Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
Activity Handbook
Introduction
The following document is an attempt to provide additional support and guidance to volunteers in the Akanksha Mentor Program. The document includes a compilation of activities and helpful tips to make the mentoring relationship more effective. The genesis of this handbook is the repeated feedback from mentors requesting additional support in dealing with children. There are many skills that we would like to see their mentees develop, but often our mentors are at a loss as to the best way to go about developing these skills. This handbook is an effort to put together a set of that will hopefully assist mentors in providing more effective and targeted guidance. The activities in this handbook have been compiled from many different sources some are activities that have been tried and found useful by various groups within the Akanksha mentor program. Others are activities used by other similar programs across the world, or exercises that we have found useful in dealing with our children in the centres. We hope that this Activity book will prove useful to our mentors. As always, we would welcome your feedback on how this activity book could be improved, either in the way the different sections are laid out or in terms of additional areas / activities that could be covered. The Akanksha Mentor Program has been running since 2001, in the past seven years we have learnt a lot from the experience of our various mentors. We hope to continue this learning experience and work with you to create an even better mentor program in the years to come. Looking forward to a long and lasting relationship, The Akanksha Team
Table of Contents
1.
TEAM-BUILDING ACTIVITIES 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 15 16 18 20 21 22 23 24 26 28 29 31 32 36 39 47
1.1 MEMORY GAME 1.2 PICTIONARY/DUMB CHARADES 1.3 STRAW GAME 1.4 ANIMAL NOISES 1.5 TRUTH ORTRUTH OR LIES LIES 1.6 TRUST WALK 1.7 THE WORLD / THE COUNTRY 1.8 CREATE A PICTURE 1.9 CREATE A GROUP STORY 1.10 TRAIN WRECK 1.11 COMMONALITIES 1.12 WHOS GOT THE HAT? 1.13 A TRIP TO THE VILLAGE 1.14 COMPOUND WORD GAME 1.15 SCRABBLE WORDS 1.16 THE SHRINKING PAPER 1.17 ALPHABET SEARCH 1.18 FLOATING STICK, OR GRAVITY STICK 1.19 MIRROR, MIRROR ON THE WALL 1.20 THE HA-HA GAME 1.21 THE WEB 2. 2.1. 2.2. 2.3. 2.4. PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT BEHAVIOUR AND ETIQUETTE RESPONSIBILITY CONFIDENCE CITIZENSHIP, SOCIAL AWARENESS AND PERSONAL RIGHTS
3. 3.1. 3.2. 3.3. 3.4. 3.5. 3.6. 4. 4.1. 4.2. 4.3. 4.4. 4.5. 4.6.
ACADEMIC SUPPORT GENERAL GUIDELINES AND TIPS SETTING ACADEMIC EXPECTATIONS SELF-STUDY ABILITY LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT AND COMMUNICATION SUBJECT AREA(S) THAT THE MENTEE IS WEAK IN SUBJECT AREAS THAT THE MENTEE IS STRONG IN CAREER ORIENTATION AND GUIDANCE TIPS FOR CAREER ORIENTATION QUESTIONS YOUR MENTEE MIGHT ASK CLARITY ON CAREER CHOICES (MENTEE YET TO DEFINE GOALS) CLARITY ON CAREER CHOICES (MENTEE HAS DEFINED GOALS) SPECIFIC SKILL DEVELOPMENT FOR SELECTED CAREER CAREER PLANNING AND PREPARATION
50 50 51 54 65 70 74 76 76 77 78 79 80 81
1. Team-building activities
MEMORY GAME
Objectives: Non-threatening game to build rapport between new members Creates spirit of healthy competition Suggested Duration: 15 20 minutes Group Size: Overall 12 20 people, divided into 3-4 teams Materials Needed: A blanket, a number of objects (e.g. a book, a spoon, a phone, etc), pens, paper How to play: 1. Place 10-15 objects under the blanket. 2. Everybody has 5 seconds to look at them. 3. Then people individually write down what they saw. 4. Next collectively write down the objects (within each team). 5. Remove blanket and check that all items were identified. 6. If time remains, replace the blanket and ask each team to draw a map of where the objects are. Variation: If too easy, ask for more details e.g. title of book, colour of spoon Debrief: Talk about teamwork and cooperation and how people can work together effectively
STRAW GAME
Objective: Simple team building game great for building rapport and getting to know strange people Suggested duration: 15 20 minutes Group size: Group of 12 20 people, split into 3-4 groups Material needed: Lots of drinking straws How to play: 1. Each group should sit in a circle. 2. Give each group a large pile of straws. 3. Set a time limit. 4. Instruct them to create as big and as beautiful a design as they can. Variations: Use any other common object in large quantities. If too easy, ask them to do it without speaking to each other. Debrief: Talk about working in a team who had an idea that they felt wasnt listened to? How the team could have worked together better. If doing it without speaking talk about communication and how important it is for people to listen and be attentive to each other
ANIMAL NOISES
Objectives: Fun activity Helps promote communication Can be used to divide a large group into smaller groups Duration: 10 minutes Group size: >12 people Material needed: Animal names on slips of paper (at least 3-4 of each), blindfolds if you have them How to play: 1. Give each person a piece of paper with the name of an animal on it; e.g. cow, horse, goat, elephant, dog, crow. 2. Everyone has to keep their eyes closed (or be blindfolded) and find all the others who are the same animal. 3. They cant talk; they can only make the noise of their animal. 4. The team that finds all in the group first, wins. Variations: Use other words with distinctive noises (e.g. bus, train, ambulance). Debrief: Talk about group dynamics e.g., how everyone could have done it faster if they had stopped to listen and let just one person call out.
