ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES FOR “FOCUSING ON VIRTUES”

1. OBSERVE AND WRITE

1.1 Choose the virtue or virtues on which to focus.

1.2 Study and review the definitions of those virtues.

1.3 Practice with “Focusing on Virtues” for 15 to 30 minutes, either the computer version or the card games.

1.4 Observe this virtue being practiced by someone.

1.5 Start a virtues notebook and write down your observations about who did what, when and where in the exercise of that virtue.

2. PRACTICE AND WRITE

Practice this virtue on three occasions in your own life and make a note of the circumstances in your virtues notebook.

3. CREATE AND ILLUSTRATE

3.1 Create a situation which could be used in the game to demonstrate the need for that virtue and put it in writing (25 to 50 words). See the attached guidelines: “Model Situation”

3.2 Find, draw or photograph an image to illustrate that situation.

4. CONFIRM AND MODIFY

4.1 Validate your situation and image by getting the opinion of a friend.

4.2 Validate your situation and image by getting the opinion of a parent or teacher.

4.3 Take into account the opinion of others to modify, if necessary, the situation you created and achieve a good case to add to the game.

5. SHARE AND PUBLISH

5.1 Share your situation with at least five other people by email.

5.2 Publish your situacion on the web, using for example (You can join that group if you wish by opening a gmail account.)

6. TEACH YOUNGER CHILDREN

6.1 Prepare a card version of the game by printing one of the powerpoirnt files.

6.2 Bring together two or three children at least 8 years old and teach them one of the Focusing on Virtues card games.

6.3Play with them until they are able to play the game by themselves.

7. A WORK OF ART

Prepare a work of art inspired by one of the virtues, such as a painting, a poem, or a song.

8. COMPARE AND REFLECT

8.1 Gain familiarity with all 24 virtues of the computer game by completing five-rings-in-a-row on the score sheet with each group of virtues. If you practice with the card games, an adequate degree of familiarity is achieved by playing each card game with each group of virtues.

8.2 After completing the previous activity, reflect and choose which of the 24 virtues

a)are most evident in your family

b)are most evident in your school

c)most needs to be strengthened in your personal life and why

d)most needs to be strengthened in your family and why

e)most needs to be strengthened in your school and why

8.3 Write down your reflections on the previous activity in you virtues notebook

9. BIOGRAPHY IN THE HALL OF HEROES

9.1 Write a proposal for the Virtues Hall of Fame

a) Select a person widely respected for the virtues shown in his or her life or his or her service to mankind.

b) Research and prepare a biography of that person of 200 to 300 words, including a photograph or drawing.

c) Include your proposal in the Virtues Hall of Fame in the gmail group.

d) Consider sending your proposal to to increase its impact.

10. SERVICE PROJECT

10.1 With a few friends who have shared in some of the activities of Focusing on Virtues, organize a visit to an orphanage, hospital or a community center and share the game with some of the children, either the card version or the computer version.

10.2 Update your virtues notebook and write down some of your reflections about the previoius activities.

10.3. Share some of the most interesting sections of your virtues notebook with a friend.

10.4Organize an enjoyable way of celebrating your successful completion

this program of virtues development.

MODEL PAGE IN A VIRTUES NOTEBOOK

Virtue observed ______Date ______

Person who practiced or did not practice the virtue ______

What happened (Who did what? When? Where? With what results?)

______
______

______

COMPLEMENTARY ACTIVITIES FOR PARENTS AND TEACHERS IN “FOCUSING ON VIRTUES”

1. Decide how much time per day or week will be dedicated to the program.

2. Decide which activities will be carried out by the youth alone and which with your company.

3. Decide which version of Focusing to use. See attached details for using computer version with a projector and a large group of students. See attached explanation of the card games.

4. Organize the youth in small groups to create situations which illustrate some virtue and the images for those situations. They can choose the virtues which are most relevant to their group. You can ask them to focus on some pertinent social problem such as environmental protection, extreme poverty o alcohol and drug abuse.

5. The situations with images created by the youth can be incorporated into the PowerPoint based card version of the game.

6. In cases where the youth are studying a foreign language o have parents who speak another language, ask them to choose a few situations to translate into that language with the help of their parents or language teachers.

7. Proposals for the “Hall of Heroes” (activity # 16 above) can be shared with the other members of the group and they can vote for the best to be uploaded to

8. Ask the youth to read and reflect on the quotes which are included with each group of virtues in the game “Focusing”, then make an artistic creation inspired by their reflection, such as a drawing a poem or a song.

9. Print several copies of the cart version of the game in PowerPoint which the youth can play at home with friends and brothers and sisters as a means of introducing them to the language of virtues.

10. As part of a service project, some youth can take a copy of the game on a laptop or the card version to play with sick children at a hospital or with children at an orphanage or community center.