D.R.E.A.M.S.

A Handbook for Facilitators

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Preface....................................................................4
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Overview................................................................8
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Getting Started......................................................14
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DREAMS in Action................................................18
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Legend....................................................................24
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Strengths................................................................28
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Web of Support.....................................................32
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Reality.....................................................................36
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Dream Feathers.....................................................40
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Symbol....................................................................44
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Final Touches.........................................................47
Table of Contents
Before there were DREAMS, there were MAPS.
Project KiLs DREAMS process is deeply indebted to Inclusion Press MAPS (Making Acton
Plans), a type of person-centered planning originally developed for people with disabilites.
During the MAPS process, a group of supportve adults come together with an individual
to focus on them, and support them and their dreams for their future. MAPS identfes
opportunites for the focus person to develop personal relatonships, partcipate in their
community, increase control over their own lives, and develop the skills and abilites they need
to achieve their goals.
Almost as soon as we were introduced to MAPS, we at Project KiL recognized the potental
impact of the process for our boys. MAPS complements multple scales of the Devereaux
Student Strengths Assessment (DESSA), as well as the Social Emotonal Learning (SEL)
quadrants, and principals of culturally responsive teaching and pedagogy. One of the key
aspects of MAPS is a recogniton of the social reality of ignorance, prejudice, and discriminaton
which keeps many people from taking their rightul place in community life. For MAPS
partcipants, this may mean disabled adults, but it also includes Alaska Natve and American
Indian male students. Person-centered planning asserts that this reality will only change when
people and communites take acton together to change it, and the MAPS process itself is put
forward as a challenge to these barriers to partcipaton. It discloses the capacites and gifs of
the focus person, refects what is important to them, now and for the future, and insists that
they have real opportunites to contribute to the life of their communites (and beneft from
their contributons in turn).
Preface
How DREAMS came to be
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Alaska Natve and American
Indian male students currently
perform the lowest on stands
based assessents out of all
gender and ethnic groups
in the Anchorage School
District. They contnue to
face unique challenges that
ofen go unrecognized, or are
misunderstood by the Western
educaton model. These include
confictng learning styles,
prohibitve socioeconomic
factors, damaging prejudices,
and persistant legacies of generatonal trauma, which obstruct parents from being strong
advocates and deter students from reaching their full potental. We knew that Project KiL boys
could unqiuely beneft from a dedicated tme for their families, teachers, and other caring adults
to come together and focus on him and his future. Creatng goals gives our boys responsibility
for their own learning, and visualizing the steps to reach them teaches that efectve efort leads
to achievement. We recognized that utlizing MAPS, or a similar process, could help us begin to
turn around the defciency thinking and negatve trends too ofen associated with Alaska Natve
and American Indian students, one boy at a tme.
From MAPS to DREAMS
However, there were key elements that were missing from the MAPS process. MAPS are not
targeted toward Alaska Natve boys; they are not
clearly culturally responsive, and are not gender
specifc, or designed with boys in mind. We knew
that with a few tweaks, we could really make
the person-centered planning experience life-
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A Project KiL family afer completng their DREAMS.
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changing, and afrming, for Project KiL students..
Our frst step was to create a template for the process. Although the creators of MAPS are
adamant they will not create a MAPS template, in our work with elementary-age boys, having
a graphic representaton on hand has proven to be an immensely useful tool for both cognitve
and artstc organizaton. It helps the boys to visualize the process, as well as guide their goal-
setng. The dreamcatcher is a highly symbolic Ojibwe design which complements the intent of
the overall DREAMS process (for more informaton, see Overview). We also added traditonal
Alaska Natve values as a border to the graphic to remind all present of the boys culture and
heritage, and to encourage him to incorporate these ideals into his vision for his future. We
have tailored the process itself to be partcularly suited for the actve learning styles of boys,
and to fuse with his identty as an Alaska Natve male.
So far, Project KiLs team has completed over 400 DREAMS processes with our students, and
the feedback from families has been overwhelming. Our own dream is that these pages will
encourage you, as a facilitator or parent, to actvate this process with your own student, and
equip you with the tools you need to be successful.