TRUTH OR LIES
Objective: Fun activity to get to know unusual details about people Helps to build rapport and is a great ice-breaker Suggested duration: 20 minutes Group size: 12 to 20 people Material needed: Rough paper chits, one per person, pencils How to play: 1. Each person must write 4 sentences about him/herself. 2. One statement must be true and the other 3 false. 3. The objective is to make it difficult for the other group members to decide which statement is true, so the facts should be somewhat unknown, but interesting details about who you are! 4. Turn by turn each member reads his/her statements and the other group members must guess which is the true one. Variation: Keep score of right guesses and the person who gets the most wins.
TRUST WALK
Objective: Develop trust Help mentor-mentee pairs to bond Suggested duration: 15 minutes Group size: Any group size, divided into pairs Material needed: Blindfolds, enough for half the people How to play: 1. Blindfold one person in each pair. 2. The other partner must lead him/her around safely for 5 minutes without talking. 3. Then they should exchange roles. Debrief: Talk about how it felt to not be able to see, discuss meaning of trust. Could also discussion on how people communicated without words.
10
11
CREATE A PICTURE
Objective Builds rapport and team spirit Helps to develop creativity and promote creative expression Especially useful for getting kids with poor language skills to participate Suggested duration: 20 30 minutes Group size: 12 20 people, split into two teams Material needed: Paper and sketch pens or blackboard/whiteboard and chalk/markers How to play: 1. Set a time limit. Each team has to create picture within that time. 2. All members must participate. 3. One person starts by making a simple sketch. It can be anything, even abstract. 4. Then each member by turn adds his/her ideas to the picture. 5. If using different teams, take a vote of which teams picture is the best. Variation: If doing it with two teams, you could ask each team to make half a picture and get the other team to complete it Debrief: Talk about working in a team how different people had different skills (some people could visualise well, others could draw); and how everyones skills and ideas came together in a single picture and made it much better than a picture that any one person could have made.
12
13
TRAIN WRECK
Objectives: A fun way to build rapport in a mentor group. Getting to know a group of people better. Bring out similarities or differences among group members. Actively having fun. Suggested Duration: 20 minutes Group Size: At least 12 (the larger the group the better) Materials Needed: One piece of scrap paper per group member. Paper plates work well too. How to Play: Have everyone stand in a circle, with one person in the middle. Everyone in the circle needs to be standing on a piece of scrap paper or a paper plate. The person in the middle is IT, and shouts I love all my mentors and mentees, especially those who (fill in the blank). The only stipulation is that what IT says, must apply to him/herself. (i.e. if IT says I love all my mentors and mentees, especially those who are wearing jeans. IT must be wearing jeans.) All those in the circle who are doing what IT says (i.e. wearing jeans) need to run to a different spot that is at least two away from where they were standing they cant just step over one). The last person who remains in the circle without having a paper plate to stand on becomes IT. Sample Characteristics: Has been with the mentor program for more than 2 years; Has a post-graduate degree; Works an average of 45 hours a week or more; Has completed the 10th Standard; Favourite subject is English; Wants to be a teacher when he or she grows up; Helps his or her mother with the cooking; Has completed the 10th Standard; Is wearing an Akanksha t-shirt. Variations: This activity could be used in the context of responsibility, general behaviour and etiquette, or social awareness and rights. You could start off as explained above (with any common trait) and then once the group has caught on, stop the game and say that the traits must now involve some aspect of responsibility, general behaviour, etc. Alternatively, just introduce the activity with the theme of
14
Akanksha Mentor Program Activity Handbook responsibility. Either way, you should start off with an example so that participants understand what youre asking of them. Example statements for: Responsibility: I love all my who came on time today / help their parents with chores / call when theyll miss a mentor meeting. General Behaviour and Etiquette: who are dont yell indoors / show respect to their elders / offer to help others. Social Awareness and Rights: who want to vote in the next election / encourage their friends to go to school. You might want to preface the activity by saying that everyone should be honest as to when they switch spots. Keep in mind that some participants might be embarrassed that theyre always late and might feel uncomfortable being the only one not running across the room. Note: Before doing this activity you should have a discussion that brings up positive traits within the chosen topic so that participants have ideas to draw on. If you think your group can handle it, you can put a serious twist on the game by inserting potentially controversial or sensitive traits. Once the group has caught on to the game, you can purposefully remain in the circle (try to make it look like you were just slow) and say a trait thats sets a more serious tone, (i.e. those who are Hindu / think school is hard / have had a difficult day at work or school). If your group catches on keep in mind that they might bring up some controversial issues. If that happens, be prepared to have a follow up discussion on whatever issues surface.
Debrief: Use this as an activity to point out the differences and similarities between members of your group. Pick out a few of the traits that were mentioned and ask participants to raise their hands if they switched places. For example, If you switched places because you are Hindu but you also celebrated Id, raise your hand. Or, Raise your hand if you love being an Akanksha teacher, but you also switched places because youve had at least one really difficult day at your centre. This will help bring out the diversity within your group. You can point out how many members have common traits, and how many members fit multiple categories.
