Growth Mindset Lesson Plan One

Objective: To introduce students to the idea of having a growth mindset-the belief that an
individuals intelligence and abilities can grow as a result of effort and persistence.
Lesson One: A Secret about the Brain- An introduction into the Growth Mindset
Part I. Team Building Activities1)
Ninja- (10 minutes) Players will stand in a circle, and place their hands together, the
player leading the game will say "Bow to your sensei". There, the countdown begins, and each
player must strike a pose. Players take turns attacking their opponents by swiping at their hands ,
and must freeze in place once their attack is finished. Defending players may dodge if they think
they will be hit, and must also freeze once the attack is finished. If a player is hit, the hand that is
hit is out but the other hand is still in. If a player misses, they must stop moving immediately.
When both hands have been hit, the player is out and must stand back until there is one player
left. The only player left is the winner..
OR
2)
Eye Contact Tag- (5-10 minutes)
Directions: Students will make a circle and be asked to look down at the ground. On the
count of three students will be asked to look up. If a student is making eye contact with
another student, those two students will be out. The game continues until there are either
1 or 2 people left.
Part II. Lesson
1)
Pre-Assessment (10 mins)- Students will take an assessment to gauge what
they have learned about growth mindset over the last few weeks.

mindset

2)
Mentors will ask students what they believe about their intelligence and abilities.
Do they think both can grow as a result of hard work and effort or are they fixed?
Mentors will then introduce to their mentees to what will be taught during the next few
weeks-the Growth Mindset, which is the belief that their intelligence and abilities can grow as a
result of their effort and persistence. ( 2 minutes)
3)
Mentors will then show students a video from Class Mojo to introduce them to the
concept of Growth Mindset: https://www.classdojo.com/bigideas/#2zrtHt3bBmQ (5 minutes)
-

4)
Mentors will further explain to students what the growth mindset is and will also
compare it to a fixed mindset, which is the belief that peoples basic qualities such as their
intelligence or talent are fixed traits and that they can not grow over time through describing the
characteristics of each mindset. (10 minutes)
- Mentors will show students a chart that breaks down the differences between the two
mindsets:
http://examinedexistence.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/two-mindsets-fixed-and-grow
th-carol-dweck.jpg
5)
Mentors will then break students into small groups of 2-4 students. Each group will be
given 1-2 scenarios and be asked to determine if the individual in the scenario exhibited a growth
or fixed mindset. After each group has had time to discuss the scenarios, the students will pick
one person from their group to tape their scenarios onto a board under either growth mindset or
fixed mindset. Mentors will then read each scenario out loud and have a group discussion about
which mindset each individual exhibited. (10 minutes)
http://miblsi.cenmi.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=DC0IFwBD4yc%3D&tabid=2246
Scenarios
1. Esmerelda is a freshman in her high schools drama club. After having multiple lead roles in
plays at her middle school, she hoped to be able to get a lead role in her high schools Romeo
and Juliet play. After auditions, Esmerelda was informed that she did not get a lead role in her
schools play. Although Esmeralda was disappointed that she did not get a lead role, she knew
that if she worked hard and tried to learn from her experience auditioning for a role in the
Romeo and Juliet play that she would eventually get the lead role that she always dreamed of.
What mindset does Esmerelda have? _________________
2. Mrs. Winn is monitoring her students during independent seat work. She observes Justin
getting frustrated with one of the math problems he is working on. Justin slams his pencil
down, which causes Mrs. Winn to go over to him immediately. She asks Justin what it is he is
struggling with and he responds, I hate math. I am not smart enough for this kind of math.
Mrs. Winn responds by saying, Oh yes you are Justin!
What mindset does Justin have? _____________________
3. Layne is taking piano lessons with Mr. Knoll his music instructor. Layne did not get to
practice much over the last few weeks, because other activities took priority. Although he is
interested in piano, he finds the time to practice difficult because he is involved in many other
extracurricular activities. During his weekly lesson, he realizes he is not playing well and is
making a lot of mistakes. He turns to Mr. Knoll and says, I guess I am never going to be the

