Sample Pack

Thanks for your interest in the digital platform of our ARTreach 180 curriculum. In this section you will find a little of everything that’s in the full manual—some of our favorite Team-building exercises, two of our Deep-Dive Discussion guides, and art and drama projects to correlate with the discussions. If you want to see more, email me at hello@artreach.com and I'll send you more.  I'm always here to answer questions too.  Download this to use later or just stay and browse to get a feel for how to use the curriculum.  Whatever the reason, we're glad you stopped by!

Hard copies available on Amazon and at

https://crosswalkusa.org/artreach180curriculum/

Check out our individual components too!

INTRODUCTION

As a high school music and drama teacher for more than two decades, I saw firsthand how involvement in arts programs became a lifeline for many students, providing them a sense of belonging, giving them a creative outlet to process difficult emotions, connecting them with caring, consistent adults, and offering them a pro-social activity in which to participate during after-school hours. Because I was already volunteering with Crosswalk, a faith-based organization I had co-founded in the 90’s to work with youth inside juvenile detention facilities, we organized and launched a pilot called Common Ground to take the arts behind the razor wire in 2007. Guest artists were brought in regularly for six to eight weeks to teach classes in dance, drama, music, and visual art, culminating with a performance and art gallery to which parents, state officials, facility staff, and non-participating youth were invited. The concept of ARTreach 180 was born as a natural extension of that effort after two years of program evaluation indicated positive results across the board. It was during those two years that we also began researching evidence-based programs to analyze and compare prevention vs. intervention strategies. It soon became clear that since our intervention program had seen significant results with youth who were already incarcerated, it was likely that a prevention program with youth in the community who were on probation or considered “at risk” would yield similar results and reduce or eliminate their involvement in future delinquent behavior.

The pilot of the ARTreach 180 program took place in 2010 at Patrick Henry Academy, in Stockbridge, Georgia, targeting students ages 13-17 who were referred by teachers, school social workers, counselors, or juvenile court. This site was chosen because as the alternative school in the county, it offered no after-school activities for students who had been expelled from their regular schools. With more than 75% of juvenile crime and victimization occurring statistically between 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. on schooldays, it only made sense to fill that gap. With a growing staff of paid professionals and trained volunteers in three locations, ARTreach 180 continues today, meeting twice a week from 3:30 to 6:30 pm to provide a safe space for teens to belong in a pro-social environment, to share their struggles, to learn new skills in the arts, and to embrace a new vision for their futures, all built on a foundation of deep, authentic relationships.

After ten years in the trenches with adolescents, we can unequivocally affirm our original theory of change as outcomes from the program have been significant. More than 94% of our students self-report that they learn to resolve conflicts and express their emotions more appropriately than when they first began the program, and the recidivism rate for our youth on probation is less than 7% compared to the national average of more than 50% coming out of lock-up. The cost for each youth to participate in the program in our county for ONE SCHOOL YEAR is less than $1500 as compared to the average cost of $309.21 PER DAY in our state’s detention facilities, almost $113,000 annually.* More impact at less than 2% of the cost tends to be a game-changer with policymakers and corporate or foundation sponsors.

Every component of the program has its own introduction in this manual to explain its purpose in the big picture. While each part can be effectively used independently or to supplement other programs, we have found Aristotle’s assertion to be conclusive: “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” Even the “Family Mealtime,” where staff and students gather around the same table and have face-to-face conversations over a meal or snack, is a vital relationship-building part of our time together. It has also provided a way for us to engage our community with many local restaurants, businesses, and churches graciously providing food for the program to help us reduce costs. Many students who were resistant to the program activities at first have been won over by a few good meals together.

This is not easy work, folks, by any stretch, but I am convinced it is some of the most impactful work on the planet. In a society where image is everything and shame runs rampant, teenagers are crying to be heard, to be seen, and to be truly known. Their social media smiles belie their fundamental need to connect and be real with peers and adults they can trust. That’s where the magic happens—where they take the first step in the journey of self-discovery—and one by one the bricks in their walls come down. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to change the world—one student at a time. Thousands of kids need a hero who is strong enough to go the distance, to dive deep, and never give up. So go ahead. Adjust your cape, and let’s get started!

