Grit is defined as courage and resolve or strength of character, and our students definitely have plenty of it. Grit, however, is a lesser known word, so we taught this concept with a more well-known figure: Gritty.
Gritty is the mascot for the Philadelphia flyers and serves as an actual representation of Philadelphians. In our older class, we explained grit and the history of Gritty, and then asked them to trace or draw their own Gritty.
Our younger class was tasked with creating their own mascot based on Gritty. They also colored in cutouts of Gritty that were glued on popsicle sticks so they could wave them around. Their creativity really shined through in this project, and their mascots turned out so great. We also had them stand up and led them in a cheer while they waved their popsicle props.
I think it’s important for these students to know what defines them and to know that they are bold, confident, and courageous. We need to encourage them to keep persevering and pushing through. I went around the room and asked the students about a time when they were bold or when they pushed through an obstacle. They all gave awesome answers that showed their grit:
- I was confident I could get good grades on my PSSA and I did
- I am staying in school to graduate and become a doctor.
- I had to be brave and do a podcast in journalism
- I went to school on the first day, and I was scared but I kept going because I wanted to learn
- I went to the park for the first time
- I walked home by myself