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My Motto

Students will devise and illustrate a personal motto.

Lesson Plan

Supplies Needed

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  • Heavy Paper

Steps

  • Step 1

    Mottos can help us stay focused on our goals, increase our productivity, inspire us, replace negative thinking with healthy self-talk, and provide other benefits. Have students think of some famous mottos they've heard and explain what they mean. Examples might include, "Be Prepared" (Boy Scouts), "Lend a hand" (Brownies), "The buck stops here" (President Harry S. Truman), "Do or do not, there is no try" (Yoda from "Star Wars"), "The pen is mightier than the sword" (Edward Bulwer-Lytton), or any others.

  • Step 2

    Ask students to come up with a personal motto. It might be a way to change a negative thought, a reminder of what they stand for, words to inspire them or encourage them to persist, etc. Have them fold a piece of heavy paper in thirds lengthwise to create a table tent. Have them write and illustrate the motto on both sides of the visible sides so that they will appear right side up when the tent is displayed.

  • Step 3

    Have students display their mottos on their desks and discuss reasons they chose this particular motto.

Standards

SEL: Self-Awareness: Understand one’s own emotions, thoughts, and values and how they influence behavior across contexts. 

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

Adaptations

Ask students to collaboratively devise a class motto that will guide and inspire all of them for the remainder of the school year. Then have them write and illustrate it on large poster board and display it prominently.

Have students research local mottos. What is the town, city, or state motto? Does the school or school district have a motto?