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SEL Series: Snack Attack – Never Give Up!

Simple mini SEL lessons to make afterschool snack time fun

During snack time, or whenever you need a short activity, have student watch the short animated film, “Soar,” set to Sia’s song “Never Give Up”

With each new experience, growing young minds are always discovering and learning how to find their place in this big world. The prime challenge for educators is selecting the right tools that help build student’s self-esteem and their willingness to believe in their dreams and ideals. Teaching kids how to problem solve and explore potential solutions is essential to build courage in our students. We want students to take chances, and experience failure and bounce back from their setbacks.

“Soar” is a short animated film by Alyce Tzuethat depicts how easy it is to lose faith. The character in the video shows if you believe in your goal, work to make it happen and know it is within your grasp, you’ll do whatever it takes to make it a reality.

Munch on this: Group wrap-up questions

1. At the beginning of the video, she was discouraged after the many attempts to make the plane fly. What gave her courage to continue trying out her ideas?

2. Who do you think the little person in the video represents? Is she her thoughts, a teacher or a family member?

3. As a group, tell about a time when you wanted to create or try something new but you didn’t bother trying it because it seemed impossible.

4. Tell about a time when you never gave up on something that was initially hard but kept trying and succeeded.

Lesson Takeaways:

● Confidence and self-esteem play a considerable role in creating success.

● The more faith you have, the larger the chance you will be led to victory.

● Believe in yourself, and you will be able to accomplish anything you can imagine.

Click here for others in this series on social emotional learning curriculum that is useful in afterschool and summer programs.


Tiana Brown is the Assistant Director of the Norwalk Housing Authority Learning Centers.

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