Purpose and hope: a story chapter about a team
Read Chapter Two of the story on pages 80 and 81 of your book with a grown-up. We do not retell it. Learn the words. The purpose of a team is the reason it exists, for example to finish a project together. An aspiration is a strong hope for the future. Discouraged means you feel you cannot go on. To blame someone is to say it is their fault. Unique means one of a kind. Why is blaming someone not helpful? Everybody makes mistakes, blaming makes a person sad, and it does not solve the problem. A better way: ask, What can we change now? In a story, ask: Who said what? What is the message? What was the team working for?
| Word | Example |
|---|---|
| purpose | The purpose of the club is to help new students. |
| aspiration | Her aspiration is to become a pilot. |
| discouraged | He felt discouraged after the first try. |
| blame | Don’t blame your friend for a small mistake. |
Hoda wanted to do well in the school running race, but she came last and felt discouraged. She wanted to blame the hot weather and her old shoes, but her coach said, “Blaming does not make you faster. What can you change?” Hoda asked herself that question. She practised her start every day for two weeks. The coach also said, “The purpose of a race is to do your best, not only to win.” Her aspiration is to run in a big race one day. Every runner is unique, and Hoda found her own way to improve. In the next race she came third.
I came last. I feel discouraged.
Everyone has a bad race. What can you change?
I can practise my start every day.
Good thinking. That is a smart plan.
Mistake stories. Think of a time you made a mistake. Tell a grown-up what happened, how you felt, and what you did next. Then the grown-up tells one too. Say: Mistakes help us learn.