Activity 1: Listening

Pre-Listening

Hope means a lot of different things to different people. Listen to see how hope is defined in this video. Does the definition in this video match what you talked about hope meaning to you?

Listening

Have students complete the cloze activity while watching. You may need to play the video a couple of times.

What Does Hope Mean to You?

Post-Listening

Have students compare their answers on the close activity with a partner by reading the script together and filling in the blanks. Make sure that students do not just tell each other the answers, but than they read the entire sentence together. If your partner has a word that you do not you can fill in the word on your paper as you read together. See if students are able to fill in all the blanks when they work together. (You can also choose to do groups of 3 to allow for more input.)

Activity 2: Listening

Pre-listening

We will now watch a video about a girl who demonstrates hope. She follows the process we have been discussing of setting goals, creating pathways to take, and working to overcome obstacles. As she works towards her goals she shows hope as she finds ways to overcome her obstacles.

Listening

Watch to see how the girl shows hope. What was her goal? What pathways did she take? What obstacles did she encounter? What actions did she take to overcome her obstacles?

The Power of Hope created by 14 year old Kalia Love Jones

Post-listening

Discuss the answers to the questions from above.

Activity 3: Speaking

The girl in the video overcame the obstacles she faced and was able to achieve her goals. She became the best possible version of herself.

Imagine yourself in a future time where you have achieved your goals. What would the best possible version of yourself look like? Consider different aspects of your life that you can control such as education, career, relationships, health, hobbies, etc.

(Give the students a couple of minutes to think about what their best possible future self would be like. Encourage them to be realistic. For example, don't imagine yourself winning the super bowl if you don't play professional football. The point is not to visualize your greatest fantasy, but a best possible future that is attainable.)

Write 5 sentences describing your best future self. Use simple present tense (as if it has already happened) For example: I am a successful BYU graduate. I am a loving mother to my children. I eat healthy food and exercise. Use adjectives to add detail and be as specific as you can.

Share your 5 sentences with a partner.

Activity 4: Speaking

When the girl was discouraged, what gave her hope to move forward with her goals? What brings you hope when you are feeling discouraged?

Here are some ideas that other people have listed that give them hope when they feel down. Look at the list. Do any of these ideas bring you hope as well?

1. A new day
2. Nature
3. Gardening (plant a seed and watch it grow)
4. Having purpose or meaning in life
5. Achievement (reaching goals)
6. Children
7. Music
8. Art
9. Dancing
10. Singing
11. Learning new things
12. Being creative
13. Choice, freedom, and free-will (I have the ability to change the situation.)
14. History (I have done it before, so I know I can do it again.)
15. Relationships with positive people
16. Family
17. Deep breathing, sleep, meditation, prayer, and quiet time
18. Acts of kindness
19. Positive feedback.
20. Progress toward a goal.

Think of a time when you felt very discouraged. What brought you hope and helped you get through that time?

Conversation Lines

1. Make two lines facing each other.
2. Share with the person across from you something that brings you hope when you are feeling discouraged.
3. Listen as they share something with you.
4. When the time is up, each person in the first line moves one person to the right.
5. Repeat with a new partner.

Activity 5: Speaking

Sometimes even after we have given our best efforts and tried many pathways we fall short. We may need to periodically re-evaluate and set new goals. Other times our goals may change over time. We do not have to work towards our goals alone. Rather we achieve our current goals or not, there is always hope. If one goal does not work out, we can re-evaluate and set new goals.

What is the take away? Have students share one thing they will remember from today's lesson.