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Lesson Plans

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Pop-Up Milestones

Looking back can help us move forward. Students will reflect on milestones they've achieved and depict some of their achievements in pop-up artwork.

Lesson Plan

Supplies Needed

Gather all the supplies needed to bring your craft ideas to life! From paints and markers to glue and scissors, our crafts section has everything to spark creativity and make every project truly special.

Steps

  • Step 1

    Have students ponder and discuss this quote by poet, author, and civil rights activist Maya Angelou: "You can't really know where you are going until you know where you have been." How do our past experiences shape our future? How is self-awareness crucial for personal growth?

  • Step 2

    Ask students to think about some personal milestones. They might be physical milestones such as first words, learning to walk, etc. or they could be memorable milestones such as mastering a difficult school topic, being selected for an athletic team, getting a role in the school play, etc.

  • Step 3

    Have students select three or four milestones to illustrate in a pop-up milestone drawing. They can do this by decorating the background on a piece of construction paper leaving room in the middle for the pop-up art. To make the pop-ups, have students fold a separate piece of paper in half then draw stone-shaped areas with the top of each shape touching the fold (that will keep the front and back intact). They will cut out the shapes and write their milestones on the inside of each cut-out. Ask them to write the age when they reached that milestone on the top of each stone shape and add color to each "milestone." Glue or tape the stones onto the decorated background paper.

  • Step 4

    Have students present their pop-up milestone art and talk about how reflecting on one's past can help spark memories of their early childhood and build understanding of oneself.

Standards

SEL: Self-Awareness: Recognize one’s strengths, emotions, and limitations with a well-grounded sense of confidence and purpose. 

SEL: Self-Management: Manage one’s emotions, thoughts, and behaviors effectively in different situations and to achieve goals and aspirations. 

Adaptations

Challenge students to create a timeline of future achievements they envision for themselves.

Encourage students to research a public person they admire, perhaps a musician, writer, actor, scientist, activist, local or world leader, or anyone else. Then have them write about the milestones, including training and practice they complete, and achievements they attained to get to where they are.