15
COMMONALITIES
Objectives: This is a fun way to build rapport in a mentor group. Getting to know a group of people better. Learning about similarities or differences among group members. Suggested Duration: 20 minutes Group Size: At least 15 (the larger the group the better). Materials Needed: One number per person written on individual pieces of paper. (Optional) How to Play: This game is similar to Train Wreck. Have everyone sit in a circle on the floor and assign each person a number. Its very important that participants remember their number because their position and order will change. If you want you can give participants a piece of paper with their number on it. Person number 1 makes a statement about themselves that they might have in common with other people, i.e., I am Hindu. Everyone in the circle who is Hindu then gets up and moves one spot to the left. If there is a person in that spot they either sit in front of them. Person number 2 then makes another statement and everyone who has that in common moves another spot to the left. The game continues until everyone has had a chance to say something about him/herself, or someone has made it all the way around the circle and back to his or her original spot in the circle. The goal is to be the first to make it all the way around the circle, and to find out whom you have things in common with. See the list of characteristics in Human Treasure Hunt for examples of potential traits.
See Variations for Train Wreck. See Debrief for Train Wreck.
16
Akanksha Mentor Program Activity Handbook do they think they could do differently when these negative feeling arise based on what they learned in the activity? What is the ultimate goal of the group? What can they do as individuals and as a group to get past the frustration, or how can they improve the situation to accomplish their goal?
18
19
Akanksha Mentor Program Activity Handbook Instead of a trip to the village, you could be packing for a business trip.
Debrief: Begin by asking the group members how this activity made them feel. Accept a variety of answers most of which will centre on frustration. Ask them if they did anything to control their frustration. Did anyone just give up? Now ask them what situations in life, or at Akanksha make them feel like this. How do they react to those situations? What do they think they could do differently when these negative feeling arise based on what they learned in the activity? What is the ultimate goal of the group? What can they do as individuals and as a group to get past the frustration, or how can they improve the situation to accomplish their goal?
20
21
SCRABBLE WORDS
Objectives: This could be used as a team building exercise. To aid in a discussion on communication and teamwork. As a learning tool for spelling or vocabulary. Suggested Duration: 15 -20 minutes Group Size: At least 20 (works best with a large group) Materials Needed: Flash cards with one letter of the alphabet written on each. Have multiple cards of letters that are used more commonly, like vowels, s t & r. Scrabble chips would work well for this. How to Play: Distribute one card to each participant (or two, depending upon the size of the group). Give the group a set amount of time (i.e. 2-3 minutes) to make words with the other group members. There is no size limit on the word (longer is better). Once words are made, try to make a coherent sentence! Variations: As a variation make it competitive by dividing the group into two or three teams and give each person several cards. Which team can create more words or longer words or sentences? Debrief: You can start the discussion with asking the group what worked well and what didnt. Group members will have needed to work together in order to successfully make words. This activity works well as a physical reminder of the fact that on certain things you need to work with other people. Each person alone is only a letter, but together the group can make many different arrangements. If your group makes sentences in addition to words, you can draw analogies between the words making sentences and different departments working together for the common goal of the organization. Point out the importance of communication and teamwork between different departments.
22
23
ALPHABET SEARCH
Objectives: Fun. Team building. This could be a good way to develop rapport within mentor pairs. Suggested Duration: 15 minutes or more Group Size: At least 8 Materials Needed: Pencils and Paper for each team White board/poster board (optional) How to Play: Divide the group into pairs or teams of equal size. The goal is for each team to find objects starting with the letters A Z. You can have the teams collect the objects and pile them in a specified place, or they can just list the objects on a piece of paper. Group members can use personal objects, or objects found in the room. You could encourage them to search for items in their pockets or purses. The first team to get all 26 letters represented wins. Variations: Encourage participants to find objects around the office. This could be a good activity to introduce your mentees to commonly used office tools that they might not be familiar with. Rather than searching for objects, have teams come up with a word for every letter of the alphabet that fits into a Mentor Categories, i.e. responsibility, social awareness, confidence, etiquette, potential careers. You could use this activity after a discussion on one of the topics, or as a brainstorming session before a discussion. Debrief: If you are using this activity within the context of a Mentor Category, have the teams share their lists with the group. Make a larger list on a white board so that everyone sees what teams came up with.
24
Akanksha Mentor Program Activity Handbook could draw an analogy to responsibility of each member to the mentor group in terms of preparing for a presentation, showing up on time, missing sessions How does being irresponsible affect the larger group? Debrief: The follow up discussion can focus on what it took to get the stick to the ground in terms of teamwork, and the frustration they felt while trying to do it. Talk about how the group had to compensate for individual differences among members, such as height, finger length and width. Relate that to how teams work best when team members compensate for others strengths and weaknesses. Finally, ask if anyone noticed they actually started by raising the stick. Why did this happen? Usually no one will catch on to the leader pressing down on the stick. The leader should explain what was done. Explain this is much like real life in that we are often reacting to or even over compensating for things of which we may be unaware. You can talk about ways to increase our awareness, such as through reassessment, feedback from others, etc.
26
27
Akanksha Mentor Program Activity Handbook Variations: If your mentees are really shy, rather than dividing up into pairs, you could make a mentor team and a mentee team. This way the mentees are forced to talk at least amongst themselves. You could use this to emphasize the importance of paying attention to those around you. You can draw analogies from observing peoples appearance to being aware of their feelings and moods and being considerate of that. Debrief: Have a follow up discussion on the importance of paying attention to those around you. You can draw analogies from observing peoples appearance to being aware of their feelings and moods and being considerate of those. Ask participants if it was hard to identify the changes their partners made? Would it be harder to notice the change if it was internal? Point out that some people are more expressive about things that are bothering them, while others keep their emotions inside.
