Sadly, students are under so much pressure to be perfect. This includes everything from academics to extracurriculars they try. Due to this pressure, they are often hesitant to try something new. They fear what others will think if something they do is not perfect. However, it is so vital for students to try something new! If they don’t, they will never realize their true potential. This includes everything from trying a different way to solve a math problem to trying a new activity at school. To help students learn about making mistakes, teachers work hard to show how mistakes are part of learning. Luckily, students will see that making mistakes is okay with The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes!
Between the book and Read Aloud Activities, students will see how growth and happiness are better than being perfect.
The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes
Mark Pett and Gary Rubinstein developed the perfect book to teach students that making mistakes is okay.
Beatrice Bottomwell is a nine-year-old girl who has never made a mistake. For instance, she has never forgotten her homework or worn mismatched clothing. She strives for perfection no matter what she does. She practices so much that she even wins the talent show every year. Simply put, she has the nickname of The Girl Who Never Makes Mistakes since she is always perfect.
People do not realize that Beatrice is under so much pressure. She never wants to let someone down. So, she often avoids activities in which she might not be perfect no matter how much she wants to try something. Instead, she sticks to doing the same things she knows she can do without making mistakes.
As the talent show approaches, Beatrice decides to perform a juggling act with the help of her hamster. However, Beatrice does what she has spent the past nine years avoiding: she makes a mistake! She accidentally uses pepper instead of salt in her routine, making her hamster sneeze. This causes a series of unfortunate events for an entire audience to witness.
The audience is speechless, but Beatrice cannot stop laughing! Thankfully, this helps the audience laugh as well. Readers learn that it is much better to try something new than do the same things repeatedly.
Read Aloud Activities
No matter how often students hear mistakes are okay, it is hard for them to believe it. This is because so many students either feel the need to be perfectionists or endure a lot of pressure to be great. Therefore, they need time to understand that mistakes are part of learning. Hopefully, they will realize that making mistakes is okay with The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes!
Since teachers have so much to prepare, there is a teacher guide to outline the entire unit. Specifically, this contains all of the lesson plans needed. Additionally, it includes an introduction to help prepare students and sets the purpose for the story. Likewise, it has essential vocabulary words!
When learning that making mistakes is okay with The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes, it is crucial to have discussion. This allows students to understand that everyone has made mistakes before. Truly, there is nothing to be embarrassed about. Therefore, there are higher-level thinking questions and talking points to guide student discussion. Each question includes a page number, so teachers know exactly where to stop.
While discussion is essential to include in lessons, personal reflection is also critical. Thankfully, learning that making mistakes is okay with The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes has both aspects! There is a written response and activity sheet to help students learn how to handle mistakes. There are even differentiated options to ensure every student knows this SEL skill.
Furthermore, there is hands-on craftivity! Students will love how the craft connects the story to their lives.
Application
Teachers work hard to ensure students understand how the material taught in the classroom relates to life outside of school. Therefore, there are task cards that provide scenarios or thought-provoking questions. Ultimately, students will realize that making mistakes is okay with The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes because everyone makes them!
There are different ways to use the task cards. Honestly, they work great for whole class or small group discussions. They even work perfectly for individual work time.
No Prep Resource
Teachers have to handle so much. Thankfully, the Read Aloud Activities are all no prep! Teachers just need to print the resources.
While it would be amazing to be perfect at everything, this is not reality. Mistakes are a part of learning and growing as individuals. Even though no one purposely wants to make mistakes, they allow everyone to reflect and improve. Thankfully, students will realize that making mistakes is okay with The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes!
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Get a Free Read Aloud Lesson!
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Save This Read Aloud
Be sure to save this pin to your favorite read alouds board on Pinterest! You’ll be able to come back to this lesson plan when you are ready to read it aloud with your students.