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Overview
An introduction to DREAMS
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What is Project KiL?
Project KiL (Denaina Athabascan for boy) is a three-year demonstraton grant (2011-2014) from
the Alaska Natve Educaton Equity program. We serve over 500 Alaska Natve and American
Indian boys in preschool through 5th grade by providing targeted cultural and social-emotonal
learning (SEL) services. In the Anchorage School District, and school districts across the country,
Alaska Natve and American Indian (AN/AI) boys score lowest on standardized tests than any
other gender or ethnic group, and dropout rates are the highest. The goals of Project Kil are
to turn around these negatve trends, narrow the achievement gap, and create more culturally
inclusive environments within the Anchorage School District that will equip our boys with
the tools and resources they need to excel. We do this by afrming their identty through the
celebraton of Natve values and traditons, and by supportng parents, community members,
and educators as they strive to meet their unique needs.
We accomplish this through several means, including Family Nights, biweekly Club KiL meetngs
featuring Alaska Natve and American Indian presenters, and professional development
for school staf which encourages culturally responsive educatonal practces and teaching
strategies. One of our most popular actvites, however, contnues to be our DREAMS process.
What is the purpose of DREAMS?
DREAMS are a casual conversaton about a boys hopes, dreams and goals which involve their
support network of family, friends, and teachers. It is also an artstc process, helping boys to
refect visually on what is important in their life presently, and how they can reach a desired
future. By graphically mapping their expectatons for themselves, each boy, and his supporters,
enact a constructed and goal-oriented future, helping guide him to informed choices about how
he wants to live as a contributng community member. Not only that, but we learn how Project
KiL, the Anchorage School District, and the wider community can best assist him on his journey.
Why do we draw DREAMS instead of writing them?
Recording and sharing images uses more of our brains. When we endeavor to record the images
in our words, we create a record that will let us recall some of the rich tapestry of the original
experience. When we fnd an image that clicks, it is the hot buton to the full memory, thus
our recall improves dramatcally. Research on memory aids has recommended simple image
memory hooks for the past 2,500 years. This is especially true for boys, who tend to be more
visual-spatal learners than girls.
It is important to understand that DREAMS are not about art so much as communicaton. We
dont think and dream in words. Our nightmares are not bound by words. Language is at best a
very limited representaton of the full color, surround sound images in our minds.
The DREAMS graphic
As you review the DREAMS template, you will notce
that the graphic itself is in the form of a dreamcatcher.
Dreamcatchers are a widely-recognized (and some would
argue, commercialized) Natve American symbol, but
they have a very specifc purpose.
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Dreamcatchers originated with the Ojibwe people. According to Ojibwe legend, Asibikaashi
(Spider Woman) took care of the people of the land in the beginning. As people began to spread
out, it became more difcult for her to reach all of her children. So mothers and grandmothers
began to weave their children supernatural webs, using willow hoops and sinew. These webs
would flter out the bad dreams and only allow good dreams and thoughts to enter their minds.
This is the essence of our intenton for the DREAMS process. We want to challenge defciency
thinking, and encourage boys to develop positve and vibrant goals for their futures.
You will also notce there are traditonal Natve values bordering the template. Throughout the
DREAMS process, we want boys to be reminded of their family, heritage, and culture, and the
ways in which these shape and enhance their vision of themselves and their future. These also
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serve as wonderful tools for ignitng a boys
verbalizaton of his identty, his strengths,
and his narratve trajectory.
In additon, we have integrated Project
KiLs superhero theme into the template.
The Project K superhero incorporates
elements from many diferent Alaska
Natve cultures, so that each of our boys
are able to recognize a part of their own
heritage in him. Our superhero imagery
also encourages boys to see themselves in
superhero verbiage: as strong, bold, and
capable of efectng positve change in their
communites.
You will see four quadrants inside the hoop,
or web, of the dreamcatcher. These four
quadrants each have a specifc purpose,
encouraging the boy to refect on his
personal history, identty, strengths and weaknesses, obstacles in his life and how to overcome
them, and most importantly, how he can enact his dreams for the future. We will look at these
quadrants separately. The dreams themselves are enumerated using the feathers at the botom
of the graphic, with steps to ataining them illustrated along the strings which atach them. It is
important for you to move through the DREAMS process in order.
