TR101 - Facilitator Guide

Pre-class Notes

VOL Team Guiding Principles:

The GSNETX Volunteer Learning Team exists to engage, educate, and empower Adult Volunteers to facilitate the Girl Scout Leadership Experience.

We know that people return to places where:

1) They feel warmly welcomed.

2) They receive something of value they could not have gotten had they not been there.

3) They have fun.

We ensure our classes are engaging by following the CFAR model:

o C – CONNECT: We connect with our learners and help them connect with each other before we begin teaching. We make sure not to let it go on too long. We understand that time spent creating safety early in the experience will make the class go better overall.

o F – FOCUS: We quickly bring our learners’ attention to what we are here to do.

o A – ACTIVITIES: We follow that up with a sequence of experiential exercises and activities.

o R – REFLECT: We wrap up every session with questions that help our learners reflect on what they’ve learned and evaluate it.

We put in the time to read and study our facilitation script so that we are fully prepared to follow the plan and timing. We know that with repetition and practice we will come to know our material so well that we can set the script down and speak from our authentic voice once we own it.

We show up early to ensure our classroom is well set up and we are ready to welcome our first guest so that we both feel comfortable in our environment.

We find the joy in our part of empowering others as we co-create experiences with them.

We make sure that no post training roster ever gets lost.

Course Assets:

FACILITATOR GUIDE STUDENT WORKBOOK SIGN IN TABLE TENT TABLE GROUP TABLE TENTS X 6

KAPER WHEEL TEMPLATES TALKING STICK STICKERS POM-POM VOTING EXERCISE STICKY DOT VOTING EXERCISE

Bonus assets and downloadable files in the Meetings 101 digital library will continue to grow over time.

Supplies Needed / Room Set Up:

Sign In Table:

• Instructional Table Tents for Sign-in table

• Printed copy of the roster & pens

• Student workbooks – 1 per student

Trainer Tools:

• Facilitator Guide & copy of Student Workbook

• Classroom example of Kaper Chart

• Classroom example of Talking Stick

• Classroom example of DO IT / DID IT Can

• Pom-pom Voting exercise sheet (1 sheet to tape on wall per class)

Pre-set Student Tabletops:

• Instructional Student Table Tent – 1 per small table group

• Name tags – 1 per student

• Gallon size Zip Lock bags – 1 per student on the roster

• Snack size Zip Lock bags – 1 per student on the roster

• 1 popsicle stick per student on the roster.

• Sharpies to write with

Supply Table:

• Disposable plates – 1 per student

• Box of Kaper Wheel Template handouts – 1 per student

• Box of scissors – 1 per student

• Box of glue sticks – 1 per student

• Box of clothes pins – 1 per student

• Sign In Kaper wheel, 5 blank clothes pins, and a fine point sharpie marker so that the first 5 students to arrive can put themselves onto the kaper wheel as directed by the sign-in table tent.

• Sticky Dot Voting exercise sheets (4 sheets taped to wall per class)

• Roll of voting stickers to distribute for student sticky dot exercise.

• Voting cup (in case of no open floor space)

• Blue masking tape

• Sharpies and pens

• Wet wipes to clean glue off scissors

• Boxes of multiple rolls / colors of duct tape

• Box of pill bottles – 2 per student

• Box of popsicle sticks – many per student

• Box of cardboard tubes – 1 per student

• Boxes of purple & green pom-poms

• Box of voting stickers

Room Set Up:

• The room set up is flexible – whatever works best for the space that you are in.

• Student seating can be horseshoe or small groups. What is important is that no one has their back to you and can easily see and hear the front of the room

• You need a sign-in table near the entrance for the roster, student workbooks, plus a Sign-In Table Tent

• You also need a 2nd table nearby to lay out your many supply boxes with adequate open space for people to gather in front of it.

• A large open space for the group to gather in a circle to cast the pompom voting throw is ideal. If open floor space is not possible, use the cup voting method instead. If the table groups are large, say 8 people, you may alternatively have them throw their pom-poms into the center of the table.

• Tape the sticky dot and pom-pom voting exercises somewhere visible and accessible on the wall.

o Pom-pom voting is a single page which describes two STEM badge options – best if up in the front of the room near the facilitator where all eyes can see you.

o Sticky dot voting is four pages and should be placed where there is enough open space for the group to walk up, examine, and place their dots.

o The whiteboard (if there is one) may work well for this.

Room Set Up:

As Students Arrive:

• Greet students as they arrive and direct them to sign-in on the roster.

• The first 5 people to arrive will be directed to write their name on 5 blank clothes pins. Be sure you put the Sign-In Kaper wheel by the roster with 5 clothes pins and a fine point sharpie marker.

• The Sign-In table tent will direct them to grab a handout and find a seat.

• Follow the instructions on the table tent on student table groups.

• While you are waiting for the official class to start, walk around the room and mingle with people. Pick up the popsicle sticks with student names on them from the table groups and drop them into your classroom example of a DO IT / DIT IT Can (which you are carrying).

