3.5 Planning an adventurous extramural activity

Life orientation

Grade 8

Physical development and movement

Module 20

Planning an adventurous extramural activity

Activity:

To plan an adventurous and relaxing extramural activity that is intended to improve the attitude of your class towards fitness and general physicality

[lo 4.1]

Sport is good for the body if you feel like doing it and enjoy doing it. A day or weekend excursion can create the right context to make sport and play pleasant for everyone in the class.

Let us plan such an excursion now.

Step 1

1.1 In small groups, use a think tank format to come up with as many activities as possible for your weekend of adventure.

Hints:

Don’t discuss the activities; simply write them down quickly.

Take turns to give ideas.

Don’t belittle any ideas.

Make it your aim to get 20 ideas in five minutes.

• Make a list of your ideas:

1.2 Now you must share the ideas with the rest of the class. If they have any new ideas, you must write them down as well.

Step 2

• Study your list carefully. Try to group the activities together in categories.

• For example: swimming, diving, and water polo are examples of aquatic ( water) sports. Climbing rope ladders, rope bridges, and crawling through tunnels are activities that are usually found in obstacle races. Looking for shells, building sand-castles and snorkelling are examples of beach activities.

• Use a MIND MAP to test whether you are capable of correctly categorising activities that have certain qualities in common. Follow the instructions below so that you can use your mind map for your portfolio.

1. A mind map has a key word (e.g. Activities) that is written in the centre of a clean page.

2. The different categories “branch out” from this key word, like thick branches.

3. The examples that fall under each category form the smaller branches around each category.

4. Use colour, sketches and shapes to complete your mind map and to illustrate examples

5. Become skilled at PMI, because it will help you to reflect thoroughly on a variety of activities before you make your choices.

PMI is the abbreviation for a thinking skill that was described by Edward de Bono. He is the author of a number of books on thinking skills. If you ever thought that thinking skills cannot be acquired, you should certainly read De Bono’s books. We want to get the grey matter between our ears just as fit as our muscles!

• P is for plus (positive) M is for minus (negative) I is for interesting (or “Why didn’t I think of that?”)

Therefore, when someone needs to consider an idea or make a decision, it helps to use a PMI thinking exercise to examine the issue properly. Write all the plus points of the idea in one column, all the minus points in the next, and the interesting features of the idea in the third column. Now you can look at the idea objectively, on paper, before you make a final decision about it.

• Let us look at a short example that will help you to become skilled in PMI. You must decide whether you are going to deposit R20 000 in a fund so that you can study at a good university one day, or whether you would rather spend it on an exciting trip to some overseas country.