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Kid Thinker 4 -
"If you don't know where you are going, you will
probably end up somewhere else."
Lawrence J Peter
If you don't
know where - poster
If you don't
know where - worksheet
Things To Talk About
- Talk about what you think this quote is telling us.
- Imagine walking out of your front door in the morning and heading in any
direction at all. Where do you think you would end up? Would you achieve
anything?
- How would you find your way around if there were no signposts and maps?
- What do you think is the best way to plan where you are going? How can
you keep track of your progress?
- If you don't have any goals in life, what do you think happens?
- Should you have goals when you are a child? a teenager? an adult?
- What is you do know where you are going, but have a problem along the
way and don't actually get there? What happens then?
- If you were going somewhere new in the car and you didn't know the way,
what would you do? Can you do the same thing in real life?
Activity Ideas
- Make a simple map of a familiar area or route - perhaps your journey
from home to school or the local shop. Work out how many changes of
direction you take to get from one to the other. Can you write directions
for the route? If you gave those directions to a friend, would they be able
to find their way?
- Draw the letters A, B, C and D on large pieces of paper, and place them
around the house, school or playground. Put the same letters on small pieces
of folded paper in a hat. Take turns picking a letter out of the hat
(keeping it secret) and directing your partner to that letter step by step
("take 5 steps forward, stop, turn to the right, stop, walk through the door
and keep going until I say stop, stop, turn left ... and so on). How easy is
it to get to the right place? Would it be easier if you knew where you were
going?
- Print out our game board (below) and assemble a die and a counter for
each player. Put the counters on any piece. Children take turns to roll the
die and move their piece the required number of places. Keep playing until
someone realises that there is no point to the game! Talk about what would
make the game more interesting.
- Talk about a goal that a member of your family or a classmate wants to
achieve. Think of a plan to help him achieve the goal, breaking it down into
steps. How might you help him? For example, your brother George wants to
make sure he gets his homework in on time. He could make sure he writes down
his homework assignments as he is given them, as well as when they are due,
and check them off when he has done them. He could put his homework back
into his satchel when it is finished, ready to go to school the next
morning. He could keep a timetable on the fridge so that he doesn't forget
anything. He could create a homework space or corner and keep supplies ready
and close to hand. He could make a habit of sitting down to do his homework
at the same time every day. You could help by reminding him to do his
homework, and bringing him milk and cookies before he starts or when he has
finished.
If you don't know
where - game board
Extension Ideas
- Make a poster to illustrate the lesson behind the quote.
- Make your own game board, with a definite "start" and "finish", and
decorate it in such a way that it reminds you of the quote.
- Think about your own goals. Start a goal book or folder, and decorate
the cover to inspire you. Perhaps you could write this quote inside the
book, to remind you how important it is to have goals - or at least a sense
of direction!
- Alternatively, print out our goals
sheets or design your own. You could have goals for each area of your
life: school, sport, hobbies and family.
- Think about what might happen if you were on a long car journey with
your family, and you met a traffic jam. What would you do? What would happen
if you lost your way? If you didn't have a map? How would you get back on
the right track? What about if you decided to stop for a while and got
side-tracked? What would happen
if you met a problem as you were aiming for one of your goals? Does that
mean you shouldn't have goals?
- Lawrence J Peter is an author who is famous for coming up with an idea
which is now known as "the Peter principle". Can you find out what it means?
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