THRILLS AND SKILLS An Innovative Life-Skills Course for Grades 6-9 Steff Steinhorst Paper, $39.95 128 pages, 8½” x 11” ISBN 0-89390-499-6 View Table of Contents View Excerpt Quantity:

Give your life-skills course a shot of adrenaline! Study skills, thinking skills, manners, goal-setting, time-management skills: You know it’s important to pass on these skills to adolescents. But how do you get them excited about it? “Thrills and Skills” is a proven method. The “thrills ” portion of the course — aided by your own community experts — introduces them to socially acceptable but exciting leisure activities and cranks up their adrenaline flow. The “skills” portion introduces them to the discipline they need to succeed at those and other more mundane activities. This teacher resource includes teaching tips and tricks, session plans and plenty of handouts masters. This is one course your students won’t want to miss!

Reviews

“Thrills and Skills is chock-full of great ideas for motivating students. In addition to making learning interesting through outside speakers, media use and increasing adrenaline, the course teaches time management, conflict management, goal-setting and other life skills that will boost study skills and success both in and out of class. I recommend it highly!”
— Page Simpson Bristow, Ph.D., former faculty member at the Universities of Rhode Island, Delaware and Wisconsin

“This has proven to be an exceptionally effective program designed to motivate reluctant learners. It facilitates the acquisition and practice of basic communication skills as students respond to the high-interest nature of the topics presented. This is a wonderful approach. I have seen it work.”
— Norm Hoffman, principal, Meadowdale High School, Lynnwood, Wash.

“The whole idea of letting common sense dictate a curriculum is a foreign concept to many teachers in the United States. While some alternative schools are operating experiential programs to deal with students who are not traditional learners, there are very few programs that can positively impact most students in a class. After reading Steinhorst’s Thrills and Skills, I was struck by the simplicity of the approach and the applicability of the curriculum to all students, not just ‘at risk ’ or ‘non-traditional’ learners. This course is full of effective ‘stuff’ that is easy to apply and fun to use. It would be great reading for every teacher.”
— Barry Acker, superintendent of schools, Orcas Island, Wash.

About the Author

Steff Steinhorst worked as a K-12 and middle-school principal for 15 years. Before that, he taught social studies and special education. He received his undergraduate degree from Seattle Pacific College and his advanced degree in education from the University of Washington. Currently he is semi-retired, but he still teaches high-school students in a learning alternative program.

Table of Contents

Introduction
Parent Letter

Part I: The Thrills

Chapter 1. Using Guest Speakers

Chapter 2. Fun Stuff in the Media

Media Teensheet 1: A $4 million dispute over small change

Media Teensheet 2: Judge dismisses Ms. and insists upon Mrs.

Media Teensheet 3: Man paid for own death, but police charge driver

Media Teensheet 4: A native issue pits two fellow senators

Media Teensheet 5: Get married or get out!

Media Teensheet 6: Learning gets tied up in the school’s policy

Media Teensheet 7: No jurors, so judge dismisses charges

Media Teensheet 8: New York police arrest man who rescued woman, shot muggers

Media Teensheet 9: Residents express concern about graduation program

Media Teensheet 10: Ex-student convicted of computer tampering

Media Teensheet 11: Color them black

Media Teensheet 12: Marijuana: A “scary” possibility

Media Teensheet 13: Teacher of the year fired over find of marijuana

Media Teensheet 14: Student skips school and mother sues

Chapter 3. Going to the Movies

Movie Teensheet 1: Bugsy Malone

Movie Teensheet 2: Dr. Strangelove, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

Movie Teensheet 3: Fiddler on the Roof

Movie Teensheet 4: The Gods Must Be Crazy

Movie Teensheet 5: Harold and Maude

Movie Teensheet 6: King Solomon’s Mines

Movie Teensheet 7: A Little Romance

Movie Teensheet 8: To Kill a Mockingbird

Movie Teensheet 9: West Side Story

Movie Teensheet 10: The Wild North

Chapter 4. Squirting Adrenaline

Part II: The Skills

Chapter 5. Self-Esteem

Self-Esteem Teensheet 1

Self-Esteem Teensheet 2

Self-Esteem Teensheet 3: Personal Self-Esteem Inventory

Teacher Presentation Notes: Notes on Building Self-Esteem

Teacher Presentation Notes: Seven Ways to Build Self-Esteem

Teacher Presentation Notes: Ten Building Blocks of Self-Esteem

Chapter 6. Conflict Resolution

Teacher Presentation Notes: Teens Under Pressure

Conflict Resolution Teensheet 1: Harassment Survey

Teacher Presentation Notes: Conflict Resolution

Conflict Resolution Teensheet 2: Practice Resolving Conflict

Teacher Presentation Notes: Creative Communication for Conflict Resolution

Teacher Presentation Notes: Notes on Student-to-Student Sexual Harassment

Chapter 7. Study Skills

Study Skills Teensheet 1: Study Skills Inventory

Teacher Presentation Notes: What You Can Do to Study More Effectively

Teacher Presentation Notes: Cultivating Basic Study Habits

Teacher Presentation Notes: Just the Facts (A Pep Talk)

Teacher Presentation Notes: Motivation

Study Skills Teensheet 2: Am I a Good Listener?

Teacher Presentation Notes: Listen Up!

Teacher Presentation Notes: Tests? Bring ’Em On! (Handling Test Anxiety)

Teacher Presentation Notes: Directions for Test Preparation

Teacher Presentation Notes: Tips for Taking True-False Tests

Teacher Presentation Notes: Help for Multiple-Choice Questions (More Top Secrets!)

