Overview
Have you ever wondered what level of “being ready” is truly required to be successful?
You study for tests, you prepare for the presentation, you’ve done all the work… but are you still ready? In many cases, you only get one shot to get it right so getting the readiness wrong, can change everything. The Toaster will help you get the readiness right.
- Your students will engage in a fast-paced exercise to help increase their alertness.
- Students will be challenged to explore varying levels of readiness
- Students will walk away with a new heightened sense of awareness about their daily readiness.
"As we were preparing for our North Carolina State Basketball Championship we did the Toaster exercise with our guys the week leading up to the game, as well as the morning of our game. It got the kids locked-in and made they were fully-ready for the game."
State Champion Varsity High School Boys Basketball Coach
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Lesson Plan
Teaching Tip
Listen closely as you go through the exercise for any student who wants another shot or wishes they could run it back. If you don’t hear it, you can prompt this lesson by asking “Who wishes they could run it back one more time?”
Everyone will say yes.
Student Growth Areas
Exercise Length
Language Guide
Toast
When you lose or are eliminated with no opportunity for a do-over or to “run it back”
Additional Resources
Exercise Reminder Card
To emphasize and reinforce the lessons learned in this exercise with your players, download and share this graphic with them 24 hours after completing the exercise.
Exercise Slides
Powerpoint slides ready for you to use
Quiz Questions
Use these questions below to engage after you have taught the exercise.
- What does it take to be “fully” ready?
- Leaders are so ready the first time, they don’t _______________.
- How can you develop the skill of “quick-thinking?”
Teacher Reflection
Take a moment to reflect on the lesson and how you can lead by example to your students.
Are your students at the level of ready success required? How confident are you in your student’s ability to think quickly and rise to the occasion? If you’re not fully confident, spend some time reflecting on what it will take to get your students to that le
Special Assignment
News Flash: Assign each student or group of students a current news article. They must summarize the article and present it to the class in a brief "news flash" style, requiring them to think quickly and concisely.