Hello I am a CDT and my FS has chosen me to lead an activity during first parade in 2 weeks he says I can do whatever I want with the whole squadron, however I do not have many ideas, I would like to do something that stands out, as I am competing for CPL with 3 other cadets (this is not a speculation, this is what we have been informed) I really could use some ideas as I do not really have any. Any and all suggestions are much appreciated, I am willing to answer any questions. Many thx
First:
What do you know?
What do you enjoy?
Have you got any knowledge or skills from outside cadets?
I’m so sorry this took so long, I had forgotten the login, to answer your questions, I enjoy flying and shooting the most, I know a lot of things both cadet related and non, I have first aid qualifications but a first aid activity has already been taken
I should have asked how many cadets you’re planning for (and I’m going to guess it’s for a single session of maybe 40 minutes?)…
Pick a topic you know really well and that you can make engaging and interactive.
The formats below might be useful to consider (for anybody else reading, if you disagree that’s fine, but in my mind this is ideal for a first-time-out capability display that shows multiple skills). What I won’t do here is a full “presentation skills” guide.
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If you want to do a lesson:
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Come up with 2 or 3 meaningful learning points that you want to get across in a presentation
** Aim your content at the lowest level of knowledge in the room - my understanding is that this is about your ability to lead a session, not try to cater for everybody. -
Think of a relevant activity or activities that you can do to practice or consolidate those learning points
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Aim for a ratio of 50:10:40 for your content, activity set up and brief, and activity.
**(There are other methods, but this keeps it simple for your first session, minimises your presenting time, and maximises your engagement and activity time - it should help you plan and then stay disciplined during your session) -
Plan your content and prep your activity.
**Write some bullet point notes for each point you are going to discuss. Go over in your head/talk to the mirror/cat/dog/hamster/catdog… however you want to rehearse IN FULL, using your notes to prompt your speech.
A suitable lesson template would be:
Introduction (10% maximum)
State the topic and your learning objectives, and how long it will be. Tell your audience whether you will accept questions as you go or at the end. Explain that there will be an activity after the lesson, but people may make notes if they wish (if that’s what you want to happen).
Main (75%)
Deliver the content for your learning objectives - stay on topic using your notes (on a desk or held low) and keep track of the time (but try to do it in a way that doesn’t make you look at your wrist every 2 minutes).
Summary (15% - allowing for questions at the end)
State again each learning point from your introduction and briefly recap what you discussed - don’t re-present the whole lesson! Invite questions, then fill any left over time by asking the group questions about things covered in the presentation.
Activity
Try to make it as interactive as possible, but be sure it’s relevant to your content and serves the purpose of revising/consolidating the lesson.
For example, if your lesson was on the anatomy of the human body, and one learning point was the location of the internal organs and another was the names of bones, you could do “stick the organ in the body” and then have a “fill in the boxes to name the bones” follow-up activity if there was time left over.
Leave time at the end to summarise the activity, give out correct answers if applicable, and take any new or further questions that have cropped up, and tidy up/collect stuff.
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If you want to do a full session activity
Let me know and I’ll cover some ideas for that too 
Does that help?
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