• During this class, you will use the classroom kaper chart once to pull 5 names for Make & Take Tool #1.

• You will use the DO IT / DID IT Can 4 times, engaging 12 MORE people to perform tasks. This is 17 student engagement points combined.

• If you have a small group, you have a real-life example of moving the sticks from the DID IT side back to the DO IT side.

• If you have a super large group, some will experience knowing their name was soon to be called – maybe next time.

• Know that this course is timed for 1 hour and 55 minutes in a 2-hour time block.

Opening / Connect Segment – 10 Minute Run Time

Everyone comes to the classroom with an emotional need to feel recognized and safe in the physical space. Spending time up front to create a warm and welcoming atmosphere will make a positive difference in the learners’ overall experience.

Warm & Friendly Welcome

(10 min)

SAY:

• Hi everyone. Welcome! We are so glad you are here.

• INTRODUCE YOURSELVES. We’ll be guiding this class today.

• Please say hello and introduce yourselves to each other at your table. (Give 2 – 3 min)

o What’s your name? / Where are you from? / What’s your program grade level and how many girls are in your troop?

• To officially begin, we are going to open the class with the Girl Scout Promise. Demonstrate holding up the right hand with 3 fingers extended and lead:

o On my honor, I will try:

▪ To serve God, and my country.

▪ To help people at all times.

▪ And to live by the Girl Scout Law.

• This class is for new, or newish, leaders… anyone who wants to get a handle on leading troop meetings and look smart while doing it.

• You’ll make (and take home with you) 4 simple tools that will help you create structure and make your meetings run more smoothly.

ASK:

• Show of hands –

o Is everyone here within their first year of leading?

o Who has already started meeting with girls? How’s that going? (Take a few short responses.)

o Who hasn’t started meeting yet? (You’re in the best possible place!)

SAY:

• Let’s face it, kids can be a lot. They’re full of energy. They have short attention spans.

• It’s one thing to manage your own children’s behavior, keeping them directed and working peacefully. We know how to do that, right?

ASK:

• REAL QUESTION: Has anyone here ever had difficulty managing the behavior of your own child? Raise your hand. (Smile when you say this. They all have. They will smile or laugh, too.)

TRANSITION:

• Of course, you have! So…if managing the behavior of our own child can prove challenging at times, where we know the rules, the environment, and the expectations with which they’ve been raised… can you imagine that it might be challenging (now and again) to manage the behavior of a group of other peoples’ kids? You know that their energy amplifies when they are in groups; right?

Focus Segment- 5 Minute Run Time

What are we here to do? This is where you focus the attention of the group on what we are here to do today.

Transition to Student Workbook (5

min)

Page 1

SAY:

• What are we here to do today? Open your student workbook and look at pgs. 1 & 2 to find out.

• On page 1 you will find the Table of Contents.

o We will make 4 meeting tools to take home with you:

▪ 1 - a Kaper Chart,

▪ 2 - a Do It / Did It can,

▪ 3 - a Talking Stick.

▪ 4 - You will also put together a simple girl-led voting kit.

SAY:

Page 2

• Before we dive into the tools and the techniques it’s important that you know and understand that those 3 bullet points on page 2 are the underpinning and foundational key to your success.

Understand this: (Read & comment on the bullets.)

• Structure & routine helps kids feel organized and safe. It frees up their minds to take on new challenges and learn new things.

o You already know this to be true – you just have to get the structure and routine down.

• It also teaches them self-control and helps them handle transisitions more easily. This helps them form habits that are necessary building blocks for success in life.

o We want self-control and the ability to transition from one activity to another; right?

• Structure should include time for talking, thinking, and planning… AND time for physical activity and games.

o This means that it’s okay to simply play games and have fun sometimes, and that we don’t have to only stay inside and do badge work. We can make time for dreaming, exploring, and play

(Check your timing… you should be approx. 15 min. in by the time you finish this segment.)

• Everything we make and cover today will help you with structure and routine - - which helps girls develop self-control, and for making space for the girls to have a voice in what they want to do.

TRANSITION:

• Turn the page and let’s look at pages 3 & 4 to explore the 6 Parts of a Meeting model. This is the only part of today’s class that is lecture based without making a tool, but we must first establish this foundational knowledge before we put the layers and tools on top of it.

Activities Segments

A sequence of make & take activities and transitions that move the learner through layered accumulation of knowledge and practice with skills.

A - FOUNDATIONAL KNOWLEDGE: 6 PARTS OF A MEETING (10 min)

SAY:

• Bring your attention to the model on page 3. It starts with “Start Up” at the top of the clock and runs clockwise through “Opening” & “Business”, to “Activities” … finally rounding out the meeting with “Clean Up” and “Closing”

• Girl Scouts has been using this model for nearly 100 years. It works, so put this model into your mental framework for meeting planning

ASK:

• Did anyone notice that not everyone arrived at the class at the same time today?

