Name of Lesson: Affective Lesson # 5: Dreaming Big

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1 Name of Lesson: Affective Lesson # 5: Dreaming Big Topic: Do the benefits of dreaming big outweigh the risks? Gifted Standard and element(s): G4AG2: Students will respect the input of others. c. Consider other points of view. G4AG3 & G5AG3: Students will be self-directed learners. a. Establish and work toward short and long term goals. b. Persevere in the face of obstacles. e. Seek opportunities for self-growth. Unit Essential Question(s): How can establishing who I want to be help me identify and realize personal dreams and goals that will enrich my future and increase the impact I have on the world around me? What tools and skills can I develop and implement to help make my dreams, goals, and visions of the future a reality? Lesson Questions: What are the costs associated with working toward long term goals? How can dreaming big help me to become my best self? Do the benefits of dreaming big outweigh the risks? Lesson Summary: Students will analyze the lives of others and discuss the benefits and risks associated with dreaming big. Then, students will develop their own big dream. Assessment Description/Performance Task: Constructed response Informal assessment Performance task Selected response Brief Description of Assessment: Students will respond to these questions: 1. What is it you plan to do with this wild and precious life of yours? In other words, what is your extreme dream? 2. What do you think this big dream might cost you? 3. Are you willing to take the risks? Instructional Methods: Lesson Overview: Hook: Columbia Videos Discussion of Columbia videos Personal Reflections of Dreaming Big Hook/Activator: The hook involves watching 2 video clips about the space shuttle Columbia disaster. The first clip focuses on the disaster itself, and the second clip is a tribute to the lives of the 7 astronauts on board. The goal of these clips is to help students think about having a big dream and the costs that may be involved. Video 1: Focusing on the facts of the disaster (3:42) Video 2: Tribute to the lives of the astronauts (7:00)

2 You will need to click on Remembering Columbia and then click on play video right below Remembering Columbia. Teaching Strategy: Teacher Note-The students will naturally gravitate toward the loss of life and the disintegration of Columbia as the ultimate cost associated with this dream. However, before addressing the ultimate cost, guide students toward assessing other emotional, time, and/or financial costs that may have been endured by the astronauts to reach their dream of going into space. Discussion Questions: 1. Reflect upon the lives of each of the astronauts you watched in the video. What are some of the costs they endured while pursuing their extreme dream of going into space? (Possibility of not being accepted into the astronaut program; fear of making a mistake in and letting their team down during the mission; sacrifice time away from family-especially those who had children at home; time spent studying, working out, and training for the mission instead of leisure time; having to help your family come to terms with the danger of what you re doing; physical effects on the human body from being in space-bone loss, vision trouble, muscle atrophy, space sickness, shrinkage of the heart) 2. What VIA strengths do you think would be necessary to overcome the obstacles and pay the costs required? (Bravery, Hope, Zest, and Perseverance are all possible answers.) 3. Reflect upon the benefits that these individuals with big dreams experienced. (the excitement of flying in space, the thrill of exploring new territory, the relationships formed within the mission team, the variety offered in the job, the ability to make a difference and give back to society through scientific research) 4. Evaluate from different people s perspectives, Do the benefits outweigh the risks? Different perspectives can include: the astronaut him/herself, the astronaut s family children, husband, wife, etc., people that work for NASA. 5. Now, evaluate from your own perspective. Do you feel that the benefits outweigh the risks? 6. To conclude (and including another perspective), read aloud the following excerpt from In the Spirit of Ronald E. McNair by his brother, Carl S. McNair: My brother died experiencing his ultimate thrill. I remember him repeatedly watching the video of his first lift-off, volume at maximum, the floorboards vibrating with the roar of the rocket engines. He never had another experience as viscerally exciting as the launch. The shuttle launch represented a mountaintop moment, a rare personal peak. Ron died in the process of experiencing that incredible moment a second time; I can imagine worse ways to leave this world. Ron certainly understood the risks inherent in strapping frail human flesh into a four million-pound projectile and riding an explosive inferno into space. His analytical mind considered the possibilities and decided that the trip warranted the risk. One more chance to mount the behemoth and leap into the sky, another opportunity to garner new learning, the possibility of improving life for others in Ron s mind, these gains offset the possible cost. He decided to live boldly, reach for accomplishment, and face the risks. As much as I miss him, I know he was right to fly. 7. Give students the Dreaming Big reflection sheet and ask them to respond. Save this for lesson 6. Summary by the Learner: Using the Dreaming Big reflection sheet, ask students to respond to the following three questions: 1. What is it you plan to do with this wild and precious life of yours? In other words, what is your extreme dream? 2. What do you think this big dream might cost you? 3. Are you willing to take the risks? This item should be placed in the affective portfolio: Dreaming Big Reflection (This item will be placed in a book in Lesson 14 of this unit.)

3 Differentiation: Students who are more reserved may choose only to write their answers and not share aloud in the group. Students interested in this topic of having extreme dreams may choose to research other individuals with an extreme dream and weigh the benefits and risks associated with their journey of pursuing this dream. A list is attached of individuals who had big dreams. Teachers may also choose to allow students further time to research these individuals in class as the relationships and connections portion of your day. A variety of performance - based tasks could include: a skit, a graphic organizer of a balance showing risks/benefits, a timeline portraying the person s journey and obstacles encountered, etc. Materials for this Lesson: Columbia Video #1 Columbia Video #2 Dreaming Big reflection Vocabulary for this Lesson: Bravery: Not shrinking from threat, challenge, difficulty, or pain (VIA character strength) Hope: expecting the best in the future and working to achieve it; believing that a good future is something that can be brought about (VIA character strength) Zest: Approaching life with excitement and energy; not doing things halfway or halfheartedly; living life as an adventure; feeling alive and activated (VIA character strength) Perseverance: Finishing what one starts; persisting in a course of action in spite of obstacles (VIA character strength)

4 Name Date Doesn t everything die at last, and too soon? Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? (Mary Oliver) 1. What is it you plan to do with this wild and precious life of yours? In other words, what is your extreme dream? 2. What do you think this big dream might cost you? 3. Are you willing to take the risk?

5 Differentiation: If students would like to research someone on their own who is known for having an extreme dream, here are a few possibilities: Roald Amundsen Arthur Ashe Neil Armstrong Christopher Columbus Jacques Cousteau Thomas Edison Gloria Estefan Theodore Seuss Geisel Sir Edmund Hillary Stephen Hawking Michael Jordan Helen Keller Abraham Lincoln Martin Luther King Jr. Ron McNair Ellen Ochoa Eleanor Roosevelt Marla Runyan Sammy Sosa Stephen Spielberg Jim Thorpe Chien-Shiung Wu