Students analyze and define the word perseverance as it applies to Martin Luther King, Jr. They relate perseverance to setting and reaching goals. Through a discussion of impulse spending and opportunity cost, students learn about the value of perseverance as it relates to setting goals and sticking with them. They brainstorm a variety of short-term and long-term goals as an activity leading to each student developing plans for a single goal. Each student sets an individual goal using a goal-setting strategy. The class reflects on perseverance and how to persevere when the plan gets difficult to carry out.

Focus Questions:

What role does perseverance play in relationships and life success?  How can developing perseverance equip people as world citizens who contribute to the common good?

The learner will:

• respond through discussion to the book I Have a Dream: The Story of Martin Luther King. See Bibliographical References.
• analyze the meaning of the word perseverance.
• write an acrostic poem about Martin Luther King, Jr.
• identify the goals of Martin Luther King, Jr.
• describe the relationship between goals and perseverance.
• define impulse spending, buyer's remorse, and opportunity cost.
• compare the meanings of incentives and goals.
• relate goal setting to perseverance. 
• write five personal goals.
• brainstorm lists of short-term and long-term goals to build creative ideas for inspiration.
• discuss the meaning of a quote by Albert Einstein and how it relates to perseverance.
• use the GPAR strategy to set a goal.
• reflect on the goal-setting process.

After lesson three, students discuss goals with their families. Students may ask family members about personal and family goals (short- and long-term). They may determine whether the family has clearly spelled out goals or if they are understood but not expressed. Encourage them to find out if more goals are related to money, personal performance, or the common good.