Learning Goals

1. I can state the need to work for hope.
2. I can state the need to persevere for hope.

Preparation:

This lesson has a dance competition (Step 7). Consider the best logistics for the dance competition, including the venue as it might disrupt other classrooms. For the dance competition, consider and invite people who could be part of the “Elders” who choose the winners (e.g., headmasters, other teachers). Arrange for the music that will be used for the dance competition, whether traditional drumming or recorded music. Consider the cultural and religious background of your pupils as you are selecting the music. Children will dance more enthusiastically to music that they are comfortable and familiar with. Review the order of this lesson and consider the best time to award the winners of the dance competition. While the award presentation is included as part of the dance competition in Step 7, it might work better for the pupils in your class to have the award presentation at the very end of this lesson. Step 10 is preparation for the Hope Celebration in the next lesson. As part of this preparation, you will assign 5 pupils to create a drama of a naming ceremony. Based on the cultural backgrounds of the pupils in your class, identify the name that the “parents” in the drama can give to the newborn that symbolizes the hope that the parents have for the child. It is also important that these 5 pupils practice the drama ahead of next week’s lesson. Give them the time and your attention as they rehearse the drama.

Materials:

Hope magazine: The Tortoise and Rabbit Race [Download] Prize for the Throne Dance winner. A traditional or homemade crown for the winner would be best, but any prize could work. Three smaller prizes for the other three finalists in the dance competition (e.g., 2 markers per finalist, totaling 6 markers) Music for dance (either traditional instruments or recorded music with speakers)

Step 1 (5 min): Review

Ask	What character strength are we learning about in Tarbiyya? Hope What does hope mean? Believing good things will happen What are things you can do to fill yourself with hope? Let a few pupils share What have you learned about hope so far? Let a few pupils share
Write and Read	Write the I-Can statements on the board. Read the I-Can statements as the goals of what you will accomplish today.

Step 2 (5 min): Introduction

Ask

What does a rabbit look like? Big ears, Furry, etc. How do rabbits move? Fast, Hop Who would like to come to the front and move like a rabbit? Invite one pupil to hop like a rabbit. Make sure they move fast. Keep the child at the front when you ask the next questions. What does a tortoise look like? Shell, Green, etc. How do tortoises move? Slow Who would like to come to the front and move like a tortoise? Invite one pupil to crawl on their hands and feet. Make sure they move slowly. If we had a race between tortoise and a rabbit, who would win? Rabbit Why do you think rabbit would win? Let a few pupils respond.

Explain

We are going to read a story about a race between a rabbit and tortoise. Let’s find out who wins!

Step 3 (5 min). Read The Tortoise and Rabbit Race

Share	Share the magazine.
Read	Read aloud The Tortoise and Rabbit Race.
Guide	Let’s make Hannah Hope’s signal to congratulate the Rabbit!

Step 4 (5 min). Comprehension Questions

Ask	Why did Rabbit and Tortoise run a race? To decide who would become head of the community Who was winning at the beginning of the race? Rabbit What happened when Rabbit crossed the river? He fell asleep. (Also acknowledge felt cold and built a fire) What was tortoise doing while Rabbit was sleeping? He kept running/He persevered Why didn’t the tortoise stop and warm himself by the fire too? He was focused on winning the race, Etc. How was the tortoise able to win the race? Let a few pupils respond: He kept running, He persevered, He was hopeful, etc. What happened after the tortoise won the race? He was made the community leader Tortoise was hopeful that he would win the race. What if he was just hopeful – he thought he could win, but he stayed at the starting line of the race? Would he have won? No What if the tortoise saw that he was behind and gave up the race. Would he have been able to win the race? No
Explain	Tortoise was hopeful that he could win the race and become the community leader. However, he did not just have hope – he worked to accomplish his hope. We can learn two important lessons from Tortoise. First, you have to work to achieve your hope, just like Tortoise worked by running the race. You cannot just hope for something and sit at the starting line. You have to work for your hope. Repeat after me: You have to work for your hope. Let pupils repeat. Second, we can learn from Tortoise that you have to persevere to accomplish your hope.
Ask	What did Pam Perseverance teach us that the word perseverance means? Choose to keep trying, even when there are challenges
Explain	When we have hope, there will likely also be challenges, just like Tortoise was faced with the challenge of being behind in the race. But Tortoise persevered – he kept running. Rabbit did not persevere. He stopped running and slept off. Tortoise’s perseverance paid off and he won the race. Repeat after me: You have to persevere to get what you hope for. Let pupils repeat.

Step 5 (5 min).Sing Hope Song

Guide

Guide pupils in singing the Hope Song. Everything will still get better no matter the time, Everything will still get better no matter the season, So just have hope that things will still get better.

Step 6 (5 min). Read The Throne Dance.

