Jumpstart: Patience - Universal

by Christopher Dudick

CASEL Competency Focus: Self Management
Time: 20-30 minutes
Materials: The Carrot Seed,(YouTube Link Included), Patience Clip (YouTube Link Included), Timer or Clock with Second Hand
Objectives:

1. Waiting his/her turn while playing a classroom game or completing a classroom activity
2. Identify ways to appropriately pass the time while waiting

Definitions of Key Terms:

  • Patience: The ability to wait calmly without complaining or becoming upset.

Lesson Procedures

Introduction: Begin the lesson by discussing the necessity of having patience. Ask students to provide examples of when it is important to be patient. Explain the only way to learn patience is to practice. Use the following questions to foster discussion; What does patience look like? What does patience mean to you? When do you need to have patience at home? In school? What can happen if someone doesn’t show patience?


Game Time: Silence is Golden!

Take advantage of the quiet while teaching patience! Have students practice patience by seeing how long they can go without saying a word or making a noise. Start a timer. The last person to speak or make a noise is the winner. Incorporate math by repeating this game daily and have students graph the number of seconds the were able to remain silent. Challenge the students to increase their quiet time percentage.


Application:

Primary - For primary students, read or listen to The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss. Discuss the following questions: Did the little boy’s family believe the seed would grow? What two things did the little boy do everyday to help the seed grow? Did the seed finally come up? How?

Secondary - For secondary students, watch Patience, a short film inspired by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Discuss how the video made them feel. Did they feel calm? Did the video’s setting affect how they were feeling? How did the author practice patience?


Try it out!

Primary and Secondary - For primary students, consider having them plant a seed of their own. Students can report progress and share what it takes to make the seed grow. For secondary students, encourage them to make a short video expressing what patience means to them. How do they practice patience?