https://nifa.usda.gov/ 

program/4-h-positive-youthdevelopment 

National Institute 

of Food 

and Agriculture 

United States 

Department of 

Agriculture 

lesson plan: activity 3.9 

lesson details introduction 

Space Walk 

A FederAl PArtnershiP For steM educAtion 

expeditionary

SkillS

for life 

 

National Aeronautics 

and Space 

Administration 

age/grade level 

High School 

learner outcoMes 

Youth will learn the importance of 

engaging all team members in a task 

that requires the sharing of limited 

resources. 

success indicators 

Youth will demonstrate their ability 

to engage as a team, share limited 

resources, and communicate clearly 

by completing a team challenge. 

life skills 

Leadership, Communication, 

Teamwork, Problem Solving, Critical 

Thinking, Decision Making, Contributions to group effort, Goal Setting 

national standards 

21st Century Skills/Learning and 

Innovation Skills/COMMUNICATION AND COLLABORATION/ 

Communicate clearly, collaborate 

with others 

21st Century Skills/Learning and 

Innovation Skills/CRITICAL THINKING AND PROBLEM SOLVING/ 

Reason effectively, use systems 

thinking, makes judgements and 

decisions, solve problems 

21st Century: Life and Career Skills / 

FLEXBILITY AND ADAPTABILITY / 

Develop thinking skills, content 

knowledge, and social and emotional competencies to navigate 

complex life and work environments 

21st Century: Life and Career Skills / 

LEADERSHIP AND RESPONSIBILITY 

/guide and lead others, be responsible to others 

prep tiMe 

15 minutes 

activity tiMe 

2 hours (all activities combined) 

Materials list 

•	 “Protective Boots,” which can be 

carpet squares (or odd-shaped 

flat pieces big enough for 2-4 

adult feet to be placed on), card 

stock paper, placemats, dish towel, 

rug pads 12”, bandanas, old dish 

towels 

•	 Rope or cord (various lengths) 

•	 Optional items such as bandannas, balls (tennis ball, baseball, 

baseball, or football types), other 

props 

•	 Paper 

•	 Pens, pencils 

suggested space 

Field or open area, gym floor, large 

classroom, large hallway. Try to use 

an area surface that is safe and clear 

of any large debris or slip hazards. 

Some students may fall on the 

ground and they will need room to 

move. 

suggested group size 

5 to 30. You can do this with one 

group of five or multiple teams with 

up to 30 depending on your area and 

the resources available. 

references 

How to be More Effective with 


Limited Resources 


https://blog.teamwork.com/how-toget-more-done-with-less/ 

Quicksilver; Karl Rohnke, Steve Butler, 

NASA moon survival, The 175 Best 

camp games; Kathleen, Laura and 

Mary Fraserl 

planning intelligently also goes a long 

way in overcoming challenges in 

leadership. Do not depend on a 

single plan. It is always better to be ready 

with Plan B and Plan C. Think of this as an 

ideal way to be creative in your thinking 

and innovative in your approach. So, what 

measures can you take if you have to get 

more done with less? Here are some ways 

of mastering your resources: 

Prioritize Your Tasks 

•	 It sounds obvious and yet a kind of paralysis 

can set in when a team finds itself having to 

cope with less. 

•	 Decide what needs your attention urgently 

and act accordingly. 

•	 Be decisive and realistic. Will that approach 

you just selected really deliver the result you 

need? 

Effective Planning is a Winning Strategy 

•	 With resources more stretched, and possibly 

fewer people, you need to think outside the 

box. Effective planning is key to managing 

slimmer resources. 

•	 Decide what needs to be done first and 

ensure everyone is onboard. 

•	 Draw up a timeline for action. 

•	 Be proactive rather than reactive. 

•	 Ensure all members of your team know their 

roles and the necessity of delivering. 

continued next page >> 
page 2

lesson plan: activity 3.9 

Space Walk, continued 

expeditionary

SkillS

for life 

>> continued from previous page 

Keep Your Lines of Communication Open 

•	 You may have clear goals, but do you have a good 

communication strategy within your team to bring 

people along with you? Can you inspire people to work 

harder? Here are some tips: 

•	 Ensure everyone knows what is expected of them. 

•	 Be clear about your objectives. 

•	 Be open to other views and you’ll keep your team 

onboard. 

Resources are finite, and you have to think smarter with 

less. There is no room for wastage, so ask yourself how 

you can best use what you have to maximum effect. 

Delivering results with limited resources is something 

everyone faces at some point in their career. The ability to 

quickly adjust and still deliver is an important professional 

skill. 

activity instructions 

activity: space Walk (60 Minutes) 

Explain: 

Your spaceship and team has landed on the surface of an 

alien planet. However, you are far from the cargo ship that 

had landed earlier. The cargo ship has needed supplies like 

food, shelter, medical equipment and protective gear. Your 

goal is to get your team safely across the treacherous 

landscape of this planet to the cargo ship. You have limited 

resources and time. 