• What simple activity did we have you do at the tables today while we were waiting to Start Up? (Write your name on a nametag, popsicle stick, and zip lock bags Did it keep you occupied? Was it simple and easy to transition away from? (Yes)

SAY:

• In real life, the girls won’t arrive at meetings at the same time either. You’ll want to keep them occupied and busy before the official meeting begins. Provide something simple so that they’re not running around, jumping on sofas, and getting into trouble. Girls’ energy feeds off each other and this could totally happen on a high sugar day if they didn’t have some direction. You know it’s true.

• It could be as easy as coloring pages or a very simple puzzle. The point is… keep their hands busy, with their bodies in a centralized place while you wait for everyone to arrive. Ideally this helps the girls focus on the theme or content of the day’s meeting; if a girl comes late, she should be able to jump right into the meeting.

• Notice that the Start Up explanation on page 4 offers some simple suggestions to help get your idea wheels started.

• Let’s talk through the rest of the meeting parts one by one

RUN THRU MEETING PARTS - OPENING ASK:

• On page 4 Do you see the point in the” Opening” Section about most troops opening in a circle with the Promise & Law? Why do you think that might be? Possible answers:

o It gives an official start to the meeting.

o Repetition & practice help commit it to memory faster.

o It’s easier to give directions and instructions about what is happening next when all eyes are on you in a circle before breaking into groups.

• Did you notice that we started the class officially with the Promise and Law?

BUSINESS

ASK:

• What about the “Business” section… why do you think you might want to put any business topics up front before “Activities”?

Possible answers:

o To discuss before the large group breaks up into smaller groups, possibly.

o To avoid running out of time at the end of the meeting and leaving it undone due to not seeing the girls again for a couple weeks.

ASK:

• What could Girl Scout business look like anyway? (Take a few answers.)

SAY:

• This might be a good place to discuss what badges the girls want to work on and then run a girl led vote, or a segment to discuss setting cookie goals.

ACTIVITIES

SAY:

• “Activities” are self-explanatory. This is usually the largest chunk of your meeting time. Notice that this can be filled with working on Badge Requirements, but that it can also be filled with crafts or other activities the girls have previously decided they want to do.

CLEAN UP SAY:

• “Clean Up” is self-explanatory. Make the girls responsible for cleaning up not only after themselves during activities, but also for keeping the meeting place tidy. They can sweep, wipe down tables, and collect trash. Otherwise, they will expect you to always do it. You will be vacuuming the meeting place and cleaning up after everyone else has gone home. Believe it, or not, participating – even in clean uphelps them feel ownership of their meetings and their troop.

CLOSING SAY:

• “Closing” just like you open in a circle…. It’s a good idea to close in a circle, too. This is your chance for last words, yours, and theirs, too.

ASK:

• Notice how every segment shifts direction about every 10 to 20 minutes… what do you think the reason and benefits might be?

Possible answers:

o Kids have short attention spans; the younger the shorter.

o To keep girls engaged.

o To reduce misbehavior driven by boredom.

TRANSITION:

(Check your timing… you should be approx. 25 min. in by the time you finish this segment.)

• Before we start making things… I’d like you to turn the page and read pages 5 and 6 SILENTLY to yourself

• Digest what you read and think about what this might look like for your troop meetings. (Give them 3 to 4 min to read silently to themselves and watch for signs that most people have finished.)

B - MAKE & TAKE TOOL #1: KAPER CHARTS (15 min)

SAY / GIVE INSTRUCTIONS:

• To change direction, I need 5 helpers’ assistance distributing materials so that we can make simple Kaper Charts.

NOTE: The Sign-In Kaper wheel and 5 clothes pins with student names should be sitting next to the sign in roster. The first 5 students who arrive will help demonstrate how the wheel works passing out supplies for Make & Take Tool #1.

Grab Sign-In Kaper Wheel from sign in table –

Call names forward and give instructions and materials to distribute from the supply table:

o One person to distribute 1 plate per person.

o Once person distributes the kaper wheel templates

o One person distributes 1 glue stick and 1 pair of scissors per person.

o Two people work as a team to count out and distribute clothes pins –Give 1 clothes pin for each girl in the troop, plus 2 extra.

▪ If a troop has 8 girls, give them 10 clothes pins. If the troop has 20 girls, give them 22.

▪ If you have co-leaders attending together offer to give them one set of clothes pins for their group. (No need to give out double clothes pins.) Tell leaders to put them into their large Zip Lock bag for safe keeping.

Once all the supplies have been distributed…

ASK / DISCUSS:

• A kaper is a recurring job that must get done. Is anyone here currently using a kaper chart during meetings? Not yet? It really helps. Think of this as your starter Kaper Chart.