28
29
THE WEB
Objective: Team Building. Suggested Duration: 15 - 30 minutes Group Size: 8 - 15 Materials Needed: A ball of string or piece of rope long enough to criss-cross across a circle multiple times (at least 7 metres) How to Play: This activity is a very symbolic way to discuss a shared experience. However, it can be used for endless other purposes as well. Have your group sit or stand in a circle. Choose a topic or question and present it to your group (see below for suggested topics). Tell the group that each person can respond once to the question, but only when they have the ball of string in their hands. The first person who responds should hold one end of the string. Once he has finished talking he should pass, or toss the ball of string to someone across the circle who is ready to respond. The person who receives the ball of string should wrap a small piece of string around her finger. After responding to the question, she should pass the ball to someone else across the circle. This continues until everyone in the circle has received and passed on the ball of string. A web should be created. The Debrief for this activity is very important. The Web becomes more effective as an activity the more you use it. Participants loose inhibitions as they get to know one another and become more expressive with each time its done. I suggest coming up with different topics/questions for each time you use it, but continuing to draw the same analogies about the strength of the group at the end of each activity (See Debrief). Variations: Rather than having a topic or discussion, have members of the group pass the ball of string to one person that has had an impact on them, or with whom theyve connected on a deeper level, over the course of the program. They should explain why they are passing the string to that person. Ask participants to say one strength they bring to the program, one weakness, and one thing they hope to get out of the program. You could use The Web as a tool for setting goals. Once a month, leave 20 minutes for a web activity and have each member state a personal or group goal for the coming month. Have members of the group pass the ball of string to someone who has taught them something. Have them say what they learned. 30
Akanksha Mentor Program Activity Handbook At the end of a meeting, ask participants one thing they are going to take away with them from the meeting. What is one personal strength that participants bring to the team? What is one thing that participants need to work on or improve?
Debrief: A lot of meaning can be drawn out of the symbolism in the web created by the string. The web connects all the members of the group to one another. If one participant lets go, or pulls hard on his piece of string, it affects the entire group. If everyone pulls their corner taught, the web becomes very strong, if people relax, the web begins to fall apart. Likewise, if a group member does any of the above to the group, similar repercussions can result. The web can only maintain its strength if everyone is holding up their end. Ask participants what symbolism or meaning they can draw out of the web theyve created?
31
2. Personality Development
The following section lists activities and exercises to aid in personality development for your mentee. Some points to keep in mind: Spend some time (both in groups and individually) with your mentee to communicate the importance of personality development. Unlike academics and career guidance this is one area where children (and their parents) often do not see the need for / value of the inputs being given. Talk about how its critical to demonstrate responsibility, confidence, poise and good behaviour in order to get a job and do well in life Focus on using examples from your own life to illustrate the points youre trying to make. Be sure to model the behaviour / skills that youre trying to inculcate in your mentee remember, children learn more by observation than through lectures Be sure to ask and really listen to your mentees point of view. Ensure that you understand the background he / she is coming from and the opinions / attitudes that are driving behaviour. Be as specific as possible while giving feedback (either positive or negative). Dont generalise. Instead, point to specific instances that you observed and focus the discussion around that. For example, dont say you always talk too loudly; say that day while XYZ was making his presentation you were interrupting him by shouting. Focus on giving actionable feedback demonstrate how the child could have done things differently. Just telling your mentee what he / shes is doing wrong will not drive improvement. Dont expect immediate, dramatic changes recognise small improvements and celebrate them with your mentee Remember that adolescence is a time for testing boundaries be firm and consistent in focussing on areas of personality development. Persevere even if your mentee seems uninterested / bored.
32
33
Use examples from your life / from the mentor program groups while having these discussions. Once you have set the initial agenda for working on behaviour and you feel that your mentee genuinely understands why behaviour is important and is willing to work on it, then you should do regular behaviour sessions with your mentee: Give feedback on how they can improve their behaviour based on your observations in the mentor program Undertake various role plays / activities to improve behaviour and etiquette Constantly refer back to and reinforce the basic expectations
34
The key here is to constantly recognise and give positive feedback for good behaviour, while continuing to set tougher challenges for your mentee!
35
2.2. Responsibility
2.2.1 Tips on developing responsibility
The best way to develop responsibility in your mentee is to demonstrate it yourself. Be sure to make every effort to be regular, punctual and diligent in the program. Whenever you slip up, be sure to first admit your mistake and then provide reasons, not excuses. Be sure to praise responsible behaviour whenever your mentee demonstrates it. Dont limit your praise to the mentee make sure that you praise him / her in front of the other mentees. Focus on the consequences of irresponsible behaviour talk about how it makes you feel, especially in the context of the mentor program where youre putting in a lot from your end Make sure that you create enough opportunities for your mentee to demonstrate responsible behaviour
37
Akanksha Mentor Program Activity Handbook informative are cases that are not clear-cut (matter of interpretation or in some cases a mixture of both responsible and irresponsible behaviour). Once your mentee begins to demonstrate significantly improved responsibility for his / her own actions, encourage him / her to take on the additional task of making others behave more responsibly. This could include both coordinating logistics and activities with others and encouraging others to be more responsible themselves by talking to them / counselling them.