You are also finding that this planet’s surface will eat away 

at your space boots. You will need to travel over the 

surface using protective pads under your boots/feet. (You 

may show them what they will be using as pads.) Oxygen 

levels are limited, so you must move the whole team or 

crew to the cargo ship at once. 

Your team will need to choose a Captain. The Captain is 

responsible for handing out materials and giving instructions to the team. The Captain should be the last to exit 

the spaceship from (Point A) as your team steps across 

the surface toward the cargo ship. Note: Captains may 

change throughout the exercise. 

Objective: Get your team safely from the spaceship (Point 

A) to the cargo ship (Point B) without touching the surface. 

You may only use the “Protective Boots” provided to 

protect you from the surface. Those materials are limited. 

Obstacles and challenges will occur as your team crosses 

the area. Your Captain and crew must communicate how 

to overcome the obstacles and complete the task. 

.Directions/Rules: 

1.	 Designate an area behind a rope or a marker on the 

ground as the spaceship “safe ship” (Point A) and 

another area far enough apart to have the group have 

to recycle their materials or use of their boots to get to 

the cargo ship (Point B). (Note: you can use rope, 

chalk, tape, or cones to designate these areas) 

2.	 Divide the group into teams or crews and have each 

crew select a Captain. 

3.	 Give the Captain one less protective boot than there 

are number of crew members. 

4.	 Anyone that touches the ground must go back to the 

spaceship (Point A) to repair their boots. 

Safety note: It’s not recommended that participants piggy-back on others. 

5.	 Initiate a challenge scenario as the team(s) make their 

way across the area or have the Captain(s) draw 

randomly the cards. 

You may introduce one challenge scenario at any 

time or none at all. The challenge can be for all teams 

or just one. 

You may allow them to complete the exercise 

without any challenges first and then introduce 

challenges and time constraints in other rounds. 

Please feel free to make variations to the challenges or add your own challenges to best fit your 

audience. 

Example Challenge Scenarios : 

•	 You are finding that if the boots are not being touched 

by your crew/team member they will be “eaten” by 

the alien surface. Your team must have a hand, foot or 

body part on the protective boots at all times! If they 

are not, the boot is taken away. 

continued next page >> 
page 3

lesson plan: activity 3.9 

Space Walk, continued 

expeditionary

SkillS

for life 

>> continued from previous page	 previous time. 

•	 One of the crew has a malfunction in their communication device located in their helmet. The Captain chooses 

someone who can no longer speak or give any verbal 

feedback. 

•	 One of your crew members gets surface dust in their 

eyes and can no longer see. The Captain can choose 

who will need to wear a blindfold (note: can use a hat, 

bandana or something to cover crew member’s eyes). 

•	 One of your crew members rips their space suit and 

now needs medical attention. The Captain must assign 

a doctor to attend to the crew member. The two crew 

will need to remain together while the patient and 

doctor hold a small rope or object between them. Or 

they may just hold hands. 

•	 Gloves fall off a team member and they lose the use of 

their hands. The Captain will choose a crew member 

who will now hold a ball (ex. tennis ball, football or other 

object) in their hand. 

•	 Your crew comes across a large crater and must go 

around it. The Captain must instruct the team to go 4 

steps to the side (either way) and then proceed on (this 

can be a chair, rock, or other obstruction). 

•	 Your crew comes across a deadly river. You must construct a bridge to cross it. You will need to lay down 

additional props or boots. Use a bandana, paper, 2 x4, 

rope, etc., to get your crew across. 

•	 The battery packs for your suits are losing energy. You 

need to have them charged every third step. A ball or 

object will need to be passed or handled by all crew 

members after the third step in order for the crew to 

proceed. 

•	 The planet has turned on its axis and you now lose 

contact with the communication satellite. The Captain 

and crew now have to whisper information to each other. 

Space Walk Variations 

•	 A new Captain can be chosen after a certain time or a 

number of attempts. 

•	 You may also make a game out of this by pitting teams 

against each other. You could also introduce a time 

element; trying to get under a certain time or beat their 

•	 Other objects or props may be used; hats to cover the 

eyes, one arm in a shirt, an ankle tied to another, placing 

objects on the field where the teams have to go around 

or get over them. You can also construct your own 

scenarios to introduce to the teams. Be creative! 

debrief activity: playing card Match-up 

(20 Minutes) 

Directions:
 

Youth should sit in a circle (if group is larger than 20, 


divide into groups of 10-15).
e

Use a ball or other object to toss about to various youth 


who will answer the following questions. 


After a participant answers one of the questions below, 


they may toss the ball or object to another to field the next 


question.
 

•	 What were some of the challenges you or your team 

faced? 

•	 How did you overcome the challenges? 

•	 How did your team solve the problem? 

•	 How often did you change your plan? 

•	 How did your team communicate the plan or any 

changes? 

•	 How did you feel when the plans changed? 

•	 What was it like to be the Captain? 

