Lesson 1:
Developing an Effort Scale
Watch this short film about kids overcoming adversity (5:14mins)
In pairs, brainstorm a list of characteristics / adjectives to describe the children in the video. Share with class & discuss.
Display this website on the board and read examples of famous people who had to persevere to get to where they are now:
Discuss the concept of failure or mistakes helping you to grow. The only way this can happen is if you persist, persevere and put in lots of effort!
Develop class effort scale.
Could do this by having students work in pairs to write a description of each level of effort, then meet with another pair and join their ideas together, then meet with another four and join ideas together, then share with the whole class. Collate ideas until the class is happy with the effort scale - will be referred to all year.
Here are some examples:
Developing an Effort Scale
Watch this short film about kids overcoming adversity (5:14mins)
In pairs, brainstorm a list of characteristics / adjectives to describe the children in the video. Share with class & discuss.
Display this website on the board and read examples of famous people who had to persevere to get to where they are now:
Discuss the concept of failure or mistakes helping you to grow. The only way this can happen is if you persist, persevere and put in lots of effort!
Develop class effort scale.
Could do this by having students work in pairs to write a description of each level of effort, then meet with another pair and join their ideas together, then meet with another four and join ideas together, then share with the whole class. Collate ideas until the class is happy with the effort scale - will be referred to all year.
Here are some examples:
Lesson 2
Sit class in a circle (teacher to sit on the floor with them, at the same level). Each student (and you) needs a pencil, a piece of scrap paper, and something to lean on. I’m going to write this next part (in blue) like a script that you will read. Make sure students are quiet before each step, and keep it nice and snappy!
Draw a line down the middle of your page, splitting it into two equal boxes:
Pass your page to the person at your right. Turn the page the other way around, and again draw a line down the middle, splitting the page into four equal boxes.
Pass your page to the person at your right. Put your pencil down, and put your finger in the bottom left box. Now stop and think. When you are doing a group work activity, and someone in the group does not do ANYTHING at all to help out - have you been in that situation? This is not a work of art, but you need to draw what that is like! Maybe draw a stick figure, maybe just a face showing what it feels like. Write somewhere in that box NOT. This person is NOT doing anything at all!
Once all students are done with their quick drawing, instruct them to pass their page to the person at their right. Repeat this process passing the page right and drawing in each box:
At this point, display this TO WITH FOR NOT poster on the board. Explain that when working in groups, we all at times can slip into any of these boxes! Discuss the benefits of the WITH box, and how it is when we all are in this box that the group has the most success, and everyone is able to learn something and help contribute to the group’s achievements.
Now, get 20 counters, and show the students what you tend to be like as a teacher. Be honest in the way you do this. If you are inclined to slip into the for box, explain what that is like as a teacher - for example:
After you have modelled this, students will do the same task with 20 counters of their own, reflecting on how they are likely to operate when working in groups. Have them do this with a partner. Invite any students to share their thoughts with the class. Acknowledge students who are very honest about this.
Now it’s time to give some group work a go, and see if we can try and stay in the WITH box in our groups! (This might need to be a different session, as they may need some time to work on their group task).
When Adam Voigt does this lesson he provides four random fun options that students can do in groups of 3 or more, eg: design your ideal theme park, draw a map of Hogwarts, design a robot that would improve your quality of life, or design your ideal tree house.
Students work in groups of 3+. (Yes, they could be quite large, but that’s ok for this task! They need to choose their own groups for this task - you want them with their friends). Every ten minutes or so pause them and give reflection prompts like:
-Think about the TO WITH FOR NOT boxes. Which one are you operating in right now? Do you need to make an effort to get back in the with box?
-Think about the rest of your group. Don’t say anything, but just think about which box your teammates are operating in right now?
-Is there someone in your group who has slipped into the TO box? Quick reminder of what this might look like. Ask for suggestions from the class about how you could encourage/support a teammate to move out of the TO box and back into the With box. Repeat at different times with the FOR and NOT boxes.
You could have students record themselves in a time lapse video then review it to analyse body language and reflect on how they worked cooperatively together.
Hold a class discussion at the end of this task to reflect on how it went, particularly whether the To, With, For, Not box is a useful framework to help understand how to work cooperatively.
Having now thoroughly introduced this tool, you will be able to refer back to it frequently when doing other co-operative group tasks.
Sit class in a circle (teacher to sit on the floor with them, at the same level). Each student (and you) needs a pencil, a piece of scrap paper, and something to lean on. I’m going to write this next part (in blue) like a script that you will read. Make sure students are quiet before each step, and keep it nice and snappy!
Draw a line down the middle of your page, splitting it into two equal boxes:
Pass your page to the person at your right. Turn the page the other way around, and again draw a line down the middle, splitting the page into four equal boxes.
