Lesson 6 — The Map of My Growing Self

Summary

Learners draw a self-map that gathers their interests, abilities, and experiences into one picture of who they are — and who they are becoming. A special “not yet” branch reframes things they cannot do yet as growth in progress, turning the map into a portfolio artifact that grows with them across the year.

Objectives

• Explain how their interests, abilities, and experiences shape their sense of self. (D01.S2.04.01)

Connection

A map shows you where you are and where you are headed. You can draw a map of yourself the same way. In the center is you. Around you are the roads you have traveled and the roads still ahead: what you love, what you are good at, what you have done, what you are still learning, and your next step. A child in a desert town maps the way to the well she can now find alone; a child in a port city maps the knot he cannot tie yet. Every person’s map is different, and every person’s map is unfinished — because you are still growing.

Materials

• Self-map example chart
• My self-map page
• Pencils and crayons

Preparation

• Print or draw the self-map example chart.
• Copy a blank self-map page for each learner.
• Arrange space for quiet drawing and a gallery walk.

Facilitator note

This lesson is written to the learner (“you”). The “not yet” branch is the heart of it: research on mindset (Dweck) and on mastery learning treats “not yet” as information, never a verdict — and that is the message to carry. Model your own self-map, including a real “not yet” of your own, so learners see that adults are still growing too. Keep the map honest, not performative; every branch is a real truth about the learner. This page is a portfolio artifact — have learners keep it and return to it later in the year.

Procedure

1. Gather (5 min). Last time you built a flower with three petals: interests, abilities, and experiences. Today you draw the whole map of your growing self.
2. Meet the self-map (10 min). Look at the chart. The center is me. The branches are I love, I am good at, I have done, I am still learning, and my next step. The “I am still learning” branch is special: we call it not yet. You are not “bad at” something — you are not yet able, and that is how every expert began.
3. Hear a worked example (10 min). “I love to sing. I am good at listening to friends. I have moved to a new town. I am still learning to swim — not yet. My next step is one swimming lesson.” See how the map shows a whole person, including the part still growing?
4. Draw your own map (15 min). Fill your page with your own truth for each branch. Be honest, and remember: “not yet” is a strong thing to write, not a weak one.
5. Close (5 min). You are a whole person who is still becoming. Keep this map — later in the year you will look back and see how far you have grown.

Differentiation

• Support: Offer branch starter cards and scribe the learner’s answers; let a learner draw pictures for each branch instead of words.
• Extension: Add a “how I got here” branch (who helped you) and a “where I want to go” branch with a first step.

Assessment

• Formative (observation): Can the learner complete each branch of the map with something true, including a “not yet” that is stated as growth, not failure?
• Artifact (portfolio): The self-map page, kept as a “my growing self” artifact.

Home connection

Show your self-map to someone at home and tell them one thing on your “not yet” branch — and ask them what they are still learning too.

Resources

• CASEL SEL Framework (self-awareness competency): https://casel.org/fundamentals-of-sel/
• Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. Random House. (Evidence for “not yet” framing; note that mindset effects are modest and work best with real feedback, not praise alone.)