LESSON 1
Effort and Perseverance
We started today by thinking about a dream that we have. We talked about how some people will tell us our dream is silly, ridiculous, or never going to happen. It is important to always work hard and put in your best effort and you will certainly see progress toward your goal. You must believe in yourself and your dreams, even when others do not!
We watched Usain Bolt's amazing run in the 2016 Summer Olympics. This win secured his 3rd consecutive 100 meter Olympic gold medal - and was called "possibly the greatest athletic achievement of all time." Then we learned that he actually fell during his first race. Wow!
"Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strength. When you overcome hardships, that is strength."
To stick with our Olympic/Jamaican theme, we also watched a clip from the Disney movie Cool Runnings. We learned that the Jamaican's actually had a bobsled team that competed in the olympics. Everyone laughed at their dream. Though they did not get a medal, they continued to train and work and proved the world wrong. They earned respect from competitors and continued to prove that they deserved to be in the Olympics by qualifying in multiple Olympics through the years!
cool Runnings Video
Finally, we read the book The Most Magnificent Thing. This book really highlights the importance of sticking with a goal and understanding that most great successes come after a lot of hard work and many failed attempts. |
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The wall Video:
Hard Work
JAMAICAN BOBSLED FOLLOW-UP
LESSON 2
Honesty Vs. integrity
Honesty means being truthful to others; integrity means being truthful to yourself.
What do YOU do when no one is watching?
Example of the candy drawer in the Wilson household!
What do YOU do when no one is watching?
Example of the candy drawer in the Wilson household!
The Empty Pot : By DemiThere are times where no one is looking and you CAN get away with things. Does this mean you should? How do you decide? In class, when we watched this video, the lights were off and your head was down. You could have taken a short nap or demonstrated integrity and listened-either way I wouldn't have known. Why did you choose to do what you did?
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The MARSHMALLOW Experiment:
Sometimes we KNOW what the right thing is, but it is hard to actually do it. As we get older, we are more able to think through our choices and make the best choice for us; even when it is super hard! Check out what these younger kids do when faced with a similar dilemma. What would you do?
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It's going to be hard...
Sometimes doing the right thing is really, really hard. You may upset others, lose friends, or have something negative happen. The true question is, did you do the right thing for YOU?
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Heinz dilemma- The students debated this very difficult situation...we had very different opinions and ideas about what was "right!" The students did an amazing job respecting each other as they shared their diverse perspectives!! (Click Here to read more about this complicated moral dilemma: HEINZ DILEMMA )
Lesson 3
Honesty vs. integrity
Invisibility cloak
The students did a 5 minute free write activity about what they would do if they had an invisibility cloak for 24 hours. If they were completely undetectable; people could not see them, hear them, or be at all aware of their presence, what would they do? We knew this was a pretend activity, with opportunity for humor BUT it was still interesting to see the types of things we would do. Some helpful, but most were sneaky or involved tricking someone.
Examples:
Check out these amazing clilps! These are all taken from the website www.values.com. While watching these examples, most of us guess a different outcome or ending to each scenario.. We realize that we are surprised about someone doing the "right" thing and we see how easy and tempting it can be to do the "wrong" thing. This website is a great conversation starter and these clips initiated outstanding debate and discussion within the classroom!
When in doubt...
There are times that right and wrong are not easy to determine. There are times where no matter what you, someone will be upset, angry, disappointed, or hurt. These are times you should talk things through with a trusted adult before taking action. Who is someone you can always trust to listen? Knowing who that person is before you are in a sticky situation will help you reach out to them when you need to. Tell them how important they are to you, why you trust them, and that there are times you may need them to help you make some tough decisions.
Moral dilemmas the students discussed
Mrs. Wilson shared some examples of uncomfortable situations that she experienced with friends when she was a kid. She and her mom worked together to create a plan so that she always knew what to do when faced with a difficult decision. She encouraged us to work with our parents/guardians so we feel prepared and confident in handling questionable situations, including those similar to the examples below. Parents, we discussed these scenarios in class, but you are also encouraged to talk these over with your child to help them identify what to do and how you would feel or respond based on the choices they might make. How would you have handled this when you were a kid?
#1 Your friend keeps spreading lies about another…you feel bad for her but if you say something your other friend will be mad at you and not want to hang out with you anymore...
#2 You get a paw for cleaning up but you didn't do it...
#3 You catch your friend cheating on a test...
#4 You learn your friend is lying to their parents to hang out with older (dangerous) kids.
#5 You are at a friends house…they are allowed to watch pg-13 movies but you KNOW your mom would not be okay with this…
#6 At the checkout counter of a store they make a mistake and you get $10 back instead of the $1 they owed you...
#2 You get a paw for cleaning up but you didn't do it...
#3 You catch your friend cheating on a test...
#4 You learn your friend is lying to their parents to hang out with older (dangerous) kids.
#5 You are at a friends house…they are allowed to watch pg-13 movies but you KNOW your mom would not be okay with this…
#6 At the checkout counter of a store they make a mistake and you get $10 back instead of the $1 they owed you...