Leon lan How to et ood t Something

MR21 | © 2021 Committee for Children | SecondStep.org Second Step® Elementary 1

How to Get Good at SomethingLesson Plan

GRADE 2 | Unit 1 | Lesson 1

ObjectiveStudents will be able to identify things they’ve done to get better at a skill.

Bold–Teacher’s script Italics–Anticipated student responses

Brain Builder (2–3 min.)

Let’s warm up our brains with a Brain Builder: Level 1 of Memory Movements!

Have kids stand. Play video and observe how many can successfully do the challenge.

Getting Started (2–3 min.)

Welcome to our first Second Step lesson! In Second Step lessons, we’ll learn about our feelings, how to show kindness, how to get along with others, and how we learn new things. Today we’re going to talk about things we’re good at.

Pair students. Think of something you really enjoy doing and are good at. It could be something you see on the screen, or it could be something else. Give partners time to talk, then call on volunteers to tell the class about something they’re good at.

We’re good at so many things! That makes our classroom a great place to be. Have you ever wondered how you’ve gotten good at things? Today we’ll find out.

Practice (10–12 min.)

We’re going to watch a video about a second-grader who makes lumpia (LOOM-pee-uh). Thumbs up if you know what lumpia is. Lumpia is a food, a kind of roll filled with meat and vegetables, that’s cooked in a pan.

Have students say “lumpia” out loud, then play video.

Anita is really good at making lumpia! She did something important: she made lots of lumpia, not just one or two. I saw her trying hard to get better each time.

How do you think practicing and trying hard helped Anita get better? Give partners time to talk, then call on 1–2 volunteers. It helped her get better at folding.

When Anita tried hard and practiced, she got better at folding the lumpia.

Let’s see what else Anita does to get good at making lumpia.

Play video.

I noticed Anita did another important thing: she got help from someone, her aunt.

How did asking for help make Anita better at making lumpia? Give partners time to talk, then call on 1–2 volunteers. Her aunt showed her how to fold the lumpia.

Right. When Anita asked for help, her aunt showed her how to fold the lumpia.


How to Get Good at SomethingLesson Plan


Practice, continued

Some people think you can get good at something right away, but that’s just not true. You get good at something by practicing, trying hard, and asking for help, like Anita.

Let’s see a second-grader who is good at something different.

Play video, then call on 1–2 volunteers to answer each question.

• What was River good at? Taking care of his little sister.

River was good at caring for his sister. That’s different from making lumpia! But let’s think about what both Anita and River did. Anita practiced making lumpia again and again.

• What did River do again and again? Calm his sister. Make her laugh. Put her shoes on.

That’s right. Anita also got better by asking for help.

• Who did River ask for help? His dad.

• How did that help River? His dad showed him what to do when the baby cries.

River got better at taking care of his sister by doing the same things that Anita did. They both practiced, tried hard, and asked for help.

At the beginning of the lesson, you thought of something you’re good at. Take a minute to remember it, then remind your partner.

For each question, give partners time to talk, then call on 1–2 volunteers.

• What did you do to practice and try hard? Various answers.

• Who helped you? How did they help you? If kids say no one, help them think of people they watched and learned from.

Check (5–7 min.)

Distribute handout to each student.

Now you’ll complete a sentence frame to describe what you’re good at and who has helped you. For example, “I’m good at singing because I practice. A person who has helped me is my music teacher.” Then, draw a picture showing what you’re good at.

Give students work time, then have them share their handouts with a partner or with the class.

While you’re learning new things this week, remember that practicing, working hard, and asking for help can help you get better!


What Mistakes Tell UsLesson Plan


ObjectiveStudents will be able to give at least one example of something they can do to keep going when they make a mistake.






We’ve been talking about what we can do to get better at things we enjoy. We learned that no matter what we’re good at, we all practiced, tried hard, and asked for help.

Today we’re going to talk about something that happens a lot when we’re learning: making mistakes.

• Raise your hand if you like making mistakes. Pause. I know I don’t.

• Why don’t we like making mistakes? They’re not fun. They’re frustrating.

We may not like mistakes, but everyone makes them, including adults. Mistakes are part of learning. In fact, mistakes can actually help us learn. Today we’re going to find out how.


Pair students. Rory is a first-grader having trouble with a picture problem in math. He could use your help.

