Teacher Background:

Students will learn about intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and the importance of perseverance. In addition, students will have the opportunity to consider their abilities, talents, and strengths.

Lesson Plan:

1. Ask: If you are running a race, what part of the race do you think is the hardest, the beginning, the middle, or the end? (the end)
   1. Ask: Why is the end the hardest? (It is when you have been running the longest.)
2. Have students write responses in their interactive notebooks to this prompt: Write about a time you started something that you were really excited about and motivated to do at the beginning but then you were tempted to give up near the end?
   1. Give a few students the chance to share the experiences they wrote about.
3. Explain that people are usually most excited, motivated, and disciplined at the beginning of a new challenge.
4. Next, have students read the article Perseverance individually and highlight the definition of perseverance.
   1. Have students pair and share what they can do to persevere when things get difficult.
   2. Have students respond to the question at the end of the article by writing in their student edition.
   3. Allow some students to share what helps them work hard and keep going.
5. Have students work with a partner and play a game using the graphic organizer Grid Wars. Explain that the game will probably be fun at the beginning, and they will want to do it. But if it takes a while to find their opponents’ ships, they should practice perseverance and push through.
   1. This game allows you to integrate math by familiarizing students with a graph’s x- and y-axis.
6. End the lesson with a discussion on perseverance using the following prompts:
   1. Did any of you need to persevere during the game?
   2. How did it feel?
   3. What other examples from your lives can you share that required perseverance?

Think Deeply:

How can perseverance help you reach your goals?

Let’s Write:

Write a list of things that motivate you to persevere when the going gets tough.

Materials Used:

Article: Perseverance

Graphic organizer: Grid Wars