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Introduction

Congratulations on your Ultra OnBoard purchase. This product provides students with a unique way to test their balancing skills, teamwork skills and more. This guide is specifically designed to help you and your students get the most from your Ultra OnBoard.

Activities

Boat Rescue
Scenario For Students: Your team is caught on a sinking ship in shark infested waters. The Coast Guard has been notified of your situation and they have sent a rescue ship. By staying out of the water, the sharks will stay away. Hang on until you�re rescued.

The Challenge: The entire group must fit on the Ultra OnBoards. When you begin this activity, provide all 3 platforms for the group. When the group starts, the challenge is relatively easy. After they succeed, take away the smallest platform and have the group try again. Keep making the area smaller and smaller (the boat keeps sinking). The largest platform measures 2 feet by 2 feet and can hold 15 adults who are working really well together.

Rules: Everyone must be touching the platform(s) in some way. The group must stay on the platform for the length of time it takes them to sing one round of �Row, Row, Row Your Boat.� During the song no one can touch the ground. Should anyone violate this rule, the entire group must retry that attempt.

Safety: Do not allow participants to pile up or get on each other�s backs or shoulders. These methods usually result in injury. Also, remember to council the group to not fall on top of each other. Always spot the group.

Variations: Instead of providing the group with a large platform (all 3 platforms put together) that becomes progressively smaller and smaller, provide the group with a small area at the beginning.

Have the group cross an imaginary river using the platforms as �stepping stones.� Make the distance the group travels great enough so the group must use the platforms multiple times. Do not allow anyone to cross back until there is no one left on the side from which they started. This rule forces the team to squeeze onto the platforms and work together.

Teachable Moments: As the size of the platforms gets smaller, the group usually goes through a period where they don�t believe they can fit in such a small area. It�s only through creative thinking and hard work that the group is able to solve this challenge.

Use this activity to lead into a discussion about what�s �impossible.� When something is viewed as impossible, it�s usually because of the limiting beliefs someone holds. An example of this might include beliefs from several centuries ago that held that the world is flat. Often times, the only thing limiting us is our beliefs. If a person believes something is possible, they will take different action than if they believe it to be impossible. What did the student group have to believe in order to be successful?

The following mini activity is a prelude to a discussion on the concept of failure. As the group solves each challenge, you make the useable platform gradually smaller. The group will get to a point where the challenge is greater than their ability to solve it in the given amount of time. Now, ask them if their inability to solve it means they�re a failure. You will find that some people in the group have rules for themselves that make failure easy to achieve. For example, �In order for me to fail, all I have to know is that I didn�t complete a given task.� Others in the group will have rules that make failure hard to achieve. For example, �In order for me to fail, I must not learn anything. As long as I learn something, I have succeeded.� Ask the students: Which rules around failure serve you best?

An example to point out to your students may be that Babe Ruth, the famous baseball home run hitter and hall-of-famer, also held a record for having the most strikeouts in a season.

Clock Works
Set-Up: Lay out all 3 platforms as shown in figure #1. The spacing between platforms should be approximately 2 feet. A group of 10 to 15 students finds a spot on one of the platforms so that no one on the team is touching the ground. Note: Do not allow students to pile on top of each other or get on each other�s backs or shoulders.

The Challenge: The group must travel in a clockwise direction, stepping from one platform to the next. The group is successful once everyone is back at the square from which they started.

The Rules:

1. No one may touch the ground. If anyone touches the ground, a penalty must be served. Examples of penalties: That person goes back to their original square to start over again OR that person is blindfolded OR the group can�t verbally communicate with that person for 2 minutes OR the entire group must start over.
2. The group may not use any other resources (chairs, clothing, etc.).
3. The platforms cannot be moved. Safety must be observed at all times.
4. No jumping from platform to platform, only stepping is allowed.

Variation: Have half the group travel in a clockwise direction and the other half travel in a counter clockwise direction.

Island Hopping

Set-Up: Additional equipment needed: One 2" x 4" board measuring 4' in length and 2 sections of rope measuring 10 feet in length.

Create 2 imaginary �river banks� with 2 sections of rope. Arrange the 3 Ultra OnBoards^TM in the river as shown in figure #2. The distance between each of the 3 Ultra OnBoards should be 3 feet and 6 inches. The river banks should also be set 3 feet and 6 inches apart.

The Challenge: The group must cross the imaginary river, which is filled with sharks, alligators and other dangerous elements. The only supplies students have are a 2" x 4" board measuring 4' long.

The Rules:

1. No member of the team may touch the river. If someone touches the river, the whole team must start over.
2. If the supplied board touches the river, everyone must start again.
3. The river bank and Ultra OnBoards cannot be moved.
4. The board may not be thrown. It can be safely handed (passed) from person to person.
5. The river bank from where the team started must be vacant before anyone can step on to the other river bank.
6. No one may jump on to a platform or river bank.
7. Only the supplied equipment may be used.
8. Violation of a rule may result in a penalty.