Lesson 1

I began this topic by sharing this video with the students  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDnA3jobv_0. It shows Olympian Jeffrey Julmis falling during his event at the Olympics. It led into a great discussion about the importance of never giving up. The students were mesmerized and wanted to watch the video several times. I was happy to oblige as it gave me a chance to really stress the message. We had a great discussion about the choice Jeffrey had at that moment. He could have gotten up and walked off the track. There was no chance of him winning. It was over. But it was THE OLYMPICS! It was the moment he had been working toward for a long time! I ended the lesson by posting this sign in our classroom about perseverance.

We could not have begun this topic at a more perfect time for one student, Lola. She tends to gets upset when school gets hard. She will stop working and  start crying. Now I can ask her, “Lola, what’cha got” and she will reply “perseverance”. I get a smile from her and she will continue working. Another success story thanks to Classroom Champions.

Lesson 2

For this lesson, I wanted the students to experience perseverance. Last years lesson was a success so I brought it back for this year. Each group received a mason jar filled with whipping cream and a marble. If they could work together and persevere, they would  make butter to put on some freshly baked bread for a snack. Each group was able to come up with a plan about how they would share the shaking. I loved hearing them encourage them to keep going. No one gave up even when one group’s jar exploded and whipping cream went everywhere. I explained to the disappointed team that they would be enough butter to share. It was a great learning experience for everyone. I heard from a parent about how excited her daughter was to share the lesson at home.

Lesson 3

Today, the goal was for the students to learn about perseverance from our mentor, Alex. We watched her video and accepted her challenge.  The students wrote and drew about a time they showed perseverance. Here are some example of their work.

Lesson 4

This was our final lesson on the topic even though will continue to talk about perseverance the rest of the year. In the lesson, I wanted the student to make a perseverance goal. We began by reviewing the topic. Then the students had to complete a four square about how they could should perseverance in different situations. They ended by writing a goal in which they could improve their perseverance.

I love that every student in my class can describe and give examples of perseverance. They all have a goal to focus on as they continue to develop this skill.