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What is Perseverance

Lesson 1

PERSEVERANCE Seed Planting

Learning Goals

  1. I can explain what perseverance is
  2. I can identify examples of perseverance.
Preparation:
  1. Read the pupils magazine to ensure you are familiar with the content and words.
  2. Read the lesson plan to be familiar with the content of the lesson.
  3. Think of a time that you persevered – an example that children could relate to. You will share this in Step 10.
  4. In this lesson, pupils will plant a bean seed to demonstrate how perseverance in caring for the seed results in success. For your class, consider whether every child should plant their own bean seed or if they should be paired with a partner.
  5. Poke holes in the bottom of each container for the bean seed.
Materials:
  • Magazine: The Monkey who wanted to become Human [Download]
  • Perseverance Song [ ▷ Play ]
  • Soil for planting, enough for each pupil
  • Container for the bean seed (cup or empty pure water bag)
  • Permanent marker
  • 2 large swan bottles of water for watering bean seed
    •
Note:
  • The bean seed activity is more effective if the plants are kept at school and pupils are able to nurture the seeds until the final Perseverance lesson. If the plants are sent home, then they tend to be destroyed.
Procedures
Step 1 (5 min): Introduction
Write Write the Learning Goal on the board. Read the I-Can statement.
Ask
  1. What sound do monkeys make?
  2. Who would like to volunteer to behave like a monkey – make the movements and sounds of a monkey?
    3. Invite the pupil to the front.
  3. Who would like to volunteer to behave like a human being – a person – make the movements and sounds of a person?
    4. Invite the pupil to the front.
Guide Have the two pupils demonstrate first how a monkey behaves, then how a human behaves.
Ask
  1. When you watched the monkey behave, what did he/she do that was different from how a human behaves?
  2. How did the monkey behave in a way that is similar to how a human behaves?
Explain We are about to read a story that explains why monkeys are similar to people in some ways, but different from people in other ways.
Step 2 (5 min). Read The Monkey who wanted to become human
Share Share the magazine.
Read Read aloud: The Monkey who wanted to become Human.
Step 3 (5 min). Comprehension Questions
Ask
  1. In the beginning of the story, why did the monkey want to become human?
    2. He was teased for not being human
  2. What did the gods say that the monkey needed to do to become human?
    3. Be locked up alone in a room for 8 days
  3. Did the monkey agree to do this?
    4. Yes
  4. When the villagers heard that the monkey was trying to become like them, what did they do?
    5. Try to get monkey to leave the locked room
  5. What happened on the 6th day?
    6. Monkey came out of the locked room to show how beautiful he was and made fun of the villagers
  6. When monkey tried to return to the locked room, what happened?
    7. The gods refused to continue the process.
  7. So why do monkeys look similar to humans but are not yet human?
    8. Because the monkey broke the rule. Or: he did not persevere
  8. What is the lesson of the story?
    9. The more you persevere, the more successful you will become.
Step 4 (5 min). Direct Instruction on Perseverance
Explain According to the story, monkeys are kind of like humans but not quite because the monkey did not persevere for the entire eight days.
Ask What does the word persevere mean?
Let a few children respond. Acknowledge their answer, even if it is incorrect.
Guide Instruct pupils to turn to the 2nd page of the magazine. Have them point to Pam Perseverance.
Read Read what Pam Perseverance says.
Guide Instruct pupils to point to the word Perseverance.
Read Read the definition of perseverance
Ask What is the definition of perseverance?
Choose to keep trying, even when there are challenges.
Explain In the explanation below, emphasize the word choose.

The word choose means you select something. If you were offered either jollof rice or pounded yam, which would you choose – which would you select? How many of you would choose jollof rice? Pause to let children raise their hands.

How many of you would choose pounded yam? Pause to let children raise their hands.

