Our own firsts: Personal achievements

Time to complete Our own firsts: Personal achievements: 50 minutes

Year level: 2

Description

Students explore the feelings associated with being able to do something by themselves for the first time and reflect on how personal achievements can influence a person's identity.

Learning focus

Recognising and labelling the feelings associated with completing tasks independently for the first time.

Key understandings

  • People grow, change and develop.

  • Some aspects of our identity change during our lifetime, some stay the same.

  • Personal achievements influence a person's identity.

  • It is good to be able to identify our achievements and our challenges.

  • It takes persistence and patience to achieve new skills. 

Materials

  • Internet access
  • Student Activity Sheet: First ribbon [one per student]

General capabilities

No General Capabilities values have been selected.

Health and physical education(P)

Personal, social and community health

This strand will develop students' knowledge, understanding and skills to support a positive sense of self, to effectively respond to life events and transitions and to engage in their learning. Effective communication, decision-making and goal-setting skills are integral to this strand as they help to establish and maintain relationships in family, school, peer group and community settings, support healthy and safer behaviours, and enable advocacy. Students will source and examine a range of health information, products, services and policies, and evaluate their impact on individual and community health and safety.

Mental health and wellbeing

Blooms revised taxonomy

No Blooms values have been selected.

Inquiry learning phase

No Inquiry Learning phase values have been selected.

Related items

Teaching resource (download)

Before you get started

  • The self-esteem and confidence of some students may be an issue during this activity. Be reassuring and have a list of potential firsts prepared to support students struggling to identify something that they have achieved and are happy to share with other students. Don't force all children to share to the class/wider group.

Learning activities

Whole Class

Students identify feelings associated with achieving an activity by themselves for the first time.

  1. Show students the YouTube clips:

  2. Students then use the think-pair-share teaching strategy to discuss how the children in the clips might be feeling before, during and after they successfully completed the activity for the first time.

  3. Use the brainstorm strategy to identify things students have achieved on their own for the first time.

  4. Provide instructions for the independent activity and model an example.

Independent or Small Group

Students extend their understanding from the whole class activity by identifying their own personal firsts and the feelings associated with the achievements.

  1. Ask the students:

    • Can you run faster now than when you were 3 or 4?

    • Can you read better now than when you were 3 or 4?

    • Can you ride a bike better now than when you were 3 or 4?

    • Are you braver now than when you were 3 or 4?

    • What things have helped you get better at these skills? (e.g. persistence, patience, help from other people, better coordination, maturity)

    • How might you feel before you try to ride a bike for the first time?

    • How might you feel when you don’t ‘get it’ first try?

    • How might you feel when you finally manage to ride a bike by yourself for the first time? 

  1. Provide each student with a copy of the Student Activity Sheet: First ribbon.

  2. Students are to draw a picture of themselves doing something on their own for the first time (i.e. riding a bike, catching a fish) inside the ribbon.

  3. Encourage students to focus on their facial expression in the drawing (e.g. I looked excited when I rode my bike for the first time).

  4. Students can also write a short description of their drawing.

Reflection

  1. Invite students to share their personal achievements. Encourage them to explain how they felt before, during and after they successfully achieved their goal.

  2. Give the students a few minutes to reflect on their own achievements and to think how their lives might be different now because of their achievements.

  3. Invite some students to share their reflections or comments to the whole class.

    • Highlight that our personal identities (how we see ourselves and how others see us) change and strengthen through personal achievements and successes.

  1. Display ribbons around the classroom to acknowledge the achievements of all the students.