Definition:

Patience means having self-control, waiting and enduring when one would rather not. 

In short:

Stay calm while you wait.

Summary:
A Cherokee child and his grandfather have a conversation about the battling thoughts we all have within us. Grandfather explains that it’s like two wolves opposing one another.  One wolf is harmonious and reasonable unless there’s something for which it is necessary to fight. The other is consumed with self-destructive, unreasonable and angry thoughts. The boy asks his grandfather which wins in the end, and the old man has a simple answer: it’s the one you feed. 

Lesson Objectives: 

1. Teachers make a T- diagram on a chart to be displayed in the classroom to record responses to an invitation to compare and contrast the two wolves. 
2. Teachers guide students to examine and share about the voices they hear in their heads - when those voices contradict each other, how do you know which is right? 

Guiding questions: 

1. The boy was furious because he thought he was “subjected to an injustice” - what does that mean? 
2. Why did the grandfather tell the boy to sit down with him by the fire? 
3. Retell the grandfather’s story in your own words. 
4. One wolf had all good qualities. What were some of those qualities? 
5. What was the other wolf like? 
6. Share some examples of what thoughts inside your head might “feed the good wolf.” 
7.  Share some examples of what kinds of thoughts inside your head might “feed the bad wolf.”  
8. The grandfather believes that a person can choose or reject the thoughts in one’s head. Time yourself (5-10 minutes)and try to listen to the thoughts in your head. Write down or share what you hear.  
9.  Do you hear thoughts in your head that contradict one another? If so, share about a time when you had to choose between two voices in your head. 
10. Ask a family member questions #8 and #9. Share about what they say.