* Sticker Shock 2020: The Cost of Youth Incarcertaion. Justice Policy Institute, Washington, D.C. July, 2020. State data sources   available online at

https://justicepolicyinstitute.box.com/s/i830t7hw58t6h7tj02qu4fdp8a755w2u

Fun Fact: the campus where we started ARTreach 180 has recently been used to film the school scenes of the Netflix series “Stranger Things!”

HOW COOL IS THAT?

Sample Pack Table of Contents:

What is ARTreach 180? Introduction

Major Components of the Program:

• Why Team-Building?
•  Group Juggle
•  Hand Slap Game
•  Statues

• Why Jump Start?
•  Labels
•  Out of Proportion

• Why Art?
•  Smash Monsters
•  Point of View

• Why Drama?
•  Advice to Yourself
•  The Power Game

WHY TEAM BUILDING?

The team-building and problem-solving exercises are a critical component of the ARTreach 180 program. Many of the students who come to us have difficulty with trusting others, which obviously affects their social and group interaction skills. Before any significant breakthroughs will occur during their time in the program, this trust barrier must be deconstructed brick by brick so that students gradually learn to rely on each other. Little by little you will see them become more and more willing to engage and show their vulnerability during these games and activities that are specifically designed to teach them to give and take within the group and to solve problems cooperatively. The best part is they don’t even realize they’re learning these skills. They just think they’re having fun!

The games and activities in this manual are a combination of my two decades of teaching high school theatre, the scores of books I’ve collected, and the countless conferences and seminars I’ve attended. Most of them are not original with me, but in many cases they are such a part of me that I have no idea where I first learned them or where they actually began. As with many group activities that have been around for this many years, there are often several variations that have evolved with time. I have done my best to give credit to the source from which the activities were given to me, but in many cases that was impossible. Books referenced in this section are included in the Recommended Reading section of this manual.

Some things we’ve learned:

•  The activities that allow students to move the most are good transitions between Jump Start and the structured Art or Drama Projects. Remember they have been in school all day, so their bodies need to move to stay focused and energized throughout the session.

•  Every student who signs the Boundaries and Expectations contract has agreed to 100% participation, but the fact remains that you cannot force a kid to play if he refuses to. A gentle reminder of the contract for participation and perhaps a compromise until he is more comfortable will make the experience less threatening. They almost always decide to participate when they see their peers having fun.

•  In exercises that require touch, always make sure to get consent from all participants and if the game allows for it, give them choices. Some students have an aversion to physical contact like holding hands, but they’re okay with touching fists or elbows.

Some of Our Favorite Team-Building Games:

Group Juggle        (several variations; origin unknown)

Objectives: 

•  To respond on cue
•  To create group energy
•  To work cooperatively as a team

Preparation: You’ll need 4 or 5 soft balls or objects that can be tossed and caught easily with one hand

Procedure: The group stands in a circle. Choose someone to start and give him/her one of the objects. Tell the group that each of them will toss the object to someone who has not yet had it until everyone has had it once. Instruct them to remember to whom they toss it and who tosses it to them. You can reinforce names if you wish by having them state the name of the person they plan to toss to the first time. Have them go through the rotation several times in the same order. When they have started that object and gotten about halfway through the group, introduce a second object, giving it to the same player who starts the original rotation. Continue the same rotation but introduce new objects throughout to see how many the group can keep juggling at once without dropping any.

Duration: 7-10 minutes

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Hand Slap Game    (origin unknown)

Objectives: 

•  To focus on the task
•  To work cooperatively
•  To find a group rhythm

Preparation: None

Procedure: The group sits around a table with no gaps between them. Each person puts both hands palm down on the table in front of him. Have each raise his right hand and cross it over the left hand of the person to his right (the hand not raised). Each person should have one hand crossed over one neighbor’s hand and the other hand under the other neighbor’s hand. Select a student to start and designate which hand (Brian’s left hand, for example). Brian will begin by slapping the table with that hand, and IN ORDER the hands will each slap the table in turn. Once the group finds a rhythm and no one jumps or misses a cue, then just for fun, clap or blow a whistle to change the direction a few times. Congratulate them if they find a rhythm in both directions!

