Developing Courage: Meaning, Examples, and Practice

How can I act courageously? Friday, 21 March 2025 Learning Aim: Describe what it means to act courageously, be able to identify examples of courage and begin to practise the virtue of courage. Do Now: 1. Can you think of an example when you, or someone you know, has shown courage? I/Someone I know have/has shown courage when... 2. Think about a book you have read or film you have watched, can you name a character that has shown courage and share the example? In the book/film , the character shows courage when...

How can I act courageously? Friday, 21 March 2025 Learning Aim: Describe what it means to act courageously, be able to identify examples of courage and begin to practise the virtue of courage. Do Now Answers: 1. I have shown courage when I told my friends to stop bullying our classmate. 2. In the Harry Potter book and film series, the character Harry shows courage when he faces Voldemort and defeats him. Also, Neville shows courage when he attacks Voldemort s snake, Nagini.

Our New School Values Ark St Alban s Academy 2. Act Courageously To act courageously means to be bold and adventurous, without taking unnecessary risks

Our New School Values Ark St Alban s Academy 2. Act courageously Deficiency Being afraid to achieve your dreams Excess Being reckless and unthinking Acting courageously The golden mean

Vocabulary To be bold and adventurous, without taking unnecessary risks Brave Fearless Heroic Courage Firefighters risking their lives to save others from a burning building. Climbing over a tall and unstable fence to collect a ball instead of walking round to collect it safely.

Knowledge Check: Knowledge Check: 1. How did Finley show courage? 1. Finley showed courage by 2. What could have happened if Finley had not been so courageous? 2. If Finley had not been so courageous, ... 3. How did PC James Willetts and PC Leon Mittoo show courage? 3. PC James Willetts and PC Leon Mittoo showed courage by 4. Why can acting courageously be dangerous? 4. Acting courageously can be dangerous because 5. Why did Anne Frank need to be courageous? 5. Anne Frank needed to be courageous because... 6. Anne Frank hoped to have the courage to go out into the world and work for mankind . What do you think she means? 6. I think Anne Frank meant...

Knowledge Check answers: 1. Finley showed courage by swimming out to save a boy who couldn t get back to the shore because the sea s current was too strong. 2. If Finley had not been so courageous, the boy could have drowned. 3. PC James Willetts and PC Leon Mittoo showed courage by risking their lives to tackle crime and keep people safe. 4. Acting courageously can be dangerous because you could get hurt. PC Willetts and PC Mittoo could have died from their injuries, and Finley could have drowned if the current became too strong. 5. Anne Frank needed to be courageous because the Nazis were sending Jewish people to concentration camps where they were either forced to do hard labour or killed. She needed courage to survive. 6. Anne Frank hoped to have the courage to go out into the world and work for mankind , meaning that she wanted to work to make the world a better place for mankind by encouraging kindness and equality.

Our New School Values Ark St Alban s Academy 2. Act courageously Deficiency Being afraid to achieve your dreams Excess Being reckless and unthinking Acting courageously The golden mean

Scenario One: James is in Y12 and studies A levels in Biology, Chemistry and Maths. For the last two years James has desperately wanted to become an engineer and has dreams of working on HS2 (the high speed rail connection between Birmingham and London). He needs to achieve A, A, B to get into his first choice university - the University of Birmingham - to study Engineering, so he can be well qualified to go on to achieve his dreams. However, James is nervous. He is worried he won't be able to achieve those grades and doesn't think his application will be very strong. He has started to say things like 'I might as well give up' and 'I think I'm going to apply for an easier university course'. James is on track to achieve BBB. He has 6 months left to improve his Y12 grades. Reality Check: 1) What is James lacking in this scenario? How do you know? 2) Which value (or virtue) could James practice that could help him achieve his dreams? How might he do this? Which of James' attitudes or behaviours would be different?

Scenario One Answers Reality Check: 1) What is James lacking in this scenario? How do you know? 2) Which value (or virtue) could James practice that could help him achieve his dreams? How might he do this? Which of James' attitudes or behaviours would be different? James is lacking courage (he is also lacking a virtues linked to courage including perseverance and resilience). We can tell he is lacking this because he is afraid/nervous to try to achieve his dreams James could practice being courageous by being bold and unafraid. He could recognise when he is having negative, non-courageous thoughts and work to change them. He could say things like 'I know I'm not there yet but I'm going to be brave and make the most of the next 6 months'. As a result, James might be more motivated, and he might work that extra bit harder. James might view his lower grades and as opportunity to improve. James' character will develop.

Scenario Two: Maria is in year 7 and is going on a school trip to mount Snowdon. When she gets there, she climbs to the top and admires the stunning view of the lakes below. The cars parked at the bottom of the mountain are as small as ants, and the people there are too small to see. She takes her phone out of her bag to take a photograph of the view to show her friends and family when she gets home. The first photograph that she takes looks nice, but she thinks she could take an even better photo if she was nearer to the edge of the mountain. Maria notices that there are a lot of rocks on the edge that don't look very stable, as the rocks could move and fall at any second. Looking down, Maria can see that it would be an incredibly long way to fall. However, she desperately wants the perfect photo. She isn t afraid, so she decides to stand right on the edge of the mountain. Reality Check: 1) How is Maria showing excessive courage? Why could this be dangerous? 2) Which of Maria's attitudes or behaviours could be different? What should she do instead?

Scenario Two Answers Reality Check: 1) How is Maria showing excessive courage? Why could this be dangerous? 2) Which of Maria's attitudes or behaviours could be different? What should she do instead? Maria is showing excessive (too much) courage because her courage leads her to ignore the potential danger and threat of harm. Excessive courage could be dangerous because it could lead her to fall off the edge of the mountain, which could result in serious injury or even death. Maria could change her attitudes by taking time to consider whether it is better and safer to act on her courage or to moderate (make something less extreme) her courage. Maria could have thought "Is this safe? Will I hurt myself or anyone else?" Instead, Maria should have stayed a safe distance away from the dangerous edge of the mountain.

Review: Explain what courage is and why it is important. Review: Courage is... Courage is important because... Reflection: Reflection: Complete these sentences: 1. I will show courage by 2. Without courage, the world would be a (better/worse) place because