Ask	How many of you like to dance? Raise your hand if you like to dance. How long do you think you could dance for without stopping? Let a few pupils answer Have any of you ever participated in a dance competition? If some pupils said Yes to #3, ask: Was there a prize for the best dancer? If so, what was the prize? Let a few pupils answer.
Explain	We are going to read about a dance competition that has a special prize for the winner.
Read	Tell pupils to turn to the second page of their magazine. Read aloud The Throne Dance.
Ask	What is the prize for the winner of the Throne Dance? Crown, Become village leader What is the prize for the follow-up winners? Village leader’s council What do people hope for when they are doing the throne dance? Lead the village

Step 7 (25 min). Throne Dance Competition

Explain	Now we are going to have our own throne dance.
Present	Present the “crown” or prize.
Ask	What is this? Crown Who hopes that they can win this prize? Raise your hand if you hope you can win the prize. 3. What will you have to do if you hope to win the prize? Work hard by dancing, Persevere in dancing
Explain	Introduce the “elders” who will judge the competition. In the first stage of our throne dance, everyone is going to dance. When the time is up, the Elders will select the four best dancers. Then those four best dancers will be paired. The first pair will dance. The elders will select the best of those two. The second pair will then dance. The elders will select the best of those two. Finally, the two best dancers dance. The elders will then choose the best dancer. Is everyone ready to begin dancing?
Guide	If a different venue is used for the dance competition, take the children to the venue. Begin playing the music and let the children dance for a few minutes. Guide the panel of elders in choosing the 4 best dancers. Also choose how to pair those 4 dancers. (Typically the strongest with the weakest are paired and then the middle two are paired.) Let the first pair dance. Guide the panel of elders in choosing the best. Let the second pair dance. Guide the panel of elders in choosing the best. Let the two best dancers dance. Guide the panel of elders in choosing the very best.
Guide and Explain	In a short celebration, give the best dancer the prize. Also give the runner-ups the consolation prizes. Either before of after you make the awards presentation, consider explaining that not everyone always gets awards. The children who did not get an award now should work hard and persevere, and maybe they might win the award next time.

Step 8 (10 min). Direct Instruction

Guide	Give pupils some time to settle back into their chairs.
Ask	Before the dance competition, all of you hoped you would win. What if, when the music started, you just sat down. Would you have won the dance competition? No When you were dancing at the beginning, did you get tired? Yes What if the music played for just 1 minute, and then you decided that you were tired. Would you have won the dance competition? No Remember, at the beginning of today’s lesson, we learned two things about hope. What were they? You have to work for your hope. You have to persevere to get what you hope for.
Explain	In the dance competition, you had to work for your hope: you had to dance. You also had to persevere to get what you hoped for: you had to keep dancing even when you were tired. We are going to read another example of someone who works hard and perseveres in their hope.
Guide	Tell pupils to point to the pictures at the bottom of page 2 of the magazine.
Ask	What do you see the people doing in these two pictures? Planting seeds, Tending the farm
Explain	Farmers are good examples of hope. We are going to read about how farmers have hope.
Read	Read aloud A Farmer’s Hope.
Ask	Farmers hope that their seed will produce a big harvest. What do they have to do to work towards their hope? Prepare the soil, plant the seed, tend the plant, harvest the crop, etc. If a farmer just planted a seed and sat at home without going to their farm again until harvest time, would their hope be rewarded? No What can we learn about hope from a farmer? We have to work for our hope. We have to persevere for our hope.
Explain	Hannah Hope has more to teach us about how to work for and persevere in our hope. Turn to page 3 of your magazine.
Read and Ask	Read aloud Hannah Hope’s dialogue box. Before reading the other text, first ask: What is the child doing in this picture?

Step 9 (5 min). Conclusion

Ask

What did we learn today that we need to do to achieve our hopes? Work and Persevere One I-Can statement for today is I can state the need to work for hope. Let’s state that together. You have to work for your hope. Another I-Can statement is I can state the need to persevere for hope. Let’s state that together. You have to persevere to get what you hope for. What work do you need to do next week to work towards what you hope for? Let a few pupils respond

Step 9 (30 min). Preparing for Hope Ceremony
Note: Again, make an effort to get everyone involved in the ceremony. Try to give children different roles than what they had in the previous festival

Explain	We have learned a lot about hope. We have learned and grown in our character. Just as we celebrated what we learned about perseverance, we are also going to celebrate what we have learned about hope! For our hope celebration, we are going do something like a naming ceremony.
Ask	How many of you have been to a naming ceremony? Let pupils raise their hands What happens at naming ceremonies? Let a few pupils respond
Explain	Naming ceremonies are full of hope. The new parents have many hopes for their new child, and they believe that good things will happen to their child. So a naming ceremony is a perfect way to celebrate what we have learned about hope!
Ask	Who should we invite as special guests to our Hope Ceremony? Let pupils consider who to invite.
Explain	We are now going to assign roles. Everybody will participate in the hope ceremony in some way.