Activity
The Plasma Ball
About This Resource
Summary Using a plasma ball to discuss different ways to practice sati and samadhi, and the benefits and distractions of each method.
Age Range Primary/Elementary School (ages 5-12)
Contributor Panyaden International School
Topics electricity, listening, Mindfulness, movement, observation, samadhi, sati, science, senses, touch
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Details
| Lesson Plan: The Plasma Ball | Grade level: 4-6; Age range: 9-11 |
| Time: 1 hour | Tasks: Listening mindfully, moving mindfully, looking mindfully, and discussing the differences. |
Summary
The students will be led to do some movements and describe how they feel. They will look at and then touch a plasma ball one by one and then describe how they feel. They will listen to some soft music and describe how they feel. They will sit in silence and describe how they feel.
Learning targets
To discuss several different ways to practice sati and samadhi and the benefits and distractions of each method.
Activity
- The students stand in a semi-circle.
- The leader makes small movements and the students mirror the leader.
- A few students discuss how they used sati and samadhi.
- Discuss what mindfulness is and how to get it back when you lose it.
- The students sit in the semi-circle and observe the plasma ball.
- Focus on the movement of the electricity.
- One by one, students can come and touch it.
- Discuss when one has mindfulness; when do you need it and why?
- Discuss what mindfulness is and how to get it back when you lose it.
- The students sit in the semi-circle, close their eyes, and listen to soft music.
- Ask them if they had any thoughts while listening; what were those thoughts?
- Ask if that is mindfulness.
- Discuss what mindfulness is and how to get it back when you lose it.
- The students sit in the semi-circle and close their eyes.
- Ask them if they had any thoughts while sitting; what were those thoughts?
- Ask if that is mindfulness.
- Discuss what mindfulness is and how to get it back when you lose it.
- Discuss when they had the most mindfulness.
- Discuss which was their favorite activity.
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About The Contributor
Panyaden International School
Panyaden is a holistic preschool and primary school in Chiang Mai, Thailand, integrating Buddhist values, green practices and a bilingual education with the British curriculum.