DC TRUST Guide 1023 - Children & Youth Investment Trust ...

Field Guide to OST Best Practices / High-Interest, Hands-On Activities / 12
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PROGRAM ACTIVITIES AND PROJECTS
Activities are the heart and soul of out-of-school time programming. They are what our
young people get to DO at our sites. They are what draw them in. OST is the perfect home
for the kind of hands-on experiences and real life applications that children and youth need to
develop into successful adults, support their in-school learning, broaden their conception of the
world and its possibilities and improve their attitudes toward learning and toward themselves
as learners.
The following are key elements to establishing successful activities and projects:
1. Program schedule is flexible and offers the necessary stability, variety and
stimulation to meet the needs of young people.
a. Young people go through several activities or segments in a program day.
b. Young people are informed of the daily program schedule.
c. There is a smooth and clearly defined transitional period that takes young people into
the programming day.
d. There are opportunities for both group activities and individual work.
e. Young people move freely but orderly from one activity or segment to the next.
f. Young people can participate in both competitive and non-competitive activities.
2. Activities and projects promote the development of all young people in the
program.
a. There is an atmosphere of inclusion (e.g. accommodating skill levels, gender, native
language, physical ability and age).
b. Activities reinforce a positive sense of identity and self-worth.
c. Activities reflect the unique talents and interests of the young people.
d. Staff attempts to bring in young people who are reticent to join in activities.
e. Activities are designed to engage different kinds of learning styles (e.g. auditory-sequential,
visual-spatial, kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, etc.).
3. Activities and projects are intentionally designed for young people to develop
a wide variety of skills.
a. Activities support the acquisition of a variety of skills (e.g. academic, cognitive, life,
social, physical, leadership and creative skills).
b. Activities and projects are sequential with clear steps.
c. Young people are involved in hands-on learning.
d. Young people are involved in project-based learning.
e. Activities reflect the experiences and interests of young people.