•	 What was it like to be a crew member? 

•	 How did your team adapt to new challenges or 

adversity? 

•	 What would you have done differently? 

•	 What type of leadership did the Captain(s) display? 

•	 Was your team successful? Why or why not? 

•	 How would this relate to what NASA does? 

•	 How can you develop and utilize these skills in your 

life? 

continued next page > 

>> continued from previous page 
page4

lesson plan: activity 3.9 

Space Walk, continued 

expeditionary

SkillS

for life 

Explain: 

Communication and problem solving are skills that you 

use every day to make decisions in your life. They are used 

in group settings, but also internally. You make a decision 

or problem-solve about what to wear, how to answer a 

question on a test, or whom to talk with at lunch. These 

decisions, and how you communicate them with others, is 

a vital skill and is part of all aspects of life. How you work 

within a team and pass along information helps the 

leaders make decisions and reach team goals. 

A quality trait of a good leader is the ability to handle 

adversity and gather information to solve a problem. 

Leaders then make a decision and communicate that 

decision effectively to the team. Patience, understanding, 

and proper delivery of the information are skills of both a 

leader and a teammate. 

applied challenge: My resource 

toolbox (40 Minutes) 

Each of us has a variety of resources that we bring to 


everything we do. Learning how to recognize your 


resourc-es, your potential, and your abilities will assist 


you in identifying future career paths that match your 


skills and interests. 


Directions:
 

Have each youth create a list of the knowledge, skills, 


abilities, and/or attitudes that they bring to each of the 


following categories. Not every category will apply to 


everyone and youth can add categories that are appropriate for them. 


•	 Emotional -- ability to choose and control emotional 

responses 

•	 Mental -- possessing the mental ability and acquired 

skills, such as reading and writing, to function in daily 

life 

•	 Spiritual -- a belief in divine purpose and guidance 

•	 Physical -- physical health and mobility 

•	 Support systems -- having friends, family, and other 

backup resources to access in times of need (external 

resources) 

•	 Role models -- having adults who are appropriate 

models, and who do not engage in self-destructive 

behavior 

•	 Knowledge of hidden rules -- knowing the unspoken 

cues and habits of a group 

Once youth have identified their individual resources, have 

them identify six different career paths that utilize some of 

their personal resources. If needed, conduct this brainstorming activity in small groups to help them broaden 

their thinking. For those youth that are comfortable 

sharing, allow youth to share the career paths they have 

identified and explain how they relate to their personal 

resources. 

Note: For greater depth of understanding, try mapping the 

collective resources of the group onto an ecological model 

of human development. 

instructor’s notes 
activity 3.9: learner assessMent 

These questions are about things you learned during this 

activity. Please check the circle that best describes you. 

Q1 

Q2 

Q3 

activity 3.9: learner assessMent 

These questions are about things you learned during this 

activity. Please check the circle that best describes you. 

Q1 

Q2 

Q3 

activity 3.9: learner assessMent 

These questions are about things you learned during this 

activity. Please check the circle that best describes you. 

Q1 

Q2 

Q3 

activity 3.9: learner assessMent 

These questions are about things you learned during this 

activity. Please check the circle that best describes you. 

Q1

Q2

Q3

expeditionary

SkillS


for life

expeditionary

SkillS


for life 

I can work with others to change a plan when the plan is 

not working. 

Not at all like me 

A little like me 

Somewhat like me 

A lot like me 

I can change my approach if what I am doing is not 

working. 

Not at all like me 

A little like me 

Somewhat like me 

A lot like me 

I can be a team player even when it is not my plan that the 

team chooses to perform. 

Not at all like me 

A little like me 

Somewhat like me 

A lot like me 

I can work with others to change a plan when the plan is 

not working. 

Not at all like me 

A little like me 

Somewhat like me 

A lot like me 

I can change my approach if what I am doing is not 

working. 

Not at all like me 

A little like me 

Somewhat like me 

A lot like me 

I can be a team player even when it is not my plan that the 

team chooses to perform. 

Not at all like me 

A little like me 

Somewhat like me 

A lot like me 

expeditionary

SkillS


for life

expeditionary

SkillS


for life 

I can work with others to change a plan when the plan is 

not working. 

Not at all like me 

A little like me 

Somewhat like me 

A lot like me 

I can change my approach if what I am doing is not 

working. 

Not at all like me 

A little like me 

Somewhat like me 

A lot like me 

I can be a team player even when it is not my plan that the 

team chooses to perform. 

Not at all like me 

A little like me 

Somewhat like me 

A lot like me 

I can work with others to change a plan when the plan is 

not working. 

Not at all like me 

A little like me 

Somewhat like me 

A lot like me 

I can change my approach if what I am doing is not 

working. 

Not at all like me 

A little like me 

Somewhat like me 

A lot like me 

I can be a team player even when it is not my plan that the 

team chooses to perform. 

Not at all like me 

A little like me 

Somewhat like me 

A lot like me