Teaching Sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

Optional Preparation – Ground Rules For Classroom Discussion
10 minutes – Part A: What Makes You Happy?
25 minutes – Part B: Strengths For Action
35 minutes – Part C: Helping Others
35 minutes – Part D: Planning For Improvement
35 minutes – Part E: Make It Happen
10 minutes – Reflection

Part A: What Makes You Happy?

Step 1.

Begin by explaining to students that in this lesson they will be asked to consider the various factors that contribute to their happiness and how our approach to happiness impacts others.

Provide each student with five sticky notes and invite them to write one source of happiness onto each sticky note. Assure students that these do not need to be shared among the group; however it may be useful to understand the various contributors to others’ happiness. It is important that no judgement is cast upon one another in this activity (remind students of your ground rules for class discussion).

Step 2.

Introduce students to the concept of intrinsic and extrinsic rewards, by reading the statements and examples seen below:

Intrinsic rewards

Extrinsic rewards

Definition:

• Intrinsic rewards satisfy your core human needs for relatedness, competence and autonomy. They include aspects relating to relationships, personal growth, physical health, self-acceptance and contribution.

Definition:

• Extrinsic rewards help you achieve something outside of yourself, and are often about obtaining other people’s validation and approval or external signs of self-worth.

For example:

• Exercising to feel more energised
• Studying because the topic excites and interests you

For example:

• Exercising to impress others
• Studying to get a good grade

Step 3.

Invite students to work in small groups or as a class, and place their identified sources of happiness into two columns, intrinsic or extrinsic. If preferred, students can undertake this activity on their own.

Step 4.

Once all students have categorised their sources of happiness, facilitate a class discussion to find out what motivated their happiness and if they were more intrinsically or extrinsically motivated. Discussion prompts could include:

Which column had more sticky notes?
What are the sources of happiness found in extrinsically motivated happiness?
What are the sources of happiness found in intrinsically motivated happiness?
Are there any themes in your group's sources of happiness?

Through your discussion explain to students that intrinsic goals are the ones that will make them truly happy. They also lead to higher self-esteem, more vitality, and better psychological health. Not only do extrinsic goals not lead to happiness, they are actually associated with narcissism, anxiety, depression, poorer mental health in general, and even poorer social functioning.

Step 5.

Distribute one copy of the Student Worksheet to each student and inform students that they are now going to watch a clip called Happiness Is Helping Others. As they watch, ask students to look for the following (also available on the Student Worksheet):

The body language and facial expression of the characters involved.
The emotions that each character is likely to experience through the giving and receiving of help.
How one person’s action has had a positive impact on others.

Share the following clip with the class:

Happiness Is Helping Others (https://youtu.be/zcruIov45bI)

Once complete, allow students time to record their observations in the space provided on the Student Worksheet.

Step 6.

Once complete, you can engage students in a class discussion around their responses.

Before starting a class discussion, it may be beneficial to five students an opportunity to share their ideas with the person next to them. This can help students refine their language and ides before sharing with a large group.

As students begin to share their observations with the class, write any interesting observations on the board. Use student observations to highlight the intrinsic nature of the man’s actions and happiness. In addition, use the discussion time to clarify any questions or confusions students may still have around the terms intrinsic and extrinsic.

Part B: Strengths For Action

Step 1.

Explain to students that there are many people and organisations that want to help others and make their lives happier. Life After The Oasis documentary revisits characters and stories from the original 2008 documentary The Oasis, as well as two Salvation Army workers, Paul and Robbin Moulds. Featuring these two in both of the The Oasis documentaries provide students with an an insight into the scope of work and support that those working in this field provide to young people experiencing homelessness in helping them to find security in their lives and to make positive change.

Read the statement below:

"Helping others is basic human nature. Doing good feels wonderful for the person doing it, as well as whoever is on the receiving end. Even the smallest gesture can show a person that they are valued and appreciated. Helping others is not limited to special people like Paul and Robbin, in fact, every single person has a unique set of strengths that can be used in some way, to support others, and advocate for change."

Invite students to move their chair to sit where they can see the screen. The clip students are about to watch features Paul and Robbin Moulds, and describes how their experiences have impacted the lives of others:

Paul and Robin, Happiness is Helping (https://vimeo.com/348327476/d41c1180b1)

Once complete, briefly engage students in a class discussion around the following points:

What happened in this clip? What was this clip about?
What was interesting or important about this clip?
What questions does this clip leave you with?

