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Perseverance

Doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving

  • This workout takes approximately 10 Minutes
  • This workout is for students in Grades 6-8
  • Teacher Resources

Move

  • Type:  Strength
  • Excercise:  Wall Squat
  • Target:  Thighs
  • Equipment:  None
Workout guide

Steps

1. Stand in NaliniKIDS posture against a wall
2. Walk your feet forward a foot or two as you lower your body down against the wall (like you’re sitting into a chair)
3. Track your knees in line with your ankles (if you need to adjust your feet)
4. Make sure your thighs are parallel to the floor
5. Push your feet into the floor and your back into the wall
6. Keep your thighs and feet together, and cross your arms over your chest
7. Pull your abs in and squeeze your thighs as you hold this position (don’t forget to breathe!)

Sequence

– 1 minute hold

Modification

If there are no walls available:
– Lower down into a chair pose and maintain proper posture (see ANGRY exercise)

Icon of a body with vibration lines on the sides of it.

How does your body feel after completing the workout?

Icon of a profile view of a person’s head with a speech bubble where the brain would be.

How does your mind feel after completing the workout?

Icon of a question mark.

What does Perseverance mean to you in this moment?

Choose from the additional reflection prompts below to customize this lesson and meet the needs of your students and your time constraints. Create a unique workout experience every time you return to this lesson!

Self-Connection

Past

Describe a time when you had a challenge or setback in your life that you were able to persevere through.

Present

What strategies help you persevere through challenging times?

Future

Consider a challenge you are looking forward to overcoming in the future. How could you persevere through this particular challenge?

Real-World Connection

Family

Describe a strength within your family that helped you persevere through a challenge.

Learning Environment

Create a class recipe for perseverance that you can refer back to on a challenging day. Your teacher will post this recipe on a wall in your learning environment.

Community

Conduct research and create a list of resources in your community that can help people who are facing a hardship or challenge persevere.

Academic Connection

ELA

What does the phrase, “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade” mean to you?

Social Studies

How might overcoming the challenges of social distancing and remote learning and working lead to future opportunities in our society?

STEM

What are some of your strengths in math? List as many as you can think of. How can awareness of these strengths help you persevere through challenges in mathematics?

Fun Fact

Many leaders throughout history have shown a great deal of perseverance, and did not always succeed on the first try at something. Abraham Lincoln lost five separate elections before he became President of the U.S.