concert pianist I once thought Id be. I just dont have it in me. Mr. Layne responds by saying,
Justin, some people have it and some people dont
What mindset do Layne and Mr. Knoll have? ___________________________
4. Justin decided that he would try out for his schools basketball team his junior year of high
school. In preparation for tryouts, he spent one hour a day working on his defense and another
working on his offensive skills every day after school. Unfortunately, after tryouts were finished
he was cut from the team. When Justin found out he was cut, he was devastated. The next day he
went to the coachs office and asked the coach what skills he needed to work on so that he could
make the team his senior year. His coach gave him some suggestions, and Justin immediately
made a plan for how he would improve the skills that his coach suggested he work on.
What mindset does Justin have? ________________
5. Damien is in her senior year and meeting with her guidance counselor. Her guidance
counselor is reviewing her credits and grades. Tonya realizes that her algebra grade is causing
her GPA to go down. She is also concerned about getting a credit for algebra. She turns to her
counselor and says, maybe Im just not college material. I dont know if I am smart enough to
attend college. Her guidance counselor replies, Ive been a little concerned about that myself.
There are definitely areas that I think may be difficult for you. Maybe you should reconsider
college
What mindset does Damien have? ______________________
Part III. Application Activities:
1) Once mentors feel like students understand what the growth mindset is, students will be asked
to create and act out a short skit or to write a scenario that shows a student with either a growth
or fixed mindset to present to the class. (10-15 minutes)
2) Students will be asked to write down what they think of their intelligence and abilities now
after going through the lesson. After students have had a minute or two to think about their
response, the group will have a big group discussion about what they think of their intelligence
and abilities now. (3-5 minutes)
Choose one:
Growth mindset is the belief that students abilities (can develop/are fixed) over time.
__________
True or False: Someones intelligence can grow throughout time as a result of effort.
____________

Extra Time Activities:

The Biggest Winner Duration: 10 minutes
Directions:
1. Students will pair up with a partner. Once students are paired up with someone,
they will introduce themselves to each other and then play a game of Rock, Paper,
Scissors. (Rock beats scissors, scissors beat paper, and paper beats rock)
2. The loser of the match will connect to the winners back (similar to a dance train)
and become the winners biggest fan, cheering for this person with all the passion
they can muster. The winner will then try to find another group to play rock,
paper, scissors against. Whoever loses the match will attach themselves to the
winners group.
3. This will continue until there are two big groups. At this point, the two individuals
at the head of the group will play rock, paper, scissors in a best of three round.
The winner of this match will be considered The BIGGEST WINNER

Human Knot
Duration: 10-15 mins
Directions:
1. Have kids break up into small groups (8-10) and stand in a circle, facing inward.
2. Tell everyone to reach their right arm towards the center and grab someone else's
hand. Make sure no one grabs the hand of the person right next to them.
3. Next, have everyone reach their left arm in and grab someone else's hand. Again,
make sure it's not the person right next to them.
4. Now, the fun begins! The kids need to work together to untangle the human knot
without letting go of any hands. The goal is to end up in a perfect circle again.
They can go over or under each other's arms, or through legs if needed!
Encourage them to do whatever they want, as long as they don't break the chain in
the process.