• Let’s look at the pre-filled Kaper Chart Wheel on page 5:

o What part of the meeting would the “Kaper Keeper” do their job, and what might that job be? (Answer: Start up segment)

o What part of the meeting would the Promise and Law Leaders perform their roles? (Answer: The Opening)

o Which kaper roles are active during the “Activities” section of the meeting? (Activity Ambassador, Leader’s Helper, and Helping Hands possibly.)

o Do you see how this goes? These roles are only suggestions. You can create and define the roles for your troop to suit your own troop needs.

o How do you feel about giving girls structured and rotating roles to play in their meetings?

ACTIVITY:

MAKE & TAKE TOOL #1

SAY:

• One thing to be careful about is not to feel too Pinterest fancy. You’ll want this to be easily portable if you can’t leave it at the meeting place.

• There are many ways to make a kaper chart. The picture in the handout shows examples of some. (Briefly comment on a couple pictures )

• Examine the list of suggestions for potential kaper jobs later and truly think about which ones are right for your troop

• You can also choose to borrow the kapers in the example as your starting point. What do you think about those? Do you like them? Questions?

GIVE ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS:

• Hold up classroom pre-made example. Think of this as your starter set. We’re going to start with disposable plates and clothes pins. It is cheap and simple. Easy to transport. Easy to store.

• One of your wheel handouts is pre-filled with kaper roles and the others are blank. Ideally, you are going to customize your kaper chart any way that fits your troop and the number of girls you might have.

• For example, if you have 16 girls you might consider 8 kapers and have them work in pairs. (16 kapers is too many!) The key is to come up with 8 tasks that will be consistently performed at every meeting.

• For today… cut out pre-filled kaper chart and glue it to the back side of your plate. The back side of your plate gives the clothes pins a nice rim to grip onto and point upward around it.

• You are going to play with your chart, this wheel, and the pins for a few moments so you can see how they fit around an 8-kaper wheel. This will help you think about the number of kapers you need and how you might rotate them through the roles. (You can pull it off and replace the wheel later.)

• Each clothes pin represents a girl. Consider having the girls paint and decorate their own pins or put stickers on them as an activity on the day you introduce the chart to them.

• The pins can either A) rotate spaces every meeting or B) be placed on a kaper first come / first served (like we did today at the start of class).

GIVE STUDENTS A FEW MINTUES TO CUT, GLUE, AND ASSEMBLE THEIR KAPER CHART.

REFLECTION:

• Put yourself in a girl’s shoes and look through her eyes… you’re a child again. How might you experience a kaper chart?

Possible answers:

(Check your timing… you should be approx. 40 min. in by the time you finish this segment.)

o I’d be curious to know what’s on it & want to touch it.

o I’d like to look at it and see where my name is.

o I’d like to know what my kaper at the next meeting will be.

o I might be worried I didn’t know how to do that kaper.

o I might be proud of how unique my name clothes pin is, proud of myself for being capable / important, etc.

C - MAKE & TAKE TOOL #2: DO IT / DID IT CAN (10 min)

SAY:

• You’ve seen the Kaper Chart, now let me show you the DO IT / DID IT Can. This tool is brilliant. It’s like having a hat to pull names from for those unplanned, oneoff tasks that are not on the Kaper Chart.

• Hold up and demonstrate the classroom sample. Explain that sometimes they may have to call upon a single girl to do something that isn’t on the Kaper Chart…like picking someone to be “it” in a game.

ASK:

o What happens when you ask a group of kids for a show of hands to be picked for something? What do they do?

o How easy is it to see who put their hands up first?

o What do the kids who didn’t get picked usually do?

SAY:

• Completely circumvent that scene by using the Do It / Did it Can. Names go on a stick in the Do It side of the can. A stick gets drawn. Pulled stick goes in the Did It Can. Once everyone’s name has been pulled, then all the sticks move back over to the DO IT side.

• Girls learn that even though they may not have been picked this time, at some point in time in the future, their name will be pulled. It helps them relax a little bit.

• This goes to the earlier point we made about helping girls develop self-control. This tool can assist with that.

GIVE INSTRUCTIONS:

ACTIVITY:

MAKE & TAKE TOOL #2

• I want to give you some verbal instructions about what’s coming next

• There will be some movement around the classroom as we start passing out supplies, and that gets distracting I want you to know what you need to do before that starts happening. Are you with me?

• Notice that on the supply table (point), there is a variety of colors and patterns of duct tape. You need a 4-inch strip of tape in the color of your choosing to hold 2 pill bottles together.

• Before you get up to get your tape, I want you to receive the correct number of popsicle-sticks for your troop first. One for each of the girls in your troop, plus two extras.

• Repeat wait until you get the right number of sticks from the person passing them out before you go up to cut your tape. This will help us control the number of people milling around the supply table at one time

(Check your timing… you should be approx. 50 min. in by the time you finish this segment.)

• Bring your scissors to snip off a section of your preferred tape but leave the roll behind (for now). Don’t worry, you’ll have an opportunity to get crafty with the tape again in a little while!