38
2.3. Confidence
2.3.1 Tips on building confidence
Confidence is largely a result of how your mentee is treated do your bit and treat your mentee with respect and be positive at all times Try not to encourage false confidence such as bragging and acting superior to others. Explain to your mentee that you are not impressed with such behaviour. If your mentee is shy, reinforce that it is ok to be quiet and reserved, but that higher confidence can be useful in many cases. It isnt necessary to be very talkative or loud, but it is good to be able to talk to different kinds of people and to get whatever work we need done. While you try to push your mentee to do more, remember that confidence is built slowly and that the key to building confidence is to have your mentee experience repeated successes. So dont set unrealistic targets that the mentee cannot achieve
39
40
41
Practice describing yourselves. Some ideas: - In one minute or less, tell me 5 words that describe something about who you are. - What is your favourite activity? Why? - What is your favourite possession? Why? - Do you prefer to be alone or with other people? - How many friends do you have? How many of them are very close? - Do you like meeting new people? Do a self-reflection exercise: - In a notebook write down 3-5 categories, e.g. favourite food, favourite colour, favourite school subject, etc. Each of you should independently write the answers on a chit. Then compare your answers. See if any match. Discuss why or why not. - Explain that these are fairly simple likes / dislikes. We also each have different opinions about activities what we enjoy and what we dont; what we find useful and what we dont. Give a few specific examples of your own, e.g.: I really like meeting new people because I find it interesting. I dont enjoy meeting new people because they ask me questions that I am not prepared to answer. I enjoy drawing because I like to make creative designs. I dont like to play football because it I dont think Im very good at it.] - Ask your mentee to think of at least 6 different activities, 3 that they like and 3 that they dont. All these activities must be things that they have done at least once. They should write them in their notebook. - Next discuss if there are any activities that they would like to try if given a chance emphasise that you will not necessarily be giving them a chance, but just to get an idea what is appealing to them [e.g. learning to play a musical instrument, creating a garden, driving a car, building a machine, visiting another city]. Write these down too. - Finally ask your mentee to think about how identifying likes and dislikes gives us a better idea of who we are. Discuss that sometimes we like things that we are good at doing, so it could even help us figure out what skills we have.
42
Talk about people and personalities who are interesting to each of you. - Describe your best friend. How long have you been friends? What do you like most about him / her? - Who is the single most important person in your life? Why? - Which 3 people do you admire the most? Why? For help with this, see Role Models - Name at least one person whom you dont like. Why? - Which 3 people from history would you like to learn more about? - Describe an ideal person. [Note: To make it easier, make it more specific, e.g. perfect sister, perfect father, perfect friend, perfect boss, and have several discussions to get a more general idea.] Identify role models together - Use a photo or a brief story / article about someone whom you admire to introduce the idea of a role model to your mentee. Famous person in history Current person in the news - Try to avoid very common examples like sports and movie stars unless you can give significant, unusual background about them - Discuss why you admire this person and what you feel you can learn from this example. - Together brainstorm a list of famous people (come prepared with a few examples). After discussing who these people are and what they represent, ask your mentee to select one whom they admire the most. Research more information about that person and bring it to discuss in the next session. If possible bring a handout emphasising the key ideas (achievements, values) for the mentee to take home to remember. - Discuss that role models need not be famous people. Very often there is someone we know well or maybe an acquaintance whom we admire. Give one example of your own and describe why that person represents something important to you. Ask your mentee to identify one person like that in his / her life, e.g.: Grandparent / parent Another student in their school or a co-worker of yours Neighbour or someone in the community - Ask your mentee to think about how s/he might be a role model for someone else. In what ways do they set a good example or provide
43
Akanksha Mentor Program Activity Handbook inspiration? In case they cant think of anything, help them with any simple positive trait, e.g.: You are kind. You are confident. You help others. You have studied more than anyone else in your family. - Also discuss for whom could they be a role model, e.g. Siblings Others in school Neighbours or community members - Finally ask your mentee to identify one aspect for which s/he would like to be a role model for others within the next year (something that they dont already consider a personal asset). You should also make a similar goal for yourself. Write them both down in the mentees notebook along with a plan for how to achieve it. Make sure that you periodically check your progress. Discuss family background: share something about yourself to initiate the discussion. Discuss common points raised by both you and your mentee. - Who in your family lives with you? Who are they / what do they do? - Does anyone else from your family live in Mumbai? Do you meet them often? Who are they / what kind of work do they do? - Which relatives of yours are living in your native place? What do they do there? - Do you have any other relatives living out of Mumbai? What are they doing? Do you ever meet them? - Who is the family member you like the most? Respect the most? [Note: Such personal questions should be asked only after developing a close rapport with your mentee.] Discuss places and their importance to us - Where is your favourite place? Why? [Note: This can be small or big in scale, e.g. my house, my school classroom, a garden, or Mumbai / India.] - What one aspect about Mumbai do you like the most? What do you not like? - Have you been to your native place? Where is it? How often do you go there? What do you do there? What do you like the most about your visits there?
44
Akanksha Mentor Program Activity Handbook What do you not like about your visits there? - Would you prefer to stay in Mumbai, move to your native place, or perhaps another city (which one)? Why? - If you could create a perfect world, what would it look like? Discuss expectations that play a role in our lives Note: If it is easier you can divide these discussions into timeframes and work up gradually right now, in the next 6 months, the next one year, the next 2 years, etc. - What expectations do your parents have of you? Earning money Education Marriage Other? - Does anyone else expect anything from you? If so, what? Siblings Aunts / uncles Grandparents Neighbours Teachers Other? - What do you expect of yourself? Career Personal life Self-development Other - What can you do if any of these expectations clash with each other? - Do you think any of these expectations change over time? If so, how? - How can you connect the expectations in different aspects of your life? Discuss compromises - Ask: Do you think that anyone gets everything that they want in life? If so, who, how? - Try to help mentees understand that there are always compromises. Some people are definitely more fortunate than others, and that is part of life. But everyone encounters challenges and has to sacrifice something again try to give specific examples from your own life and others.