Duration: approximately 10 minutes

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Statues     (origin unknown; many variations)

Objectives: 

•  To work cooperatively
•  To expand creativity
•  To encourage leadership

Preparation: Print list of suggested titles

Procedure: Have the group divide into small groups of 3 or 4 with a staff member in each group if possible. Explain that you are in an art gallery and that each group will become a sculpture in the gallery with the title you will announce shortly. The group is to be creative with how they configure their bodies to collectively form a statue that would have the title you give them. Everybody in the group must touch at least one other person in the group. Encourage them to think outside the box as they create their statue. They will have one minute after you announce the title. At the end of one minute you will yell “FREEZE” at which point they do not move or talk until you unfreeze them. Walk around and ask one person in each group to explain without moving out of the statue until they are finished. After you release each from their freeze, those members become patrons of the gallery as well and go with you to see the others who are still frozen. Once all have explained their statue, have one student rotate clockwise to a different group and repeat the process. Do this at the end of each round and continue until you need to move on to your next activity.

Duration: Approximately 12-15 minutes depending on group size

WHY JUMP START?  (Deep-Dive Discussions)

The Jump Start time (or “circle time” as the youth like to call it) is in actuality nothing more than talk therapy. However, we avoid using the “T” word with these teens because many of them have had their share of therapy in structured and stiff environments that yielded little benefit because the formality fortified their defenses. Jump Start occurs organically in the flow of the ARTreach 180 curriculum, thereby encouraging open sharing and active listening while validating each member’s story. It is a critical and non-negotiable component of the ARTreach 180 curriculum for several reasons:

• It gives the teens a voice that they might not have anywhere else.
• It builds trust among the group as every member eventually will share something that makes him or her vulnerable.
• It focuses more on commonality rather than differences. 
• It gives staff and youth alike an opportunity for self-disclosure in a natural, safe, and non-judgmental setting.
• It provides a logical connecting point to the thematic application of the art or drama project to follow.

Some things we’ve learned:

Jump Start on occasion will take longer than you anticipate. As long as it is productive and the entire group is engaged, we typically allow it to continue. If, however, there are several who are clearly distracted or if one or two students are monopolizing the discussion, the facilitator will need to respectfully shut down the circle with the assurance that they can continue the discussion as they participate in the structured activity.

What is said in ARTreach 180, stays in ARTreach 180. Confidentiality is paramount and must be part of the Boundaries and Expectations document (see Appendices) that is to be reviewed and signed by every participant when he/she begins the program. Exceptions must also be discussed at the outset so that youth will understand that staff is legally bound to disclose to authorities any information that compromises safety, including suicide ideations or the intent to harm another person. Furthermore, staff members are mandated reporters for any kind of abuse or negligence that might be disclosed during ARTreach 180. It is a delicate balance to create a safe place for discussion while at the same time ensuring public safety.

Although there should be one main facilitator for the group, all staff members are encouraged to review the questions prior to the session and be willing to contribute. Staff should also do any written session activities before coming to ARTreach 180 so that they can be available if students need help.

We have found it helpful to have an object (such as a small ball) to pass around as group members answer the question. If participants are not ready when the ball comes around, we allow them to pass for the moment, but we always go back to them before the circle is finished. If an answer evokes controversy or an emotionally charged response from several people at once, it usually only takes a gentle reminder of who holds the ball at the moment to restore decorum. On the rare occasion that chaos erupts, we will have already chosen a student leader or intern who on a pre-determined cue from the facilitator will simply stand up. Other staff members will follow one by one until the group is under control again. Of course, if the disruption continues and redirection is not successful, other means of gaining control will be necessary.

Because of the need for active listening, we insist that cell phones are silenced and either placed in a box in the center of the circle or in a bag or purse away from the circle area. This expectation is discussed at the beginning of the program and students are asked to contract accordingly. Above all you must create a safe community of which these teens will want to be a part. If they find space and grace rules over shame and blame in this place, they will keep coming back. Let your effort be first to love them, for only then will you impact them.

In the next sections we include two of our discussion guides, Labels and Out of Proportion, as well as 

art projects and drama projects that we have found integrate well with these discussions. 

Those projects are in red on the discussion guides.