• Rory didn’t get the answer right on his first try. What mistake did he make? Call on 1–2 volunteers. He crossed out 3 crayons instead of 4.

A mistake tells Rory something’s not working. Something about the way he solved this problem wasn’t quite right. Here’s what he does next.

Rory starts over. He goes slower this time and pays attention to the numbers in the problem. He checks his work. Drag the slider to the right. This time he gets the correct answer.

When a mistake tells us something’s not working, one thing we can do is try again.For example, if you make a mistake reading a word, you can try again and sound it out letter by letter.

• Have you ever tried again after a mistake? Turn and tell your partner. Give time to talk.

Let’s see something else you can do after a mistake.


What Mistakes Tell UsLesson Plan


Practice, continued

Clare’s learning to play four square. She wants to hit the ball so it goes into the next square. She pulls her arm back and swings as hard as she can! But instead of going into the next square, the ball flies out of bounds.

What mistake did Clare make? Call on 1–2 volunteers. She hit the ball too hard.

A mistake told Clare the way she hit the ball wasn’t quite right. Next time, she hits it a little softer. The ball lands in the square next to her, where she wanted it to go!

When a mistake tells us something’s not working, another thing we can do is make a small change. For example, if you make a lot of mistakes drawing with markers, you can make a small change and draw with a pencil instead. Or if you often make mistakes spelling some words, you can make a small change and write those words on a list to keep where you can see them.

We’ve seen 2 examples of kids learning from mistakes. Let’s see one more.

Alex is learning to skateboard. She puts one foot on, then pushes off to start rolling. She’s moving! Alex has both feet on the board now but wobbles to one side, then the other. And then she falls! She tries a few more times, but she keeps falling. “I don’t know what I’m doing wrong,” Alex says.

• Alex keeps falling. What does that tell her? Call on 1–2 volunteers. Something’s not working. She’s making a mistake.

That’s right. Something about the way Alex is riding the skateboard isn’t quite right. Since she’s not sure what to do, she asks her friend Tara. Tara skateboards a lot and shows Alex how to stand with her feet apart. After a few more tries, Alex stays on and goes farther than ever.

When a mistake tells us something’s not working, another thing we can do is ask for help. A good time to ask for help is after you’ve tried again or when you don’t know a small change to make.

• Have you ever asked for help after a mistake? Turn and tell your partner. Give time to talk.

Check (8 min.)

We saw how 3 kids learned from their mistakes. Now it’s your turn. Distribute handout to each student.

Think about something you’re learning to do. Write it in your handout in the sentence at the top.

Imagine making a mistake the next time you’re doing this. Think about whether you would try again, make a small change, or ask for help. Circle your choice on your handout. Then draw a picture of what it would look like. Give work time, then call on 2–3 volunteers to share their drawings with the class.

The next time you make a mistake, see if you can figure out what’s not working. Then try again, make a small change, or ask for help.


Helpful and Unhelpful ThoughtsLesson Plan


ObjectiveStudents will be able to identify the likely outcome of a character’s helpful or unhelpful thoughts.






Pair students. In our last lesson, we talked about how everyone makes mistakes.

What are 3 things you can do to help yourself keep going when you make a mistake? Turn and tell your partner. Give time to talk, then call on volunteers. Try again. Make a small change. Ask for help.

These are all helpful things to do when we get stuck. Today we’ll talk about another way to help ourselves when learning something new: paying attention to our thoughts.


This is Jada. She’s learning how to do a new kick in her tae kwon do class, but she hasn’t been able to do it quite right. Thumbs up if you’ve ever been like Jada when learning something new.

What do you think Jada might do next? Turn and tell your partner. Give time to talk, then call on 1–2 volunteers. Give up. Keep trying. Ask for help.

Jada takes a deep breath and thinks to herself, “I’ve got this!” Then she keeps practicing. Finally, she gets it right!


• What thought did Jada have when she got stuck? “I’ve got this!”

• How do you think she felt after she thought that? Better. Happy.

• What did she do after having that thought? Kept trying until she could do the kick.

Jada had a helpful thought. A helpful thought is one that keeps you going when you’re practicing or learning something new. When Jada thought, “I’ve got this,” it helped her keep trying until she could do the new kick.