Legend: This is about the boy and his story.
Strengths: These are the things the boy is really good at. All adults present should share
what they believe are the boys skills and positve characteristcs.
Dreams: This is where the boy begins thinking about his future. For example, what he wants
to be when he grows up, places he wants to visit, and how he wants to be as a man.
Reaching Your Dreams: These are the actons that the boy needs to take in order to realize
his dreams and goals.
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An example of a completed DREAM.
Web of Support: These are the people the boy can ask for help.
Reality: This is where the boy thinks about things that may keep him from reaching his
deams; things he may want to avoid.
Symbol: A picture that represents the boy and his identty.
Your role as a DREAMS facilitator
There are two kinds of facilitators who are involved in the DREAMS process:
The Process Facilitator engages students and partcipants, and looks afer tme and pace
while assistng the boy through the steps and questons.
The Illustrator captures the boys words and images on paper and ofers them occasional
summaries of the work, helping them to identfy emergent themes that unify the process.
During the DREAMS process, both facilitators will constantly listen underneath what the boy is
saying, and probe for images of his ideal future. Your job is to transport him out of the present
and into the dream of his future.
Situatons or experiences recalled during the DREAMS process may generate high emoton,
and each boy needs a guide they can trust, and who can deal constructvely with feelings of
pain, fear, and anger. These feelings are not the goal, but as a facilitator, you must be able to
encourage them to face these feelings and learn from them rather than fee from them.
As a facilitator, your job is to:
Build a capacity view and a rich vision for the childs future
Challenge defciency thinking
Raise expectatons
Gather people who care and can act
Listen respectully to understand the whole child
Search for possibilites by describing history and current realites
Create and share vivid and powerful images of desirable futures
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Getting Started
Preparing for a DREAMS Process
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Participation
First, DREAMS must be voluntary for each boy. Forcing him to partcipate is contrary to the
purpose. The process should bring together a number of caring adults in the boys life, including
parents, family members, teachers, or community members who play a signifcant role for
him. As a facilitator, you will probably already know the child well enough to understand who
you should invite, but if not, ask the boy about adults he respects, or with whom he spends
signifcant tme.
Try to limit the number of people you invite to three or four. Any more and the process may
become too complicated.
Supplies to have on hand
DREAMS do not require any special equipment to complete, and Project KiL will provide you
with the DREAMS template. However, there are a few things to have on hand that will make the
process easier. If you need assistance in acquiring these supplies, please contact Project KiL. We
would be happy to help!
Water soluble colored markers (in case someone gets marker on their hands or clothes)
Crayons - you can use these to shade afer you have fnished your work with markers.
Masking tape to hold the DREAMS graphic on the wall (other kinds of tape may take part
of the wall with them when you decide to take the graphic down). Remember to hang two
layers of paper to avoid bleeding.
Setting the Tone
DREAMS should always be completed in a relaxed and informal atmosphere. The goal is to make
everyone involved, and especially the boy, feel comfortable and safe expressing themselves.
Here a few things you can do to encourage this:
Minimize interruptons by asking everyone to turn of their cell phones.
Make sure cofee, tea, water, juice, and/or light snacks are available.
Atach the DREAMS template to open wall space where all involved can comfortably see it
sitng in a semicircle.
Supply comfortable seatng arrangements and ensure the space is large enough for all
partcipants.
Set a clear tme commitment of two hours, without adults running in and out of the room
for phone calls or other maters. It is important for the boy to understand how much this
tme is valued.
General Guidelines
Finally, some guidelines to keep in mind before you
embark on your frst DREAMS facilitaton:
Try to complete a DREAMS process yourself before
you facilitate one with a student. This will give you
a clearer understanding of the process, as well as a
clearer vision of your own future.
Keepin mind that DREAMS are a graphic record.
Graphics are not just add-ons, but an essental
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component. Although labeling is allowed, do not give in to the temptaton to simply write
things out.