Perseverance means to choose to keep trying, even when there are challenges. Since choose means you select something, it means you can choose to either keep trying, or you choose to not keep trying – to give up.
Ask What are some challenges that you might face that need perseverance – you will have to choose to keep trying?
Let a few children respond
Step 5 (5 min). Pam Perseverance Signal
Explain Pam Perseverance has a signal that he makes to show that he chooses to keep trying, even when there are challenges. Do you want to see what the signal looks like?
Demonstrate Demonstrate the perseverance signal –making a fist and punching it in the air. Shout, “Perseverance” as you do it.
Guide Have the pupils repeat the perseverance signal a few times.
Step 6 (5 min). Seed Planting Introduction
Present Show a seed.
Ask
  1. What is this?
    2. Seed
  2. What do you think the seed can become?
    3. Acknowledge any answer that is a plant, e.g., mango tree, tomato plant, etc.
  3. What does the seed need in order to grow into a plant?
    4. Sunlight, Water, Air, and Soil
  4. How can we meet the seed’s need for soil?
    5. Plant it in soil
  5. How can we meet the seed’s need for sunlight?
    6. Put it in the light
  6. How can we meet the seed’s need for water?
    7. Pour water on it every day
  7. What if we give up watering the seed after six days, like the monkey gave up in the story?
    8. It will die OR It won’t grow
  8. So, if we plant this seed, we need to persevere – we need to choose to keep watering it, even if we face challenges. What are some challenges we might face when we try to care for this seed?
    9. Let a few pupils respond
Step 7 (15 min). Seed Planting.
Explain This seed is a bean seed. If we plant it, it will grow into a bean plant, and will eventually produce more beans just like this. We are now going to plant our own bean seeds. Then we are going to persevere in watering it until it grows.
Demonstrate
and Guide
  1. Demonstrate poking/cutting a hole in the bottom of the container and writing your name on your container.
  2. Share the container to each pupil or pairs of pupils. Guide pupils in writing their name(s) on the container.
  3. Demonstrate filling your container full of soil, leaving a few centimeters at the top.
  4. Guide pupils in filling their container with soil.
  5. Demonstrate making a small hole in the soil, twice the length of the seed.
  6. Guide pupils in making a small hole in their soil.
  7. Demonstrate planting your seed inside the hole and covering it with soil.
  8. Share three (3) bean seeds to each container. Guide pupils in putting the seed inside, and covering with soil.
  9. Demonstrate watering the seed just until the soil is fully moist.
  10. Guide pupils in watering their seeds.
    11.
Explain When you water your seed, wait until the soil is almost dry, but not completely dry to give it more water. If it gets completely dry, then the seed may not grow. When you give it water, give just enough water to make the soil moist. Do not give it too much water or the seed will drown. Giving the seed just the right amount of water – not too much and not too little – will help it grow.
Ask Are you going to persevere in watering your seed until it grows into a big bean plant?

Let’s give ourselves the Pam Perseverance signal to encourage ourselves to persevere!
Guide Guide pupils in placing the containers in the sunlight.
Step 8 (5 min). Direct Instruction Continued.
Explain Let’s learn more about what perseverance means.
Read
and Ask		 Continue to read the rest of page 2 in the magazine. Before reading each section, have pupils point to the next picture. Then ask:
  1. What do you see in the picture?
After one or two pupils have described the picture, read the text.

After reading all of the text on the page, ask:
  1. What have you learned about perseverance?
    2. Let a few pupils respond.
Step 9 (5 min). Sing Perseverance Song
Guide
and Sing		 Instruct pupils to point to the song on page 3 of the magazine.

First read the words to the song. Then model singing to the tune of Frere Jacques (Also called Are you Sleeping Brother John).

Sing a second time, with pupils repeating a line after you.

Sing at least two more times until pupils can sing it well.
Ask What can we learn about perseverance from the song?
We will be great if we persevere. Patience is part of perseverance. Determination is part of perseverance.
Step 10 (5 min). Examples of Perseverance
Explain We have learned that we need persevering when we want to quit, when we face unexpected problems, when hard things happen, when we have to wait, and when we need to do the right thing. Now we are going to learn about some examples of perseverance.

Give a personal story of a time that you persevered.
Guide Instruct pupils to point to the picture of the man on page 3 of the magazine. Do not say his name yet.
Ask
  1. Who is this person?
    2. Let pupils respond.
  2. How many of you have heard of Nelson Mandela?
    3. Let pupils raise their hands if they have heard of him
  3. What do you know about Nelson Mandela?
    4. Let a few pupils respond
Explain Nelson Mandela is a great example of someone who persevered. He chose to do the right thing even when he was faced with challenges. We are going to read more about Nelson Mandela and how he persevered.
Read Read the biography of Nelson Mandela.