Growth Mindset Lesson Two

Objective: To help students understand that mistakes can be used as opportunities to learn and
grow.
Lesson Two: The Magic of Mistakes
Part I. Team Building Activities1) Biggest Winner- Duration (5-10 minutes)
Directions:
1. Students will pair up with a partner. Once students are paired up with someone,
they will introduce themselves to each other and then play a game of Rock, Paper,
Scissors. (Rock beats scissors, scissors beat paper, and paper beats rock)
2. The loser of the match will connect to the winners back (similar to a dance train)
and become the winners biggest fan, cheering for this person with all the passion
they can muster. The winner will then try to find another group to play rock,
paper, scissors against. Whoever loses the match will attach themselves to the
winners group.
3. This will continue until there are two big groups. At this point, the two individuals
at the head of the group will play rock, paper, scissors in a best of three round.
The winner of this match will be considered The BIGGEST WINNER
2) Students and mentors will break up into smaller groups. The number of groups that we break
up into will depend on the number of kids who are there. If we have the same number of kids as
we did last week, we will split into two groups.
Once mentors and mentees are split into their small groups each group will play Two Truths
and a Lie to hopefully get to know one another a little more. Duration 5 minutes
Directions: Each person in the group will introduce him- or herself by stating two truths about
their life and one lie. The rest of the participants will guess which statement is the lie. Example:
My First name is Orlando; I am right handed; My last name is Bloom. Guess which ones the lie!
3) Next Mentors will review last weeks lesson:
Duration: 5-10 minutes
Ask students:
What is the difference between a growth and a fixed mindset?
Answer: A fixed mindset is where one believes that his or her intelligence can not grow
over time. A growth mindset is when someone believes that his or her intelligence and
abilities can grow over time as a result of effort.

-Ask students if anyone would like to share one thing that they have learned in the past
week.
If a student shares something, be sure to give them process praise. Wow, Im
glad you stuck with that task long enough to learn how to do it or Im sure it
took a lot of effort to learn that skill.
A mentor may have to share something that they have learned this week first to
get the conversation started.
4) Introduce this weeks lesson: The Magic of Mistakes Ask students if any of them have
ever made a mistake. Then ask students to reflect on that mistake and try to identify some lessons
that they could learn from the mistake that they made. A mentor may need to share first to get
the conversation started. Then share with the group that this weeks lesson will be about learning
how to view our mistakes as learning opportunities.
5) Show students Class Dojo Duration: 5-10 minutes
Video:https://www.classdojo.com/bigideas/#rg_MeWhJW7I
Discussion Questions:
What did Katie teach Mojo about mistakes?
What do you think Mojo should do with his robot?
What would you do?
6) Next, Mentors will lead students in a game called The Maze Game Duration: 15-20 mins
Directions:
Using multi-colored dots, mentors will make a maze on the floor. Once the mentors have made
the maze, the mentors will create a path from one end of the maze to the other that students must
try to figure out using trial and error. Students will take turns going through the maze. Once a
student steps on a dot that is not a part of the path that the mentor created, the next person in line
will go. Hopefully, the students will building off of the success of the person in front of them
until they figure out the path to get from one end to the other.
The maze will looks something like this:

After the game, mentors will process the activity with the students and ask them the following
questions:
Discussion Questions:
What strategies and ideas did not work for you during this activity?
What worked well for you all during the activity?
What helped you complete the activity?
How did the mistakes of the other students help you during this activity?
Hopefully, the students will identify how watching the wrong steps (mistakes) that the
individuals in front of them took helped them to know where to go. Mentors will then emphasize
how in the activity the mistakes that were made allowed for the group to know which way was
the wrong way and which path was actually the way to successfully completing the maze.
Mentors will tie this aspect of the activity back to real life and discuss how the mistakes we make
in life can also be used as learning opportunities and help us identify a better way of doing
something or get us going on a path that will lead to success.
7) Smarties Duration: 15-20 minutes
Directions: Each student will be given two rolls of smarties candy. Once the candy is given out,
students will be asked to stack as many smarties candy as possible in one vertical column using
only one hand in one minute. Before students begin stacking, they will be asked to predict how
many smarties they believe that they can stack and write this number on a worksheet that will be
handed out. If the goal is reached, each smartie will count for 10 points each; the student will get
a bonus five points for each additional candy stacked over the goal. If the goal is not reached,

each candy will count for 5 points. In order for the candy stack to count, the stack must remain
standing for 5 seconds after the timer goes off.
Ask students to do the same thing and see if they are able to more accurately guess how many
they can stack.
Ask students to do it one last time but in groups of two (four rolls of smarties each)
After the game, mentors will process the activity with the students.
Discussion Questions:
What worked well? What didnt?
Were you able to successfully guess how many smarties that you would be able to stack the first
time?
If not, were you able to learn anything from not guessing correctly the first that you applied to
your second and third guesses?
Mentors should emphasize how failing when they tried to guess how many they could guess the
first time probably allowed them to make more accurate guesses the second and third time
around and relate this back to how the mistakes we make in life allow us to make better and
more informed decisions.