• I need 4 helpers to distribute our pill bottles and popsicle sticks so that we can make our own DO IT / DID IT Cans Once you have all your materials, put them together and make your second tool

PULL 4 STICKS –

Call names forward and give instructions and materials to distribute from the supply table.

o Two people distribute empty medicine bottles, two per person.

o Two people distribute popsicle sticks pins – 1 stick for every girl in that leader’s troop, plus 2 extra.

▪ If a troop has 8 girls, give them 10 sticks. If the troop has 20 girls, give them 22.

▪ If you have co-leaders attending together give each one a set of pill bottles and sticks for their group so each of them has a tool. Tell them to put their sticks into their DO IT / DID IT Can for safe keeping.

GIVE STUDENTS TIME TO ASSEMBLE THEIR TOOLS.

TRANSITION:

• How do feel about this tool? Do you like it? Will you use it?

• Great! Put that aside for now. That’s 2 tools made for you to take home 2 more tools to go.

ACTIVITY: ROLE PLAY

ASK:

• Would it be shocking (shocking!) to hear that kids in elementary school and beyond are more excited about getting their own ideas out than listening to others’? They frequently will talk over each other loudly, at the same time.

SAY:

• Let’s examine a concept borrowed from Native American traditions See page 8 in your handout The Talking Stick helps girls learn how to listen and take turns speaking

• Look at the opening statement (Give students a minute to read.)

o The stick can be plain, or it can be decorated.

o Literally, you can reach down and pick a stick up off the ground Instantly, you have a tool.

o The pictures near the top of the page are hand decorated Talking Sticks, which might enhance the ceremonial nature for the girls if they created the official stick themselves. Instructions for how to make a natural style stick are documented there for you, and you can go that route if you’d like.

HOLD UP CLASSROOM TALKING STICK / SAY:

• For our class purposes, we’re going to make something a little more durable It’s lightweight and portable. It Is cheap. It’s made from a heavy cardboard tube and duct tape. It can be wiped off easily if it gets sticky.

• At the bottom of page 8 you’ll find instructions for how to teach your girls to use it. It will take some practice for them to develop the skill, so use it several times a year

o Sit them down in a circle.

o Go through the rules of listening and speaking

o Demonstrate & practice the talking sign, and then pose the discussion topic.

DEMONSTRATE via ROLE PLAY:

• The talking sign is made by holding 2 fingers upside down on the ground or table in front of you. (Like your fingers are doing the walking.)

• A girl should make the sign when she has something she wants to add to the conversation.

• Here is our practice role play. We are a troop. I am the leader, outlining a few possible activities our troop can do as a service project. I’m going to ask for your input and feedback.

TALKING STICK ROLE PLAY / SAY:

o We have 2 different service project opportunities we can take part in this year, and we need to decide if we want to do one of them or look for a different project that we’d rather do instead.

o Option #1 – The Susan G. Komen walk is a fundraising event that raises money for breast cancer research. Lots and lots of people will be walking that day We could possibly sign up to cover a table to hand out bottles of water to walkers at drink stations

o This will take about 3 hours on a Saturday morning on the 3rd weekend in October.

OR

o Option #2 – A nearby senior community has a need for helpers to assist their residents by doing odd jobs, light household clean up tasks, and yard work. Residents sign up for a helper. We might end up vacuuming, washing windows, or pulling weeds from flower beds.

o This will take a full day from 9 in the morning until 3:30 in the afternoon on the first Saturday in November. We’ll bring a sack lunch and have a noon meal together.

ROLE PLAY ASK:

o So, troop, what are your thoughts on this? Do you prefer one opportunity over the other, or neither? Why?

o If you have something that you want to say, use the Talking Sign and I’ll pass the stick over to you. When you’ve finished speaking, hand the stick to someone else who is making the signal.

TRANSITION: TAKE 2 OR 3 RESPONSES. PASS THE STICK. HAVE THEM PASS THE STICK TO THE NEXT PERSON. ASK THE GROUP IF THEY UNDERSTAND HOW THIS WORKS AND IF THEY ARE READY TO MAKE THEIR OWN TALKING STICK.

ACTIVITY:

MAKE & TAKE TOOL #3

GIVE INSTRUCTIONS:

• Notice that the body of the sample Talking Stick is covered with larger tape and that smaller tape is used for accents or to reinforce the ends or make designs.

• Because you’ll be using a larger amount of tape than before… you will need to bring a couple of rolls of tape back to the table to work with the scissors and cut the tape up.

• Be as creative as you want to be. It’s your Talking Stick.

• If someone else is using a tape that you’d like to use, just ask them to share the roll with you

• I need 2 helpers to make sure that everybody gets a cardboard tube.

• Once they are done… I’ll call tables up one by one so that we don’t have a large crowd.

(Check your timing… you should be approx. 1 hour & 5 min. in by the time you finish this segment and have 55 min. left on the clock.)