Consider recording student questions to guide further discussion or inquiry.

Step 2.

Once complete, divide students into groups and provide students with a copy of the Character Strengths Cards.

Working together in these groups, invite students to use the cards to identify the strengths that Paul and Robbin demonstrate when they are:

Supporting vulnerable and young people experiencing homelessness
Advocating for change

Encourage all group members to record their ideas in the Paul and Robbin Table on their own Student Worksheet.

Step 3.

You can then draw the Paul and Robbin Table shown below on the board (the same as the one students have completed on their Student Worksheet). Invite students to share their character strength responses with the class, and write them into the corresponding columns.

	SUPPORTING YOUNG PEOPLE	ADVOCATING FOR CHANGE
PAUL
ROBBIN

Option: Project or write the Character Strengths on the board for all to see. Invite students to form a pair and ask them to identify the key strength that their partner has and how they can use it to support others and be an advocate for change. Provide students with a script like the one below to help students get started.

“I believe your strength is (insert strength). I think this is your strength because (explain). I believe that you can use this strength to support others by (insert justification), and be an advocate for change because (insert reason).”

Part C: Helping Others

Step 1.

Inform students that to be able to provide support for people and advocate for change, there needs to be an understanding of the health and wellbeing issues that people face. The next activity will ask them to look at some health and wellbeing statistics relevant to young people, and some of the lead contributors to youth homelessness, including mental illness, drugs and alcohol, and family violence.

Invite students to form 6 groups and distribute a copy of the Health And Wellbeing Statistics Poster to each group (each scenario will be given to two groups). Give students a few minutes to read through and assess the information as a group, before providing the following prompts to guide their discussion (also available on the Student Worksheet):

According to the statistic, what is the main issue that young people, like you, are currently facing?
Which emotions are likely to come up for someone experiencing this issue?
Self-talk is the internal dialogue we each have. It can be positive or negative, and impacts how we interact and act. If someone was experiencing this issue, what might their self-talk sound like?
Explain the impact this may have on their social, mental and physical health.
How might this issue impact someone's education and career prospects if it remains unmanaged?
What can you do to serve others and be a source of support to a friend or family member in a situation like this?
What can your group do to advocate for change to improve the health and wellbeing of young people specific to this statistic?

Step 2.

Invite students back to the whole class group and encourage students to share their ideas with the class about:

the key health issue identified on their statistics card;
the potential impact on the health of someone experiencing that health issue;
and the ideas that they as a group have identified to advocate for change.

Through your discussion explain to students that social and emotional stress is a very real part of life, and for many young people, levels of distress increase as they enter their late teens and into adulthood. Therefore, it is important to develop the skills needed to manage their own distress, seek help for themselves and others, and advocate for change.

It may be necessary to address some of the key concepts identified in the Life After The Oasis – The Impact Of Addiction lesson specific to intergenerational trauma.

Part D: Planning For Improvement

Step 1.

Start by inviting students to complete the first part of the 3-2-1 Bridge visible thinking routine on the Student Worksheet, focusing on their initial thoughts of the following quote:

This routine asks students to note three thoughts, two ideas, and one question about a topic, then later connect these to new thinking about the topic after they have found out more. Students will be given an opportunity to complete the second part of the task in the reflection section of this lesson.

Step 2.

Break the class into small groups and provide them with some sticky notes or small pieces of paper to write on.

Invite the groups to brainstorm the issues or challenges that are associated with health and wellbeing of young people (or people their age), explaining that these can be general and do not have to specifically relate to their own experience.

You may like to take a few example responses from the students to get them thinking. For example, family breakdown, bored at school, struggling to sleep, depression.

Step 3.

Invite students to add their ideas to sticky notes (or scrap pieces of paper – A4 cut into six or eight pieces is fine), ensuring that they have only one idea per sticky note.

Step 4.

Once complete, invite students to stick their sticky notes to the board. Invite the class to stand around the board and work with the class to group the challenges into themes. The grouping of challenges could start out quite broad and then slowly re-group them into 5 or 6 categories that could be investigated. For example, mental health, drug or alcohol addiction, family, school, technology, etc.