Address each secton of the template in order. The experience will not be a true DREAMS
process if the facilitators skip over essental components or juggle the order. The steps can
have fair, zing, and be personalized, but the steps must be followed.

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DREAMS in Action
How to realize your first DREAMS
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First Steps
Afer everyone has arrived and is comfortably seated, begin by going over the agreements.
Emphasize that that this area is a safe space, and everyone shouold feel comfortable expressing
themselves. Explain that you are here for the boy in queston, and all adults must commit to two
hours without interrupton.
Then you can ask everyone to introduce themselves. Begin by asking Who is here? How does
each person relate to [boys name]? Demonstrate by introducing yourself frst. If you dont
know peoples names, and/or if the partcipants dont know each other, ask each person to
make a colorful, readable name tag for someone else in the group.
Embarking on a DREAM
Next, orient everyone to the idea that DREAMS is a process which begins with this meetng, and
briefy explain the quadrants. It may be helpful to physically move people out of their seats.
Ask people to close their eyes and envision their hopes and dreams for the boy present. Invite
people to touch parts of the paper that represent the diferent topics.
As you begin to move through the quadrants and ask questons, listen for key images (theirs,
not yours) in the boys story. Do not leap to draw too quickly. If it is a key image, it is likely worth
checking with the boy before you commit
your idea to paper. Dont get in the way -
the graphic is the key component, but it
should help move things along and not be a
distracton.
Begin to listen in colors. Diferent moods,
emotons, statements can be expressed as
much even beter in colors than in words.
For example, red and black in combinaton
are full of energy, but are ofen foreboding,
dark, and angry. Greens and browns will
tend to be warmer, homier, down to earth,
and nature. It is a very good idea to ask the
boy what colors he likes - and the color of
specifc images when you are recording for
him.
Strike a balance of checking key images. If
you have no idea what the image looks like,
ask. This is not getng in the way, it demonstrates you are listening. If you are unsure, ask if its
okay to draw your image idea and see what works for him. Ofen when you present an idea, it is
rejected, but it sparks them to be clearer. Get their input.
Remember to involve the boy in the process and in their graphic. Give them ownership. It is for
them, not for you. Encourage him to choose key colors.
Beter yet, get him to draw some of the key images - if he
chooses.
The more colorful, bright, personal, and mult-
dimensional a DREAM is, the beter! Add texture to the
graphic. Add objects, photographs, graft, cut pictures
from magazines, pastels, oils - there are no limits to
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A Project KiL boy illustratng his DREAM.
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making the graphic passionate, alive, and full of energy. For DREAMS to be a catalyst, they must
be bold and beautful in their process and graphic facilitaton.
Thoughtful questions for process facilitators
Efectve facilitaton creates shared meaning. Thoughtul use of questons can help the boy and
his supporters grow more clear about what they mean by important words and deepen their
appreciaton of what they want to create together. Asking these questons usually slows things
down, allowing the group to gather and focus energy around a central issue. These questons
represent diferent phrasings of What does that look like?.
To build involvement and accuracy, ask questons like:
What color do you want that to be?
What does that look like?
Where (point or circle a space on the paper) do you want that image?
What does that go next to?
You want to see _______________. Would that be _______________, _______________, or
_______________, or how would that be? For example, You see people in a circle. Are they
close together, or holding hands, or how would they be?
Is there any detail we could add that would make the image come alive for you?
In response to a story or the expression of a key idea or value, ask questons like:
What is at the heart of that for you?
What is especially important to you about that?
What images arise from the story?
How do we turn those words into a picture?
What could capture that in pictures?
How could we depict that so you will be able to remember all that it means for you?
If you closed your eyes and imagined looking at a TV screen that could show you this
happening, what would you see?
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To test connectons with earlier contributons and images, ask queston like:
What does that connect to? Should we draw the connecton with an arrow by putng a
circle around them by shading them the same color
Who else might be there with you?
We heard you menton _______________ several tmes, do you want to menton
_______________ there too?
_______________ were important to you over here (point), does that show up here in any
way? For example, Being able to see and hear the waves was really important here. Should
there be anything about waves here?
