Activity: Students watch the video. They discuss the lesson about patience and what Jack learned from the leaky bucket. Students do a “Leaky Bucket” activity that reinforces the message.
Materials needed: the video; journals if they already have them or two pieces of paper
Directions: Explain: “Today we will watch a video with a short story about the importance of having patience.” Show the video and guide students in a discussion about the story - help them to come to an understanding about its message using open-ended questions. You want them to realize that Jack learns that he will be happier if he (1) chooses to notice the good things that happen along the way to reaching his goals instead of focusing on the hardships and disappointments that are part of the journey, (2) looks for ways to turn mistakes and misfortunes into opportunities. Lead a discussion on this quote from the story: “Life is like this bucket. We all have imperfections and flaws just like the holes in the bucket, but that doesn’t mean we should give up to find happiness and peace…it’s about appreciating and valuing the journey and making the most of the path we’ve traveled.” Tell students that you will now show them how they could apply this lesson to their own lives.
Leaky Bucket Activity: Give each student a piece of paper or have them write on a journal page. Tell them they have 3 - 5 minutes to think of a mistake they made within the last week or so, describe how it made them feel, and write a few sentences about it. Give them a second piece of paper. Explain that the blank paper represents the brain before the mistake was made. It is blank to represent that the brain hasn’t yet experienced the mistake, and has no record of it. Tell them to go back in time and feel the feelings they had when they made that mistake. Tell them to (1) crumple the blank paper up, (2) throw it on the ground (3) pick it up, straighten it out, and trace the crumple lines with various colors. When everyone’s finished, remind them that before the mistake was made, there was no record of it (the blank paper). The crumpled paper represents the mistake, and the colored lines symbolize the positive brain activity that occurred during and after the mistake was made. Brain specialists have discovered that when we try something and fail, important learning takes place that is recorded (the colored lines) in our brains for future reference - valuable information we didn’t have before! Of course we don’t want to intentionally make mistakes, but we need to realize that mistakes can be beneficial and that’s one way to learn and grow. During the growing period we need to be patient!
Wrap it up: Tell students to keep that crumpled up paper with colored lines to remind them of this lesson - our brains use our mistakes to help us grow and learn.Post this in the classroom:Here’s a famous quote from a very smart man, Thomas A. Edison, the inventor of the light bulb. He responded to a criticism about all the times his experiments failed: “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
Related resource: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsasCrk7oBY
Activity: Students watch the video. They discuss the lesson about patience and what Jack learned from the leaky bucket. Students do a “Leaky Bucket” activity that reinforces the message.
Materials needed: the video; journals if they already have them or two pieces of paper
Directions: Explain: “Today we will watch a video with a short story about the importance of having patience.” Show the video and guide students in a discussion about the story - help them to come to an understanding about its message using open-ended questions. You want them to realize that Jack learns that he will be happier if he (1) chooses to notice the good things that happen along the way to reaching his goals instead of focusing on the hardships and disappointments that are part of the journey, (2) looks for ways to turn mistakes and misfortunes into opportunities. Lead a discussion on this quote from the story: “Life is like this bucket. We all have imperfections and flaws just like the holes in the bucket, but that doesn’t mean we should give up to find happiness and peace…it’s about appreciating and valuing the journey and making the most of the path we’ve traveled.” Tell students that you will now show them how they could apply this lesson to their own lives.
Leaky Bucket Activity: Give each student a piece of paper or have them write on a journal page. Tell them they have 3 - 5 minutes to think of a mistake they made within the last week or so, describe how it made them feel, and write a few sentences about it. Give them a second piece of paper. Explain that the blank paper represents the brain before the mistake was made. It is blank to represent that the brain hasn’t yet experienced the mistake, and has no record of it. Tell them to go back in time and feel the feelings they had when they made that mistake. Tell them to (1) crumple the blank paper up, (2) throw it on the ground (3) pick it up, straighten it out, and trace the crumple lines with various colors. When everyone’s finished, remind them that before the mistake was made, there was no record of it (the blank paper). The crumpled paper represents the mistake, and the colored lines symbolize the positive brain activity that occurred during and after the mistake was made. Brain specialists have discovered that when we try something and fail, important learning takes place that is recorded (the colored lines) in our brains for future reference - valuable information we didn’t have before! Of course we don’t want to intentionally make mistakes, but we need to realize that mistakes can be beneficial and that’s one way to learn and grow. During the growing period we need to be patient!
Wrap it up: Tell students to keep that crumpled up paper with colored lines to remind them of this lesson - our brains use our mistakes to help us grow and learn.Post this in the classroom:Here’s a famous quote from a very smart man, Thomas A. Edison, the inventor of the light bulb. He responded to a criticism about all the times his experiments failed: “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
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