PULL 2 STICKS – Call names forward –

• Give one-person cardboard tubes to distribute from the supply table.

• Give the other person the Talking Stick Rules stickers to students to put on their Talking Sticks.

• Call tables up to choose tape one or two at a time to manage the crowd.

WHEN YOU NOTICE THE GROUP HAS FINISHED THEIR TUBES CALL FOR A CLASSROOM TALKING STICK GALLERY – NOTICE & PRAISE EVEYONE’S WORK.

REFLECTION / ASK:

• Of the Six Parts of the Meeting… in which parts do you think you are most likely to use the Talking Stick?

Possible answers:

o Business – to discuss options

o Opening – to share good news.

o Closing – to share reflections.

TRANSITION:

• If we are using the Talking Stick during the Business section of the meeting to discuss and weigh our options for service project commitments… what part of the meeting is voting and deciding done? (Answer: Still Business.)

• Is it okay if the Business section of the meeting expands to 40 minutes while the activity section of a meeting shrinks to 15 sometimes? (Answer: Yes, segment times are flexible based upon what you need to accomplish.)

• We’ve made 3 out of 4 of your make & take tools. Put these away in your bag to clear some space. Your Girl Led Voting Starter Kit is next.

TAKE TOOL #4: BUILD A GIRL LED VOTING STARTER KIT (30

SAY:

• Our jumping in point for your Girl Led voting kit is to talk about how girl led input and decision making is progressive.

• You start with simple choices – this or that – and build from there, gaining success and growing skills with repetition and practice.

• It is just like when your toddler was learning to get dressed. You didn’t just leave them to it. You gave them two choices: Do you want to wear the red shirt? Or the green shirt?

Look at page 9. Girl Led has 3 Levels and they progress as girls master group collaboration skills.

• Level 1 – Girls choose which activities to do. For example, our troop is going to a lock in, and we have signed up to bring dessert. Are we going to bake a cake or bake a pie for the lock in? Pie or cake?

Girl Led ROLE PLAY #1 / VOTE With Body Movement:

ACTIVITY:

GIRL LED ROLE PLAY #1

This Girl led voting role play requires no supplies or tools, just body movement.

• Let’s do a simple role play. This is the first of 3 Girl Led Roles Plays we will do in the next half hour

• We’re going to take a vote… only rather than using our voices or raising our hands… we are going to use our bodies.

o If you would like to vote for making and bringing a cake… signify your vote by making JAZZ HANDS. (demonstrate)

o If you would like to vote for making and bringing a pie… signify your vote by making YUMMY ON MY TUMMY hand movements! (demonstrate)

o See how this works?

o Who votes to make cake? Who votes to make pies?

• Then Level 2 – Girls make decisions within those activities.

• It looks like this … so we’ve decided we’re baking a cake … NEXT…

• Are we baking chocolate, vanilla, or strawberry cake? Are we using icing or fruit filling for the middle? Is the icing going to be buttercream, whipped cream, or cream cheese frosting? Will we put sprinkles, coconut, or strawberries on top?

• Then Level 3 – Girls learn to lead other girls. Suppose that there was more for this troop to do beyond baking a cake for this lock in. What if they had other duties, like decorating and taking tickets at the door to handle?

• Level 3 of Girl Led might look like breaking the troop up into small groups and asking the girls in the small group to collaborate and come up with the plan for their focus area.

ACTIVITY:

MAKE & TAKE TOOL #4

SAY:

• One of the benefits and differences of belonging to Girl Scouts is that girls get to practice their leadership skills in an all-girl environment that is free from competition and grades. This is different from what occurs in school, and it is good for them.

Establish the 3 levels one more time:

• Level 1 – girls make choices.

• Level 2 – girls make decisions within their choices, like a ripple effect.

• Level 3 – girls learn to lead other girls.

TRANSITION:

• Is everybody good so far? Yes? Now, let’s put it into practice.

SAY / GIVE INSTRUCTIONS:

• I need to pull 4 helpers to distribute some materials.

PULL 4 STICKS –

Call names forward and give instructions and materials to distribute from the supply table.

o One person distributes 5 classroom voting stickers per student, tearing them off the roll.

o One person distributes 1 starter sheet of voting stickers to take home and use to run a practice vote with girls.

o Two people count out and distribute pom poms – 1 of each color pom pom for every girl in that leader’s troop, plus 2 extra.

▪ If a troop has 8 girls, give them 10 pom poms of each color. If the troop has 20 girls, give them 22.

▪ If you have co-leaders attending together give them one set of pom poms for their group. No need to have double surplus. Tell them to have the leaders put pom-poms into their snack Zip Lock bags for safe keeping.

Once all the supplies have been distributed…

Page 10

SAY:

• Look at technique #1 on pg. 10 in your workbook – Simple Voting with Pom Poms.

