The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens
Paradigms and Principles Lesson Sketch (p. 11-27)
I. Vocabulary Art
 Have students complete vocabulary art/scrapbook for the following words.
1. paradigm: the way you see something,
your point of view, your belief
2. perceptions (13): the way you see or
think about something
3. convinced (13): feeling certain that
something is true
4. reference (13): an idea, fact, event etc
that you already know, which helps
you understand or make a judgment
about another situation
5. limitations (13): qualities that stop
someone or something from being as
good or as effective as you wish they
could be
6. hindering (13): to make it difficult for
something to develop or succeed
7. self-image (14): the idea that you have
of yourself, especially of your
abilities, character, and appearance
8. candidate (14): someone or something
that is likely to experience or get
something
9. obstacle (14): something that makes it
difficult to achieve something
10. contorted (15): if you contort
something, or if it contorts, it twists
out of its normal shape and looks
strange or unattractive
11. affirmed (15): to strengthen a feeling,
belief, or idea
12. envision (16): to imagine something
that you think might happen in the
future
13. point of view (16): someone's own
personal opinion or attitude about
something
14. identity (19): the qualities and attitudes
that a person or group of people
have, that make them different from
other people
15. standards (19): moral principles about
what kind of behavior or attitudes
are acceptable:
16. foundation (19): to provide the
conditions that will make it possible
for something to be successful
17. accomplishment (19): something
successful or impressive that is
achieved after a lot of effort and hard
work
18. center (19): to be the person or thing
that everyone is giving attention to
19. principle (24): moral rule or belief
about what is right and wrong, that
influences how you behave
20. character (26): combination of qualities
such as courage, loyalty, and
honesty that are admired and
regarded as valuable
*Idea- create a Know Book for all written portions
II. PREREADING
A. Students break into groups, skim through the text and highlight vocabulary words and
underline new words.
B. Groups share which words they have found, teacher uses overhead & underlines words. As
students are sharing teacher underlines the words on the overhead, and at the end the class
numbers the new words. On a separate piece of paper students define words (divided up) on a
separate sheet of paper (students share definitions they found, and use this sheet as they read
along).
C. Students skim over text and read titles, subtitles, and look over pictures (share/write down
what they think the text is going to be about, what pics remind them of).
D. Johnathan’s Paradigm Activity.
III. READING
A. Begin reading. Discuss quotes. At bottom of page 12 students add a statement that they or
someone they know has said.
B. Continue reading on top of pg. 13. Students write down/share what the pic (student in glasses)
means.
C. On separate piece of paper have students answer the following questions: Some positive
paradigms I have about myself are; Some negative paradigms I have about myself are;
Paradigms that my parents or guardians, boss at work, or teachers at school might have about
me are; Their paradigms match mine (true or false); Could they be right? How will I find out?
D. Have students answer the question on bottom of pg. 13- “Are your paradigms of yourself helping
or hindering you?”
E. Continue reading pgs 13-16- “Paradigms of Self.” PG 13 (bottom) have students answer question
about paradigms being a hindrance (respond in margin). PG . 14 ask- or have students write an
answer to – when have you experienced a paradigm shift (respond in margin)? On bottom of PG
15 ask what the quote “whenever I need to be affirmed I’d talk to my mom and she’d clean my
glasses” means (respond in margin). Ask- who do you have to help shift your paradigm?
F. Read Paradigms of Others (17-18)- have students respond to the comic- ask them to write about
what it represents (respond in the margin).
G. Read Paradigms of Life (18)- Have students respond to questions- what do I spend my time
thinking about, what is my obsession.
H. Have students complete following survey to help determine their life center, once they’ve
determined their center have them read the related section.
LIFE CENTER SURVEY
1. You are at home on a Tuesday night doing your math homework. It’s slow-going and boring. You hear
your friends drive up to the curb and yell that they’re heading out to dinner. What do you do?
A. You decide to keep doing your homework, even though it’s boring, circle letter F.
B. If you decide to go with your friends and tell yourself that you can always do your homework later,
circle letter A.
A
B
C
D
E
F
2. Your family is planning a five-day vacation to Hawaii. You want to go, but taking five days off work means
that you won’t earn as much to buy clothes for school. What do you do?
A. If you decide to stay home and continue working, circle letter B.
B. If you decide to go with your family to Hawaii, circle letter F.
A
B
C
D
E
F
3. You are at home getting ready to go out with your friends-they’ll be there any minute. The phone rings and
it’s your boyfriend/girlfriend. He’s/She’s wondering if you can come over right now to hang out and watch a
video. What do you do?
A. If you decide to go to your boyfriend’s/girlfriend’s house, circle letter C.
B. If you decide to tell your boyfriend/girlfriend that you have plans with your friends, circle letter F.
A
B
C
D
E
F
4. It’s 11:00 p.m. and you’re studying for your English lit test. You’ve been studying all evening and you’re
pretty sure you’ll do well on the test tomorrow. You’re tired and want to go to bed. But you have an Aaverage in the class, and if you study a little longer to ensure that you ace the test, you can bring your average
up to a solid A. What do you do?
A. If you decide to go to bed to renew yourself, circle letter F.
B. If you decide to stay up longer to ace the test, circle letter D.
A
B
C
D
E
F
5. You’re attending college recruitment day (when colleges come to schools and talk to students about
attending their college) at your school and you are sitting in one of the presentations. You’re overwhelmed.
You have no idea what you want to be “when you grow up,” and you have no idea what college to attend. The
presentation you’re in is for the college your mother wants you to go to. You don’t know what you want to do,
but you’d rather just have the decision over with. At the end of the presentation the presenter asks the class to
fill out applications. What do you do?
A. If you decide to wait and fill out an application after you’ve thought about your options a little
more, circle letter F.
B. If you decide to fill out an application, circle letter E.
A
B
C
D
E
F
Count up the number of times you circled each letter and record the numbers here:
A:
B:
C:
D:
E:
F:
ANSWER KEY:
Letter F: If you circled 3 or more F’s, you have a pretty healthy life center.
Letter E: If you circled 1 E, read page 22 to examine if your life is too parent-centered.
Letter D: If you circled 1 D, read page 21 to examine if your life is too school-centered. School is
important, but you don’t want to overdo it!!
Letter C: If you circled 1 C, read page 20 to examine if your life is too boyfriend/girlfriend-centered.
Letter B: If you circled 1 B, read page 19 to examine if your life is too stuff-centered. There’s nothing
wrong with accomplishing and enjoying your stuff, but never center your life on things that in the
end have no lasting value. Great memories of vacations and family times will last forever.
Letter A: If you circled 1 A, read page 19 to examine if your life is too friend-centered.