How it works
What students say got them started
A deadline got close.
Something outside them changed first.
Somebody else started.
They caught it from the person next to them.
A mark came back.
The proof only came once they had done the work.
I had already done a bit.
This one is the key to the lesson.
Every trigger the class names is something that had already happened before they felt motivated.
The lesson starts with six minutes of quiet writing about when students last really wanted to do something, and what set it off. You write the triggers on the board, and the class notices that every one of them happened before they felt like doing it.
Each student writes down three things they have been avoiding and scores each one out of ten for how much they want to do it. They take the lowest, shrink it to something they can do at a desk, and do it for five minutes in silence. Afterwards they score it again, and you put the class count on the board.
The last part of the lesson looks at the saying “Busy people stay busy”, which is only half right. It separates three things: real action, just keeping busy, and rest you chose. Students sort cards into those three piles, and three of the cards are written to get students debating.
Some students will be avoiding something because of what is happening at home, or because they are struggling with more than a tutor time lesson can fix. Nothing written down is collected, read out or marked, and the slides say so twice. Stay somewhere in the room where a student can come and speak to you at the end.
A look inside
Get the lesson
The lesson slides
Twenty slides. Each one is labelled with the part of the lesson it belongs to, so you can teach straight from the deck.
Download Printable PDFTeacher resource pack
Five pages: the whole guide on page one, then the four things to print.
DownloadNew resources are added as they are made. Leave your email and you will get one email each time something new goes up, and nothing else.
Thank you. A confirmation email is on its way to you, and once you click the link in it, you will be on the list.
Sorry, that did not go through. Please try again, or email thepastoralguide@gmail.com and I will add you by hand.
There are no newsletters, and your address is never shared. How your details are handled.
This is free to download, the same as everything else here. If it saved you some prep time, you’re welcome to leave something toward the site’s running costs.
Support the site