Story Name:  Habits help you achieve great things

Teacher’s Notes:

a.  Key topic

Through the story we introduce the concept of habits and we distinguish the difference between good and bad habits and the power they have over people and their lives.  We further explain that habits are the result of the choices we make and show how we can adopt good habits and get rid of bad habits.

b.  Concepts Introduced to the kids through the Story

• Understand that habits are small repeated actions which accumulate after a while
• Realize that there are good habits and bad habits
• Understand that good habits help you grow whereas bad habits hold you back

c.  Learning objectives for the Kids

• Discover how creating good habits can help you achieve your goals
• Understand the process of developing good habits
• Find out  how to get rid of bad habits

d.  Tips for Teaching through Storytelling

When teaching youngsters we need to use a slightly different approach than when teaching adults, meaning that youngsters relate better to visuals, examples and stories (real life examples/stories are even better) and interactive technology.  Also, young kids do not need a lot of jargon, they need a much simpler vocabulary that they can understand.  In addition, the teacher has to figure out a way to relate to the kids and there are a number of things that can be done in this direction from the type of clothes the teachers wear, to the language they use, the way they move about in the class, etc.

Storytelling is more than just reading the words of a story out loud.  It takes other skills as well.  It is important for teachers to use different tones in their voice when they are telling a story.  If the teacher’s voice stays at the same level it becomes boring!  The teacher will want their voice to go higher and lower, louder and softer.  Teachers should try to use different voices for different characters and make sure that they speak loud enough so that everyone hears them, and say the words clearly so that everyone can understand them.

Teachers should also have in mind that storytelling is not just words; it is motion as well.  They will have to move around when they tell their story; they should use their arms, legs, hands and their face to tell the story.  In addition, they have to make sure to maintain eye contact with their audience.  Eye contract is one of the most important non-verbal ways to connect with other people.  It helps keep the attention of the audience and it also conveys a sense of confidence and truthfulness.  It is best that teachers always look directly into the kids’ eyes; they will connect with them and keep their attention longer.

e.  In-class discussion after the storytelling

• Explain what good habits are and ask the kids for some examples from their daily life.  Follow with a discussion of their examples.
• Explain what bad habits are and ask the kids for some examples from their daily life.  Follow with a discussion of their examples.
• Ask the kids the following questions and discuss their answers.  Usually there is time to take and discuss the answers of 2 to 3 kids.

• • How did Lucius’ good habit of reading stories and regularly writing and journaling help him?
  • How did Madya get rid of her bad habit?

The Story

The Soccertopia Eagles kids are have just finished practice and they are gathering for their weekly chat with Mr. Soccerball.  Lucius looks happy as he is talking to his friends in a very excited tone.

-I am telling you guys, I almost fainted when I heard my name being called as the winner of the competition!  I thought I was dreaming or something, said Lucius.

-This is great Lucius, said Fiducius.  Winning the Soccertopia story writing competition for kids, is really something.  Especially when you think that a few years back you had such trouble putting together a few thoughts into sentences when writing essays.

Mr. Soccerball overheard the kids and with a smile on his face, turned to Lucius and said:

-Congratulations Lucius, I could not help but overhear what you guys were just saying. I am very proud of you my boy.  He then turned to the class and explained the reason he was congratulating Lucius.

-Lucius won the Soccertopia Story writing competition for kids, said Mr. Soccerball.  And that is not all!  He will also represent Soccertopia in the international story writing competition for kids this summer.

The kids started cheering and congratulating Lucius for his achievement which made Lucius even happier.  The coach realized that this could be a good topic for their chat and said to the kids:

-And to think that a couple of years back Lucius was having trouble with writing a simple essay.  Remember that we had a discussion about this?  I remember that day as if it was yesterday when he was so upset because he got a bad grade in his essay and he thought he was a failure.

-I remember that day well too sir, said Madya, I also remember that we helped him come up with a plan to get better at writing essays.

-Yes Madya, said Lucius.  And I followed that plan throughout all this time.  I started reading a different story every week.  I would read every day a few pages and make sure that I had finished the story by the end of the week.  When I finished the story, I would write a two page summary to practice my writing.  I also started writing a diary, first on a weekly basis and then daily.  Now, it comes natural to me to write about my day, every evening.  If I don’t do that I feel as if something is missing!

-This is the power of habits kids, said Mr. Soccerball.  Do you know what a habit is?

Madya jumped in immediately and said:  A habit is something you keep doing all the time without even realizing you are doing it sir.

-Yes, said Mr. Soccerball, this is what it is.  You should know that there are good habits, just like reading, which help you grow and that there are bad habits too, that hold you back.  All the little habits that we repeatedly practice each day, both good and bad, add up over time and shape who we are.

-I remember when we first talked about creating our own superpowers Mr. Soccerball, said Madya, and discussed how small daily steps can help us become great in whatever we do.  I guess this is how we can develop good habits, with small repeated steps.

-Doing the small things everyday is easy, said Lucius, I can tell you that for sure guys.

-But how about bad habits asked Mr. Soccerball?  What can we do to get rid of them?  Who can tell us about a bad habit they had and how they got rid of it?

The kids were looking at each other, not sure how to answer Mr. Soccerball’s question and waiting for one another to respond.

Suddenly Madya raised her hand.

-I think I have something to say about this Mr. Soccerball, she said.

-Let’s hear it then Madya, replied Mr. Soccerball.

-Well, Madya said in a hesitant voice, I had a bad habit which my parents spotted out and I have been working on getting rid of it for the past few months.

-And what is that Madya? asked Mr. Soccerball.

-I have been using my smartphone a lot sir, said Madya.  My parents said that I might be addicted to my smartphone.  I was spending a lot of time on my smartphone and I was getting panicky if I was without a connection to the internet or if I had no battery.  I would carry it with me almost everywhere and I was giving all my attention to it, to the point where I was becoming unsocial in my house with both my parents and my brothers and any friends or family who was visiting.

-I can see that this was indeed a bad habit Madya, said Mr. Soccerball.  And how did you realize that this was not good for you?

-Well, my parents spotted it out and one night we had a long discussion about it and what it is doing to me and they asked me to come up with suggestions of how to get rid of this habit, said Madya.

-And did you do that Madya? asked Fiducius.

-I did Fiducius, as much as I didn’t want to in the beginning, said Madya.  I came up with a list of things like no phones at the dinner table, no phones when friends are over, no phones during family activities.  My parents also added a couple of things to the list like no phones at bed time with all phones sleeping in a charging station in the kitchen, and a couple of family phone detox days a month when the whole family does not use smartphones for a whole day!

-How long have you been trying to fix this bad habit Madya? asked Lucius.

-It has been about three months, replied Madya and actually it is not so bad now.  I am used to it so I guess not using my phone as much has turned into a habit.

-We are all proud of you Madya, said Mr. Soccerball for dealing with this bad habit so effectively.  Aren’t we proud of Madya kids?

-Yes, we are so proud of her Mr. Soccerball, shouted all the kids.

-I think we should all use Madya’s example and try to fix our bad habits, said Fiducius, and all the kids started nodding.

-Yeah, it is worth trying said Madya, and continued;

Good habits make us shine

And bad habits keep us behind

Turning bad habits into good

Makes us better and feel cool

-Excellent Madya! Said Mr. Soccerball.  Now that we know what to do to get rid of our bad habits we all have some work to do!