• What do you say to yourself to help you keep trying? I can do this! I can keep practicing. I’m getting better!

Helpful thoughts can make you feel better when what you’re learning gets hard.


Helpful and Unhelpful ThoughtsLesson Plan


Practice, continued

Let’s see what happens when Jada has a different thought. This time when Jada has trouble, she thinks, “I can’t do this!” and she stomps away to sit by herself on the other side of the room.


• What changed? Jada thought, “I can’t do this.” She didn’t have a helpful thought.

• How do you think this thought made her feel? Worse. Angry. Sad.

• What did she do after she had this thought? Sat down. Gave up.

This time, Jada had an unhelpful thought. Unhelpful thoughts are thoughts that don’t help you. They include words like “can’t,” “never,” “won’t,” and “not.” When Jada said to herself, “I can’t do this,” it stopped her from trying and learning.

• What unhelpful thoughts do you know? Give think-time, then call on a few volunteers. I’ll never get it. This is too hard!

Everyone has unhelpful thoughts sometimes.

Thoughts are powerful. Helpful thoughts can keep us going. Unhelpful thoughts can make us feel worse.

Check (6–8 min.)

Let’s look at someone else’s thoughts. Zeke is learning to do a card trick. He wants to surprise his sister by guessing the card she picks. But it’s really hard to remember all the steps, and he keeps making mistakes.

Right now, Zeke’s thinking, “I’ll never get this!” For each question, give partners time to talk, then call on 1–2 volunteers.

• After having this thought, is Zeke more likely to keep going or stop trying? Stop trying.

• Why do you think so? It’s an unhelpful thought that makes him feel worse or believe he can’t learn the trick.

Here’s Zeke again—thinking a different thought this time, “I can do hard things!” For each question, give partners time to talk, then call on 1–2 volunteers.

• After this thought, is Zeke more likely to keep going or stop trying? Keep going.

• Why do you think so? It’s a helpful thought. It makes him feel better and believe he can learn.

Thoughts are important! When you’re learning new things, pay attention to the thoughts you’re having.


We Can Change Our ThoughtsLesson Plan


ObjectiveWith adult support, students will be able to replace unhelpful thoughts with helpful thoughts in a given scenario.




Have students stand. Play video and observe how many can successfully do the challenge.


Last week we learned about helpful and unhelpful thoughts. Helpful thoughts can help us keep going when we’re practicing or learning.

• What are examples of helpful thoughts? Call on 1–2 volunteers. I’ve got this. I’ll get better with practice.

Unhelpful thoughts can hold us back or keep us from trying.

• What are examples of unhelpful thoughts? Give think-time. Refer to the screen if needed. Call on 1–2 volunteers. This is too hard. I’ll never be able to do this.

We don’t want our unhelpful thoughts to keep us from practicing and learning. So today we’re going to learn what we can do when we have an unhelpful thought.


Pair students. This is Abdi. He’s learning to spell a new vocabulary word, and he’s having a hard time.

He makes a few mistakes and thinks an unhelpful thought: “I can’t do this.”

How could Abdi’s unhelpful thought hold him back? Give partners time to talk, then call on 1–2 volunteers. Might stop trying or give up.

Abdi’s unhelpful thought could keep him from practicing and learning more. But that doesn’t have to happen. Let’s see what he does next.

Abdi pays attention to what he’s thinking. “Hey, my thoughts aren’t helping me,” he says to himself.

He knows that unhelpful thoughts could keep him from trying. He decides to do something important. He’s going to turn his unhelpful thought into a helpful one!

Abdi adds the word “yet” to his unhelpful thought to make a new thought: “I can’t do this—yet.” Adding the word “yet” reminds Abdi that he will be good at what he’s learning after he practices and works hard.

Let’s see another example of how to change an unhelpful thought.


We Can Change Our ThoughtsLesson Plan


Practice, continued

This is Tanya. She’s learning to do a cartwheel. It’s really hard and she keeps making mistakes. She has an unhelpful thought: “This is too hard.”

Like Abdi, Tanya notices her thoughts aren’t helping her. But instead of adding “yet” like Abdi, she does something different. She completely replaces her unhelpful thought with a helpful thought.

