RESOURCES PACK EXAMPLE

YAA Y7:
Practice ma
Session
kes perfect
4
awesome
Slides
ge
Key Langua
ctive)
Practice (effe lience, focus
resi
Session Challenge,
4 of 8 Effort
ways
Suitable
for Neural path
dba ck, response
Fee
Year 7 motivate
Motivate/de
Focus: al
tice is equ
Not all prac others.
ctive than
is more effe practise.
objectives e practice
Learning erst and that som ge yourself whe
n you
assembly
or in the
1. To und to challen er lesson,
To iden tify ways red as part of a wid
2. been sha
ings has already
Lesson Tim the chapter
Assume that session.

YOU AR
cou ld be
first part of
this rse. ements
of the cou these stat
k/purpose Discuss how
of the boo the slide.
ind pupils ements on dset. e
Slide 1: Rem on the PLC stat on your min ) awesom even
es (perfect

E
1 min
Slide 2: Ref
lect
atio nal, depending ctic e mak gs ofte n without
ly).
thin
1 min l or demotiv sion for today – Pra practise h it positive
motivationa ses chapter (we sible if we approac ctised
duce the es of the pos have ‘pra
Slide 3: Intro recap the main them e well, anything is tify a time that they
1 min fly if it is don

AWESO
Slide 4: Brie ils to iden t
1 min g it, prac tice is hard the boo k. Ask pup thin k are the mos
realisin
re the quo
te from k. Which
do you Ask pupils
Slide 5: Sha on the worksheet. from the boo applied in.
tising hard could be
2 mins
hard’. Rec
ord
tips for prac h of these

ME
ap on the ns that eac rt into practising.
tify situatio on the
s Slide 6: Rec s to practise? Iden put this much effo s, mon ey? Record e you to put
2 min es to succes ivat
effective way motivate themselv als, exam goal can
help to mot
can you? Med ng the end
how they es each of or imagini ami fox.
at motivat envisioning ing the orig
Slide 7: Wh ent with fold
3 mins Discuss how to experim mistakes.
worksheet. to your practice. e pupils time their e they hav
e
in extra effo
rt
Fra nkli n quote. Giv pup ils to embrace thei r atte mpts onc
isit the oura ge ions with
s Slide 8: Rev right first time? Enc out the instruct e improvements. goo d quality
3 min it mpts with t makes
Did they get pupils’ atte that they could
mak
s about wha imp rove.
Com pare area s ord idea how to
Slide 9: . Identify k. Rec are told back.
instructions of feedbac when they onse to feed
seen the importance es them feel me would say in resp but Kid
Discuss the share how it mak up
Slide 10: to rage/Aweso an excuse to give
3 mins Ask pupils t Kids Ave k as
feedback. s about wha negative feedbac
Share idea use improve.
Slide 11: Ave rage may to help them
2 mins Kid use it
Explain that ld embrace it and
Awesome
wou d clip. how they
thew Sye to outline
Watch Mat k. Ask them impact of this
Slide 12: k at this wee
1 min out feedbac il wants to improve ils to refle
ct on the .
Seeking h pup rove. Pup ction session
Slide 13: ng that eac k to help them imp this in the refle
som ethi sha re
Identify feedbac ared to
seek out and be prep
will actively ormance notes last week
to reflect
on.
on their perf Teacher
feedback need their
PLCs from

Resources4
YAA Y7 PPT
Pupils will
TODAY’S
ksheet 4
YAA Y7 Wor clip 4
YAA Boo
k and
SESSION

Lesson plans YOU

WILL
NEED

4
Session esome
Year 7 ct aw
s perfe
e make
Practic y?
and wh
ctising
you pra

NEXT
at were
rd’. Wh
tised ha
ve ‘prac
a tim e you ha ting yo
u to
Think of motiva
What is
SESSION
1.
at the moment.
improve
trying to
you are