8) Final Activity: Duration 5-10 minutes

Students will be asked to write a letter, poem, or song to someone (real or imaginary) who has
made a mistake that is encouraging and expresses some of the things that they learned about
mistakes during the lesson. In the letter/poem/song, students should tell the individual in some
way that mistakes are opportunities to learn and grow and that mistakes are not always bad
things.
Extra Time Activities:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLYECIjmnQs Watch and discuss this video about famous
people who have experienced failure.
Eye Contact Tag

Growth Mindset Lesson 3:

Objective: To help students understand that learning new things can be achieved but require us
to give ourselves time, put forth effort, and be willing to ask for help
Part I: Get to know you activities:
1. Question Game
Duration 5-10 minutes
Directions- Students and mentors will form a circle. After students have formed a circle, they
will toss around a ball that has questions all over it. When a student catches the ball, they will
answer the question that their right thumb lands on. After the student answers the question, they
will pass the ball to someone else in the circle.
2. Will The Real Mr. And Mrs. Jones Please Stand Up? Duration: 15-20 minutes
Materials: 3x5 Index Cards
Directions:
1. Provide each student with an index card
2. On the back of the index card, ask students to draw a picture that describes
themselves. These pictures can be sketches of themselves, hobbies, jobs, interests,
etc. Anything that can describe them is fair game! They must draw at least 3
pictures.
3. Collect all the cards and put them into a container
4. Choose a volunteer to pick out a card. Once the volunteer picks out a card and
looks at it, he or she then tries to describe the drawer based on the picture on the
card and guesses who drew the picture
5. Once the volunteer guesses, the individual who drew the card stands up and
clarifies, corrects or completes his or her introduction to the group. That person
then pulls out another card and continues the game.
3. Move your Butt
If time permits, you can play all or just one. Also, if there is a different get to know you game
that you would prefer to play, do not hesitate to play it instead of the options given here.
Part II. Lesson Activities:
1. Review Last weeks lesson

a. Ask students what did we learn about mistakes. (That they are opportunities to
learn and grow.)
2. Next, ask students to write down or discuss three things that they can not do currently but
would like to do someday. For example:
a. I can not play the guitar
b. I do not know how to speak Spanish
c. I can not do all the moves in my yoga class
Tell students to keep these statements. We will come back to them later. Mentors should
do this activity with students.
3. Introduce topic of this weeks lesson: The Power of Yet How adding yet to the end of
statements help us understand that a challenging task is achievable with time and
sometimes help.
4. Show Class Dojo Video to students:
https://www.classdojo.com/bigideas/#v5t-RKm0VFg
Ask students what Mojo taught Katie.
Answer: That just because someone can not do a task or activity now does not mean that
he or she will never be able to do it. With time and maybe a little bit of help, we can
achieve more than we think we can.
Have students come back to the list of things that they would like to learn how to do and
add the word yet at the end of each statement. Ask them how adding the word yet
made them feel towards the activity.
5.

