Lessons on Self-Control
Self-control is freedom in disguise. It protects our future from being ruined by temporary feelings. Without it, we become prisoners to our impulses.
Title: Pause, Think, and Choose
Age Group: K - 2nd Grade
Virtue: Self-Control
Objective: Students will understand that self-control means stopping to think before acting or speaking, and that using self-control helps us make better choices.
Instructions:
Warm-Up: “What is Self-Control?”
Ask students:
- “What does it mean to control yourself?”
- “When is it hard to have self-control?”
Help guide the conversation:
“Self-control is when you want to do something right away — like shout out or grab a toy — but you stop, think, and make a good choice instead.”
Story Time: “The Cookie Challenge”
Tell this short story:
Lily’s mom baked cookies and told her to wait until after dinner to have one.
The cookies smelled so good! Lily really wanted to sneak one.
But Lily paused, thought about the right choice, and decided to wait.
After dinner, she got not one, but two cookies because she showed great self-control!
Ask:
- “What did Lily want to do?”
- “What did she do instead?”
- “How did waiting help her in the end?”
Activity: “Freeze and Think!”
Play a short movement game to practice stopping and thinking:
Instructions:
- Have students spread out around the room.
- Give them a fun movement command (like “jump up and down!” or “march in place!”).
- After a few seconds, call out “Freeze!”
- When they freeze, say:
- “If you wanted to grab a toy before asking, what should you do?”
- “If you felt like yelling when you’re upset, what could you do instead?”
Let a few students answer each time.
Repeat 3–4 times with different movement prompts and questions.
Discussion: “Self-Control is Superpower”
Tell students:
- “Self-control is like a superpower you can use anytime!”
- “When we pause, think, and choose, we show we are strong on the inside.”
Wrap-Up: “Our Superpower Promise”
Say:
“Let’s make a promise to use our self-control superpower today.
When we feel like shouting, grabbing, or getting upset, we’ll pause, think, and choose the best way!”
Let the class repeat after you:
“Pause, think, and choose!”
Optional Extension:
- Drawing: Students draw themselves using self-control (like waiting their turn, raising their hand, or sharing a toy).
- Self-Control Badge: Hand out simple “Self-Control Superpower” badges (you can draw stars or shields on paper) to celebrate kids who show self-control during the day.
Title: What Is Your Future Going to Be?
Age Group: 9th – 12th Grade
Virtue: Self-Control
Objective: Students
Materials Needed: none
Instructions:
- Opening (Read Aloud – 2 minutes)
Four teenagers get in a car.
The driver had been drinking.
They stop at a traffic light.
No one knows why, but the driver decides to go through the light too soon.
He doesn’t make it.
All die.
Five funerals.
Flowers on the side of the road for a long time.
But not forever.
The only thing left to do… is forget.
And everyone does.
When people die, we say, “They’ll always be in my heart.”
But the truth is the pain fades with time.
The memories fade.
Even the memory of the relationships fade.
That’s how the mind protects itself.
Sad, but true.
Pause. Let it sit. Then quietly ask:
“What if this was your story?”
“What if you were the one behind the wheel?”
“What if it was your funeral?”
- Journaling Time (10–15 minutes)
Distribute journals or paper. No talking. Play soft background music if desired. Title the page:
“What Is My Future Going to Be?”
Prompts for writing:
- Who do I want to be in five years?
- What legacy am I building?
- What patterns will stop with me?
- Am I living with self-control—or just hoping nothing bad happens?
- What would I say to a friend who thinks drinking and driving is a joke?
Encourage total honesty. No one has to turn it in unless they want to.
- Closing Thought (Optional – 1 minute)
End with this:
Self-control isn’t about saying no to alcohol.
It’s about saying yes to the rest of your life.
Non perveniemus ad destinatum nisi viam noverimus.
Viam invenire non poterimus nisi aliquis eam ostendat.
Nemo autem nobis ostendere potest si oculos auresque ad veritatem clauserimus.
Omnis iter ducem requirit — et omnis dux viatores voluntarios desiderat.