Chapter 8. Manners

Manners Teensheet 1: The Manners Quiz

Teacher Presentation Notes: Training in Courtesy

Teacher Presentation Notes: Politeness

Teacher Presentation Notes: More Notes on Manners

Manners Teensheet 2: Matching George Washington’s Common Courtesies

Teacher Presentation Notes: Dating Manners

Teacher Presentation Notes: Notes on Marriage

Manners Teensheet 3: The Marriage Quiz

Chapter 9. Goal Setting

Teacher Presentation Notes: Notes for Goal Setting

Chapter 10. Time Management

Time Management Teensheet 1

Time Management Teensheet 2

Time Management Teensheet 3

Teacher Presentation Notes: Time Management Techniques for Administrators, CEOs, and Other Bosses

Time Management Teensheet 4

Time Management Timesheet 5: The Annual Guide to Teenage Time Management

Chapter 11. Thinking Skills

Part III: The Extras

Extra Teensheet 1: What I Learned in Kindergarten

Extra Teensheet 2: So You Think You Can Drive?

Extra Teensheet 3: How Would You Do As a Parent?

Extra Teensheet 4: World War III

Extra Teensheet 5: Discussion Questions

Extra Teensheet 6: Save the Earth

Extra Teensheet 7: The Citizenship Quiz

Extra Teensheet 8: Reading Others’ Minds

Extra Teensheet 9: Creativity Quiz

Extra Teensheet 10: Discussion Questions

Extra Teensheet 11: Discussion Questions

Extra Teensheet 12: Discussion Questions

Extra Teensheet 13: The Final End-of-the-Year Survey

Afterword
Appendix: Parent Letter

Following is an excerpt from Thrills and Skills. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2000, Resource Publications, Inc.

Chapter 8

Manners

“Our parents are always telling us to mind our manners but they never tell us what they are.”

The unit on manners was added to the Thrills and Skills class after the first year. It’s not that I felt teenage manners were found wanting, it’s that they just didn’t seem to have a clue.

It was their idea to add the unit. I asked if they felt it would be appropriate and they were unanimous in their desire to have the unit. It surprised me. But as one big, hefty athletic boy put it, “Yeah, let’s do it. Our parents are always telling us to mind our manners but they never tell us what they are.”

You can have a lot of fun with this unit as the flip side of good manners is usually funny, embarrassing, or both.

The Manners Quiz was designed to get the unit started and to begin to get opinions on how students feel about certain manners. Can it be said that there is an erosion of good manners in our society? Ask them.

Then share with them some of the “Good Conduct” guidelines from a 1917 State Department of Education Bulletin for teaching good manners in elementary school during that time. It demonstrates how things have changed.

As you discuss these issues with them you will have begun a dialogue that will lead to more well-mannered teens. Emphasize to them that it is in their best interest to demonstrate good manners., it’s not something they are doing for their parents. (Although it may raise an allowance or two.)

At the conclusion of presentation of the Manners notes you can give them the Matching Game Quiz featuring George Washington’s exhortations on good behavior: Common Courtesies.

And, finally, it is not too early to begin discussing dating manners and what makes for a lasting relationship. The final Traits, Qualities and Skills of People in Successful Marriages and the Companionship Quiz may begin for them a course in the right direction.

Training in Courtesy: Suggestions for Teaching Good Manners
in Elementary Schools

Commisioner of State Public Schools
1917

Cleanliness

Since we must look at one another as we work and play together, we ought to look as clean as possible; the cleaner we are the better we look. I wonder if we ever have thought it is bad manners to hurt the feelings of other people by coming among them with unclean bodies or that it shows good manners to give people pleasure by being as clean as possible.

Nails—Every self-respecting boy and girl should clean the nails at least once a day.

Hair—Because boys wear the hair short it is easier for them than for girls to keep it clean; boys can wash the head oftener than girls. About once in two weeks is sufficiently often for girls to wash their hair. Would it not be fine if every boy and every girl in the United States took pride in having a clean scalp and clean hair?

Nose—Not only the outside of the nose should be bathed but also the inside, for the nostrils catch much dust. If the nose is not kept clean an itching may be felt, and this itching causes some children to pick the nose. This is not cleanly. Never pick the nose. Strange to say, there are people who do not use their handkerchiefs. Such people are very unpleasant companions. A piece of plain, white cloth, neatly hemmed, looks better and shows more refinement than a soiled handkerchief, even if the soiled one is made of fine linen or silk and trimmed with lace.

Teeth—Sometimes we turn our heads away when certain people come too near us, be cause we dislike the odor of their breath. I wonder if you have a bad breath. Save your pennies and buy a good toothbrush. Everybody should own his own toothbrush. Never use another person’s toothbrush.

Spitting—People who are truly cleanly never, under any circumstances, spit upon the floor or upon the steps of a building, in the street cars, or on the sidewalk. If they find it necessary to spit they use the handerchief.

Mouth—It is bad manners to hold things in the mouth, like pennies or nickels, to chew the ends of pencils, to suck or lick the fingers, or to put ink on the lips or tongue. What kind of a “picture” do you make when you soil your mouth by chewing pencils, or sucking or licking your fingers? To some people you are very repulsive when you get your mouth dirty; they do not like to look at you.

Neatness

If you are a boy, tie your necktie carefully. If you are a girl, make your ribbon bows look neat and jaunty.

Sympathy

Be kind to the unfortunate. Do not tease a foolish, half-witted boy or girl, nor laugh at a deformed schoolfellow. If you are sound in mind and body, be thankful and show your thankfulness by treating the afflicted kindly. If one of the pupils in your school is a hunchback or a cripple, be careful not to mention his deformity. Try to have him enter into your sports as much as possible and make him forget that he is a cripple.