45
Discuss the importance of learning how to have productive and positive interpersonal relationships in different contexts. NOTE: This topic is fairly ambitious. Make sure you are comfortable with it before starting discussions. - Talk about how as mentor-mentee you are developing a relationship with each other. It is a process and changes over time. Expectations from both sides, how to match them and compromise. Establish boundaries Define stages of your relationship - In life there are many instances where we need to develop healthy relationships, here are some aspects to remember: What do we get from relationships? What can we give to relationships? What is an unhealthy relationship abuse, exploitation (work) What to do in case of difficulties - All relationships are different and should be handled as such. Family Friends Colleagues Boss Clients
46
47
Akanksha Mentor Program Activity Handbook Discuss why responsibilities are important and what would happen if everyone did not fulfil their responsibilities - Talk about personal integrity and how one must fulfil ones duties even if others dont fulfil theirs. Use examples from your own life to illustrate this Talk about democracy and its importance. Use examples from history and current affairs. Start with simple, local level examples and then move to the national and international level (e.g. start with a class monitor in school) - Discuss the meaning of democracy and why its important. Compare and contrast with alternate systems of government - Discuss the role of the government and its structure (municipal corporation, state government, national government) - Get your mentee to talk about how politics really works and what are the real political issues. Discuss these with your mentee. (Be careful not to get into an affiliation with any particular party or ideology, but give a balanced viewpoint and make sure its a general discussion) Discuss social awareness and activism - Talk about the role of the individual in social change. Discuss how big issues seem very disconnected from our lives, but how we can make a difference through individual action by setting an example for others - Talk about how our actions can make a difference to larger social problems e.g. by spitting or throwing garbage we contribute to a dirty street, by standing up against the bully in class we can help others get a chance, by befriending someone of another community we can foster understanding, by insulting people who are less fortunate we make it harder for them to be accepted in society - Discuss the value of collective action. Talk about the role played by NGOs / cooperative movements. Also discuss corporate social responsibility initiatives (start by talking about Akanksha and your organisation then talk about other initiatives. Ask your mentee what other NGOs he / she knows of) - Discuss how an individual can make a difference giving donations, volunteering, etc.
48
49
3. Academic support
The following section discusses ways in which mentors can help their mentees improve their formal school performance.
50
Many of our children are trying to find motivation for why they should study / how it will help them later on, so talking about the relevance of what you learnt is really important
51
52
53
54
Its also useful to do a discussion with your mentee on the different aspects of motivation Why are you in school? What are the advantages of attending school? Disadvantages? What are the advantages of not attending school? Disadvantages? Do your parents / family members support your studies? If yes, how? Does anyone else support your studies? Who? How? Does anyone interfere with your studies? How? Who is your favourite teacher this year? Who is your favourite teacher ever? Why? Do you find studying boring? If yes, which subjects? Why do you think that is the case (e.g. dont understand, dont find it relevant)? Has it always been like that? How do you convince yourself to do your homework / study? What happens if you cant convince yourself? Aside from school, do you enjoy learning? If yes, what is the most interesting topic for you?
55
3.3.3 Concentration
Many students struggle because they simply have not developed an ability to focus on the task at hand. There are many reasons for this including some factors that might not be in your mentees control: good nutrition, being well rested and healthy, being free from personal / family problems. Nevertheless, even given constraints most people can still improve their powers of concentration with practice. Some tips to deal with poor concentration: Set achievable goals: start with concentration demands of 10-15 minutes, then gradually build up longer and longer periods, but never expect full concentration for more than an hour. Students need breaks even if only for 5 minutes in an hour your mentee should learn that a 5-minute break to relax would give them 55 minutes of quality time to focus each hour. This is much more effective than saying I will study for 3 hours straight, and then being able to focus for only half an hour because it is too big an expectation. Pick the right time of the day to study: Designate specific times in the day for study, then follow the plan to make it easier to use our time better. For example, studying is more effective when you are alert and your mind is fresh. Find a word such as Focus, or a phrase such as Be here now, that will remind you to return to task. Whenever your mind starts to wander or you are distracted by something external, repeat the word / phrase to yourself and refocus your attention. It will take some repetitions to develop the habit, but eventually you should be able to train yourself to refocus in many situations. (this seems really simplistic, but it works!) Put your worries away: Another suggestion is for people who tend to be distracted by worries. Set aside time in the day just for that purpose and whenever your worries distract you, remind yourself that you have a specific time to think about that, but now you must get back to the task on hand. Here are the steps to try it: - Set a specific time each day for your worry time (e.g. between 9 and 9.30 p.m.). If you dont have time to just sit and worry, combine it with a task that doesnt require much focus such as cleaning vessels.
56
Akanksha Mentor Program Activity Handbook When you become aware of a distracting thought, remind yourself that you have a special time to think about them (if it helps, jot down the idea at the top of your notebook so that you can be sure to think about it later). Let the thought go, perhaps with use of your key word Focus. Be sure to keep that appointment with yourself to think on the distracting thoughts of the day. If you do it consistently, it should help your concentration when you need it.
