Fourth Graders Fine Tune Leadership Skills at Wolf Run Ranch
October 24, 2024
In many ways, ESD faculty creates fun opportunities to instill valuable skills into our students at a young age. Through this approach, students learn how to utilize their strengths to contribute to a larger goal, establishing that we can cultivate collective success by acting on one’s purpose. When fourth-grade students embarked on their trip to ESD’s outdoor education campus, Wolf Run Ranch, in late October, the goal was for students to recognize what it means to L.E.A.D. by practicing the actions in the acronym Listen (How do we communicate?), Empathy (How do I get curious and mindful?), Attitude (How am I showing up?), and Discover (How do I get curious and mindful?).
While engaging in partner and group tasks, students explored their strengths, defined leadership, and focused on reflection. Annotating their experiences in their journals, students denoted how they worked together as a group, what L.E.A.D. practices created success, and why. These activities allowed students to further their understanding of leadership in tangible ways while developing their skills through teamwork.
Activity one involved learning how to be effective communicators by listening to and learning from one another to reach a collective goal. In a “Two-Way Minefield” game, one group is separated into four teams, each with an assigned starting point on the field. Two groups are blindfolded on one side, while the other two groups act as the “eyes” in the game, directing their teammates on where to step to avoid the “mines” (cones) placed randomly across the field. Each seeing team has six cards with leadership words representing a directional command, e.g., forward, backward, left, and right. These commands are the only words that may be used during the game, intending to direct their teammates to the other side safely. In this task, students had to listen closely, trust their teammates, and maintain communication in a clear, practical way. Once completed, students answered reflection questions in their journals, prompting them to think about the process and what they learned.
Activity two entailed learning how to build relationships with others and show that we care. By pairing students together and having them complete an empathy interview, students utilized active listening practices to get to know each other better. Based on the interview, each student would make a bracelet for their partner, incorporating the word “L.E.A.D.” in its design. Once completed, students answered reflection prompts encouraging them to evaluate their experience and how it impacted themselves and their partners.
Activity three involved working collaboratively to lift each other up and intentionally deciding what attitude we should bring to the group and the situation. In this improv exercise, students created a “One Word at a Time Story,” where everyone stood in a circle and told a story together, with each person saying one word at a time. The goal was to tell a cohesive story with a beginning, middle, and end, featuring characters and a clear setting, starting with “Once upon a time…” and ending with “The moral of the story is…” Students then reflected on how combining their unique perspectives created a cohesive story that included everyone’s voice.
The fourth and final activity taught students to be aware of their surroundings and have a curious mindset by exploring the outdoors in a joint hiking activity. Each group examined their map and embarked on the route, finding opportunities to practice mindfulness along the way. They would stop at different points and ask themselves, what do you see, hear, smell, etc.? How do you feel physically and mentally? Why? What can you appreciate in this space? Why? Once completed, students reflected on the suggested prompts they paid attention to while on their journey, noting how the experience enticed their curiosity and awareness.
As we continue implementing practices that enable our students to find strength and confidence in themselves and others, ESD is honored to have such a tremendous faculty outlining these exercises, assisting our kids, and supporting our mission. A special thank you to Tracey Shirey, Head of Lower School; Fourth Grade Teachers Elizabeth Bentrup, Sarah Roberts, Stephanie Rhodus, and Muazzama Yasser; Marlene Rizo, Lower School Design Lab & Tech Coordinator; Davis Felder, Director of Lutken/Eason Outdoor Program; Becca Gwinn, Social Emotional Learning Coordinator; Jenny Pannell, Lower School Physical Education Teacher; Scout Woodward, Assistant Director of the Lutken/Eason Outdoor Program; and Cara Homes, Director of Emotional Wellness & Learning Support Services; for making this trip to Wolf Run yet another outstanding success.