While reading the story, explain the following vocabulary words.
Civil Rights are a person’s rights to be treated equally as a citizen. Each person should be treated as a person of value and have the same rights as all other people, even if they are from a different religion, ethnicity, gender, or even age.

Activism is working hard to support an important cause. Nelson Mandela was an activist because he actively worked for equal rights for all citizens, including black people.
Ask
  1. What challenges did Nelson Mandela face?
    2. Prison, Apartheid, Racism, and other reasonable answers
  2. How did Nelson Mandela persevere?
    3. He chose to keep trying even in the face of these challenges.
  3. Who would like to be like Nelson Mandela?
    4. Let pupils raise their hands
  4. How can we be like Nelson Mandela?
    5. Choose to keep trying even in the face of challenges
Step 11 (15 min). More Examples of Perseverance
Ask
  1. Who remembers the Pam Perseverance signal? Let’s make it together!
    2. Make the Pam Perseverance signal.
  2. Who does Pam Perseverance give the signal to?
    3. People who persevere
  3. What did we learn that perseverance means?
    4. Choose to keep trying, even when there are challenges
Explain I am going to tell you the story of four children – some of them persevere, and some of them do not. So when I tell you the story, think about whether the child perseveres or not. Do they choose to keep trying? If they do, we will help Pam Perseverance give them the perseverance signal. Remember, Pam Perseverance only gives the signal to those who persevere. Are you ready?
Read Story #1: Wapi was a seven-year-old boy who always thought that home work was difficult. One day, he thought, “If I studied the topics from my assignments well before attempting my home works, my home works might not be difficult anymore.” So Wapi decided that he would study each homework topic well before attempting trying to do his work. Soon, he found that he did his homework with ease, and also performed better on all his assignments.
Ask
  1. What challenge did Wapi face?
    2. Difficulty with homework
  2. Did he choose to keep trying?
    3. Yes
  3. Will Pam Perseverance give the perseverance signal to Wapi? If Pam Perseverance will give the perseverance signal to Wapi, give a thumbs up. If Pam Perseverance will not give the perseverance signal to Wapi, give a thumbs down. Will Pam Perseverance give them the perseverance signal?
    4. Let pupils give a thumbs-up or thumbs-down
  4. Why?
    5. He chose to study hard
  5. Why was perseverance important for Wapi?
    6. It helped him do his homework easier. He performed better on his assignments.
Guide Lead pupils in giving the Pam Perseverance signal.
Read Story #2: Once there was a boy named Ali who thought that mathematics was really difficult. He would rather run around and play all day than practice his mathematics sums and do his homework. Instead of doing his mathematics assignments, Ali rode his bicycle, got tired and slept. His teacher and parents told him that he could do better if he practiced more. But he tried only a bit and then said, “Maths is hard.”
Ask
  1. What challenge did Ali face?
    2. Difficulty with mathematics
  2. Did he choose to keep trying?
    3. No
  3. Will Pam Perseverance give the perseverance signal to Ali? Show me a thumbs-up if he will give the signal and a thumbs down if he will not give the signal.
    4. Let pupils give a thumbs-up or thumbs-down
  4. Why will Ali not get the perseverance signal?
    5. He gave up
  5. What do you think would have happened if Ali would have persevered and keep trying at his maths?
    6. He could have improved in maths.
Read Story #3: Ogna was a six-year-old girl who was always hungry. Ogna entered primary one on the first day and saw that her teacher Miss Tan kept a jar of sweets on her table. Soon after class started, she began to feel hungry. The hunger grew in her belly, and yet lunch was still a long time away. Soon, she could not take the hunger anymore, so she went straight to Miss Tan’s table and grabbed the jar of sweets and began to eat them. Miss Tan demanded that Ogna returned the sweet jar to the table and reprimanded her in front of all of her mates not to take anything from any one again without asking for permission to do so.
Ask
  1. What challenge did Ogna face?
    2. Hunger
  2. Did she choose to keep trying?
    3. No
  3. Will Pam Perseverance give the perseverance signal to Ogna? Show me a thumbs-up or a thumbs down.
    4. Let pupils give a thumbs-up or thumbs-down
  4. Why will Ogna not get the perseverance signal?
    5. She did not persevere to lunch and ate the sweets.
  5. What do you think would have happened if Ogna would have persevered and waited until lunch?
    6. She would not have been reprimanded in front of her mates.
Read Story #4: Shosho and Lali happily lived in a small village with their mother who owned a little shop. The rainy season came with strong winds which blew away the shop. Shosho, Lali, and their mother were devastated by the disaster. Within the next two days, however, the little family erected a stall by their house and continued to sell what remained of the goods from their destroyed shop. Soon enough, the children and their mother made some profit from their sales and built another shop where many people came to buy from and they were happy.
Ask
  1. What challenge did Shosho and Lali face?
    2. Their shop was destroyed
  2. Did they choose to keep trying?
    3. Yes
  3. Will Pam Perseverance give the perseverance signal to Shosho and Lali? Show me a thumbs-up or a thumbs down.
    4. Let pupils give a thumbs-up or thumbs-down
  4. Why
    5. They rebuilt the shop and continued to sell their goods
  5. Why was perseverance important for Shosho and Lali?
    6. It helped them continue to make money and be happy.
Guide Lead pupils in giving the Pam Perseverance signal.
Step 12 (5 min). Conclusion
Read Read the I-can statements from the board.
Ask
  1. Can you explain what perseverance is? Show me a thumbs-up if you can explain what it is. Show me a thumbs-down if you cannot explain what perseverance is. Give me a sideways thumb if you think you can explain what perseverance is but are not sure.
    2. Let pupils show their thumbs.
  2. What is perseverance?
    3. Let pupils give a chorus answer: Choose to keep trying, even when there are challenges
  3. Can you identify examples of perseverance? Show me your thumbs.
    4. Let pupils show their thumbs.
  4. What is an example of perseverance?
    5. Call on pupils who showed a thumbs-up
  5. Let’s make Pam Perseverance’s signal?
    6. Have all of the pupils make the perseverance signal together.
Step 13 (10 min). Introduce Take-Home Activity
Guide Instruct pupils to turn to the back page of their magazine.
Explain The last page of our magazine is called Home Connection. These are activities to do with a parent, caregiver, or other adult that you trust. It will take about 20 minutes to do these activities with your parent, caregiver, or another adult. First, I want you to think about who you will do these activities with. For some of you, it might be a parent. Will it be Mummy or Daddy? Some of your parents might not be able to do the activities with you. Is there an Auntie, Uncle, Grandma, or Grandpa who lives close by you that you could do the activities with? If you want to ask your Grandma, but she cannot read, then ask an older brother, sister, or cousin to join you so they can read it to Grandma. Close your eyes and think about who you will ask to do the activities with you.

