Agenda

10 minutes

Discuss the BYU-Pathway Worldwide Devotional

Devotional

Ancla 1

Why can mental illness be difficult to talk about sometimes?

How can I overcome the stigma associated with mental illness, either in my own life or with loved ones and/or friends who are suffering?

Continue

Reviewing parts of an Essay

Ancla 2

How does the hook give context to the rest of the essay?

How does the thesis statement focus the essay? (Hint: how many thinking errors are mentioned in the thesis statement?)

What is the role of the topic sentence in the body paragraph?

What kind of supporting detail is given?

Where does the writer connect the supporting detail to the body paragraph’s controlling idea?

What is the purpose of a concluding paragraph?

BONUS: In a three paragraph essay like this, the thesis statement and topic sentence of the body paragraph will be very similar. Why?

Sample Essay

Sample Basic Essay

Prompt: What is one thing you can do to overcome a specific thinking error?

A = Hook

B = Thesis Statement

C = Topic Sentence

D = Supporting Detail

E= Concluding Sentence

F = Concluding Paragraph

(A) People can make really bad decisions when they have a lot of stress. Imagine a runner who is competing in a race with other runners. In the first kilometer, he trips on a rock and falls. He is not injured very much, but he decides to quit the race because he is the only runner who tripped on the rock. This runner illustrates the thinking error called “giving up.” He gives up because he made a mistake and he figures he must not be good enough to run the race. (B) I struggle with giving up, and I can overcome this thinking error by having a growth mindset when I fail.

(C) If I have a growth mindset when I fail, I will learn from my mistakes instead of using them as an excuse to give up. (D) Carol Dweck, in her book Mindset, says that people with a fixed mindset see their failures as a “direct measure of their competence and worth.” When I fail, I stop trying because I feel worthless. However, Dweck says people with a growth mindset do not label themselves when they fail. Rather, they confront challenges and keep working on them because they want to grow in spite of the growing pains. I would rather learn than lose the opportunity to grow. (E) Having a growth mindset like this will help me use mistakes as a path to strength instead as a reason to give up.

(F) Giving up may seem like it keeps a person from the pain of failure, but it just makes things worse. If I have a growth mindset, I will be able to handle failure better because I will be motivated to learn from my mistakes.

Ancla 3

Thinking Errors

Ancla 4

Victimization

Pride

Entitlement

Powerlessness

Giving Up

Minimize/Catastrophize

Justification

Scarcity

Mentality

People

Pleasing

Deceit

Activity

Ancla 5

Story #1

Story #2

Jazmin is trying to quit smoking. She has gone three weeks without smoking. Then one day, she has a relapse and smokes one cigarette. Afterwards, she is so disappointed in her relapse that she decides her efforts to quit smoking are not good enough. She smokes the rest of the pack before the day ends. Soon, Jazmin resumes smoking a pack of cigarettes a day.

Story #3

Pedro is driving his motorcycle on a busy road when a car suddenly swerves in front of him, forcing Pedro to quickly apply the brakes and nearly crash. The driver of the car realizes his error and signals an apology to Pedro with a hand wave and a “Sorry” mouthed in the rearview mirror. But Pedro quickly transforms his shock into anger and speeds up alongside the car. He fiercely pounds on the driver’s window while yelling his displeasure to the mortified driver. For the rest of the day, Pedro is angry with everyone he meets.

Story #5

Sheila feels exhausted. In addition to her duties with her own family of five, this week she has made a meal for two families in the ward, cared for the children of another mother who was sick, volunteered to serve at the local school on two afternoons, planned a Relief Society dinner, and baked bread for the five sisters she ministers to in the ward. She feels like she can’t ever say “No” when someone invites her to serve. If she does, she won’t be seen as a contributor to the ward’s success.

Story #4

Alex teases his little sister by making fun of her. She bursts into tears and runs out of the room. When confronted by his mother, Alex replies, “It’s not a big deal! She’s so sensitive! Why can’t she learn to take a little joke?”

Alana tears open her mission call envelope with excitement. Quickly scanning the letter inside, her heart sinks when she realizes she will be serving in an area that she does not like. For the next week, Alana’s parents can’t seem to cheer her up. She is convinced that her life for the next 18 months will be utterly miserable.

Roleplay

Ancla 6

Role Play 1

Sheila: What should we make for dinner tomorrow night?

Jazmin: I think we should make pasta. We NEVER have it.

Sheila: That’s not true! We had it last week.

Jazmin: Yes, but after I made it I could tell that you didn’t like it.

Shelia: I ate it, didn’t I?

Jazmin: You smiled and said you liked it, but you only ate two bites. If you don’t like something, just tell me!

Sheila: Jazmin, I love your cooking. I’m just not sure Grandma will like pasta tomorrow.

Jazmin: Why not?

Sheila: Well, she is a picky eater, and she might prefer soup.

Jazmin: Will you just tell me that you don’t like my pasta!

Sheila: If you’re going to be mean to me, I don’t want to continue this conversation. I’m going to bed. I hope you’re not this rude to grandma tomorrow!

After identifying the thinking errors in this scenario, speculate what might be the stress that is causing them. Can you identify the thinking error when you are in the middle of a conversation like this?

Role Play 2

Pedro and Alex have just concluded a group project where members of their group gave each other scores on their performance. Dominic, a shy group member, gave a score of C to Pedro, the group leader.

Pedro: I can’t believe Dominic gave me a C on our group project!

Alex: Well, you didn’t do much work.

Pedro: I was the leader! Somebody had to be the leader. Besides, Dominic is just a poor kid who doesn’t know what it means to be at the top. Like a good worker, he followed my instructions, and we got the job done.

Alex: Yes, we got the project done, but Dominic did a lot of the work.

Pedro: Of course he did. That was his job. My job was to lead.

Alex: So what do leaders actually do?

Pedro: I made sure everyone knew what their instructions were. That wasn't so easy you know. Hey, why should I have to lead AND do the work?