’ concerns, ideas.
Individual Summary Response (5 minutes): After finishing all desired lesson stages, have students work individually on the lesson’s final response.
ASSESSMENT:
Completed handout
Get Involved and Be Active Toward Happiness and Success
Activity Handout
Introductory Written Response
Use the next 5 minutes to respond to the questions below.
1. Without too much thought, write quickly here some things you’re really interested in doing—in school, in your free time, whatever.
Just make a quick list of things you’d do all day long if you could.
2. Of the things you listed above, which ones do you feel you can pursue regularly in your school?
3. How would you rate your personal extracurricular activity? (Circle one of the choices below.)
VERY INVOLVED MODERATELY INVOLVED MINIMALLY INVOLVED NOT INVOLVED
(3+ activities) (1-2 activities, plus active attending school activities) (1-2 activities, but I’d quit if I could) (No activities)
Briefly describe why the above-circled level of involvement describes you. Don’t just say, “It describes me because I’m in this and this and this,” though. Tell why you choose to be involved at the level you are. Why do you like being involved? What do the activities do for you? If not really involved, why not? What’s in your way? Have you tried and not liked the activities? Explain.
Reading questions
4. Name 2-3 things pointed out by this article as the reasons extracurricular activities exist in the first place.
5. Complete this sentence: Extracurricular activities are good places to use school time and facilities working on your real _________________and_____________________________.
6. What might one’s level of participation in extracurricular activities predict, at least according to a study by the University of Illinois’ Christy Lleras?
7. What does this article suggest students do if their school doesn’t have an activity that would meet their particular interests and passions?
Active Toward Your Happiness and Success
Now read the “High School Diary” piece from Student Paths. If viewing online, choose one of the articles available from current high school students around the country.
8. Looking at this article, written by a current high school student, name a couple ways they feel their extracurricular activities are helping them.
9. Would you say the student who wrote this piece is benefiting from extracurricular participation in ways described by the first piece? Explain your answer.
10. In your opinion, does your school offer activities for you to participate in that allow you to pursue things you’re passionate about or interested in? If so, what activities do you participate in and how do they benefit you? If not, explain what kinds of activities you might be interested in, but that your school does not offer. (Consult answers from introductory response for this question.)
11. Identify a “dream club” that you’d belong to if your school offered it. Do you think you could find other students who would be interested? Is it the sort of thing you’d ever try to organize? Why or why not?
Activity Fair (If your teacher chooses to skip this stage, move straight to Final Individual Response, below.)
In a group of 3-4 other students who share some interests, look over the student handbook or activity roster distributed by your teacher. Discuss the questions below and complete.
12. According to your interests, name an athletic activity offered by your school that you’d be interested in joining—competitive or intramural. (If you and your partner[s] aren’t interested in any athletic activities, indicate “None.”) Also record who to contact in order to express your interest and get more information.
13. According to your interests, name an arts-related activity offered by your school that you’d be interested in joining. (If you and your partner[s] aren’t interested in any arts-related activities, indicate “None.”) Also record who to contact in order to express your interest and get more information.
14. According to your interests, name an academic activity offered by your school that you’d be interested in joining. (If you and your partner[s] aren’t interested in any academics-related activities, indicate “None.”) Also record who to contact in order to express your interest and get more information.
15. According to your interests, name an organizational or student government-related activity offered by your school that you’d be interested in joining. (If you and your partner[s] aren’t interested in any organization or Student Government-related activities, indicate “None.”) Also record who to contact in order to express your interest and get more information.
16. According to your interests, name one club offered by your school that you’d be interested in joining. (If you and your partner[s] aren’t interested in any of the clubs listed, indicate “None.”) Also record who to contact in order to express your interest and get more information.
17. Talk over with your partner(s) the question of “What do we wish our school had that they don’t?” Is there any kind of club/organization/activity that you think students like yourselves would be interested in joining if it existed? List an example or two of clubs/organizations you wish your school had (like the Graphic Literature Club from the reading).
Final Individual Response
18. After all the various thinking, writing, reading, and talking about extracurricular involvement, its values, its options, etc., have you come to view your own level of involvement any differently? For instance: if you are involved, do you now see some value in those activities that you hadn’t before? Or if you’re not involved, do you see why it can be a good idea to become more involved? Explain your answer.
19. Is there anything in the school or outside the school you’ve always wanted to know more about or to try doing but never had the chance? If so, do your school activities offer you an opportunity to work with it? If not, do you think your school would be willing to expand its offerings to better serve students with interests and passions like yours? Explain.
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