EMPOWER YOUTH

WITH TEAM GRS CURRICULUM

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CHARACTER BUILDING

Hands on and interactive, the curriculum provides rich experiences for helping youth healthy choices.
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ENGAGING STORIES

GRS uses the stories of characters to discuss making the kind of choices that get you where you want to be in life.

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FLEXIBLE STRUCTURE

Turnkey for schools, afterschool programs, city recreation programs, and sports camps.

"BREAKING THE TRAP"

CURRICULUM OVERVIEW

Gym Rat Squad is ready to show your students how to succeed at school and in life. Set in a fictional rat world, this is the story of how a discouraged but wise player becomes a coach and teaches his team to “break the trap.” His nemesis, Sylvester (the “Shady Rat”) runs a rival team that seeks to win by any means necessary. His way is full of shortcuts and easy cheese, but where does it lead?

Coach Gouda is dedicated to playing the game the right way, on and off the court. Gouda insists on setting the bar high and preparing his team with the sound skills and work ethic that will set them up for life, because he knows the Trap is always waiting.

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EASY TO PREP, EASY TO TEACH

“Breaking the Trap” curriculum is designed to be ready to use with minimal prep time.  

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READ THE TEACHER GUIDE

Each lesson contains tips and examples, along with an at-a-glance summary of the opening, story of the day, discussion, and activities.

PROJECT THE PRESENTATION

Easily facilitate the lesson with the Student Presentation that prompts each part of the lesson by making it visual and interactive. 
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FACILITATE STUDENT WORK

Simple, low cost materials make prep time minimal. Students complete their activities in their Student Workbooks or printable pages. 

WELL-ROUNDED INSTRUCTION

WHAT’S IN A LESSON?

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OPENING- Set a purpose for the lesson and engage student schema for the content. 

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STORY- A vignette from Team GRS that sets the foundation for the days events.

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DISCUSSION- Rich topics allow students to tackle character issues in a non-judgemental way, by talking about the characters and their situations.

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ACTIVITY- Student created artifacts using cross-curricular skills to show their thinking.

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DEBRIEF- Guides students to gist, synthesize, and apply what they learned.

FOUNDATIONAL SKILLS FOR THE ROAD TO SUCCESS IN

6 MODULES- 5 LESSONS EACH

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THE ROAD TO SUCCESS

As we meet the team and learn about the two different paths presented by Coach Gouda and Sylvester, students create a vision of where they want to be in life and what it takes to get there.

COACHABLE

Street-ball phenom Goat Cheeze could realize his dream of making it the the big leagues, and be just what the team needs, if he will be coachable instead of going his own way.  Students evaluate who they trust as a mentor. 

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TEAM WORK

Conflicts on the team keep them from playing their best in a big game. Meanwhile, Little Chamby needs help on a new invention. Students explore how we’re better together, and how smart goals help us achieve more.

WORK ETHIC

Goat wants to rely on native talent rather than hard work to get what he wants. Sylvester is all to happy to persuade him to take a shortcut to success. Students discover that it takes grit to go the distance.
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SPORTSMANSHIP

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SETTING GOALS

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CURRICULUM FEATURES

MAKE TEACHING EASIER

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TIMING AND TRANSITIONS

Clearly marked in the lesson plans so it’s easy to see how to manage time during lesson delivery and when and how to group students for the activities.
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SMART GOALS

Clearly marked in the lesson plans so it’s easy to see how to manage time during lesson delivery and when and how to group students for the activities.
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GRIT AND PERSEVERANCE

Students learn these as foundational to the road to success, as well as the contrast with the shortcuts the antagonist likes to use.

CHARACTERS YOUR STUDENTS WILL LOVE

MEET THE TEAM

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DeAndre Austin has created a character lesson rooted in common core that is profound! The transformation I get to witness with my students is fascinating. It’s life-changing, valuable, effective, and efficient. With so much extra responsibility being place on teachers with scarce time, we need lessons that are authentic and realistic. The students can relate to the characters.

Luarice L. Towns Ed.D., Author