E2E Job Pong Game I bought a bunch of ping pong balls at the dollar store. They sat on my bookshelf for 8 months because every game I tried to create with them turned into beer pong. I finally found a mostly-not-beer pong game for the ping pong balls. My students have a hard time making the connection between their personality traits and different jobs. They also have a tough time even thinking about what jobs exist, in general let alone how their skills and personalities would fit into various careers. This game is a nice combination of thinking/talking and kinesthetic movement. Kansas SECD Standard(s) Addressed: II. Self-Management : Understanding and practicing strategies for managing thoughts and behaviors, reflecting on perspectives, and setting and monitoring goals C. Set, monitor, adapt, and evaluate goals to achieve success in school and life. Grades 6-8 1. Analyze factors that lead to goal achievement and success (for example, managing time, adequate resources, confidence). 2. Describe the effect personal habits have on school and personal goals. 3. Identify factors that may negatively affect personal success. 4. Describe common and creative strategies for overcoming or mitigating obstacles. 5. Explain the role of practice in skill acquisition. 6. Design action plans for achieving short-term and long-term goals. 7. Utilize institutional, community, and external supports. 8. Establish criteria for evaluating goals. Grades 9-12 1. Evaluate factors that lead to goal achievement and success (for example, integrity, prioritizing, managing time, adequate resources). 2. Analyze the effect personal tendencies have on goals. 3. Analyze and evaluate consequences of failures/successes. 4. Analyze and activate strategies used previously to overcome obstacles including negative peer pressure. 5. Analyze factors that may have negatively affected personal success. 6. Determine the role of practice in skill acquisition and goal achievement. 7. Design plans for achieving short-term and long-term goals and establish formative and summative evaluation criteria. Cost: Approximately $11 Preparation Time: Approximately 30 minutes Supplies 36 white ping pong balls. Alternately, you could use pieces of paper, but you wouldn t be able to do the fun part as easily. I was able to find ping pong balls 6/$1 at my local dollar store. The ping pong balls should be labeled using a Sharpie as follows with both the number and the words listed. You could change these or add more, if desired. 1. Attentive to details 2. Enjoys talking to new people
3. Organized 4. Multi-tasker 5. Focused 6. Strong writing skills 7. Strong math skills 8. Perseveres 9. Puzzles things out 10. Likes working alone 11. Likes working with a group 12. Handles criticism well 13. Sensitive to others feelings 14. Likes to work with hands 15. Prefers working indoors 16. Prefers working outdoors 17. Diplomatic 18. Compassionate 19. Innovative 20. Asks questions 21. Good at handling money 22. Helps others 23. Likes a fast pace 24. Persuasive 25. Good with computers 26. Follows written directions 27. Artistic 28. Likes animals 29. Likes children 30. Teaches others 31. Intuitive 32. Speaks up 33. Competitive 34. Easygoing 35. Likes routines 36. Adventurous 6 colored ping pong balls. I located some green ones. 4 plastic containers, approximately 20-cup size. Leave the first container unmarked. In large, bold writing, use a Sharpie to write 1 point on the second container, 3 points on the third container, and 5 points on the fourth container. 1 ping pong paddle, optional A table, 4-6 long Fine point Sharpie Wide tip Sharpie White board, marker, and eraser for keeping score Copies of the E2E Job Pong Chart reproducible, 1 per participant Clipboards, one per participant. Helps the kids write on their E2E Job Pong Chart reproducible while they re waiting in line for their next turn.
Prepare 1. Before class, make sure you have labeled each of the white ping pong balls and each of the containers as described in the Supplies section. 2. Place all of the ping pong balls, both white and color, into the first, unmarked container. 3. Place the container full of ping pong balls at one end of the table. Place the three remaining containers at the other end of the table. The container labeled 1 should be placed closest to the end of the table where the container of balls has been placed; the container labeled 5 should be place farthest away. Jenny and I found it worked best to place the 1-point container about 3 feet away, the 3-point container right behind that, and the 5-point container right behind that, creating a back-to-back line of containers. Discussion What are some adjectives you would use to describe yourself? What are some adjectives that you would never use to describe yourself? How will these self-perceived strengths and weaknesses effect the types of work you will do as an adult? Play Job Pong Number of Players 2 to 10 players Duration of Game The teacher will determine the length of the game prior to beginning. Suggested duration is 20-40 minutes. Objective Earn the greatest number of points by answering questions and hitting ping pong balls accurately into the labeled containers. The player with the most points at the end of the set time limit is the winner. Directions for Play 1. Players form a single-file line at the table with the oldest player first in line and the youngest player last. The oldest student will go first. At this time, you may choose to appoint a non-playing student, paraprofessional, or co-teacher, as scorekeeper; this person will track each player s score on the whiteboard. The scorekeeper is also the timekeeper and will track the amount of time remaining in the game. 2. The player draws a ball from the container. He/she reads the characteristic written on the ball out loud.
3. The teacher will ask the player three questions: Do you possess this quality? Player will answer yes or no. Name a job where this quality would be an asset. Is this a job you would consider having? Player will answer yes or no. 4. As the active player answers, the other players will fill out their E2E Job Pong Chart reproducibles, recording the job named by the player and answering the other parts of the question for the quality being discussed. If the ball has already been played once, students will not need to fill in the chart a second time for the same ball. 5. If the player s answers are acceptable/correct, he/she will get to use the ping pong paddle to hit the ball drawn on the table, attempting to land the ball in one of the containers. Alternately, players may simply bounce the ball by hand. If the ball lands in one of the containers, the player is awarded the number of points written on the container (1, 3, or 5 points). If the ball does not land in one of the containers, no points are awarded. 6. The ball is returned to the container with the other ping pong balls to be used again. Alternately, if you don t want to have repeats of the same ball, don t return used balls to the container; set them aside in a separate container. The player will return to the end of the line. 7. If a player draws a colored ball, he/she does not have to answer a question*. He/she will immediately get to bounce the ball, attempting to land it in one of the containers. If he/she lands the ball in a container, he/she will be awarded DOUBLE the number of points written on the outside of that container 8. Students will continue to take turns, repeating steps 2-7. 9. The person with the greatest number of points when time is called is the winner. 10. As a variation, students may be asked to answer more in-depth questions about careers posed by the teacher in order to be able to earn points for the colored balls. Post-Game Discussion Look back at your answers on the E2E Job Pong Chart reproducibles. Go back and highlight the qualities for for which you circled yes for both possessing that quality and for having interest in the job associated with that quality. What responses surprised you? Which responses confirmed things you already know about yourself? Which jobs were the most interesting to you? Which jobs were the least appealing? Based on your current personal qualities, what are some jobs that may be a good fit for you? Think back to some of the qualities you heard today. What one quality would you most like to improve/cultivate right now that you don t already possess? Why? How would gaining this quality make your life better? How would it change your career options? Optional Extension Activity If you want to keep the momentum going and take things a step farther, you can have students do some Google searching based on their personality qualities from the Job Pong Chart reproducible. For example, students could Google jobs for people who like a fast-paced work environment. Students can then conduct further research about one or more jobs, locating information such as education required, job outlook, hours, and duties. Findings can be presented to the class and discussed.