When categorising the issues and challenges, allow time for students to add any extra ideas that they think of.

Step 5.

Once the class is happy with the groupings, invite students to select a theme that interests them or that they think is most important and form a small group with other students who share that interest. It is important that students select a theme of interest or importance, as this will be the theme that they will create a plan to improve the health and wellbeing of young people in their community.

Explain to students that in this lesson they will be asked to:

Develop a range of ideas around their theme that could improve the health and wellbeing of young people in their local community.
Select one idea that has a clear and relevant audience.
Plan out a way to implement the idea.

Step 6.

Introduce the concept of a design challenge question to the class. Explain that a design challenge question helps us to think, explore and create many different solutions to one problem. For this lesson, the design challenge question will be framed as a 'How might we…?' question.

For this design challenge, the question students will be exploring is:

How might we improve the health and wellbeing of young people in our local community?

Explain to students that this is the question they will be using to guide their project for social action.

Step 7.

Students will now begin developing ideas for action. Invite students to arrange the classroom furniture so that they are comfortable enough to think expansively and creatively. Groups may like to work on the floor, around butcher's paper attached to the wall, or on a whiteboard. Provide each group with three sheets of butcher's paper, markers and sticky notes.

Facilitate groups to complete a three-phase brainstorming activity:

Phase 1: Discovering things we can do

Invite students to think of any many ideas or actions that they could do to address the design challenge question:

How might we improve the health and wellbeing of young people in our local community?

Inform groups that they should aim to come up with as many different actions as they can. There will be time to consider the best ideas after the brainstorm. Remind students that the 'best' may depend on who their target audience is and the context in which the actions are taking place.

Ask students to write the heading “Actions” on the first piece of paper. If necessary, share a few examples of actions before students begin the first phase of the brainstorm.

Facilitate groups to complete a three-phase brainstorming activity:

Actions:
Plant Start Bake Sing Swim Change Donate to Promote Fundraise Campaign Make Film

Direct students to put only one action on each sticky-note and to use only one colour sticky note for this phase. (This is important for the third phase, which requires the notes to be moved around.)

Then, get students started on three minutes of fast thinking (you could use this online stopwatch to track time). Let students know when three minutes is up, then congratulate them on their quick thinking. Ask them to put that sheet of paper to one side for now.

Phase 2: What are our skills and interests?

Ask groups to select a different colour sticky note and a new sheet of paper. Invite groups to write the heading “Skills and Interests”. Explain that the next five minutes will be used to list the skills and interests of people within the group. Help students get started by providing examples, then let them know they have another five minutes. Ensure that students write one skill or interest per sticky note.

Actions:	Skills and Interests:
Plant Start Bake Sing Swim Change Donate to Promote Fundraise Campaign Make Film	Soccer Shopping Calligraphy High jump Coding Photography Poetry writing

Encourage thinking about 'hidden' or 'quirky' skills: e.g. costume design, public speaking, illustrations, coding, playing a musical instrument.

Phase 3: Mix and match to create our idea

Ask groups to take the last sheet of paper and write their design challenge question ("How might we improve the health and wellbeing of young people in our local community?") at the top of the page. Challenge groups to come up with five or more ideas to address the design challenge question by matching sticky notes from each column. Encourage students to come up with all the ideas they can – let groups know that they don’t yet need to think about how feasible the ideas are. For this phase, students should just aim to have fun playing around with possibilities. If necessary, scaffold this phase by providing some examples.

Actions:	Skills and Interests:	Creative idea:
Plant Start Bake Sing Swim Change Donate to Promote Fundraise Campaign Make Film	Soccer Shopping Music Social Media Coding Photography Poetry writing	* Promote mental health awareness by creating a poetry competition for students and share the winners on the school website. - Film a one minute 'how-to guide' about how to donate unwanted clothing to a local charity. - Create a hashtag and share it on social media to call out unacceptable behaviour and encourage positive relationships.

Some other ideas for action include:

Hold a community screening night for the Life After The Oasis documentary.
Create an information booklet with drawings and cartoons created by students to share the message of positive mental health.
Design and run an awareness-raising event about youth homelessness.
Create a poster campaign to share with the school community.

Allow at least ten minutes for this phase of the brainstorm, encouraging students to think expansively and creatively and to talk through their ideas with each other. While students are working, watch for indications of a slowing down of ideas.