Pause for a few seconds.

If you cannot think of who to ask to do the activities with you, see me after and we will think about who can do them with you. Now, point to the top, where it says Family Discussion. Wait until all children have pointed.

Explain: These are questions that your parent or caregiver are going to answer.
Read Read the questions.
Explain So your parent or caregiver will tell you the word for perseverance in their language, explain why perseverance is important in your family, and describe a time that you persevered.

Now point to the box. Wait until all children have pointed.

The last question your parent or caregiver will answer is about a time they persevered. When they have finished answering, you are going to draw a picture of the image that came into your mind when they told you about the time they persevered. Draw it in that box. You can use a pencil, crayon, markers, or pen.

Now point to the maze. Wait until all children have pointed.

This is a maze that you will do with your parent or caregiver. Your goal is to draw one line from Pam Perseverance to the trophy without going through any of the barriers. When you do a maze, it is best to try it first with your finger so you do not have to erase if you hit any barriers. First point to Pam Perseverance. Then you will follow one direction in the maze. If you hit a barrier, you know that direction is not right, so start over. If your finger can go straight through to the trophy without hitting a barrier, then you have found the correct way to get through the maze. Remember the directions you took, and draw them with a pencil.

Now you know who you will ask to help you do the activities, and now you know what to do. Sometime when that parent or caregiver is free, tell them that you learned about a big word in school today. What is that big word? Perseverance.

Then recite the definition to them. What is the definition of Perseverance? Choose to keep trying, even when there are challenges.

Now you know exactly what to do! Once you finish the Home Connection activities, bring the magazine back to school. You need to return the magazine by next Friday. We want to see what you have discussed with your parent or caregiver. Once we know that you have completed the activities, then we will send the magazine back home with you and you can keep it at home.
Printable version of What is Perseverance Lesson [Download]