To test and see if it is tme to make a transiton to the next step, ask questons like:
If you could have one more image, what would it be?
Look at what weve put here, does it capture what you mean?
Lets translate the images back into a summary in words. Does that say what you mean?
To bridge between a descripton of a desired future and a strategy for getng there, ask
questons like:
What happened to change that?
What was your part in making that happen?
Who helped you make that happen?
What were your very frst steps?
Encouragement for illustrators
The overwhelming majority of us drew on everything in sight when we were children. If you can
put away your learned inhibitons (I cant do this, Ill look silly/childish, etc.) you may even
discover this is fun!
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Dont worry about what others
will think or how youve seen
someone elses graphics look.
If you do your best, no one
can ask for more. Dont worry
about perfecton. If you capture
peoples ideas and images
accurately, the degree of artstc
perfecton is almost irrelevant.
Detailed imagery can actually
get in the way. If your imagery
is too detailed, it can overpower
peoples memories. What
we are looking for is a trigger to their memory. If your picture is too detailed or prety, it can
become the centerpiece rather than the memory trigger.
You dont need three dimensions, perspectve, or even shadows to draw powerful images that
communicate clearly. Most drawing over thousands of years didnt use perspectve (think of
pictographs on caves and pyramids - those drawings stll tell powerful stories). You do not need
to be fancy to be a clear communicator. For example, ground items and create boundaries
with a line or two. Or create a sense of moton or acton with a few litle speed lines.
Lines and shapes
There are only two kinds of lines - curved and straight. There are only three basic shapes in
everything that has ever been drawn: squares, triangles, and circles. All other shapes are
combinatons of these basic forms.
Some easy-to-draw human forms include:
Heart people
Ghost people
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Boys working together on a DREAM project.
Stck fgures
Star people:
Before you begin, it is helpful to have a wide array of empty formats in your head to help you
capture and record the informaton carefully and efciently. These can include:
Agendas in a list format
Brainstorms using lists or clusters of ideas
Timelines or circular and spiral forms for stories

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Legend
First quadrant
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What is a Legend?
The Legend is the frst quadrant of the dreamcatcher on the DREAMS graphic. The goal of the
Legend is to encourage the boy to explore his personal history and identty, and to verbalize his
own understanding of who he is.
We chose to name this quadrant Legend for two reasons. In popular culture, a legend is a
traditonal story that tells of the way things came to be. This is what we want to capture in the
Legend quadrant: the story of how the boy came to be who he is. Legend can also refer to an
famous or notorious person. We want all of our boys to see themselves as unqiue and full of
potental - the potental to be a Legend!
Some of the questons may include:
What is your story? What are two or three stories from your life that are important to you?
What are some things you like to do? What are sports you like to play?
Who are the people that are important to you?
Where do you like to go? Are there any places that are important or hold a special meaning
for you?
What food do you like to eat?
Who are your friends? What do you do together?
Once youve covered the basics, you can go deeper by asking the boy about his culture and
heritage, or his familys traditons.
Where is your family from?
What language(s) does your family speak?
Tell me about your heritage and culture.
What are some of your family traditons?
The Legend builds a foundaton for the rest of the DREAMS process. Family members and other
present adults may have lots to contribute to this secton, or be able to prompt the boy with
things he hasnt thought of.
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SEL Competencies
Social Awareness
Social awareness is includes the ability to
recognize family, school, and community
resources and supports. While completng the
Legend quadrant of DREAMS, boys verbalize
their story in terms of family, school, and
community.
Relatonship Skills
Relatonship skills include the ability to
establish and maintain health and rewarding
relatonships with diverse individuals and
groups. While completng their legend,
students refect on the relatonships they have
developed with those around them in their
family and community.
Alaskas Cultural Standards
Incorporatng diferent ways of knowing
The DREAMS mapping process incorporates
AN/AI cultural values both graphically and
verbally during the facilitaton process.
DREAMS also acknowledge the traditonal
knowledge a student brings with them from
their cultural heritage.
Apply cultural values and integrate examples
and actvites
The facilitator invites the student
to share their own stories,
and is then heard retelling
them accurately.