A few fun activity ideas for developing concentration skills: Yoga is an excellent way to develop concentration skills. Try to arrange a short session on basic yoga techniques and encourage your mentee to practice it often it will also help with stress management. Discuss that even starting with 5 minutes a day will be useful and gradually your mentee can try to allocate more time. Read a passage aloud and tell your mentee to count how many times a common word (e.g. the) appears. To make it more fun, do this as a competitive group activity. Bring spot the difference pictures from the newspaper or activity books and time your mentee to see how fast s/he can solve them. Bring puzzles and do them together. Set a time limit to make focus more important. Play a memory game: bring 10-20 pairs of cards that match (pictures, words, symbols, whatever) and arrange them face down in rows on the table. In each turn the player has to reveal 2 cards if they match then the player collects the pair and gets another try. If they dont match the player turns them back over and it is the other players chance. Such games are available in many shops or they can be easily made with chits of paper e.g. make language learning more interesting by using duplicate sets of vocabulary flashcards for this game.
57
Improving Understanding
Which subjects can you understand easily from school lectures? How do you remember what the teacher has told you / taught in class? Can you ask your teachers for help when you dont understand? Can you ask your teachers for a course overview (at least for this term) e.g. which portion will be covered when, when will exams take place? Explain that you would like to plan your studies for this term, so you would like to know what areas you should focus on and also in what order to work on the chapters / topics. (Note for mentees: If you would feel too embarrassed to do this in front of your friends, tell them that it is required by Akanksha for you to do it!) Do you interact with any of your teachers individually at all? If you are friendly and make a good impression, they will often be more willing to help you. Which subjects can you understand easily from reading? How can you learn more from reading? Which subjects are difficult despite teachers AND textbooks? What can you do in those cases? (e.g. ask friends for help, ask students senior to you, ask a sibling or neighbour who has finished that class, take tuitions). Do you go for tuition classes? How do they help you? Do you think that it is worth the time / money you spend? Could there be better teachers / classes? How do you decide? (e.g. ask the teacher for results of students from past years, make sure that the explanations the teacher uses are ones that you can understand maybe ask if you could join/pay for just one week to sample the class before committing long-term.)
58
Study Methods
How much time do you spend doing homework every day (look at each subject separately)? Do you learn anything in that time or is it simply used to mechanically complete assigned tasks? How often do you study each subject (besides homework)? Do you take notes when you study? Do you use any other strategies to help understand better? How do you memorize information when needed? [Note: For older students it is likely that they might not have time to thoroughly understand the subjects and give exams, so they will need to cut their losses and memorize Q&As. For students who have more time, try to help them see that reading / understanding whatever subjects you can is a much more effective and satisfying way to go through school than just mugging up all subjects.] Could you find a good study partner? Make sure it is not for the purpose of doing masti but someone who can help motivate you to study. You can help each other understand also try to find someone who is good in the subjects that are difficult for you. If possible, find someone whom you can help in some subjects also (maybe a friend who is not in Akanksha, so you could help with English, for instance). By explaining to others you revise your own portion and learn more yourself.
Systematic Studying
Since many mentees will not receive adequate teaching support in formal schools / tuitions, its important to help the students develop a systematic approach and a self-learning attitude to enable them to study and learn on their own. Discuss with your mentee the importance of self-study. Explain that even if teachers are not good, we can learn a lot of our subject matter independently by understanding the textbooks. It is not always easy, of course, but it is worth the effort. Here is a strategy that might help the SQ3R strategy.
59
Survey: Skim through the chapter to get an idea of what is in it. Make a note of the key points. Note: Look at headings, illustrations, key words. Question: Write down a list of questions that you should be able to answer as a result of reading the chapter. Note: Try to think of your own questions, but you can also use the ones at the end of the chapter. Read: Read the chapter slowly and carefully. Read it one more time. Note: Remember unfortunately there are no real shortcuts. It might seem harder, but it is actually easier to read and understand than to memorise Q and As from a guide. While reading, be sure to use underlining to help remind you of the important points (related to the questions or the key topics) or to help you learn new words. Note: There is no shame in learning vocabulary even in your mother tongue!
Recall: Close the book. Write down the main points that you remember from the chapter. If there are specific formulae and/or diagrams try to put them down too. Review: Go back to your questions and see how well you can answer them. Note: To be sure that the answers you are preparing are correct check that what you have written in Recall is similar to what actually appears in the text.
To teach this method: work together through one textbook chapter with your mentee. Then discuss the strategy: what is difficult about it, why is it useful, etc. Ask your mentee to complete another chapter before the next session. In the next session go through your mentees work. Discuss whether it seems useful, what difficulties your mentee faced, etc. Note: If your mentees academic base is weak, you will likely need to revise this strategy often together before your mentee can do it alone, so dont expect too much right away.