LABELS:    False Identities

Rationale for discussion: Self-image begins at a very young age and is profoundly shaped by what a child sees, hears, and feels from others when he is in social settings. By the time that child is a teenager, he has likely been given more labels than he can articulate, either explicitly or implicitly. Discovery of his true identity can only occur when the false identities are brought to the surface and revealed to be distortions of his ideal self.

Before the Question: no special preparation needed

Primary Questions:

• What labels have other people attached to you repeatedly?
• What labels have you placed on yourself?
• What label would you most want to smash?
• How do those labels affect your behavior or your thoughts about yourself?

Additional Questions to Consider:

• Do you receive and accept every label that people have tried to put on you?
• What label would you wear proudly as your most ideal self?
• Where did this monster first originate? Has it been of any benefit to you? If so, explain.

Related Art Projects:

• Reasons to Love Me, pp 296-297
• Smash Monsters, pp 304-305
• True Identity Masks, pp 316-317

Related Drama Projects:

• Advice to Yourself, p 339
• This is Your Life, p 373

SEL Connection:

• Self-Awareness: accurate self-perception
• Self-Management: self-motivation

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OUT OF PROPORTION:  Overreacting

Rationale for discussion: If you’ve ever had teenagers tell you about situations where they became angry, you know that as they recount the story, they tend to get angry all over again, maybe even more than they were when it was actually happening. This lesson will help them realize the importance of choosing which battles deserve the power it takes to fight them.

Before the Question: No special preparation required

Primary Questions:

• Share a specific time that you overreacted to a situation in the moment but then later realized you gave it far more power than it deserved.
• Did it benefit you in the end? Tell us more.
• Do you still sometimes give that person or situation too much power in your life?

Additional Questions to Consider:

• When you play the scene back in your mind, what parts do you tend to exaggerate? Why do we do that?
• Is it worth the effort it takes to fight that battle?
• What are some things you can tell yourself when you’re faced with it again?

Related Art Projects:

• Eruption, pp 263-264
• Perspective Photography, pp 291-292
• Point of View, p 293

Related Drama Projects:

• Open Scenes, p 361
• Power Game, The, p 367
• Rewind Scenes, p 369
• Taking Sides, p 371

SEL Connection:

• Self-Awareness: self-efficacy
• Social Awareness: perspective taking
• Self-Management: impulse control

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WHY ART?

The art projects in this program would probably not be considered “art therapy” in the strictest sense of the word. Instead they are therapeutic art—and there is a big difference. Our art projects are always connected to a theme related to youth development, social-emotional learning, conflict resolution, or processing pain. In conjunction with the Jump Start session for the day, we have found art to be a powerful visual reinforcement of the theme. The tactile element involved in the therapeutic process is often very personal and private as teens connect the project with the prior discussion in the circle. Creativity, problem solving, self-expression, stress relief, and even marketable skills are additional benefits from the visual art component.

Some things we’ve learned:

• ALWAYS do a sample of the project as you plan the session. We have learned the hard way to NEVER try to facilitate a project that we haven’t tried beforehand.

This serves 3 purposes:

• It will give you a sample to show the students.
• It will help you determine the simplicity or complexity of the project.
• It will give you an idea of the time needed to complete the project.

• The amount of supplies you will need for each project will depend on the number of students in your program. It is always better to have more than you need than not enough. With canvas and more expensive paper we have a policy of “one per customer” and encourage students to finish what they started. They invariably ask if they can start over. This is a teachable moment as we explain that art is like life--everybody gets only one. The mistakes that we make can be repaired, hidden, or used for good almost every time. Whatever your policy, make it clear to students at the beginning so that they will know what to expect.

• Some projects require drying time before proceeding to the next step. When this is the case, the schedule will need to accommodate the drying time. Activities that normally come earlier in the lesson plan (such as team-building) can be moved to this time slot to allow for drying.

• The artist statements and wind down time are essential to self-reflection. Don’t skip these steps after the art projects are complete. If you do a gallery exhibit or showcase at the end of the year, the artist statements can be typed and displayed beside the student’s artwork. This is another method of allowing their voices to be heard and helping them communicate with those to whom they might never have had the opportunity to say those things.