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Strengths
Second quadrant
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What is the Strengths quadrant?
This is the second quadrant of the dreamcatcher. Strengths is an opportunity to enumerate
the positve atributes, skills, and abilites of the student.
Explain to the boy that the Strengths secton is a space for everyone to say what they think he
is good at. You may want to ask him about school subjects, or ways he helps out at home and in
his community where he feels partcularly strong. Ask parents and family members where they
see their son excelling and making a positve diference in the lives of others. Ask teachers and
school staf where they see the boy making a positve contributon to his school and community.
Some of the questons may include:
What do you think you are good at? What are sports or classes where you feel you perform
well?
What do your parents and family members say you are good at?
What do your friends tell you you are good at?
In what subjects do your teachers praise you ofen?
It is important to also focus on aspects of the students culture where he partcularly excels. Try
to incorporate Natve values as much as possible when completng the Strengths secton of the
graphic. Make sure everyone partcipatng in the process is able to share what they believe are
some of the boys best qualites.
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SEL Competencies
Self-awareness
Self-awareness includes the ability to
accurately assess ones strengths and
limitatons while possessing a well-grounded
sense of confdence and optmism. While
commpletng the Strengths quadrant,
the boy enumerates his own positve
atributes, including academic achievements,
cultural heritage, and indigenous values he
exemplifes.
Alaskas Cultural Standards
Recognizing the full potental of each student
Once the stakeholders in the mapping process
recognize where the student is strong, they are
able to challenge them to make the most of
their talents and skills.
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Web of Support
Third quadrant
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What is a Web of Support?
The Web of Support quadrant allows boys and their supporters to verbalize where they can go
for support. It is imperatve that the boy understands there are people in his life who care about
him, and are ready and able to help them in their pursuit of their dreams. While completng
this quadrant, the boy should be reminded that it is normal to ask for help, even as he matures.
Family, friends, school staf are usually listed here, but community members and organizatons
may also be included.
Some of the questons may include:
Who are people you trust and can ask for help?
What has to be in place for the people here to support your dream?
Who are people that support you and want you to do your best?
Because we want our boys to dream big, we also need them to know that there is a network
of people who can help him achieve his goals for himself. Even as adults our dreams can
sometmes be overwhelming or scary if what we want to achieve is out of our comfort zone.
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SEL Competencies
Social Awareness
Social awareness is includes the ability to
recognize family, school, and community
resources and supports. The Web of Support
quadrant helps boys visualize where they can
go for support, including supportve adults in
their family, school, and community.
Relatonship Skills
Relatonship skills include the ability to
establish and maintain health and rewarding
relatonships with diverse individuals and
groups. While completng their Web of Supprt,
students refect on the relatonships they have
developed with those around them in their
family and community.
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Reality
Fourth quadrant
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What is Reality?
The fourth quadrant is the boys Reality. This is where you will encourage him to think about
the things that could potentally keep him from reaching his dream. Depending on the boys age
and self-awareness level, this quadrant is ofen the hardest for students to process, so refer to a
students dreams for themselves and the ways they are going to reach those dreams.
Some of the questons may include:
What are some things that could get in the way of you (being a soldier, traveling to Africa,
designing a skyscraper, etc.)?
What are the things that might be bad for your mind or body, that would make it harder for
you to reach your dreams?
What are some unhealthy habits that might get in the way of your dreams?
Dont just focus on stumbling blocks, however. The goal of the DREAMS process is to challenge
defciency thinking, not reinforce it! The Reality quadrant can also a space to highlight some of
the boys opportunites for growth and development. These can be both general and specifc.
For example, I will watch less TV, or I will study harder in math. Encourage the boy to refect
and verbalize his own goals.
SEL Competencies
Relatonship Skills
Relatonship skills include the ability to
establish and maintain health and rewarding
relatonships with diverse individuals and
groups. While completng the Reality
quadrant students learn to resist inappropriate
social pressure, a prevalent stumbling block for
students in the Project KiL age range.
Responsible Decision-making
Responsible decision-making is the ability
to make constructve and respectul
choices about personal behavior and social
interactons based on consideraton of ethical
standards, safety concerns, social norms, the
realistc evaulaton of consequences of various
actons, and the well-being of self and others.