Pass your page to the person at your right. Put your pencil down, and put your finger in the bottom left box. Now stop and think. When you are doing a group work activity, and someone in the group does not do ANYTHING at all to help out - have you been in that situation? This is not a work of art, but you need to draw what that is like! Maybe draw a stick figure, maybe just a face showing what it feels like. Write somewhere in that box NOT. This person is NOT doing anything at all!
Once all students are done with their quick drawing, instruct them to pass their page to the person at their right. Repeat this process passing the page right and drawing in each box:
- TOP LEFT: think about working in groups where someone tells everyone what to do! They don’t let anyone else contribute ideas, and only want it done their way. They might instruct you in a bossy voice, and expect everyone to follow their instructions. Draw a picture to represent what this is like. Write TO in this box.
- BOTTOM RIGHT: think about working in groups where someone does everything for you. They might be really good at the task, so they take over, and no one else needs to do anything. (Emphasise that this can be because of their skills, and it’s not necessarily a negative thing! It just means other people are doing nothing, so they are not working together and all moving forward as a group). Draw a picture to represent what this is like. Write FOR in this box.
- TOP RIGHT: think about working in groups where everyone contributes. You all stay together, helping out when you can, and equally sharing the workload. Everyone makes suggestions and although you might not agree with everything, compromises are made and everyone treats each other with respect. Draw a picture to represent what this is like. Write WITH in this box.
At this point, display this TO WITH FOR NOT poster on the board. Explain that when working in groups, we all at times can slip into any of these boxes! Discuss the benefits of the WITH box, and how it is when we all are in this box that the group has the most success, and everyone is able to learn something and help contribute to the group’s achievements.
Now, get 20 counters, and show the students what you tend to be like as a teacher. Be honest in the way you do this. If you are inclined to slip into the for box, explain what that is like as a teacher - for example:
- I know it’s best to do things WITH the students, but sometimes I get frustrated because the classroom isn’t packed up as neatly as I like, so I’m likely to go around and tidy it up FOR the students!
- I slip into the TO box when I’m feeling rushed and need to get things done as quickly as possible, so I get a bit bossy and speak TO students very firmly, without working together WITH them.
- At the end of term I might be VERY tired and stressed, so sometimes then I might just put a dvd on and NOT do anything at all!
After you have modelled this, students will do the same task with 20 counters of their own, reflecting on how they are likely to operate when working in groups. Have them do this with a partner. Invite any students to share their thoughts with the class. Acknowledge students who are very honest about this.
Now it’s time to give some group work a go, and see if we can try and stay in the WITH box in our groups! (This might need to be a different session, as they may need some time to work on their group task).
When Adam Voigt does this lesson he provides four random fun options that students can do in groups of 3 or more, eg: design your ideal theme park, draw a map of Hogwarts, design a robot that would improve your quality of life, or design your ideal tree house.
Students work in groups of 3+. (Yes, they could be quite large, but that’s ok for this task! They need to choose their own groups for this task - you want them with their friends). Every ten minutes or so pause them and give reflection prompts like:
-Think about the TO WITH FOR NOT boxes. Which one are you operating in right now? Do you need to make an effort to get back in the with box?
-Think about the rest of your group. Don’t say anything, but just think about which box your teammates are operating in right now?
-Is there someone in your group who has slipped into the TO box? Quick reminder of what this might look like. Ask for suggestions from the class about how you could encourage/support a teammate to move out of the TO box and back into the With box. Repeat at different times with the FOR and NOT boxes.
You could have students record themselves in a time lapse video then review it to analyse body language and reflect on how they worked cooperatively together.
Hold a class discussion at the end of this task to reflect on how it went, particularly whether the To, With, For, Not box is a useful framework to help understand how to work cooperatively.
Having now thoroughly introduced this tool, you will be able to refer back to it frequently when doing other co-operative group tasks.
Lesson 3: One Word Resolution
Click here to put in your information of your one word goal for this year.
Click here to put in your information of your one word goal for this year.
Lesson 4:
Zones of Regulation
Zones of Regulation
Lesson 5
Today we are going to be looking at Growth Mindset
What do you know about Growth Mindset? (Think, Pair, Share)
Watch: Growth Mindset Video (2:30 min)
Discuss 3 areas of the video that stuck in their mind.
Watch: Fixed and Growth Mindset (2:20 min)
In groups of 2-3 brainstorm, Print this Template A3 sheets, You will be using both sides, one side for Fixed, the other for Growth. One half of the page Phrases (things you might say), the other Actions (Things you might do). Give students 10 min to brainstorm each side.
Fixed:
Phrase - I can’t do this!
Action - Sit and do nothing
Growth:
Phrase - This may take time but I will get there.
Action - Try and find another strategy to solve a problem.
Come together at the end to discuss make a whole class display that displays what a growth and fixed mindset is.
Reflect on a time you found something new challenging, but eventually achieved it. Share & discuss how it made you feel to reflect on achievement.
Discuss if you have a fixed mindset what might have you done instead. Discuss why having a growth mindset will help your brain grow stronger and you will learn more.