SMASH MONSTERS:   acrylic on cover stock

Thematic Application: Adolescents now more than ever carry many negative labels that have been put on them by others or are self-inflicted because of poor self-image or past experiences. This project helps them face those false identities and smash them into a “monster” to remind them that those labels are not who they really are.

Supply List:

11” x 14” smooth white 110 lb cover stock                                    Liquid acrylic paint

Black Sharpies                                                                                   Drawing pens

Paper towels                                                                                      Examples of project

Preparation: Prepare tables for project work, and have other supplies easily accessible.

Procedure: This is a two-part project to allow time for paint to dry. Step 1: Students will choose 3 or 4 colors representing the false identities or labels that have been given to them in the past. They will take bottles of paint in those colors to their art station. They should fold the paper in half first, making a light crease in the center. Then they will use the paint bottles to drop paint in random patterns around the crease in the center of the paper, leaving at least an inch from the edges. Encourage them not to use too much paint so that it will dry more quickly and not run out when they fold it. Once they have dropped all their colors onto the paper, they will fold it down the crease and press lightly toward the edges to distribute the paint evenly. Then they will open the paper to reveal the symmetrical paint blots of the blended colors. Leave to dry during another activity. Step 2: Use hair dryers if necessary to dry paint completely. Then students will use black Sharpies and/or pens to embellish and add detail to their “smash monster.” When they are finished, have them complete the “Smash Monster Bio” sheet. Then get artist statements.

Wind Down: Bring all pieces to a display table and have students gather around it to share. How does your smash monster represent the false identities you have allowed to have space in your life? Is that who you really are or would you like to silence the monster forever?

Companion Jump Start Lesson:

• I Am, p 97
• Labels, p 103
• Once Upon a Time, p 114
• Johari Window, p 102
• Who Do You Think You Are?, p 147

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POINT OF VIEW:  Perspective Watercolor

Thematic Application: This project is a picture of how distorted situations become when we overreact and blow things out of proportion. Have students consider the different perspective they gain when they can distance themselves from the situation rather than choosing to stay close to it.

Supply List:

18” x 20” watercolor paper (or larger)                                    Watercolors

Paint brushes                                                                             Crayons

Water cups                                                                                  Plates for palettes

Paper towels                                                                               Extra pair of shoes (if needed)

Preparation: Prepare tables for project work and have other supplies easily accessible.

Procedure: Students will use crayon to outline their own shoes on the large watercolor paper and then draw their body and background lines (see illustration). Inside the shoes they will select and draw images that represent things about which they typically overreact and make bigger than they really are. Once all this is done with the crayon, they use watercolors on top of the crayon images to create a relief effect.

Wind Down: What message does this painting convey to you? What is a typical outcome when you allow yourself to overreact or blow things out of proportion?

Companion Jump Start Suggestions:

• Delusions, p 85
• More Than Words, p 111
• Out of Proportion, p 116
• Value Systems, p 143

Point of View by Judy Chugg

Spring, 2016

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WHY DRAMA?

Our drama projects have been developed to allow students to tell their own stories and engage in self-discovery from a distance. When I tell my story through the voice of a fictional character, I do not have to claim the story as my own, but the therapeutic benefit is simply that I have shared it and it has been validated. Just like art, the drama projects are always connected to a theme related to youth development, emotion regulation, conflict resolution, or processing pain. In conjunction with the Jump Start session for the day, we have found drama to be a fun and engaging medium during which the students can explore various responses to their emotions and the results that follow those emotions. The social interaction they experience with others on stage and the ability to speak, listen, and respond appropriately are life skills they will use long after they graduate from the program.

Some things we’ve learned:

• Almost all students experience stage fright at first. Do some simple exercises in the playing area where all students are involved. Then transition into asking them to go into the playing area alone and speak. 4 Things About Me is a perfect exercise for this. Don’t give up on getting them involved. They will warm up to it in time. Remind them often: If everybody looks silly, then no one looks silly.

• Staff should be involved in the projects too. We often include one staff member in each group, and they do the scenes along with the students—even if they share the stage fright!

• Remember the process is more important than the product. The scene they put on stage is not the ultimate goal. The process of working together, listening to others’ ideas, working out the kinks, and finally putting a scene on stage teaches them to take risks, not judge or compare, and finish what they start.