While completng the Reality quadrant, boys
examine obstacles in their life and strategize
ways to overcome them, making constructve
choices about their personal behavior and
social interactons
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Dream Feathers
Dream big!
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What are Dream Feathers?
Dream Feathers are where the boy begins to think about his future, major goals like what he
wants to be when he grows up, places he wants to visit, things he wants to achieve as a man.
The boy may choose a dream to be represented by each feather. Ideally, he should be guided
towards goals which result in high school graduaton, college, a career or trade.
Some of the questons may include:
What do you want to be when you grow up?

Some students may fnd it difcult to envision a future this far in advance. As a frst step,
it may be easier to encourage the boy to think about the jobs his family or community
members hold and he may be interested in.
What places would you like to visit?
If this is a difcult queston, ask the boy to refect on a place theyve seen on TV, or
studied in a class that has piqued their interest.
The space around each of the feathers (the string leading from the feathers to the rest of the
dreamcatcher) is used to document specifc steps that the student can go through to reach his
i
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dream.
Begin with the frst dream the student identfed. Ask him about the things he would need to do
in order to reach this specifc dream, or what needs to be in place for his dream to come true.
For example, you may prompt him about who will pay for the trip they want to take. This would
in turn lead to the step of fnding a job and earning enough money. Or ask what they need to
achieve before they can enroll in college (e.g., graduate from high school). Contnue with the
second and third dreams in the same manner.
page 39
SEL Competencies
Self-management
Self-management is the ability to regulate
ones emotons, thoughts, and behaviors
efectvely in diferent situatons. This includes
managing stress, controlling impulses,
motvatng oneself, and setng and working
toward achieving personal and academic goals.
The feathers of the DREAMS graphic represent
dreams or goals which the boy has for himself,
and the tes leading from the dreamcatcher to
the feathers represent a space for the boy to
visualize how he will achieve them.
Alaskas Cultural Standards
Recognizing the full potental of each student
Encouraging students to verbalize their
dreams for themselves and helping them to
think constructvely about the steps needed
to achieve them not only recognizes the full
potental of each student, but challenges them
to achieve that potental.
Work closely with parents to achieve
complementary educatonal expectatons
While this describes the entre DREAMS
process, Dream Feathers in partcular are a
wonderful opportunity to align educator and
family expectatons for the
boy and his future
goals
Symbol
Dream big!
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page 41
What are Dream Feathers?
The Symbol is an opportunity for the boy to refect on his best characteristc. It may be helpful
to explain the symbol using the imagery of Superhero logos. Drawing from the Strengths
quadrant of the graphic, ask the boy to think about his favorite color, shape, animal, or actvity.
When he thinks about himself, what comes to mind?
Younger students may have a difcult tme conceptualizing this. You can use the Project KiL
logo at the botom of the DREAMS graphic to help guide them to the understanding that
symbols can represent an organizaton, business, or person. Explain to the boy that the symbol
represents them in such a way that if we were to see the symbol somewhere outside, we would
immediately know it was referring to them.
Some of the questons may include:
If you could be a superhero, what symbol or picture would you have on the front of your
costume? (E.g., spider for Spiderman, bat for Batman).
What symbol or picture best describes you?
Try to focus the symbol on something representatve of the boys personality trait. For example,
a bear for courage, or an eagle for leadership.
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page 42
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Final Touches
Making DREAMS Come True
k
page 44
When the DREAMS process is complete...
Once the exploraton phase fnishes and promising directons emerge, raising the queston of
acton raises the odds that something good will happen. These questons are all variatons of,
So, what are you going to do next?
Some of the questons you may ask the boy include:
When will you do that for the frst tme?
Whats the very frst step?
Who is going to help you do that?
When are you going to ask them for help?
What words are you going to say to ask for help?
Will you have to stop doing anything in order to make that happen?
Some of the questons you may ask the group include:
What could you to tomorrow?
What actons or agreements can we make? Who will agree to do that, by when in order to
strengthen the childs dream?
What is the next step? What will we do within 24 hours?
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