The secrets to success
I love this poster. It says so much about how we perceive success and what actually success is all about. No matter the context you can apply this to your everyday life, professional work, studies and even relationships. I am a true believer in the power of many of the underwater traits, habits and mindsets in this poster. You don’t necessarily need all of them but you’d be surprised at how one can lead to another.
For ESL teachers this can be a great starting point for a lesson especially at the beginning of the school year. Since that day is fast approaching I thought of writing this post for teachers looking for fresh ideas. This is not a whole lesson topic but can easily be converted into one, you can start easily enough.
Lesson Idea
Hand out the poster or project it onto the board and get students to discuss it in pairs. Get feedback listening carefully to how they perceive the image. Then get them to discuss a success story of their own and relate their story to the image, which traits, mindsets, habits helped them succeed? Did others around them notice these traits? Get feedback.
How can these ideas translate to the classroom? Ask students to make a list of goals or aims for the upcoming year and what they will need to achieve them, how does each aspect of the picture relate to their goals and aims, what will need to be done? This can also be a good time to discuss how failure plays a role in success.
What are the lessons we learn from failure while learning?
What are some good habits that students can adapt?
What are examples of persistence?
What might they need to sacrifice?
Finally, get them to write some sentences in their notebooks of goals, aims they want to have and what might be the difficulties they encounter. They can refer to this as the school year progresses for motivation.
Extra idea: You can create a padlet and get students to post one difficulty that must be overcome to achieve success and how it can be done. Here is the site for padlet.
Enjoy, would love some feedback on your thoughts of this lesson and what you think can be added to improve it. #makesomethinghappen
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