
Check In
Icebreakers and Teambuilding
Great Eggspectactions
Beach ball initiation questions (also in primary colors)
UConn 101
“First-year students can be taught the strategies and skills they need to fulfill their educational goals. Institutions must promote first-year student success by teaching them what and how to learn, providing them with opportunities to grow and develop, and teaching them the skills necessary to become responsible citizens.”(Nash et al., 2005). From rubbing Jonathan's nose to building teams and showcasing campus resources and offices, we have the opportunity to show incoming FYE students what it means to be a Husky!
UCONN Project Assignment Sheet - with UConn Project Rubric Visual Aid and UConn Project Rubric Oral Presentation
Exploring Campus Resources - Group Presentations
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
How do you define diversity? How do your students define diversity? As your students become members of our University, these types of discussions become important to their experience in our community. It is important that our students join us in promoting and nurturing different perspectives that are enabled through differences in culture, experience, and values. This is a core value of FYP&LC as well as the University of Connecticut as a whole, which is why you are strongly encouraged to incorporate additional cultural competency lessons into your course beyond the required Critical Reflection Assignment.
Diversity and Inclusion Lesson - Silent Interviewing
Land Acknowledgement and Sharing History
U.S. Culture Lesson Plan Document - for international students
Understanding White Privilege and Social Identities Lesson Plan
Academic Enrichment
“...students think they know more about accessing information and conducting library research than they are able to demonstrate when put to the test.” (Maughan, 2001) We can’t make the assumption that students are able to navigate the UConn Libraries and other resources on their own. Let’s lend a helping hand to our students to enrich their academic experience with all of the available resources UConn has to offer.
Information Literacy Scavenger Hunt
Campus Involvement
The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) data have shown the more that students are involved on campus, the more likely they will stay enrolled at the institution and earn better grades (Kuh, Cruce, Shoup, Kinizie, & Gonyea, 2008). An involved student is “one who devotes considerable energy to academics, spends much time on campus, participates actively in student organizations and activities, and interacts often with faculty” (Astin, 1984, p. 292).
FYE Challenge Group assignment
Getting Out There: Friendships & Bucket List
Involvement Fair - Getting Involved assignment
Involvement Fair Scavenger Hunt
Research Connections Scavenger Hunt
Critical and Creative Thinking
The objective of this component is to help student recognize the ways in which critical and creative thinking, often considered to be daunting elements of academic inquiry, are actually vital life skills. You are encouraged to incorporate critical and creative thinking throughout your course, encouraging students to look at their college experience and the world from many angles, utilizing the best resources at their disposal. Ideally, this practice should be introduced early and assessed through an assignment you choose.
Defining Critical & Creative Thinking
Narratives through Diverse Perspectives
Understanding White Privilege and Social Identities Lesson Plan
- Social Identities Wheel Activity
- Social Identities Wheel Discussion Questions
- Identity Choices Activity
Critical Thinking, the News, and Social Media
Activity - Online Fake News quiz
Article - Evaluating the Fake News Problem at the Scale of the Information Ecosystem
Article - Sources of Falsehoods Spread by Text, Email, WhatsApp, and TikTok
Article - 4 Tips for Spotting a Fake News Story
Article - How to Identify Fake News in 10 Steps Guided Research Worksheet
Article - How to Spot Real and Fake News
Article - List of Fake News Websites
Infographic - How to Spot Fake News Infographic
Lesson Plan - Fake News and What We Can Do About It (Anti-Defamation League)
Research - Evaluating Information: The Cornerstone of Civic Online Reasoning (Stamford History Education Group)
Resource - False, Misleading, Clickbait-y, and/or Satirical “News” Sources
TedEd Video - How false news can spread - Noah Tavlin
TedEd Video - How to choose your news
Dialoguing and Community Building
The Alligator River Story - activity
Analyzing Behaviors - TRIZ activity
Discussing Dialoguing lesson plan, with Discussing Dialoguing - Quotes handout
Fishbowl Small Talks - lesson plan
In the Mind of the Beholder - activity
Separating Fact from Inference - activity
Telling Our Stories of Change - closing out the semester
Translating Translation activity, with Translating Translation Reading
Financial Literacy
“Students suffer from a lack of financial literacy that leaves them unable to navigate the complex maze of financial aid applications and loan options, further adding to their money troubles even after they leave school.” Fiscal literacy isn’t just how to pay off student loans when students are out of college. Managing their finances throughout college is just as important and many student need help navigating that path, which will establish a successful financial management foundation for post-graduation.
Goal Setting, Motivation, and Character
“Goal setting and motivation in the college world depends on our definition of success. How might our definition of success change our goals and motivation?" (Harackiewicz, 1998)
Creating the Life of Your Dreams
Getting Out There: Friendships & Bucket List lesson plan
Goal Setting - three part activity
Goal Setting Index Card Activity
47 Goal Setting Exercises, Tools from Positive Psychology
Health, Wellness, and Safety
Being a healthy college student is no longer only focused on not gaining the dreaded Freshman-15. Student’s health, wellness and safety focuses on all aspects of the student: from physical to emotional to even mental health.
Stress Management Lesson Plan with Stress Management PPT
How to Make Stress Your Friend video with related lesson plan ideas on stress
International Lesson Plans
Debate Group - Sample Presentation, Debate Group Brainstorming Document, and Debate Rubric
Major-Based
Current Issue in the Field paper
Exploring Major-Based Campus Involvement presentations
LC Innovation Zone - plan a class workshop in the LCIZ, with a focus on skills helpful in your field!
Major Related Event Presentation
Professional Article presentations
Career Planning
Students usually have a long list of beliefs about majors and many of them are wrong. Deciding on a major and planning for a future career can be very stressful for students who feel as if they have to go at it alone and are unsure of how to work with their advisor. More than half of our students will most likely change their major, so we should give them the tools they need to make that decision.
Career Modules from the Center for Career Development:
Self-Awareness
As students transition into the University setting and begin their college experience, many of them struggle with self-awareness because it is not something they have had to deal with in the past. Self-awareness has been shown to have a huge impact on students learning processes and outcomes. Learning about one’s own personal needs, strengths and weakness is just the start to becoming self-aware. (Steiner, 2014)
- History of True Colors
- True Colors Facilitation Guide - PDF
- True Colors Facilitation Guide - Doc
- True Colors Activity
- True Colors - Survey Handouts
- True Colors - PowerPoint
W-Curve Handout, Initiation activity, and Project with Rubric by Molly Woods
Values Clarification Carousel activity
Understanding White Privilege and Social Identities Lesson Plan
- Social Identities Wheel Activity
- Social Identities Wheel Discussion Questions
- Identity Choices Activity
Study Skills
Strategic Learning is more than textbook reading strategies. Many high school scholars enter their college career as “passive learners who possess rote-level strategies for learning” that may have worked in high school, but make learning and studying much more difficult at the college level." (Simpson, 2000)
Reading Speed Activity with Reading Speed Packet and Reading Rate Handout (from Jamison Judd)
What Type of Learner Are You assessment