“Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right.”
-Oprah Winfrey
You remember Samson of Bible fame? You can read about him in Judges 13-16. God kept giving him chances to get it right, and Samson pretty much blew it every time by focusing on himself instead of on what God wanted.
But you don’t have to be Samson to feel the regret of missed chances or the frustration of personal failure. To be human is to know the gut-punch of remorse.
Maybe you feel as if you failed in something last year. Maybe you wish you could do something all over again, only this time you’d win. You’d do the right thing. You’d have the courage. You’d succeed.
Now it’s your turn: Think of something you would like a second chance in: a friendship, that playoff game, organizing your life, being a better student, showing you can be brave, and so forth.
Write down your idea and then plan a way to make it happen. Be specific. For instance, instead of being general and writing, “I’m going to play my didgeridoo better this year,” write something like, “I’m going to practice my didgeridoo thirty minutes three times a week.” Write a paragraph or two to explain why you would like a second chance and to describe your idea and how you plan to put it into motion.
If this writing prompt leaves you cold, write a short story about a character who gets a second chance at something. What will the something be? How successful will your character be?
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Other New Year prompts your students are sure to enjoy:
A prompt about second chances >>
Failures turned into successes >>
You’ll find hundreds of prompts for middle school here >>
And hundreds of engaging prompts for your teens here >>
Enjoy these fun prompts from our blog that 5th – 12th graders will love >>
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