“This is hard right now,” Tanya tells herself. “But if I keep practicing, I’ll get better.” What other helpful thoughts could Tanya say to herself? Give partners time to talk, then call on 2–3 volunteers. I can do it! I’m still learning! I’ve got this!

We’ve seen 2 ways to replace an unhelpful thought: think of a helpful thought, like Tanya, or add the word “yet,” like Abdi. Keep those in mind.

Check (5–7 min.)

This is Mel. She’s learning to do a crisscross jump with her jump rope, but she’s having a hard time. She thinks to herself, “I’m no good at this.”

Work with your partner to come up with a helpful thought Mel could say to herself instead. You can think of ideas that would help you if you were having a hard time. Give work time. At the top of a piece of chart paper, write “Helpful Thoughts.”

I’m going to make a list of all of our ideas. Call on volunteers and record their ideas on the chart paper. I’ve got this! I can keep trying!

Look at all these great thoughts for Mel. When she’s having a hard time with her jump rope, she can think any of these helpful thoughts from our list.

These can also work for you. Remember, any time you have an unhelpful thought, look at this list and choose a helpful thought to say to yourself instead. We can keep adding ideas to this list.

Save the list so students can add to it throughout the week.


Performance Task:Learn and Get Better

Lesson PlanGRADE 2 | Unit 1 | Lesson 5

ObjectiveStudents will be able to apply what they’ve learned to give advice to someone having a hard time acquiring a new skill.


Getting Started (1 min.)

You know a lot about learning new things and how to get better and better.

You know about making mistakes and using your thoughts to help you. Today you’re going to use all the things you know to help someone else.


This is Asha. Asha is learning how to paint with watercolors. While painting, she accidentally mixes the colors on her piece of paper. Now everything looks wrong!

Pair students. For each question, give partners time to talk, then call on 1–2 volunteers.

• What does her mistake show her? Something’s not working.

• What could she do now? Try again. Make a small change. Ask for help.

Let’s see what Asha decides to do.

Asha decides to try again. She starts over with a new piece of paper. This time, she has too much water on her brush and now her picture is smeared. She thinks to herself, “I can’t do this!”

For each question, give partners time to talk, then call on 1–2 volunteers to share their ideas.

• What kind of thought is Asha having? An unhelpful thought.

• How do you know? It includes “can’t.” It’s not helping her.

• How might this thought hold her back? Might make her want to give up. Might make her feel worse.

Asha notices her unhelpful thought and decides to change it to a helpful one.


• What thought could she think instead? I can’t do this—yet. I’m going to get better with practice. I can do it!

• How might changing her thoughts help her? It could make her feel better.

• Do you think Asha will keep going or give up? Why? Various answers.

Let’s see what happens.


Performance Task:Learn and Get Better

Lesson PlanGRADE 2 | Unit 1 | Lesson 5

Practice, continued

Asha thinks to herself, “I can’t do this—yet! I’ll keep trying.” She gets her brush just a little wet and mixes the watercolor paint. When she paints now, it looks so much better! It may not be perfect yet, but Asha learned from her mistake.

If Asha makes a mistake again, what can she do? Give partners time to talk, then call on 1–2 volunteers to share their ideas. Keep trying. Make a small change. Ask for help.

Right. We know if we keep practicing, try a new way, and ask for help when we’re learning, we will get better.

Check (8–10 min.)

You all did a great job helping Asha. Remember that you can do these same things when you’re learning something new.


• In the future, when you make a mistake, what will you do? Tell myself helpful thoughts. Try again. Make a small change. Ask for help.

• What will you do if you have an unhelpful thought? Change it to a helpful one.

• What helpful thought will you say to yourself the next time you make a mistake? Various answers.

Have students take out a piece of paper and drawing materials. Now, write down your favorite helpful thought to keep at your desk. When you finish, decorate it.

Give students work time. If students are struggling, refer them to the list of helpful thoughts you made together in Lesson 4.

Choose an option for sharing:

• Have students volunteer to share their drawings with the class.

• Have students share their drawings with a partner or in small groups.

• Have students do a gallery walk to view drawings.

• Hang student work in the classroom.

The helpful thoughts we wrote down today can keep us practicing and trying hard when we’re learning something new. We can also use them to encourage others!

