Year 3, Lesson 2.1: What does it mean to be Successful?
Unit Learning Goal
Students will examine how values, culture, and context shape definitions of success, and reflect on the role of balance, well-being, and intercultural understanding in doing meaningful and ethical work.
Lesson Goal
Students will analyze different definitions of success and excellence, recognize the tension between process and product, and reflect on cultural perspectives of what it means to “do excellent work.”
Assessment
Monitor participation in discussion activities.
Use Exit Tickets to assess student understanding of success as a multi-dimensional concept.
Analyze responses for evidence of reflective thinking about personal and cultural interpretations of excellence.
Casel Alignment
Self-Awareness, Responsible Decision-Making
Portfolio Documentation
Images or post-its from Success Spectrum (optional)
Resources
“Excellence” Core Concepts Blog (as background)
Spectrum end-point signs, sticky notes, and pens for Success Spectrum activity
Prerequisites
Prior discussions on the 3 Es and previous lessons on citizenship.
Total Time
45 minutes
Instructions
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Remind students that in previous lessons, they explored citizenship, responsibility, and excellence from local and global lenses. In today’s lesson, they will consider how these same values relate to the concept of success—both personally and across cultures.
1. Opener: Think-Pair-Share – What Is Success? [10 minutes]
Prompt students with the question: “What does it mean to be successful? Can someone be successful even if they don’t meet the highest standards? Who sets these standards?”
Think silently (1 minute), then pair and share (2 minutes).
Have one student per pair share out to the full group. Note common themes on the board.
Transition: Explain that today’s lesson explores how different people and cultures define success. Remind students this is part of being a citizen—what we contribute to society, how we define excellence, and how expectations vary across communities.
2. Group Activity: Human Spectrum + Post-It Justifications [30 Minutes]
Set up the room with signs at opposite ends adjacent to a wall:
“Excellence = Trying Your Best”
“Excellence = Meeting a High Standard”
Materials: sticky notes and pens for all students.
Frame the activity:
“We’ll use this spectrum to explore how important we think it is for different roles to embody each one of these definitions of Excellence. Our goal is to better understand how expectations are shaped by context.”
“We’re not looking for right answers, but for thoughtful consideration of values, identity, and excellence.”
Activity flow:
Read each of the following roles aloud.
Surgeon
Rocket scientist
Visual artist
Construction worker
Teacher
Administrative assistant
Singer
Cashier
(Add additional roles according to your context)
Students should move to where they stand on the spectrum according to how important they feel it is that the role in question should prioritize the endpoints of the Excellence spectrum.
For each placement, students should write on a sticky note and post it at their placement:
The role
A brief explanation for their placement
Post sticky notes on the wall near their position.
Invite volunteers to share reasoning. Encourage respectful disagreement and even changing positions.
Repeat for each additional role.
Wrap-Up Class Reflection Questions:
Why might standards of excellence change in different environments or for different roles?
What do our placements tell us about the likely features of the culture of each one of these roles or workplaces?
How might this connect to how we define success in our own lives—in school, at home, or in future work?
3. Closing and Exit Ticket [5 minutes]
Tell students: Today we explored different understandings of excellence—sometimes it means doing your best, and other times it means meeting a high standard, no matter what. We also discussed how we might think about how success is defined in different ways dependent on role or profession.
Please respond to the following questions in 1-2 sentences each:
When do you think it’s more important to try your best, even if the outcome isn’t perfect?
(Give a real-life or hypothetical example.)When do you think it’s important to meet a high standard, even if it’s hard?
(What might be the consequences if someone doesn’t?)Did hearing different professional examples today change your perspective on success or excellence? Why or why not?