Successful Student

1. DEFINE CHARACTERISTIC:  Define the term "characteristic" as a class. Discuss the difference between an external characteristic and an internal characteristic. Relate the term to a character that you have studied in your classroom. 

2. STICK NOTE BRAINSTORM:  Pass out one sticky note per student. On this sticky note, have students brainstorm internal characteristics that exemplify a successful student.  Challenge students to come up with at least five. 

   1. 1. 1. 1. • Before beginning the individual brainstorm, determine if students need additional support. If you find that students could benefit from brainstorming as a class first, allow some time for this.

3. GROUP DISCUSSION:  Divide students into groups of four, giving each group five sticky notes.  In groups, students will engage in an authentic conversation about the characteristics that they each wrote down. Students can share, in round-robin format, a characteristic and why they think a successful student needs to embody that characteristic. If multiple students have written down the same characteristic, they can add on to what the original student said. This will continue until all students have had the opportunity to share out each of their characteristics.

4. FIVE CHARACTERISTICS ON STICKY NOTES:  Each group will compile five characteristics, one per sticky note, that they agree upon. These characteristics may be the characteristics that were common amongst them, or they could be characteristics that the group feels most exemplify a successful student.

5. GROUP SHARE OUT:  Post the large visual representation of the successful student for all students to see. Have each group share out their five characteristics, placing them around the figure as they share.

6. DEBRIEF:  Debrief and discuss what it takes to be a successful student and how AVID Elementary skills will enhance students’ ability to be successful.

7. CREATE SUCCESSFUL STUDENT:  Assign students the task of creating individual successful students. Students can choose to use Student Handout Successful Student Template, or they can draw their own representation.

   1. 1. 1. 1. • The key is for students to create a successful student representation that looks as much like themselves as possible.

8. DISPLAY:  Display students’ individual templates in the classroom, school hallway, or cover of their binder.

• Create a simple term card sort of characteristics that exemplify a successful student and another set of cards with characteristics that do not exemplify a successful student. Have students sort the

characteristics into the two categories individually. From there, have students pair up and compare their sorts, discussing similarities and differences.

• Identify 10 characteristics that exemplify a successful student. Complete a version of the Frayer Model so that students can define and internalize each of the words. After working with each of the words, have students rate their top five words and create an individual successful student, surrounding it with these words.

• Provide students with Student Handout Successful Student Template, with predetermined words printed on the page for students to trace and possibly illustrate.

To increase rigor:

• Create variations of the successful student in different, but specific, areas of study or profession. For example:

  1. 1. 1. 1. 1. • Successful Mathematician

                 • Successful Historian

                 • Successful Scientist

                 • Successful Teacher

                 • Successful Parent (as part of an AVID Family Workshop)

• Complete a character study, surrounding the figure with internal and external characteristics. When identifying the internal characteristics, give supportive evidence from the text that highlights each characteristic, reminding students that internal characteristics are often inferred, rather than explicitly stated.