• Pom Poms come in a variety of colors, and they are cheap, plus transportable. Your small zip lock bag is for your very own Pom-Pom voting kit

• This method is far more interesting and tactile than the blind voting, “put your head down on your desk” method that children are frequently subjected to. It works with Daisy to Ambassador grade levels.

ACTIVITY:

GIRL LED ROLE PLAY #2

• If girls being influenced by other girls’ votes is a concern, one of the great things about voting with small objects is that you still allow room for anonymity. We’re going to test that theory with another role play.

GIRL

LED

ROLE PLAY #2 / SET UP THE POM-POM VOTE / SAY:

• The pom-pom vote is used when there are 2 simple choices – A or B.

• Let’s say that we are a Brownie Troop and we’ve decided that we are going to give some of the STEM badges a try this year. We’ve narrowed it down to 2 possibilities.

• If I were your troop leader, I might sit you all down while we are in our Opening Circle during the business section of the meeting and go through the highlights of each potential badge with you.

• I would probably use the overview information found on GSUSA’s Badge Explorer page, like the example I have taped up on the board to have this discussion with you Notice that you can introduce a badge and tell girls a little about what they can learn once they’ve earned it. Show the picture.

• If I had a physical copy of the badge booklets, it would have the same information on the cover. I might pass them around the room for girls to see, touch, and look through.

• I’d probably follow that introduction of the badges with a Talking Stick session to get your ideas and feedback – BEFORE we took a vote.

• Finally, we’d take a vote. I would tell you that the purple pom-pom is a vote for HOME SCIENTIST, and the green pom-pom is a vote for SPACE SCIENCE EXPLORER

• I’d tell you to put one of each color in your hand. Go ahead and do it. Put a green in one hand and a purple in the other. Hold them in front of you in a closed fist. Do you know which color is in which hand?

• There are two different ways I could approach this to gather your vote:

o A – I could walk around the room with a cup in my hand and ask you to drop your pom-pom of choice into the cup. No one would see what was inside. (Demonstrate w/ two people with a cup – but then give their pom-pom back). OR

o B – I could gather you into a circle and on the count of 3 – have you throw your pom-poms into the circle at the same time. Shall we do that now?

ROLE PLAY #2 / CAST THE VOTE / DO:

• GATHER THE GROUP INTO A STANDING CIRCLE. Have them put one color in each closed fist and hold their hands out in front. (Do they need to check again to remember which color is in which hand?)

• Remind them that the purple pom-pom is a vote for Home Scientist, and the green pom-pom is a vote for Space Science Explorer

• On the count of 3 – throw your pom-poms into the middle of the circle. 1 – 2- -3 Go!

PULL 2 STICKS FOR VOTE COUNTERS – Call 2 names.

• Ask vote counters to count the vote and report out.

• Pick up the pom-poms and return to your chair.

ASK:

• How did that feel? Anonymous and more fun; right? Do you think you’ll use it?

TRANSISITION:

• While pom-poms are great when you have two choices…. Sometimes life has MORE than 2 options. What do you do for that?

• Look at pg. 11 for the MULTIPLE OPTION VOTING WITH STICKY DOTS instructions.

SAY:

• You can use sticky dot voting when you have 3 or more options to choose from.

• The important thing is that girls get ONE MORE dot than the number of options.

• Why would I do this? Because each person can spend their dots any way they choose on the options.

• If a girl feels strongly about an option, she can spend her dots on one single thing.

• If she feels ambivalent, she can spread them out equally.

• The thing about having one extra dot than the number of choices… it forces you to consider what you really value most.

• LET’S DO ANOTHER VOTING EXERCISE.

ACTIVITY:

GIRL LED ROLE PLAY #3

GIRL LED ROLE PLAY #3 / SET UP THE STICKY DOT VOTE / SAY:

• Our troop had a successful cookie sale season, and we are looking for ways to use our profit. I have taped up 4 different possibilities our troop can do.

• You did the work so I would like to make room for your thoughts and input about how we can use our troop money and have the adventure and experience we want.

• I’m going to briefly describe each of them. When I am done, I will call on tables to go to the signs and apply their dots There are 4 options, so everyone goes to vote with 5 dots – you have 1 more dot than the number of options available

• Each person can spend their dots any way that they chose on the options. They may split the dots or spend them all in one place if they feel very strongly about one of them.

• The option with the highest number of dots wins.

ROLE PLAY #3 / CAST THE VOTE / DO:

• Move over to the role play sheets that you have taped on the wall and run through the descriptions of all of them.

• Get out your 5 sticky dots.

• Call on tables one by one to come cast their sticky dots vote. Remind them they can spend the dots any way they choose.

When all the votes have been cast pull 2 sticks to have participants be vote counters and report out.

PULL 2 STICKS FOR VOTE COUNTERS – Call 2 names.

• Tell them they’ll need to bring their pen when they go to count the dots

• Write # count on the stickers as you count them to make sure that you counted them all

• Divide and conquer the pages.

