Lesson #S1: Finding Your Sparktime:50 Minutes

Lesson #S1: Finding Your SparkTime:50 minutes

Overview

All youth have a spark – a special quality, skill or interest that they are passionate about. A spark comes from inside of us, and when we express it, it gives us joy.By the age of ten, all youth understand the conceptof spark; however, one-third of adolescents in the U.S., or millions of youth, do not know their spark. An even greater number do not haveSpark Champions – the caring adults who know and support youth in pursuit of their sparks.

Research by Dr. Peter Benson, of the Search Institute, shows the benefits of finding and developing a spark with the support of caring adults: inner passions, interests and talents catalyze the drive for personal growth along the road to thriving[1]. While the value of supporting young people in identifying and pursuing their sparks is proven, it’s important that adults avoid making a youth’s spark today a fixed identity, and recognize that sparks can change over time.

Sparks can:

• Be a skill, talent or interestthat goes deeper than activities, such as going to the mall or watching a movie. For some, it’s a way of being in the world
• Originate from inside a person, rather than being imposed from the outside.
• Be a source of intrinsic motivation, meaning and self-directed action , that can help drive young people to put forth effort in other areas.
• Make (or have the potential to make) the world a better place.

After viewing about others’ sparks, including the facilitator’s and other young people in movie clips, youthlearn the importance of sparks through the research. They then view a list of sparks ideas, interview a peer about his/her spark, deepening their relationships with each other; each youth also self-reflects on personal sparks when being interviewed by a peer. The lesson closes by making a group Sparks collage, to recognize and celebrate a diversity of current and/or potential sparks.

For more information about spark research, refer to the Step-It-Up-2-Thrive Sparks anchor paper, found at

Objectives

By participating in this lesson, young people will:

• Understand“Sparks” concept.
• Identify the sparks of their peers and youth in movie clips.
• Brainstorm and identify their personalcurrent and/or potentialSparks.

Anchor Vocabulary

• Dream Thieves- people, choices and actions that tend to distort, sabotage, or rob young people of their dreams or goals.
• Spark – passion, interest or talent that catalyze the drive for personal growth.
• Spark Champion – an adult who encourages youth to advance spark and serves as a resource (if appropriate).

Materials & Media

• Teacher’s Personal Testimony (written version, optional)
• Visual aids for facilitator’s personal spark story (optional)
• Match (optional)
• DVD Clips: Finding Forrester, Billy Elliott and Phymean Naun (CNN hero)
• Timer (optional)
• Bell (optional)
• Notecards (1/youth)
• 1large Poster paper (for Sparks Collage)
• Markers

Handouts

Sparks Peer Interview Choices: “Explore Your Spark” or “Discover Your Spark”

Sparks Ideas Handout

Sparks: Adult Interview

• Use visual aids: Facilitator may use visual aids to make spark story more engaging (e.g., soccer ball, jersey, trophy, yearbook, photos). Or, to heighten drama, you might turn out the lights and gather everyone in a tight circle. In general, youthenjoy the story nature of this activity, especially anything about your own experiences at their age.
• Help illustrate the spark metaphor: Use a LCD finger light [available through online retailers such as Amazon.com] to represent the spark (e.g., my spark is working with young people); wave the finger light in the air towards the ceiling to show how spark champions can help grow spark (e.g., positive feedback and ideas from others working with kids) and how new strategies “help sparks grow” (e.g., babysitting, working at summer camp in high school); put your hand over the finger lightto show the effect of negative factors that make it harder for the “light within all of us to shine” (e.g., self-doubt, giving up, not having the support of family members to reach a goal).

• Keep it short and interactive: “What happens to the light if I cover it up? What would happen to my love of music if people always told me I sound bad?”

• What are Jamal’s sparks? (examples: basketball and writing)

• He apparently really enjoys writing, why do you think he is hiding it from his peers?

• Reflect: Are there times when you’ve felt like Jamal – having a spark that’s not well accepted?
• What are some ways you might continue to pursue your spark, even though it’s not popular with your peers?

