Lesson Title: Lesson 3: Ask Why & Self Reflect
Starter Kit WHY + HOW to begin living the life you want + being the person you want to be.
Curriculum & Grade Level: Future Ready, 8th Grade
Materials & Resources: | Objective: |
| Students will engage in the Personal Growth Tree project, an interactive and creative activity that enables them to explore the concept of self-reflection and its importance in personal growth. Through this project, students will visualize their values, strengths, and goals using the metaphor of a tree, fostering self-awareness and a deeper understanding of their personal development journey. |
Growth Tree Explanation:
The teacher explains the concept of a “Personal Growth Tree” — a creative visual representation of their self-reflection and growth.
The roots represent students' values and beliefs (what grounds them), the trunk symbolizes their current strengths, and the branches symbolize their goals and areas for future growth.
Drawing the Growth Tree:
Provide students with paper and colored pencils/markers (This could be done digitally). Use the following guidelines to help your students create their personal growth tree.
Roots: Values and Beliefs
Purpose: The roots of the tree represent the foundational values and beliefs that ground students. Identifying these core principles helps students understand what motivates their actions and decisions.
Activity: Students list 3-5 values or beliefs that are important to them.
Trunk: Current Strengths
Purpose: The trunk symbolizes the strengths that support students as they navigate challenges and work towards their goals. This reinforces the idea that recognizing personal strengths is vital for building resilience and confidence.
Activity: Students write down their current strengths in the trunk section of their tree.
Branches: Goals for Growth
Purpose: The branches represent the goals students aspire to achieve, illustrating their desire for personal growth. This component emphasizes the importance of setting specific, measurable goals.
Activity: Each branch contains a goal that stems from their self-reflection journal entries, focusing on areas for improvement or new challenges to tackle.
Leaves: Progress and Insights
Purpose: As students make progress towards their goals, they can add leaves to their tree, symbolizing accomplishments and insights gained along the way. This ongoing reflection helps students stay engaged in their personal growth process.
Activity: Students write progress updates or reflections on leaves, reinforcing their commitment to self-improvement.
Class Reflection & Sharing (15 minutes)
Class Discussion:
In small groups, students share one insight they’ve gained from their journal or one branch (goal) from their Growth Tree.
Guide the conversation with questions like, “How did reflecting on your challenges help you improve?” or “What surprised you about your reflection process?”
Teacher Reflection:
At the end, the teacher will wrap up by reflecting on the importance of self-reflection for continuous personal development and encouraging students to incorporate these practices into their daily routines.
Personal Growth Tree Project Rubric
Criteria | Excellent (4 points) | Good (3 points) | Satisfactory (2 points) | Needs Improvement (1 point) | Points |
Understanding of Self-Reflection | Demonstrates a thorough understanding of self-reflection; insights are deep and insightful. | Shows a good understanding of self-reflection; insights are clear and relevant. | Displays a basic understanding of self-reflection; insights are somewhat clear. | Lacks understanding of self-reflection; insights are unclear or missing. | /4 |
Visualization of Values and Strengths | Effectively represents values, strengths, and goals in a clear and creative manner; tree is detailed and thoughtfully designed. | Represents values, strengths, and goals well; tree is clear with some creativity. | Represents some values and strengths, but lacks detail or creativity in the design. | Does not effectively represent values, strengths, or goals; tree is unclear or poorly designed. | /4 |
Creativity and Originality | Highly original and creative; project stands out and shows unique personal expression. | Some original ideas; project shows creativity and personal touch. | Limited originality; project is somewhat generic or lacks personal expression. | Lacks creativity and originality; project feels very generic or copied. | /4 |
Presentation Skills | Presents information clearly and confidently; engages the audience effectively. | Presents information clearly; engages the audience with some effectiveness. | Presents information but lacks clarity or confidence; audience engagement is minimal. | Struggles to present information clearly; lacks audience engagement. | /4 |
Integration of Goals | Goals are well-defined, specific, and directly tied to personal values; demonstrates a strong understanding of personal growth. | Goals are clear and mostly tied to personal values; demonstrates a good understanding of personal growth. | Goals are somewhat defined; connection to personal values is unclear. | Goals are poorly defined or missing; lacks understanding of personal growth. | /4 |
Total Points: ____ / 20
Scoring Guide:
17-20 points: Excellent understanding and execution of the project.
13-16 points: Good understanding and execution; minor improvements needed.
9-12 points: Satisfactory execution; several areas need improvement.
5-8 points: Needs significant improvement in understanding and execution.
Feel free to adjust the points or criteria based on your specific classroom needs or focus areas!