60
Study Timetable
If possible share an example of a project that you have had to do over a period of time. Explain how you divided up the work and planned a schedule to finish it by a deadline. Then ask your mentee to make a list of all of his/her subjects. For each subject write the chapters that will be covered before the next exam period. Ideally do this exercise at least a month before the exams to encourage studying in advance. More diligent students will make a yearly timetable and use weekly timetables throughout the year to plan their studies, but average students will focus only a short while before each exam period. 61
Next create a weekly study-oriented timetable (if possible use a dairy/calendar). Very important: if you are going to create a timetable together, be sure that you are going to follow up with implementation otherwise it is much less effective and probably not worth the time investment to make it. Discuss which subjects take more time to study and start with those. Ask your mentee to estimate how much time it will take them to complete each chapter. Assign the chapters to different days accordingly. Sample:
Monday Algebra (5.1 5.3) Geometry (4.1 4.2) Science I (ch. 6) Science II (ch. 3) History (ch. 7) Civics (ch. 2) Geography (ch. 4) Marathi (ch. 12) Hindi (ch. 10) English (ch. 8) Tuesday Algebra (5.1 5.3) Geometry (4.1 4.2) Science I (ch. 6) Science II (ch. 3) History (ch. 7) Civics (ch. 2) Geography (ch. 4) Marathi (ch. 12) Hindi (ch. 10) English (ch. 8) Wednesday Algebra (5.4 5.5) Geometry (4.3 4.4) Science I (ch. 6) Science II (ch. 3) History (ch. 7) Civics (ch. 3) Geography (ch. 4) Marathi (ch. 13) Hindi (ch. 11) English (ch. 9) Thursday Algebra (5.4 5.5) Geometry (4.3 4.4) Science I (ch. 7) Science II (ch. 4) History (ch. 8) Civics (ch. 3) Geography (ch. 5) Marathi (ch. 13) Hindi (ch. 11) English (ch. 9) Friday Algebra (5.6 5.8) Geometry (4.5 4.6) Science I (ch. 7) Science II (ch. 4) History (ch. 8) Civics (ch. 4) Geography (ch. 5) Marathi (ch. 14) Hindi (ch. 12) English (ch. 10) Saturday Algebra (revise 5) Geometry (revise 4) Science I (ch. 7) Science II (ch. 4) History (ch. 8) Civics (ch. 4) Geography (ch. 5) Marathi (ch. 14) Hindi (ch. 12) English (ch. 10) Sunday Algebra (6.1 6.3) Geometry (5.1 5.3) Science I (ch. 8) Science II (ch. 5) History (ch. 9) Civics (ch. 5) Geography (ch. 6) Marathi (ch. 15) Hindi (ch. 13) English (ch. 11)
Of course most students will not really do all subjects each day, in that case it might take more days to complete the equal amount of work. That is ok. Explain that it is very important for them to make a realistic timetable, not one that is too ambitious for them to implement. We are not making a timetable simply as an exercise. We are making it as a tool, so it should be useful.
62
Akanksha Mentor Program Activity Handbook How to follow up: each week when you meet discuss how much your mentee has followed the timetable. If they have not been able to complete certain subjects, why is that? If they have completed more than planned in some subjects then they know that they should plan differently next time (if they have really understood well even with a faster pace). NOTE: Encourage your mentee to be honest with you about how much of the portion s/he has completed. For this to happen it is essential that you are clear about your expectations but not overly critical when they cant complete everything. Planning realistically takes practice. Acknowledge whatever progress they have made and when they improve tell them how proud you are. It is more useful in the long run to work together rather than just checking about lack of completion without discussing what has gone well or not gone well.
63
64
65
66
Remember that helping anyone develop language skills usually relies much more on practice than instruction. It also takes a willingness to learn to be corrected, to try to improve vocabulary, etc. Work out a system with your mentee to continually improve specific aspects of their language. For example, for a few weeks focus on building vocabulary or learning common expressions and their meanings. Then focus on pronunciation or reading skills. Then focus on having good, clear conversations: including how to listen carefully and answer questions to the point, how to ask relevant questions of someone else, etc.
67
Akanksha Mentor Program Activity Handbook of these careers is a goal for your mentee, then that reason should be good enough motivation for him / her to practice more. Note: If not, then it might be worth discussing if that career is really something of interest as using the language will be an integral part of it.
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
Expectations
What expectations do you have of me? Why? How can I live up to your expectations?
Compromises
What compromises have you made in your life? Why? If you have enough money, why do you need to compromise on anything? How do you decide what is more important? What happens when your parents want you to do something and you want to do something else?
Career
What is your career? How / when did you choose what career you wanted to pursue? What did you have to study for your career? What have you done so far in your career? What else do you want to do? Tell me about your job.
Places
Have you always lived in Mumbai? If not, why did you move here? Where else have you lived? What is it like there? Which places have you visited? What are they like?
77
78
79
80
81
Akanksha Mentor Program Activity Handbook How to assess job offers - It is essential to take the first offer that comes? - Should one apply at several places and then compare the options? - What are the relevant criteria to consider while considering different options - Reputation of the employer generally and in terms of how they treat employees - Position offered responsibility level, chance for growth - Salary and benefits - Location sometimes a better job is worth a longer commute. Discuss why. Making on-going decisions about careers - Who are the people you can consult - Colleagues or bosses - Career counsellors - Family or friends who have experience in the sector and can help. - What are the different factors to consider while moving within a company / figuring out how to work with the system - How to make decisions to change careers and why - Better salary - Better working hours - Better / more reputed employer - More interesting job - Better growth prospects - Dissatisfaction with current job - Initial career taken up to cover expenses (e.g. while studying for a diploma) Finally discuss the logistics of applying for a job - Finding out about opportunities: advertisements and classifieds, employment newspapers, websites, word of mouth, networking. - Learning about specific procedures required (e.g. Are there entrance exams? Is there an application deadline?) - General protocol for answering an advertisement: how to make a phone call for information, writing a good cover letter, preparing a relevant and impressive CV, supplying references, performing well in an interview.
82
It may also be useful to take your mentee through a set of typical interview questions (which may include mentee specific questions e.g. why didnt you complete class X?) so that theyre reasonably well prepared to handle a real life interview.
83