Step 8.

Once groups have completed the brainstorming challenge, ask each group to spend some time viewing and discussing their list of ideas. Invite each student to nominate their favourite ideas by:

Drawing a star next to the idea they think is the most creative.
Drawing a smiley face next to the idea that they like best.

Encourage students to think about who will be at the receiving end of these ideas, and the extent to which the ideas are relevant, appropriate and effective for that audience. For example, while humour can be an effective tool in addressing more difficult conversations, the serious and personal nature of some health and wellbeing issues means it may not be appropriate in this context. Allow time for students to evaluate their creative ideas to assess their appropriateness and relevance. Remind students that just because they may personally like a creative idea best, it doesn't mean it is the most appropriate for the context.

Step 9.

Explain to students that each group will be selecting one idea to bring to life. It is important that they select an idea that is feasible and realistic to complete within the time frame. One way to do this is using the S.M.A.R.T. project criteria. Share the following clip with students:

How To Set S.M.A.R.T. Goals (https://youtu.be/wGbmAH4mBPA)

For a downloadable version of the S.M.A.R.T. criteria, view the Student Worksheet or click here: S.M.A.R.T. Goals Factsheet.

Ask each group to use the S.M.A.R.T. project criteria to select one idea that they will complete (remind them that the criteria are also available on the Student Worksheet). Explain to students that S.M.A.R.T. project criteria can help you to focus on what you what to achieve, how you will achieve it, how long it will take and how you will measure your group’s success.

Step 10.

Ask students to decide on their idea. If required, they could cast a vote. Once a decision has been made, invite students to record their idea to address the design challenge question on the Student Worksheet. In addition, explain to students that if any of the ideas don’t stand up to the S.M.A.R.T. criteria they should be critically evaluated and perhaps revised or discarded. If they have more than one idea that stands up to the S.M.A.R.T. criteria then the group should decide fairly on which one to choose. If none of the ideas stand up to the S.M.A.R.T. criteria, then groups will need to adjust or adapt existing ideas to meet the criteria.

NOTE: If time permits you could invite students to conduct research into what existing agencies propose or do to help address people experiencing homelessness; it is always useful and important to consider the work carried out by people with a lived experience in co-designing and delivering responses to homelessness as they can provide tips and ideas for meeting your students’ own social action goals.

Part E: Make It Happen

Step 1.

Write the above quote on the board and explain to students that now they have developed an idea for action, it’s time to start planning a project around this action.

Using the idea developed and refined in Part D, groups should complete the Project Planning Tool. Groups should fill in one per group.

Step 2.

Hold a ten minute conference with each group to discuss their plan. Use these questions to guide the conference:

What is the problem you are addressing? (Admitting that there is a problem and then identifying it are crucial steps in delivering a successful project.)
What are you planning to do, and why? What is the context for your project?
Have you done any research to find out what those already working in the homelessness space are doing (remembering that those with a lived experience will be able to provide advice and maybe even assistance)?
How is it addressing your "How might we…?" question?
What help or resources do you need to get it done, and how might we acquire these?
When do you plan to have completed your project by? What step-by-step processes are necessary to see your project completed?
Have you identified and challenges or risks associated with the project, and how might you manage or mitigate these?

Some tips for supporting groups through the project planning phase:

Reflection

Step 1.

Now that students have had an opportunity to explore different ways to that they could improve the health and wellbeing of young peopel in their local community, invite students to refer back to prompt quote on their 3-2-1 Bridge they started earlier in the lesson.

Invite students to complete the second part of their 3-2-1 Bridge thinking routine - 3 new thoughts, 2 new ideas and 1 new question. Remind students to complete the ‘bridge’ part of the routine to highlight their new thinking about the topic.

Step 2.

Once complete, ask students to then assess on a scale of 1 to 5 how successfully they think their action will answer the design challenge question; “How might we improve the health and wellbeing of young people in our local community?” Encourage them to explain their rating in the space provided on the Student Worksheet.

Teacher Reflection

Take this opportunity to reflect on your own teaching:

What did you learn about your teaching today?
What worked well?
What didn't work so well?
What would you share?
Where to next?
How are you going to get there?

Life After The Oasis - Finding Happiness in Helping Others

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