Support – Texas High School Basketball Team Gets Unlikely Support

There are many ways to positively impact other people, but one of the simplest ways is to show up with encouragement and support.

Grade Level: K-12

Character Skills

Respect
Caring
Good Citizenship

SEL Skills

Relationship Skills
Social Awareness

Academic Skills

Critical and Creative Thinking
Curiosity and Passion

Definitions

Respect

Follow the Golden Rule.
Be accepting of differences.
Be courteous to others.
Deal peacefully with anger, insults, and disagreements.
Be considerate of others’ feelings.

Caring

Be kind.
Be compassionate.
Express gratitude.
Forgive others.
Be considerate of others’ feelings.

Good Citizenship

Do your share to make your home, school, and community better.
Cooperate.
Stay informed. Vote.
Be a good neighbor.
Make choices that protect the safety and rights of others.
Protect the environment.

Relationship Skills

Create positive relationships and meaningful connections with family members, classmates, and teachers.

Social Awareness

Assess and be sensitive to the feelings and needs of others.

Critical and Creative Thinking

Acquire, remember, understand, and apply knowledge.

Curiosity and Passion

Enthusiastic to understand more about themselves, others, and the world around them.

Learn more about our character, SEL, and academic outcomes.

Share This Activity

Students will recognize ways to motivate and support others and will identify the benefits of encouragement.

Encouragement can positively impact your performance as a team. Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Why?
What does support mean?
- Support means to help or give assistance.

How could the consistent lack of encouraging fans impact the performance of the Gainesville Tornadoes?
Why would some people be so willing to cheer for the other team?
Aside from a great game, what other ways did the cheering section impact the team members of the Tornadoes?
How can you show encouragement to both teams during a sporting event?

Paper
Index cards
Sticky notes

On index cards, write a word that students can easily describe and draw.
Students will form groups of three and decide which student will take each role.
- One person will be the artist, one person will be the describer, and one person will have a secret task.
- The describer will receive an index card with a word on it. The describer needs to describe the word on the card without using the actual word.
- The artist will try to create the word on paper. They cannot speak during the activity. They must only draw based on the description from the describer.
- The student with the secret task will meet away from the others to hear their instructions. Their job is to count the number of positive and encouraging statements the describer makes vs. the number of negative or neutral comments they hear. They must secretly keep count on their sticky note.
Begin the game and give students five minutes to complete the activity.
Remind artists that they cannot speak during the game, as many artists will be tempted to ask questions or seek guidance from the describer.
End the game and ask students to show their artwork to the class.
Share the secret task with the full group. Ask those students to share the ratio of positive to negative or neutral comments they heard during the game.
Explain the research called the “Losada Ratio,” where researchers found that the highest performing teams had a ratio of 5.6 positive comments to every one negative comment. Moderate-performing teams had a ratio of 1.8 positive comments for every negative comment. Low-performing teams had a ratio of 0.36 positive comments for every negative comment.
Follow-up questions:
- Did you feel supported during the activity? Why or why not?
- What is the impact of positive comments versus negative comments?

K-5

How does someone cheering you on or encouraging you make you feel? Does it make you play or perform better?
Words of encouragement are important off the court, too. Where can you focus on being more positive and motivating towards other people?

6-12

How does the “Losada ratio” translate to other areas of your life? Where else in your life do you need strong collaboration for success? How will you make sure that the team is also encouraged?
The lack of an encouraging support system for games can be challenging, but imagine how difficult it would be to feel good about yourself if you lacked that motivating force in all areas of your life. How can you show up for people who need it the most?

Educators: Copy the Family Connection and email it to parents, or click here to download a PDF version to email or print.

Watch

Watch the video as a family: https://youtu.be/xaUx8yg0-iM.

Discuss
Use these questions to start meaningful conversations about support.

How can you show up and show support for each other?
What are your favorite words or phrases that encourage you? Make a list of the best ways to show praise in your family and put it somewhere as a reminder to say encouraging things to one another.