“My Stick is Branching Out” Lesson 3.14 Created By: Pam Gunter

Preparation Materials Needed: Paper and crayons. Chalkboard or whiteboard. Bundle of sticks from the first lesson. Classroom Setup: Sit at tables or desks.

Challenge for the Week – Follow Up Prior to moving into the lesson, follow up with last week’s challenge. Encourage a few students to talk about how they were able to work through differences with friends or family members. Commend them for applying the things they have learned.

The Activity We have been given many lessons on how we can become the very best person possible, how we can strengthen relationships, overcome differences and more. Show the students the bundle of sticks. Explain that trees have many uses. Have the students share some uses for trees. Explain that just like trees, we have many purposes in life and we have many things we can accomplish. Sometimes it can get overwhelming. What are some things that you need to do each day. (brush teeth, get dressed, do homework, go to school, etc.) Sticks off a willow tree can be placed in water, the will sprout roots, and when eventually placed in soil, will grow. You are much like sticks off a willow tree. You’ve been given many ways to help you grow and branch out. Without taking the time to place the willow stick in water, and giving them soil and sunlight, they won’t grow.

The Activity - Continued Draw a tree on the board with 9 branches. Ask the students to review some of the things they have learned through these lessons. To be courageous, honest, respectful, how to communicate, overcoming differences, etc. As they mention things they’ve learned, write them on the branches of the tree. Explain that sometimes it can be difficult to accomplish everything we need to. Setting personal goals and working on a few goals at a time can help us grow and feel great about ourselves. Have the students draw a tree with several branches. Ask the students to write three goals they would like to work on, in the trunk of the tree. (They could include things like meeting a new friend, getting homework done each night, brushing teeth daily, etc.)

The Activity - Continued Explain that often times we write down our goals so we can remember them often. But we also need a plan on how we are going to work on them; they won’t magically happen. For example, if I set a goal to complete my homework each day, and remember to return it by the due date, I may make a plan like: 1. I will arrange my books and papers in my desk based on if I have homework or not for the day. I will put all books that I need to take home for the day on the left side. 2. I will choose to complete all of my homework before I play or watch TV. 3. Once my work is done I will put it back in my backpack and put my backpack by the front door so I remember to take it with me to school. Have students write three ideas for each goal on the 9 branches. Have them include time of day, amount of time to achieve the goal, so they will learn the importance of time management as well.

The Activity - Continued Explain that part of achieving goals is being organized. Staying organized not only helps achieve goals, it also helps relieve stress, anger, and frustration. Making “to do” lists, writing reminder notes, and coming up with routines helps us remain organized. For example: What could you do if every morning you couldn’t find your coat because you never put it away. Design a checklist for your daily tasks and include hanging up your coat. Consistently hang up your coat in the same place. Plan ahead and make sure you don’t wait to the last minute to put it on.

The Object of the Lesson Points instructor needs to bring out: Emphasize that all successful people set goals and design a plan to achieve them. We’ve been given many tools to help us be successful now we need to use them. (We’ve learned about personal character, improving communication skills, building relationships, managing anger, making good choices, etc.) As we achieve our goals, we can replace them with another goal we want to improve on. Remaining organized will help us achieve our goals, and setting up a timeframe to accomplish the tasks each day, as well the achieving the overall goal. Achieving goals takes effort, but the rewards are endless.

Challenge for the Week Challenge each student to hang the goal sheet in a place they will see it often. Encourage them to work on their goals daily so they will achieve great things!