• Don’t skip the debrief time. This gives you an opportunity to relate the project to real life and explore the outcomes of specific choices the characters make.

• Also make sure there is a clear delineation between the audience space and the playing space. Discuss with the students often that the audience is here, in this moment in time, in our reality, whereas the playing area (stage or section of the room) can be anywhere, at any time, depending on the action being played by the character(s). Sometimes scenes can get emotional (e.g. a difficult memory from a student’s past), but you MUST NOT allow them to stay in that space. Do a de-role exercise such as unzipping an imaginary character and stepping out of it, or at the very least “shaking off” (literally) that character who was in that time and place before they step back into reality as their present self.

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ADVICE TO YOURSELF:

Thematic Application: Most of us can easily spot changes we wish other people would make, and we tend to take advantage of every opportunity to share our advice with them toward that end whether they ask for it or not. However, when it comes to recognizing the changes we need to make ourselves, they aren’t quite so easy to articulate. This is a fun, non-threatening exercise that allows students to project themselves into the future and confront the truth of their present habits and hang-ups.

Supplies & Preparation: None

Procedure: Participants begin in pairs of your choosing, their choosing, or randomly chosen. First have them decide which of them is Player A and Player B. Give them at least 5 minutes to share with each other a chronic mistake they keep making or a negative thing in their lives they know they need to change. Once they have each shared, tell them they will act out Player A’s story first with B playing the role of A at A’s current age. Player A will play himself/herself as a successful adult. When the scene begins, Teen A (played by B) will already be in the agreed upon location. Adult A (played by A) will enter the scene and talk with Teen A, assessing the situation and eventually advising him/her how to make the changes that need to be made in order to become his successful adult self. Repeat until all participants have played their older self.

Debrief: After each scene is performed, ask the “successful adult self” if he/she can take that advice now. What would it cost them to make the necessary changes? End debriefing with the question “What are you waiting for?” for each student.

Companion Jump Start Suggestions:

• Alien Invasion, p 73
• Change, p 79
• Growth, p 95
• Labels, p 103
• Learning from Mistakes, p 105
• Persistence & Commitment, p 120
• Rethink, p 124
• Strengths, p 135
• Things I Should Have Learned, p 140

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THE POWER GAME:

Thematic Application: Teens are often confused about what power looks like in a conflict situation. This simple exercise requires no lecture from adults to vividly illustrate that real power is often held by the one who refuses to be moved by the other person’s efforts to gain control.

Supplies & Preparation: None

Procedure: Participants should be seated in audience formation facing the playing area. Ask for 2 volunteers to go into the playing area. Explain that this is called The Power Game, and each of the actors is to play the objective of gaining and keeping the power in the scene. There is one rule (say this exactly as written): “THE GAME IS OVER IF YOU TOUCH, IF YOU SPEAK, OR IF I CALL TIME.” (Facilitator note—It does NOT say that the one who touches or speaks will lose. It simply says that will end the game. Let them figure this out on their own.) Emphasize again that each of them is trying to take power in the scene. Instruct the audience to look for who has the power and if there is a shift in power at any time. Then call “SCENE” to cue them to begin.

Expect them to be awkward if this is the first time you have played this game. Once they warm up to the idea, they will begin looking for ways to take power—stepping in front of the other person, standing on a chair to be higher than the other person, etc. Typically one will ignore the other’s efforts to get a reaction, and the audience usually sees that as the power in the scene.

Play several times with different actors, discussing who had power after each scene. Fully debrief at the end of the exercise.

Debrief: Who had the power more through the scenes? Why? How is your perception of power here different from the ways you try to take power in real conflict situations? Is it possible that you could have more power by not reacting than by reacting to a person with whom you are in conflict?

Companion Jump Start Suggestions:

• Conflict vs. Control, p 82
• Managing Tension, p 108
• Out of Proportion, p 116
• Rethink, p 124
• Super Heroes, p 136
• Thermometer or Thermostat, p 139

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Thank you for taking a look at the ARTreach 180 curriculum.  I sincerely hope you gained

some new ideas just from being here today.  Please let me know if you use any

of these exercises with your students.  I'd love to hear from you!

gmoore@crosswalkusa.org

Gina Moore, LMSW