Worksheets
mething d goal.
down so your en
2. Write ll? Draw _____
ctis e this ski __ __ ______
pra ____ _
______ ______
______ ______
______ ______ _
______ ______
______ ______
______ ______ _____
______ ______
______ ______
______ __ __ I take
____ ke sure
__ __ ______ How I
can ma dback given?
__ gain fee
ask to rd the
on boa
s I can
Question lity feedback
e me good qua
who giv
People ck
feedba
honest

prove:
w to im
e told ho
en they’r
say wh
e would
Awesom
What Kid

xt?
What ne

week?
dback: at this
out fee nt to improve
Seeking u wa feedbac
k?
at do yo quality
1. Wh out good
ly seek ance?
u active perform
wil l yo on your
2. How dback
ct of this fee
pa
at wa s the im
3. Wh

youareawesomebook.co.uk
 You Are Awesome:
Teacher Overview

CONCEPT
The You Are Awesome course is a short programme designed to support KS2 and KS3 students
in their development of a Growth Mindset. This programme has been written as a direct lesson
resource interpretation of Matthew Syed’s book, ‘You Are Awesome’. This text is packed with the
essential tools for building personal successes (whatever they may be) of a younger audience.
Using Growth Mindset, the ability to learn from failure, grit, and marginal gains, readers of this
book will be equipped with the resilience to face the challenges in our rapidly changing, complex
world.

Some of the themes addressed in the book include:

• Reframing and understanding how success really happens
• How the brain grows with practice, challenge and mistakes
• How to practise in order to maximise opportunities for building abilities
• Building resilience and GRIT
• The importance of a Growth Mindset (in comparison to a ‘Fixed’ one)
• How to learn from making mistakes
• Building confidence and perseverance
• Even small incremental gains in improvement can lead to big changes
• Strategies for dealing with pressure and anxiety

These themes are embedded throughout the eight chapters of the book, which form
the eight sessions of this PiXL programme. See the ‘programme structure’ section below for
a session breakdown.

GROWTH MINDSET
Mindset is a simple idea discovered by world-renowned Stanford University psychologist Carol
Dweck in decades of research on achievement and success – a simple idea that makes all the
difference.
In a fixed mindset, people believe their basic qualities, like their intelligence or talent, are
simply fixed traits. They spend their time documenting their intelligence or talent instead of
developing them. They also believe that talent alone creates success – without effort. They’re
wrong.
In a growth mindset, people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through
dedication and hard work – brains and talent are just the starting point. This view creates a love
of learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment. Virtually all great people
have had these qualities.
Teaching a growth mindset creates motivation and productivity in the worlds of business,
education, and sports. It enhances relationships.

https://mindsetonline.com/whatisit/about/

It is with this understanding that the ‘You Are Awesome’ programme has been written.

SHORT BIOGRAPHY: MATTHEW SYED

Matthew Syed is one of the world’s most influential thinkers in the science of high performance,
talent, resilience, the power of practice and learning from failure. The bestselling author of Bounce
and Black Box Thinking, Matthew is a journalist and broadcaster, public speaker, British table
tennis champion and two-time Olympian. He’s an award-winning sports columnist for the Times
and hosts a Radio 5 Live show with Andrew Flintoff and Robbie Savage called Flintoff, Savage
and the Ping Pong Guy. He also has a prize winning first in Politics, Philosophy and Economics
from Balliol College, Oxford. Matthew lives in London with his family.

Page 1
 You Are Awesome:
Teacher Overview

PROGRAMME STRUCTURE
The ‘You Are Awesome’ programme is designed to run during tutor registration time, though
sessions can be extended in order for the course to be used as a PSHE lesson resource or, for
the Year 6 course, at another convenient time in the primary school day.

The course consists of 2 assemblies, 8 sessions, a pre and post PLC (Personalised Learning
Checklist) and reflection video clips from Matthew Syed himself. All sessions are fully planned
and resourced – each with plan, PowerPoint and worksheet – for teachers to deliver with ease.

