Grit Curriculum Lesson: Setting S.M.A.R.T. Goals
Setting long-term goals is a key part of learning to be gritty. Teacher Beth Perkins helps her fifth graders evaluate their goals to understand the elements that make up the best ones.
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More Edutopia Videos and Resources on Teaching Grit:
- BLOG: Teaching Grit: Social and Emotional Truth
Vicki Zakrzewski examines the emerging concept of 'grit' - what it is, what it isn't, and whether this is something that is best taught or encouraged.
- BLOG: Teaching Grit: How to Help Students Overcome Inner Obstacles
In the second of her two-part series about grit, Vicki Zakrzewski looks at how to encourage self-perception and emotional management in an academic setting.
- VIDEO: Teaching Grit Cultivates Resilience and Perseverance
Teacher Amy Lyon has created a curriculum based on researcher Angela Duckworth’s ideas about grit. Fifth graders set and work toward their own long-term goals, learning valuable lessons about dealing with frustration and distractions along the way.
- Grit Curriculum Overview (PDF): Informational one-sheet about Amy Lyon's curriculum, which teaches grit through a foundation of optimism, self-control, and perseverance.
In teacher Amy Lyon’s Perseverance Walk lesson, fifth grade students have an opportunity to interview someone who has worked hard towards a long-term goal, then create and share a presentation to illustrate a life lived with grit.
- Grit Lesson Plan: The Perseverance Walk (PDF): Download the lesson plan for the Perseverance Walk assignment seen in the video.
- Grit Student Worksheet: The Perseverance Walk (PDF): This worksheet includes instructions and sample questions for the "gritty" interview.
Setting long-term goals is a key part of learning to be gritty. Teacher Beth Perkins helps her fifth graders evaluate their real-life goals to understand the elements that make up the best ones.
- Grit Lesson Plan: Setting S.M.A.R.T. Goals (PDF): Download the lesson plan for having students set meaningful and attainable goals.
- Grit Student Worksheet: Setting S.M.A.R.T. Goals (PDF) : This chart allows students to fill in their S.M.A.R.T. goals.
Learn more about Amy Lyon and her grit curriculum at her website, Bit of Grit.