Spatial Requirements: Classroom with moderate space required
Activity Type: Movement/group 
Grades: 3-12
Group Size: 2 or more
Time: 5 minutes

Introduction: Achieving the goal of higher education requires desire, time, and effort.  In the end, however, the rewards are well worth it. Statistics show that the more education a person acquires, the higher their average salary will be following graduation. The purpose of this activity is to instill in students a sense of the importance of education.  They will learn that while higher education requires greater desire, time and effort, it brings great rewards in the end.

Materials: 

• 3 large paper bags per team
• 3 pieces of letter-size paper per team
• 1 roll of masking tape
• 1 pair of scissors
• Markers
  
  

Activity:

Cut the tops of the large paper bags until they are about six inches tall.  Divide the group into teams of five, and have them crumple their three pieces of paper into balls.  Make a line on the floor with masking tape. Put one bag five feet away from this line, the second bag seven feet away, and the third bag ten feet away. These distances may vary depending on age group. Label the first bag “high school,” the second one “additional schooling,” and the third one “college degree.”  Shooting a ball into the high school bag awards the team 100 points; additional schooling gives 500, and the faraway college degree bag is worth 2000 points.

Each team member will be allowed three shots at landing a paper ball into one of the three bags.  When a team member finishes their turn, they collect the paper balls, hand them over to the next player, and move to the back of the line.  Allow the teams one practice round before the official scoring round begins.  You may also repeat with one more scoring round to see if the students improve their score or change their choices.  When the final round is complete, have each team report their final score.

Processing the Experience:

• Which bag did you aim for?
• Did shooting farther become easier after practice?
• Why were the bags worth more as the distance increased?
• Do you think with enough desire, time and effort that we could all make it into the third paper bag?
• Does this same principle apply in the real world?  
• What are some things that would make higher education difficult?  How can you overcome those obstacles?
• Besides money, what are some other reasons that education is important?