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Energiser
Every session begins with an energiser. Usually there’s a rota showing who will lead the energiser. We have some favourite games you can play if you are stuck.
- Traffic Jam: re-order the cars to unblock yourself
- Telephone: draw the words and write the pictures
- Popcorn show and tell: popcorn around the room and show one nearby object or something in your pocket or bag and explain what it means to you.
Morning orientation
Learning Objectives
Planning during the week
👣 Steps
If you haven’t done so already, choose someone (volunteer or trainee) to be the facilitator for this morning orientation block. Choose another to be the timekeeper.
🎙️ The Facilitator will:
- Assemble the entire group (all volunteers & all trainees) in a circle
- Briefly welcome everyone with an announcement, like this:
💬 “Morning everyone, Welcome to CYF {REGION}, this week we are working on {MODULE} {SPRINT} and we’re currently working on {SUMMARISE THE TOPICS OF THE WEEK}”
- Ask any newcomers to introduce themselves to the group, and welcome them.
- Now check: is it the start of a new module? Is it sprint 1? If so, read out the success criteria for the new module.
- Next go through the morning day plan only (typically on the curriculum website) - and check the following things:
Facilitator Checklist
- Check the number of volunteers you have for the morning
- Check someone is leading each session
- Describe how any new activities works for the group
- Decide how best to allocate trainees and volunteers for a given block - most blocks will make this clear
⏰ The Timekeeper will:
- Announce the start of an activity and how long it will take (check everyone is listening)
- Manage any whole class timers that are used in an activity
- Give people a 10-minute wrap-up warning before the end of an activity
- Announce the end of an activity and what happens next
Teamwork Project Sprint 2
Learning Objectives
👉🏽 PD Session: Teamwork Project Sprint 2
Prep
Post-its and pens for each team
A collaborative board (physical or digital) for each team
Ensure trainees have completed the required reading on Product/MVP concepts
Introduction
In this session, we move from theoretical concepts to defining the core of your specific project. We will identify who your users are, what they actually need, and how your product serves them.
⏱️ Time: 20 minutes
🎯 Goal: Define and differentiate Product, MVP, Feature, and User Story
Instructions
Create a collaborative board with four columns: Product, MVP, Feature, and User Story.
Class Discussion: Briefly define each concept as a group.
Post-it Activity: Each trainee writes one phrase or word per Post-it (e.g., “The smallest version of a product that allows a team to collect the maximum amount of validated learning” for MVP) and places it in the correct column.
Review the board as a group to clarify any misconceptions.
⏱️ Time: 20 minutes
🎯 Goal: Identify target audiences and their specific needs
Instructions
Using the product your team defined in the previous week, discuss the following:
Who are your users? (e.g., students, administrators, casual readers)
What different user profiles exist? (e.g., a “Guest” vs. an “Authenticated User”)
What specific needs does your product address?
Deliverable: Write a short description of your product, its users, and their needs. Choose a spokesperson (ideally someone new) to present this to the class in 1 minute.
⏱️ Time: 20 minutes
🎯 Goal: Connect product features to user pain points
Instructions
Internal Brainstorm: In your teams, answer:
What is the primary functionality of your product?
How exactly does it solve the user problems identified in Exercise 2?
Peer Review: Pair up with another team.
Feedback Loop: - Share your answers with the other team.
Provide constructive feedback, opinions, and suggestions to help the other team refine their understanding.
Community Lunch
Every Saturday we cook and eat together. We share our food and our stories. We learn about each other and the world. We build community.
This is everyone’s responsibility, so help with what is needed to make this happen, for example, organising the food, setting up the table, washing up, tidying up, etc. You can do something different every week. You don’t need to be constantly responsible for the same task.
Study Group
Learning Objectives
Trainees
This is time for you to get help with whatever you need help with.
If you didn’t understand something in the prep, ask about it.
If you were struggling with a backlog exercise, get help with it.
If you weren’t quite sure of something in a workshop, discuss it.
If you don’t have any problems, keep working through the backlog until you need help.
It can be useful to get into groups with others facing the same problem, or working on the same backlog item.
Volunteers
Don’t be scared to approach people and ask what they’re working on - see if you can help them out, or stretch their understanding.
If lots of people have the same problems, maybe you can put together a demonstration or a workshop to help them understand.
If absolutely no one needs help, consider reviewing some PRs using the process and guidelines in the #cyf-code-review-team Slack channel canvas.
Breaks
No one can work solidly forever! Make sure to take breaks when you need.
Retro: Start / Stop / Continue
🕹️Retro (20 minutes)
A retro is a chance to reflect. You can do this on RetroTool (create a free anonymous retro and share the link with the class) or on sticky notes on a wall.
- Set a timer for 5 minutes. There’s one on the RetroTool too.
- Write down as many things as you can think of that you’d like to start, stop, and continue doing next sprint.
- Write one point per note and keep it short.
- When the timer goes off, one person should set a timer for 1 minute and group the notes into themes.
- Next, set a timer for 2 minutes and all vote on the most important themes by adding a dot or a +1 to the note.
- Finally, set a timer for 8 minutes and all discuss the top three themes.