MR

21 | © 20

21 Com

mittee for C

hildren | Second

Step.org

Second Step

® Elementa

ry 1

Perform

ance Ta

sk Rub

ricG

RA

DE 2 | U

nit 1 | Lesson 5Perform

ance Ta

sk: Learn a

nd G

et Better

In this perform

ance ta

sk, students w

ill ap

ply the skills they ha

ve learned

in this unit to give a

dvice to a

chara

cter na

med

Asha

who is lea

rning a

new skill. Stud

ents will then crea

te a keep

sake w

ith a help

ful thought for them

selves.

Instructions to Teachers

This perform

ance ta

sk is an op

portunity for stud

ents to dem

onstrate the skills a

nd know

ledg

e they acq

uired throug

hout Unit 1: G

rowth M

indset &

Goal-Setting

. This task

focuses prim

arily on the skills of na

ming

strateg

ies to use after m

aking

a m

istake a

nd m

ana

ging

strong em

otions by chang

ing unhelpful thoug

hts to helpful thoughts.

Use this rub

ric to observe a

nd listen to your stud

ents to determ

ine whether the cla

ss, as a

whole, is m

eeting the criteria

. If needed

, you can p

rovide sup

port to

individ

ual stud

ents and

ask q

uestions that encoura

ge further ela

bora

tion or clarifica

tion. In ad

dition, there a

re sugg

ested resources for w

ays to reinforce or continue

to pra

ctice the skills and

knowled

ge w

ith the class.

Unit G

oals

Skill or Know

ledg

e to b

e Dem

onstrated

Evalua

tion Criteria

Resources for

Ad

ditiona

l Supp

ortA

pp

roaching

Meeting

Und

erstand

mista

kes as

helpful to learning

Identifying

the benefit of

ma

king m

istakes

The ad

vice given d

oes not connect A

sha’s m

istake to either

an und

erstand

ing of w

hat isn’t

working

or a cha

nce to use a

diff

erent strateg

y.

The ad

vice given connects A

sha’s

mista

ke to an und

erstand

ing tha

t som

ething’s not w

orking.

OR

The ad

vice given connects A

sha’s

mista

ke to an op

portunity to use a

d

ifferent stra

tegy.

Teach

Gra

de 2, U

nit 1, Lessons 1 & 2

ExtendG

rad

e 2, Unit 1, Lesson 2, D

ays 2 &

5

Identifying

strateg

ies to use a

fter ma

king a

mista

keThe stra

tegies sug

gested

are not

relevant or help

ful after a

mista

ke.

OR

Collectively, only one releva

nt stra

tegy is sug

gested

.

The strateg

ies sugg

ested a

re releva

nt and

helpful a

fter a

mista

ke, such as trying

ag

ain,

ma

king a

sma

ll chang

e, and

a

sking for help

.

AN

D

Collectively, m

ore than one

relevant stra

tegy is sug

gested

.

Teach

Gra

de 2, U

nit 1, Lessons 1 & 2

ExtendG

rad


ay 4

MR

21 | © 20

21 Com

mittee for C

hildren | Second

Step.org

Second Step

® Elementa

ry 2

Perform

ance Ta

sk Rub

ricG

RA

DE 2 | U

nit 1 | Lesson 5Perform

ance Ta

sk: Learn a

nd G

et Better

Unit G

oals

Skill or Know

ledg

e to b

e Dem

onstrated

Evalua

tion Criteria

Resources for

Ad

ditiona

l Supp

ortA

pp

roaching

Meeting

Dem

onstrate rep

lacing

unhelpful thoug

hts with

helpful thoughts

Identifying

helpful a

nd

unhelpful thoug

hts in a

given context

Asha

’s unhelpful thoug

ht is not correctly id

entified.

Asha

’s unhelpful thoug

ht is correctly id

entified.

Teach

Gra

de 2, U

nit 1, Lesson 3

ExtendG

rad


ays 2 &

4

Rep

lacing

unhelpful

thoughts w

ith help

ful thoughts

Idea

s genera

ted for A

sha a

re not help

ful thoughts.

Idea

s genera

ted for A

sha a

re help

ful thoughts.

Teach

Gra

de 2, U

nit 1, Lesson 4

ExtendG

rad

e 2, Unit 1, Lesson 4

, Da

ys 2 & 5

Ad

ditiona

l Ob

servation N

otes

Leon lan How to et ood t Something

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