(Check your timing… you should be approx. 1 hour & 35 min. in by the time you finish this segment.)

• Report out.

Closing – 20 min run time. (10 additional minutes for class photos & video)

Classroom Clean Up and Reflection

CLEAN UP (5 min) TRANSITION:

• Thank the vote counters and tell them that you have another task for them to complete. Ask them to get a container of wet wipes and pass out to students who need to clean any sticky residue from the tape off their scissors.

• Thank the class, too, for their engaging participation.

• We’ve arrived at the 5th part in 6 Parts of a Meeting.

• We need to wipe off our scissors, take the voting charts down, put our supplies back, and throw our trash away BEFORE we can do the last part, which is REFLECTION & CLOSING

• IMPORTANT – ASK STUDENT who passed out scissors and glue… would you mind getting the boxes and picking those back up again?

• Everyone else should clean off scissors and throw their trash away.

GIVE STUDENTS TIME TO CLEAN UP THE ROOM AND PUT THEIR TOOLS INTO THEIR ZIP LOCK BAGS TO TAKE. BRING THEM BACK TO THEIR CHAIRS WHEN THE CLEAN-UP IS DONE.

REFLECT (5 min)

(Check your timing… you should be approx. 1 hour & 45 min. in by the time you finish this segment.)

NOTE: If it is the last session of the day, consider having students carry and put supply boxes directly into the training supply cabinet.

ASK 3 QUESTIONS:

• How did it feel to take an active part in this training as opposed to sitting and listening to me/us talk for 2 hours? (Take 2 responses)

• How might you translate this experience into how you work with girls at meetings? (Take 2 responses)

• Of all of them… which ONE tool or technique are you most likely to immediately put into use? (Take 2 or 3 responses)

Rallyhood Connection and Evaluations

RALLYHOOD / MEETING

101 DIGITAL RESOURCE

LIBRARY (5 min)

Page 11

SAY:

• Go to page 11 in your workbook #6 – Keep Learning.

• I have good news for you; the learning doesn’t stop here. We’ve created EVEN MORE resources to help you be a smart looking, stand out leader, and stashed them in an online resource library in Rallyhood.

• You can pull down a digital copy of this student workbook to share with your co-leader and troop parents so they can be on the same page with you.

o To get to it, pull out your phone. Focus your camera on the top QR code and tap to open the website. (Ask your neighbor to show you if you don’t know how to do this.)

o If you do not already have a Rallyhood account, you will be prompted to enter your email address and create a password so that you can get to the free resources inside.

ACTIVITY:

CONNECT LEARNERS TO MEETING 101 DIGITAL LIBRARY IN RALLYHOOD

o There is an additional workbook in there you want called “Behavior Management - Prevention & Intervention” (These are the kind of things you need to know for days when they show up like hooligans!)

o Everything in this content library is downloadable and free to share with your co-leader and troop parents – even this student workbook

o Look inside and tell me what you see that you like.

GIVE LEARNERS A FEW MOMENTS TO CREATE THEIR ACCOUNTS AND SCAN THE SITE BEFORE YOU MOVE TO EVALS.

STUDENT EVALUATIONS: (5 min)

ACTIVITY: CONNECT LEARNERS TO POST TRAINING EVALUATION

SAY:

• Before we say goodbye, the last thing that I’d like you to do with your camera phone is to hit the second QR Code and take a two-question survey and evaluate this class.

o You’ll be asked for TODAY’S DATE and on a scale of 0 to 10 how likely you are to recommend this class to another troop leader.

o If you’d like to leave some comments or give input or feedback, we welcome that, although it is optional.

• I enjoyed spending time with you today and wish you many fun filled adventures with your troop.

• If you have a few extra minutes I would love to take a class photograph of everyone with your talking sticks and DO IT / DID IT Cans so that we can promote the course on social media.

(Check your timing… you should be approx. 1 hour & 55 min. in by the time you finish this segment. You have a 5 min. buffer for late starts.)

STUDENT OPTIONAL:

COLLECTING PICS & SOUNDBITES FOR CLASS PROMOTION

(5 - 10 min)

• If you are willing and brave… I’d love to video interview you and ask what tool you’ll immediately use in your troop so that I can maybe get a soundbite for class promotion. Is anyone in?

• Once you have given us your class recommendation score you are free to go.

• Thank you for coming today! Class dismissed.

COLLECTING PHOTOGRAPHS:

• Pose the group showing off their Talking Sticks and DO IT / DID IT Cans and take a couple of snaps.

COLLECTING VIDEO SOUNDBITES:

• Take a short video of one or more students who are willing to be interviewed on camera.

ASK:

o On a scale of 0 to 10 how likely you are to recommend this class to another troop leader?

o What tool will you immediately put to use in your troop?

UPLOAD PICTURES AND VIDEOS FROM YOUR PHONE HERE:

• https://www.dropbox.com/request/SBFaBV7eznT5smlljmGe