Explicit Instruction:
During this part of the lesson, mentors will explain to students why using the word yet
can be helpful.
Adding the word yet at the end of statements helps us:
Realize that just because we can not do something now, does not mean we will
not ever be able to do it
Reminds us that accomplishing challenging things is possible
Mentors will then tell students that once we believe accomplishing challenging things is
possible, there are some things we can do to make accomplishing challenging things a
reality. Those things are
Putting forth Effort
Making a Plan
Asking for help

Next, mentors will discuss with students why they think putting forth effort helps
accomplish challenging things.
- Accomplishing challenging tasks requires individuals to try harder at the
task they are attempting to complete. When we put forth our maximum
effort, we are able to accomplish much more than we think we can.
- Secondly, mentors will discuss with students how making a plan helps tackle
challenging things
- Making a plan helps individuals break the challenging things theyd like
to accomplish into smaller steps that can seem more attainable.
- Lastly, mentors will discuss with students why to accomplish challenging things
we may need to ask for help:
- There are times when someone we know has expertise in an area or field
that we would like to learn more about. When this is the case, there is
nothing shameful about asking for help.
Activities for the kids.
5. Face The Cookie
Duration: 10-15 minutes
Directions: Students will each be given an oreo cookie. Students will then be asked to
separate the cookie, lick the icing, and put it on their forehead. Once they have done this,
the students will have to try to get the cookie from their forehead to their mouth
WITHOUT using their hands. The only rule is that the cookie must always remain in
contact with their face (so they cant try to flip the cookie with their forehead and catch it
with their mouth.) If the cookie falls to the ground before he/she is able to get the cookie
in their mouth, the student must get another one. Everyone who is able to complete the
task wins and gets another cookie! (Well probably give everyone another cookie!)
Debrief Questions:
What worked well?
What was difficult about completing the activity?
What types of skills and qualities did it take to complete the task?
If you failed the first time, what did you do differently the second time.
It typically takes the students a little while to get the cookie to move from their forehead
to their mouth. If a student fails the first time, give them some strategies to help them
complete the task.
Tilt your head in the opposite direction from the way you want the cookie to go,
to provide stability.

 Use repetitive motions with your face muscles to slowly but steadily move the
cookie along.
When you get the cookie close to your mouth, slowly and gently tilt your head to
get it to its final destination
After the task is over, mentors can mention that in order for the students to complete the
task, they had to stick with it, be patient and give the cookie time to move down their face
to their mouth. You can mention that if the student had given up while the cookie was
half way down their face, he/she would have never completed the task. You can tie this
back to school and life by saying that in life there are some things and tasks that require
us to be patient and stick with the task in order to get a satisfying result. No one is able to
complete every task and understand each concept immediately. Some things take time to
understand and complete.
6. Tanks and Commanders
Duration 10-15 minutes
Directions: Students will break up into groups of two. They will then choose someone to
be blindfolded and someone to be the caller. Using a rope or some other type of material
(dots, chairs), mentors will section off an area for students who are blindfolded to
maneuver in. Within this area, mentors will scatter balls, shoes, paper, and other materials
as obstacles that the students will have to try to avoid stepping on. The goal of the game
will be for the students to get from one side of the area to the other without stepping on
an obstacle. If the student steps on an obstacle, they will have to start over. During the
first round, the blindfolded students will have to see how far they can get without any
help. (Mentors should keep a close eye on the students to make sure none of them run
into a wall or get hurt.) After the first round, students will be able to use their partner to
help them get from one side to the next. The partner can tell them where to go to avoid
stepping on an obstacle and make it to the other side safely. The game can be set up as a
race between multiple groups if there are enough people and you think the kids would
enjoy it. If there is enough time, have each group switch who is blindfolded and who is
calling out directions.
Debrief Questions:
How difficult was it to try to get across to the other side without any help?
What was it like for the callers to see your partner try to get to the other side blindfolded
and not be able to help them?
How did it feel during the second round to be able to have someone help you get to the
other side? For the callers, how did it feel to have your partner finally use your help?
You can ask any other questions that you think would be fitting.

