In our teaching over the last six years, we have noticed that we return to some activities, practices, assignments, and worksheets repeatedly in order to make a space of learning that is more supportive and vulnerable. We are sharing these with you because they create spaces of learning that are action-oriented, community- and place-based, socially just, critical, student-centered, contemplative, co-created, and somatic. While they are integral to the framework that we will present in Chapter 5: Capacities and Chapter 7: Lifecycle Phases and Framework, we believe that they can be easily incorporated into your particular context now.

We have presented the activities and assignments in a specific order, class by class, because each activity builds upon the next, creating the possibility for trust, collaboration, and support. We use these in thirteen-to-fifteen week, semester-long courses. If you are organizing your own space of learning, we encourage you to adapt what follows to your own timeframe. In the other chapters, we do not structure activities and assignments by day because they can be used in any order, according to your context.

You will notice that we differentiate between practices, activities, assignments, and worksheets.

  • A practice is a way of doing things intentionally to develop an ability or awareness. It needs to occur on a regular basis to transform and deepen our capacity to be present with ourselves and with one another.

  • An activity is an exercise to demonstrate an idea or technique in a space of learning, and might not ever be repeated.

  • An assignment is a task that occurs outside a space of learning to demonstrate an idea or a technique, and might not ever be repeated.

  • A worksheet contains a series of prompts with empty boxes that are designed to invite your responses. These can be completed individually, in your space of learning, or at home.

Download the full chapter: Teacher/Facilitator Guides (The First Five Weeks) as a PDF

Download Teacher/Facilitator Guides

  1. Naming Who We Invite Into Our Space of Learning (worksheet)
  2. Alternative Version of You Already Have What You Need (activity)
  3. Asset Mapping / You Already Have What You Need (worksheet)
  4. Welcome New Student (worksheet)
  5. Introduction to the Making and Being Rubric (activity)
  6. Individual Agreements (worksheet)
  7. Group Agreements (worksheet)
  8. Social-Emotional Intelligence Project Reflection (activity)
  9. Social-Emotional Intelligence Project Reflection (worksheet)
  10. Adapted 4′33″ (practice)
  11. Long Attunement (practice)
  12. Short Attunement (practice)
  13. Collective Clap (activity)
  14. Create an Object or a Time-Based Project That Will Benefit the Group. (assignment)
Who Do You Honor? Capacities