Duration: 5 x 15 – 20 minutes (it is advisable)

SPIRIT Skills:

• Creativity
• Problem-solving
• Emotional awareness, regulation and communication
• Flexibility
• Resilience

Brief Description:

In this stage, students work in teams to complete a variety of unfamiliar tasks.

• Eat like a stork! – Using chopsticks to pick up and count pieces of string from plastic bottles
• Find the fox’s lunch! – Comparing the weight of objects through measurement
• When is the birthday party? – Decoding the time using recognition of Roman numerals
• Send the invitation by airplane! – Folding paper airplanes based on origami symbols
• Which animals were invited to the party? – Identifying four-legged animals from pictures.

How does this develop particular SPIRIT skills

In this stage, students work in teams to complete a variety of unfamiliar tasks. They must flexibly adapt to changes in locations, task types, and unexpected situations, as well as to each other’s ways of thinking and working. They do not receive immediate feedback on whether their solutions are correct, so they have to rely on their own judgment, perseverance, and the support of their teammates. This develops resilience by helping them learn to manage uncertainty and keep going even without instant confirmation. Flexibility is strengthened as they continuously adjust to the challenges of the tasks, the situations, and working together as a team.

What do we want to achieve regarding SPIRIT skill development (student understanding and/or behaviour)?

The goal is to help students become more resilient by learning how to manage uncertainty, work through challenges without immediate feedback, and rely on their team for support. Through unfamiliar and varied tasks, they develop flexibility by adjusting their thinking, behaviour, and strategies in response to new situations. By working collaboratively in a dynamic setting, students gain confidence in their problem-solving abilities, learn to stay calm in unexpected situations, and become more open to change and cooperation.

Academic/Curriculum Objective connection

• Sorting and counting elements in sets; recognizing Roman numerals; comparing object weights through measurement; grouping numbers by place value
• Developing reading comprehension and key information identification; alphabetizing words
• Developing fine motor skills; folding paper based on origami symbols
• Identifying animal body parts and understanding their role in human nutrition
• Developing problem-solving thinking, cooperation, and attention.

Materials and tools needed for implementation 

• Wide-mouth 0.5-liter plastic bottles, Chinese chopsticks bound with rubber bands at one end, and 5–10 cm pieces of yarn (each pair receives one set).
• Balance scale with clothespins at the ends / coat hanger; several paper bags of varying weights, each labelled with a different number.
• Task sheet cut into as many pieces as there are team members, coloured pencils.
• One A4 sheet of paper per student and a printed guide for the folding steps.
• Printed pictures of animals, one set per team

Preparation notes

The tasks and their related background information must be printed and displayed at each station.

Guided Questions

• What do you do when you don’t know what to do next?
• How do you help each other when someone gets stuck?
• What is the hardest part of this task, and how do you try to solve it?

Stage Debriefing Questions (Optional)

• What happened when the task was different from what you expected?
• What did you do when you didn’t know what the next step was?
• How did you help each other when someone got stuck?
• What was the hardest part of the task, and how did you solve it?

Tips and Tricks for dealing with stage challenges

• It is important for the teams to coordinate their solutions and discuss their experiences. It is advisable to provide filler activities for waiting times, such as animal-themed colouring sheets. It is helpful to clarify in advance who they can ask for help in case of disputes or difficulties. Support can be given in more challenging situations, for example with knowledge of Roman numerals or the alphabet. Additionally, it is important to pay attention to when it is necessary to support independent problem-solving and when it is better to intervene.