After asking these questions, mentors can talk about the importance of being willing to
ask for help when assistance is needed. Remind students that needing help is not anything
to be ashamed of but is actually an integral part of learning and growing and that at some
point of time we will all have to get assistance from someone else who has more
expertise or experience in a certain area. Share that other people have different
experiences and skill sets and when we are willing to share with and learn from others, it
allows us to accomplish challenging things that we wouldnt be able to do on our own.
Just like how getting the help of our partner in the game tanks and commanders allowed
people to complete the task. (You do not have to share this word for word, of course.
Phrase it in your own unique way.)
Part III. Application:
Duration: 5-10 minutes
For the application portion, we can break up into even smaller groups again (1 mentor
paired with one student) to cultivate more meaningful dialogue and strengthen our
relationships with the students.
1. Then have the students jot down 1 or 2 people who they believe could help them
learn these activities. Mentors should do the same thing. Share and discuss what
you wrote with each other.
2. Then have students write down tasks that they believe they could help others learn
how to do. Share and discuss these items as well.
3. Once everyone has had time to do this we can get back together as a big group
and discuss the days activities.
Possible Questions:
a. What activity was your favorite? Why?
b. Did you all learn something new? If so, what?
c. Ask if anyone would like to share the things that they would like to learn
with the group and who could help them learn those things.
**Do not feel like you have to follow the plan exactly as it is written. Feel free to do as much or
as little as you deem necessary, as long as what you are thinking about doing goes along with the
objective, you are good to go.
Extra Time Activities:
1. Eye Contact Tag
2. Captains Coming
3. Human Knot
4. Building the Strongest Bridge
Little Extra Info on using the word Yet
One powerful word for growth mindset

While remembering to offer the right type of praise to your mentee is a good starting point for
promoting growth mindset, there are several other specific approaches that you can use with your
mentee. This Lesson covers two simple-yet-powerful strategies you can use to further promote a
growth mindset in a variety of situations.
One powerful word
There is one simple word that you should consider incorporating into conversations with your
mentee, especially as they relate to aspects of school or life where they are trying to improve.
Before we reveal this powerful word, take a minute to think about three things that you cannot
do. These can be work-related, health-related, or even related to how you interact with others and
build relationships. Write these three things down on a sheet of paper.
Now lets think about the kinds of things many kids commonly think are not possible for them.
Think about some of the statements you might hear from your mentee:
I dont know how to do this assignment.
I am not good at math.
I dont have the grades to get into college.
I cant kick the soccer ball from the corner.
I dont know how to get a date for prom.
I cant eat only one cookie.
I cant go to sleep without smoking pot.
I cant learn to solve problems with words instead of fighting.
I cant get organized.
So here is that powerful word: YET. Take a look at those mentee statements again. They all
sound much better and less intimidating with the simple addition of the word yet at the end.
Yet implies that something is achievable. Yet puts a person back in charge of their destiny. Yet
hints that there is work to be done in order to get to the desired place.
This may sound like a bit of a trick of the mind, but reminding your mentee that they havent
accomplished something yet really can make them feel better about where they are at currently
and makes the pursuit of their goals, even the very lofty ones, seem less daunting. Yet can
make things sound less fatalistic and more optimistic. Yet equals possibility - without it, those
statements, and the person who believes them, are set in stone.
Moving beyond yet
Now this doesnt mean that your mentee wont have some anxiety about the journey implied by
that yet. They may be worried about how they can get from point A to point B and feel like
they will be overwhelmed somewhere along the way, especially if they are already upset,
frustrated, or panicked about a recent struggle that reinforced their fixed mindset. Yet can ring
pretty hollow if its not backed up with strategies to get better. So always follow up a yet
statement with a phrase like this: Lets figure out what we need to do to get there. This lets

your mentee know that there are steps to be taken and ideas that can be tried, while also letting
them know that they have your support for the journey.

