Skills superstars
You’ll need
- Equipment needed for skills being shared
Before you begin
- The week before this session, tell everyone that they’ll be teaching other people a new skill. They’ll need to choose their skill before the next session, spend some time practising and preparing, and ask for any equipment they might need.
- Set up tables and chairs around the room in groups of two or three.
Story time
- Everyone should sit in a circle.
- Someone should read Gemma Learns a Skill by Jess Connett.
- After reading the story, everyone should take some time to reflect on it as a group. We’ve included some questions to help you reflect in the pink box below.
One afternoon, Anya invited Gemma to go to the park. They walked over with Anya’s mum and found a spot in the shade of a tall tree.
Anya had started going to gymnastics classes. She was proud of all the new skills she had learned. Whenever she was out in the garden or in the park, she liked to practice. It takes a lot of practice to be a gymnast.
“This flat grass is perfect for handstands,” said Anya.
“I don’t know how to do a handstand,” said Gemma. “Can you teach me?”
“Definitely!” said Anya. “Let me show you how to do a handstand first.”
Anya lifted both her arms straight up. She pretended she was at the Olympics, with the crowd cheering for her.
She lifted one leg and pointed her toe. Then she stepped forwards, put her hands on the grass, and kicked both her legs high in the air.
Anya was standing on her hands! She balanced for a few seconds. Then she kicked her legs down and stood back up the right way.
Gemma clapped. “Wow! You’re really good at handstands, Anya.”
Anya lifted her arms and saluted to the imaginary crowd again. She’d won the gold medal!
Now it was Gemma’s turn to try. Anya talked Gemma through every step of the handstand. Then they did it in slow motion, practising where Gemma should put her hands and when to kick.
Anya was a very good teacher. She made sure Gemma understood what she had to do. That would keep her safe.
Finally, it was time for Gemma to try it properly. “I’m a bit scared now,” she said. “What if I land on my head?”
“Don’t be scared,” said Anya. “I’ll catch your legs and hold you up. Try to tuck into a ball if you feel like you’re falling.”
Gemma lifted her arms up high. She lifted her leg. She stepped forward, put her hands down, and kicked. Anya grabbed her legs.
“I'm doing it!” shouted Gemma.
Anya pushed Gemma’s legs back down to the floor. “You did your first handstand!” said Anya. “You were really good. Let’s keep practising together.”
By Jess Connett
Become a skills superstar
- Everyone should get into pairs.
- Each pair should take it in turns to teach each other a new skill.
- Once everyone has shared their skill, they should gather as a whole group to talk about how it felt.
Learn together
- Anyone who wants to share their skill with the whole group could take a deep breath and go for it.
- Everyone should chat about how sharing a skill with lots of people is different to sharing a skill with one other person.
Reflection
This activity encouraged young people to get outside their comfort zone and try being brave leaders. Throughout the session, people used their communication skills to help others learn a new skill. At times, it might have felt like people were going to get things wrong, but by supporting each other, everyone learned something about themselves.
You can chat about the reflection questions below throughout the session or at the end.
Gemma Learns a Skill
- How did Gemma help Anya learn something new?
- Why is it good to help other people learn new things?
Become a skills superstar
- What was hard about teaching someone else a skill? What was easy?
- How did it make people feel to teach someone else?
Learn together
- How did it make people feel to teach everyone or see someone else teaching everyone?
- Does anyone feel like a skill superstar?
- Would people like to try teaching others again?
Safety
All activities must be safely managed. You must complete a thorough risk assessment and take appropriate steps to reduce risk. Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Always get approval for the activity, and have suitable supervision and an InTouch process.
- Active games
The game area should be free of hazards. Explain the rules of the game clearly and have a clear way to communicate that the game must stop when needed. Take a look at our guidance on running active games safely.
- Give everyone plenty of time to prepare before the session to prepare.
- You could suggest different skills that people might want to practise and share if people are struggling to think of their own ideas.
- People can decide how they’ll share their skill. They may want to record something to show everyone or bring a family member to the session to help them share.
- If anyone’s super speedy or particularly keen to learn something tricky, an adult could teach them an additional, more challenging skill. Can they learn it quickly and re-teach it to their friends?
Support everyone to think of a skill they can share – even if some people feel like they don’t have a skill to teach.
Support everyone to share and learn in a way that works for them. You could help people understand how they can adapt their teaching to make it work for everyone.
All Scout activities should be inclusive and accessible.
Ask everyone to teach one of the new skills they have learned from the skills superstar session to someone they live with, a family member, or a friend.
Invite everyone to teach as many new skills as they can – don’t limit people’s engagement.