• Think of one thing you might tell a friend when he or she is struggling to identify or pursue a spark that’s not wellaccepted. Thinking about Jamal’s challenges, how would you advise this friend?

• How does Billy look when he’s showing his spark?

• How does Billy describe his feelings about doing his spark?
• How would you describe Billy’s obstacles to growing his spark? (Describe cultural norms in Billy’s community that get in the way of his dream.)
• Do you see any dream thieves in Billy’s life? What did he do about them?

• Reflect: Can you think of one time when you felt like you were afire – from when you were young until now? What were you doing?
• Are there any obstacles you face in finding your spark? (e.g., dream thieves.)
• Are there people or resources that support you in growing your spark, like Billy’s teacher?

• Thinking about strategies Billy used, what are some that you might be able to use to overcome obstacles you face in identifying or pursuing your spark(s)?
• Can you think of any new people or resources that you could ask to support you, like Billy?

• What was Phymean’s impact on others in the world?
• What was Phymean’s spark? (Possible answers: Caring or Leadership)

• In what ways does one of your skills, talents or interest positively impact to others? (This might be your family, friends, school, church, team or community.)

• Can you think of a new spark you’d like to explore, or new ways to use your current spark, to make a positive impact on those around you?

• New studies from Search Institute, in Minneapolis, MN, show that teenagers who know and develop at least one spark and have caring adults who help them with their spark are likely to have some great advantages and benefits:
• Higher grades in school.
• Better social skills.
• Better physical health.
• Better school attendance rates.
• More likely to volunteer to help others.
• More likely to care for the earth and its resources.
• More likely to have a sense of purpose.
• More likely to say they are “on the road to a hopeful future.
• Less likely to experience depression.
• Less likely to engage in acts of violence toward others.

• Research shows that knowing and nurturing your spark will help you be happier and more successful in life.
• The research also shows that 1/3 of youth (12 million teenagers) don’t yet figured their sparks.
• If you don’t know yours, that’s okay; we’ll start exploring that today.
• The other thing to remember is that your sparks can change over time. Your spark today might be different than last year, or in five years from now.
• Let’s continue to work on how you can identify and grow your sparks.

• The first page of this handout includes the research I just described.
• Please turn to the second page to see many different categories of sparks.
• Your goal is to read through them, choose up to three categories that interest you, and then name three individual sparks (you could have more than one spark in a category). These can be sparks you have already discovered and are working on, or they can be sparks that you are interested in exploring or trying, or a mix of both.

• You are going to interview each other about your current or potential sparks. We have two goals. One is to grow your skill of self-reflection. The other is to learn more about your peers.
• One youth will ask questions and write down his/her partner’s answers on the handout.
• After six minutes I will ring the bell, and you will switch roles so that everyone has a chance to answer.
• Rememberif you’re still feeling unsure about your sparks, that’s okay. Use this time as an opportunity to explore them and talk about them with your partner.

• When people have a special talent of interest, we sometimes say they have a “spark” in their life. A spark is something you’re passionate about; it really fires you up and gives you joy and energy. A spark comes from deep in your gut, and it is an important part of who you are. Do you have a special talent or interest like this?
• Ask youth to choose from these answers, and write down the appropriate letter:

• I hope that you learned something about yourself and your peer through these interviews. We’re now going to take what we learned and share it with the group, by making a Sparks Collage.

• Youth can draw something associated with the spark – an image or how it makes them feel.
• When done, youth can tape card to the poster, to create a group Sparks collage.

On Your Own: Sparks Conversations

Talk with at least adult in your life about sparks.

• Ask him/herabout personal spark(s) in his/her own life. How did he/she discover his/her spark(s)? What strategies and resources did he/she use to pursue sparks in life?
• If you already know what your spark is, tell him/her what it is and describe ways you will continue to develop your spark.
• If you don’t know what your spark is yet,share ideas you’re excited to explore, or see if theadulthas other sparks ideasyou might want to explore.
• Be ready to share how the conversation went when the group meets again.

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Last Updated: 5/26/12S1: Finding Your Spark

[1]Benson, Peter L., (2008) Sparks: How Parents Can Help Ignite the Hidden Strengths of Teenagers. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.