Doing Your Best!

Never Give Up!

School is fast approaching and my mind is swirling with ideas! I put together this counseling lesson tonight while thinking about the areas I want to focus on next year with my kids. One of the things I would like to address with my kids is, "Never Giving Up!" and "Doing Your Best!" I grabbed resources from all over the web and this is what I have put together. I hope you will enjoy this lesson and maybe even use it in the classroom next year! I will be using this lesson with my 3rd, 4th and 5th grade students!

 

 

We will start the lesson by reading, "Edgar the Eagle". In this story, Edgar is so excited about the upcoming eagle flying show. He practices and practices until one day he breaks his wing! Oh no...How will he ever be able to compete? This book teaches others the importance of not giving up and trying your hardest to achieve your goals.

Next, I will show the video clip "No Arms, No Legs... No Worries!" This is an outstanding video of a man who has a wonderful outlook on life despite the fact that he was born without any arms or legs. The things he can do is amazing and the way he reaches kids through his message will touch your heart. This video is a MUST to watch with older kids!

Discussion Time: The students and I will discuss this video afterwards and talk about the different ways this young man could have handled his situation in a negative way. Then, we will reflect on all of the positive things he CAN DO and has done despite some of the challenges he faces.

Activity: I always like to follow up with an activity, so I made a visual of what the individual lotus diagram with "I CAN DO IT!" in the center looks like that I found on the web using this link. This sheet is FREE!!



In each square, students will draw or write one thing that they want to accomplish in their lifetime or maybe even something during the school year. Once the entire class has completed the sheet, each student will share one square with his/her classmates and tell what they will do to accomplish it.

Ending the lesson: "Oh! Oh! Ohhhhh....It's Magic!" Hopefully, I will grab the students' attention and teach an important lesson using a magic trick I found in "50 Magic Tricks Using Common Objects."

We have all heard at some point in our life that "Try" + a little "Umph" = "Triumph" ...Right? Well, to end my lesson, I will be using that expression to reinforce the importance of TRYING and putting forth the effort to achieve goals. Hopefully the pictures I am including will be easy to follow. Have fun trying this magic trick...It's fun!!

 

What you will need for the trick: Two gym clips and a rectangular strip of paper with the word "Triumph" written on it. One gym clip represents "Try" and the other gym clip stands for "Umph".

 



Fold one end of the paper back until it reaches the center of the paper and gym clip the loop together,

 





Do the same thing with the other end of the paper, but fold it in the opposite direction and then gym clip the loop. When you get done, your folds will look like the above picture.

 



Pull on both ends of the paper slowly.

 

Keep pulling the paper until the gym clips POP off of the paper and you are left with only the word "Triumph".

 



Congratulations!! By giving this magic trick a "Try" and putting a little "Umph" in to it, you have achieved your goal by magically connecting two gym clips together and have "Wowed" your students in the process!