Special Events
What is the #Perseverance 2021 Challenge?
Undoubtedly, 2020 has been a tough year for many. Our ability to practice what we preach to students — optimism, courage, empathy, kindness, respect, teamwork — was put to the test as we faced the onset of a global pandemic and all of its drastic changes to the way we educate students.
So naturally, all of us let out a big sigh of relief and celebrated as we watched the clock turn from 11:59PM, December 31st, 2020 to 12:00AM, January 1st, 2021 and welcomed a brand new year.
However, it’s important to remember that the turn of a new year can’t magically make everything better. In 2021, we still have obstacles to overcome and areas in which we can all still grow.
The #Perseverance2021 Challenge
Hence we invite you and your classroom to join us in our #Perseverance2021 challenge and learn more about how we can show perseverance in the new year. There are three simple steps to the challenge:
1. Read The Peekapak Pals and the Sounds of Music from our Perseverance Unit & discuss the story with your class.
Perseverance is being steadily persistent and willing to continue on with a task or goal despite challenges or a delay in achieving success. Peekapak’s perseverance unit is all about helping students learn how to set goals, overcome obstacles and have a growth mindset. If you’d like to learn more, please visit www.peekapak.com.
In The Peekapak Pals and the Sounds of Music (found on peekapak.com), students learn how different characters in the story reach their goals. Here are some great prompts to drive discussion:
Pre-Story
- This story is called The Peekapak Pals and the Sounds of Music. What do you think this story is about?
- This is a story about perseverance. What comes to mind when you hear the word “perseverance”?
During the Story
- Cody dreams of being a rock star, but he doesn’t know how to play an instrument. What should he do?
- How did Menka and Leo the Hedgehog show perseverance?
- How does Cody show perseverance? How does he feel?
- How do Katy Bearry, Justin Beaver and Wolf-gang show perseverance?
After Reading the Story
- Why is it important to set a goal and to keep trying until you achieve it?
- Share an example of a time you achieved a goal. What was your goal? How did you achieve it? How did you feel when you achieved it?
- How did Cody feel when he achieved his goal?
2. Have your class create a story of perseverance in any form you’d like — short written stories, plays, comics, videos, animations, or a picture board are all accepted!
Get your students’ creative juices flowing by having them create their own story of perseverance using their favourite Peekapak Pals. Click here for printable images of the Peekapak Pals and backgrounds!
3. Share your class’ story with us through social media (Twitter, Instagram or Facebook) or email us at hello@peekapak.com to join the challenge and gain an entry for a fun prize!
We’ll be sharing your classroom’s creations on social media to celebrate moments of perseverance in our Peekapak community. Every story sent to us with the hashtag #Perseverance2021 and @Peekapak tagged, will win one entry into a special raffle for a $50 Amazon Gift card and a Peekapak individual book-set.
Every retweet or person tagged on your post will give you a bonus entry for the raffle!
All submissions must be sent in by February 7th, after which will be randomly selecting and announcing three winners of our challenge!
We’re so excited to see your classroom’s wonderful creations and we hope you enjoy participating in the #Perseverance2021 challenge.
Looking to supporting social emotional learning during the pandemic? Check out our free Coronavirus lessons plans to help students make sense of the pandemic.