The order of sessions follows the framework below:

Session Session Title Focus / Themes

An introduction to Growth Mindset

ASSEMBLY 1 You Are Awesome – Assembly 1
1 From Kid Average to Kid Awesome
2 What’s Holding me Back?
Your Fantastic Elastic & Plastic
3
Brain
4 Practice Makes Perfect Awesome
5 Genius or What?
6 Small Steps and Giant Leaps
7 Under Pressure
8 Don’t Stop me Now
ASSEMBLY 2 You Are Awesome – Assembly 2
– in comparison to a Fixed Mindset.
Identify the habits you need to develop
(PLC) to transform you from average to
awesome.
Address obstacles that prevent you
achieving success – and how to overcome
them.
Consider the mental workout your brain
encounters in the learning process.
Learn how to take feedback in order to
improve, and recognise daily developments.
Discover the hard work behind famous
successes that often appear to be ‘easy’.
Understand that small changes to routines
and practice can have huge overall impact.
Learn about the physical response we face
to pressure and its impact on performance.
Pause to compare mindset at the start of the
course (PLC) to now. What have you learnt?
A self-reflection and call to action to face
future challenges with a Growth Mindset.

ASSESSMENT
Students will complete a pre and post-course PLC (Personalised Learning Checklist), using
scaled scores (1-10) to assess their own progress in these key areas of Growth Mindset. In the
final session, students will have the chance to repeat the PLC and address the developments
they have made since the start of the course.
session
SESSION RESOURCES plan

Every session contains:

a) a plan
b) a PowerPoint slideshow
c) a worksheet, with homework task
session PowerPoint
d) a reflection video clip (Matthew Syed)

Some sessions also contain: Ten reflective

e) self-assessments video clips from
f) video links Matthew Syed
Page 2 x2 assemblies
x8 sessions
 You Are Awesome:
Teacher Overview

IMPORTANT THINGS TO NOTE

1. Playing videos
On some PowerPoint slides, you will see a play button
like this: (see example on left).

Each of these buttons already have a hyperlink to the

internet video you need to watch. To be able to click
on the hyperlink, the PowerPoint show MUST be in
‘slideshow’ mode. To view in this mode, simply click
‘View’, then ‘Slide Show’. Links are also listed in the
teacher notes section beneath the slide, as well as
being saved in the ‘Videos’ folder of this workspace.

2. Session worksheets

Every worksheet is fully aligned to the teacher plan and

PowerPoint for each session. The worksheet provides a
space for pupils to record notes or reflect on key prompts
within the session by completing mini tasks related to the
focus of the lesson.

At the bottom of every worksheet, there is a takeaway

task for pupils to consider as they move into the next
week, to attempt before the next session.

3. Personalised Learning Checklists (PLCs)

In session 1 and session 8 of the course, every pupil will

be asked to complete a PLC that assesses their current
attitude towards certain statements around Growth
Mindset. These will reveal where pupils are at the start
of the course and again at the end, highlighting any
changes to their outlook from beginning to end. It is
hoped that pupils will leave the course with an increased
understanding of the hard work required for success.

4. Year 6 and Year 7 Courses

This course has been designed for pupils at the end of KS2 and at the start of KS3. There are
equivalent courses for Year 6 and Year 7 classes, each aligned in their own way to the eight
chapters of Matthew Syed’s book, ‘You Are Awesome’. Classes will need access to the book
either prior to or during the session, so that teachers/tutors can read the chapter before running
each session.

Page 3
 You Are Awesome:
Teacher Overview

© Year 2018 The PiXL Club Ltd and Author Matthew Syed. All rights reserved.

If this resource has been provided under The PiXL Club Ltd school membership agreement, it is strictly for the use of member
schools for as long as they remain members of The PiXL Club. It may not be copied, sold, or transferred to a third party or
used by the school after membership ceases. Until such time it may be freely used within the member school.

The Author Matthew Syed has the right to sell this teaching guide. It may not be copied, sold, or transferred to or by a third
party. Matthew Syed takes full responsibility for all commercial activity thereof.

All opinions and contributions are those of the author. The contents of this resource are not connected with, or endorsed by,
any other company, organisation or institution. Any additional images are from getty.co.uk unless otherwise stated. 'You Are
Awesome' illustrations copyright © Toby Triumph.

Endeavours have been made to trace and contact copyright owners. If there are any inadvertent omissions or errors in the
acknowledgements or usage, this is unintended and PiXL will be remedy these on written notification.

Page 4