My Brain is Awesome - Academic Confidence Lesson

The same month I did multiple intelligences with 4th grade, I did academic confidence with 3rd grade. This is a breakdown of our lesson:

·         Read A Walk in the Rain with a Brain to the students.

·         Discussion Qs:

o   What lesson(s) is Fred the brain trying to teach us? (we’re all smart in our own ways, it’s important to try, persevere/keep going, believe in yourself)

o   How can you take care of your brain to make it stronger? (asking questions, trying new things, being healthy, thinking positively)

·         Give students the "My Brain is Awesome" worksheet:

- Cartoon drawing of your brain (can use color, can do whatever you want because it’s YOUR brain)

- 3 things your brain is really good at (not including sports); encourage specificity (examples such as “multiplication facts”, “solving problems with friends”, etc.)

-  3 thoughts you can think while taking a test to be more confident (I had to give examples of the OPPOSITE to help them understand this)

Any time I have students do a worksheet, I try to come up with an "early finishers" extension activity because I know they will be finishing at various times. Because I had an upcoming career event, I asked students to brainstorm as many careers as they could think of on the back of their sheet when they finished, even if they weren't careers they were interested in. Some of these kiddos struuuugggglled with this! I also got some very amusing answers. Of note was the fact that the majority of students listed companies that people could work for, not understanding that there are lots of different careers one can have within a company.

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