Growth Mindset Lesson 4:

Objective: To help students understand the importance embracing challenges
Part I: Get to know you activities:
1. Question Game
Duration 5-10 minutes
Directions- Students and mentors will form a circle. After students have formed a circle, they
will toss around a ball that has questions all over it. When a student catches the ball, they will
answer the question that their right thumb lands on. After the student answers the question, they
will pass the ball to someone else in the circle.
Part II. Lesson Activities:
1. Review Last weeks lesson
a. Ask students what the magic word is that we learned last week. Answer: Yet
b. What does the word yet help remind us of?
i.
That challenging things can be accomplished but sometimes require
patience and perseverance
ii.
Accomplishing challenging tasks sometimes require us to ask for and
accept help.
iii.
Add anything that youd like to add
2. Ask students to respond to these two questions:
i.
What words come to mind when you think of challenges?
ii.
How does one become smarter or better at things that they enjoy?
*We will either have students write answers down on a sheet of paper or well just
discuss their answers with them.
3. Introduce topic of this weeks lesson: That trying challenging things is not only fun, but
its also the only way to grow our brain and skills
Show the Class Dojo Videos to students: Episode 4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGutiNBuW_M
Ask students following questions:
- How are we able to do things like ride a bike or read a book?
Answer: Neuron Connections
- How can we change how our neurons are connected?
Answer: Learn challenging things
Show 2nd video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXlyyCUuOCI Episode 5

How do we grow our brain?

Answer: Learn challenging things.

4. Next we will play a few Minute to Win it games to show students that challenges can
be fun and are great learning opportunities
Marshmallow Toss: Pair the players into teams of two. Give one player on each team a
handful of marshmallows, and give the other player a small paper cup (like a Dixie cup).
Have the player with the marshmallows stand about five feet away from the player with
the cup and try to throw the marshmallows into the cup. The team that gets the most
marshmallows into the cup at the end of a minute wins!
Scoop It Up: Using nothing but a spoon in your mouth, transfer six ping pong balls from
one bowl to another in less than one minute. No hands! Hands are only allowed if you
drop the ping pong ball, and then they can be used to place the ball back into the original
bowl for another transfer attempt. 2-3 players compete for each round of play.
SUCK IT UP: Players place a straw in their mouth and use suction to transfer a pile of 25
M&Ms from one plate to another in under one minute. Only one hand may be used to
hold the straw. Player who has successfully transferred the most M&Ms will win.
Everyone gets to eat their candy when the round is finished!
Stack It Up: Players must stack 25 pennies in under a minute using only one hand. This
game works well with 3 players competing in each round of play.
Shoe Kick: Set a small table or designate a space about ten feet in front of the players.
Have the player slip their heel out of their shoes, so that it is still on their feet but will
come off easily. On go, have each player try to kick their shoe off so that it lands upright
on the designated spot. The players can have as many tries as they want. The players that
complete this task in one minute win!

Debrief Questions:
What types of skills did you have to use to complete these challenges?
Do you think you could have learned these skills without trying these challenges?

Discuss with students that pursuing challenges can be fun and help us learn new skills that we
would not be able to pick up without trying new things. Relate this back to how through
participating in the various minute to win it challenges we were able to have fun and also learn
some new skills that we would not have been able to learn without trying to challenging things.
Part III. Application:
Duration: 5-10 minutes
1) For the application portion, we will ask the two questions that we asked at the beginning
of the lesson:
A. What words or phrases come to mind when you think of challenges now?
B. How does one become smarter or better at things or tasks?

2) Ask students to think of 2-3 challenging tasks that they would like to try to learn how to do in
the coming weeks and to share those things with the group.
End the lessons by reemphasizing the importance trying challenging things has in our
development and in reaching our highest potential. Also briefly remind students of the four
concepts of growth mindset that we discussed throughout the semester:
Our abilities and intelligence are not fixed but can grow as a result of our hard work and
effort
Mistakes are opportunities for growth
Importance of using the word yet
Pursuing Challenges are the best way to grow our intelligence and abilities
**Do not feel like you have to follow the plan exactly as it is written. Feel free to do as much or
as little as you deem necessary, as long as what you are thinking about doing goes along with the
objective, you are good to go.
Extra Time Activities:
1. Eye Contact Tag
2. Captains Coming
3. Human Knot
4. Foot to Foot