The Fourth Son: A Tale of Learning and Growth

1. Going For Goals Lesson 1 I know the skills and attributes of an effective learner. I can try to develop these skills. Today, we will look at a story called The Fourth Son

2. One stormy night, far, far away, a woman gave birth to four healthy sons. She wrapped them up and laid them in a row next to her. What would happen to them? She prayed to the magic spirit of her family. There was a flash and a beautiful spirit appeared. The spirit looked at the first baby. Out of her golden bag she drew a shiny purple stone and sang, ‘You will be a talented musician.’ To the second baby she gave a green stone and sang, ‘You will be a fantastic farmer.’ To the third baby she gave a red stone and sang, ‘You will be a talented artist.’ When she came to the fourth baby, she drew out of her bag six ugly brown pebbles. ‘And you will be a good learner’, she sang. There was a fearful bang and a flash of light and the spirit disappeared. ‘What did she mean?’ the woman asked herself. She looked at the pebbles. ‘It can’t be very important’, she thought. Even so she carefully put the pebbles in a small bag and hung them round the baby’s neck.

3. As soon as the first three sons could walk they showed their talents. People always asked to hear the first son sing. If one of their animals was sick, they brought it to the second son and he immediately knew what was wrong. The third son drew pictures so beautiful that when he was still young people asked him to decorate their houses and clothes. When the woman looked at the fourth son she kissed him on the forehead and smiled, and thought that it was a good job he had such talented brothers. The fourth son looked at the six pebbles and wondered what they meant. He was very proud of his three brothers. He wanted to be like them, so he looked carefully at what they did. He asked them questions and listened carefully to what they said. He thought about what he saw and heard. He imitated what they did and when it didn’t work he didn’t give up, but learned from it. The brothers loved him dearly and, because he was so helpful and good to be with, they spent lots of time with him.

4. When the four sons were nearly grown up the woman said to the first three sons, ‘Go off and make your fortunes. You have all the talents you need.’ They left the farm. The fourth son asked if he could go too but the woman said, ‘You haven’t any special talents so perhaps you had better stay here. What have you got to offer the world?’ That evening she was feeling sad. ‘I wish someone was here to cheer me up,’ she said. The fourth son opened his mouth and sang a song. It was beautiful – as beautiful as the songs of the first son.

5. The next day one of the animals was sick. The fourth son looked at the animal and knew what to do. The next day it was better, just like the animals that the second son had looked after. When the woman woke up the next day she saw a lovely new picture on the wall, as beautiful as the pictures painted by the third son. She took the small bag from round fourth son’s neck and looked at them. She remembered what the spirit had said: ’And you will be a good learner.’

6. Going For Goals Lesson 2 L.O. To know the skills and attributes of a good learner

7. You will need to work with a partner. Think of someone famous you admire. Use the following questions to help you share what you know about them: What has the person achieved? Why do you respect them for this? What obstacles were in their way? How did they overcome them? Who helped them achieve their goal? What do you think the person said? What did they do when they felt like giving up? Is there anything the person has done in achieving their goals that you think they should not have done?

8. What qualities or attributes does the person have? Stick this postcard in your book and make a list around it… Which of theirqualities might inspire you to achieve yourgoals. Name ………………………………….………… Famous For ………………………..………… Qualities that might inspire me to achieve my goals… ………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………...

9. There is a saying: “Success is one per cent inspiration and ninety-nine per cent perspiration” (Thomas Edison) What does this mean?

10. Going For Goals Lesson 3 L.O. To be able to recognise and celebrate my own achievements.

11. Hall of Fame! / Roll of Honour It would be a good idea to have one of these for the class. Each person could have an entry. It would tell other people what we think are our own best achievements. To get us started here are some things that might be included: personal goals work goals learning goals family / friend achievements

12. You will need to be in a group of 5 or 6. Each person has a “Certificate of Excellence” with their name on. Members of the group take turns to write a positive comment about that person on the certificate then pass it on. The person whose certificate it is will add something they are proud of and a picture or photo of themselves. The certificate can then go in our Hall of Fame.

14. Going For Goals Lesson 4 L.O. To know the skills and attributes of a good learner

15. You will need to be prepared to teach something new to someone in the class. You may need to use something we have in school or something you have brought in to help you. You might consider some of these: Counting to 10 in a different language Braiding hair Using fingers to learn the 9x table Communicating through sign language Making friendship bracelets Rollerblading Hula-hooping A magic trick A football technique or trick A song A tune or rhythm on a musical instrument Making a cat’s cradle

16. You will need to make a plan. 1. Who will you teach? 2. What is their learning style? (see next slide) 3. How will you teach it? 4. What will you need? 5. How long will it take? 6. How will you know you’ve succeeded?

17. Learning style. Teaching someone a skill isn’t as easy as you might think. On the next slide are examples of learning styles then there is a grid for you to fill in so that whoever is trying to teach you will know how you learn best. You will need to take some timeworking out your own preferred learning style.

20. Now that you have an idea of the way your “pupil” thinks they learn best you may begin to plan your teaching activity. On the next slide is a plan that you will use. Later in the week, you will be able to carry out your teaching activity.

21. SEALS LESSON PLAN What will I teach? ……………………………………… What is their preferred learning style? …………………………………………………………. How will I teach it? …………………………………….. ……………………………………………………………. ……………………………………………………………. What will I need? ……………………………………….. ……………………………………………………………… How long will it take? ……………………………………. How will I know if I have succeeded? …………………………………………………………….. …………………………………………………………….. ……………………………………………………………..

22. You now have time to teach your partner what you have prepared. You have 20 minutes to each share the experience. Be prepared to explain to the class what you have taught (or learned) and how. Some questions you might ask - or be asked -afterwards are on the next slide.

23. Was it hard to learn? Could you do it straight away? How did you feel if you couldn’t do it very well? Did you get better quickly and if so how? What helped? How do you feel now? Was it easy to teach? How did you help ……. to do it? What seemed the best approach to teaching?

24. Now sit down with your partner and have a think about: how effective you were as a teacher and how effective you were as a learner.

25. Going For Goals Lesson 5 I can apply what I have learned. I can tell you what I need to learn next.

26. What have we learned from our SEALs theme? In your groups you are going to discuss what you have learnt, and how this could help you become a better learner. Once we have done this, you will set yourself targets, and consider what you need to do to achieve success.