Trying Helps Me Grow | Year 1 PSHE Lesson | The Ripple Project (Unit 1: Me)
Build a confident, can-do mindset from the very start. In this calm, structured Year 1 lesson from The Ripple Project’s spiral PSHE curriculum, pupils learn that trying (even when something feels hard) is how we improve. Children explore what “trying” looks like, practise helpful growth-mindset phrases, and create their own “Trying Ladder” to show the steps they can take when they feel stuck.
Learning objective: Learn to recognise that trying helps you get better at new things.
Statutory curriculum links (how this lesson supports requirements):
- Explicit link: Mental Wellbeing (pupils learn early resilience skills, develop language for “not yet,” and practise strategies for coping with mistakes and challenge)
- Foundation building: Caring Friendships (pupils reflect on asking for help, encouraging others, and learning alongside peers in a supportive way)
- Subtle link: Families & Carers (pupils recognise trusted adults who can help them practise and persist, and that support at home can build confidence)
What’s included:
- Full lesson slide deck (PDF) with a clear, ready-to-teach structure:
Spark Plug, Starter, Key Words, Teacher Explanation, Activities, Exit Task, Cross-Curricular Links - Spark Plug video prompt: “The Impossible… Now Possible!” (pupils notice how practise leads to improvement)
- Starter activity: “Same picture, better try” (quick draw, then retry with more time to experience improvement through practice)
- Key word focus: Improve (to get better little by little)
- Teacher explanation slides that normalise challenge and introduce simple growth mindset language (e.g., “I can’t do it yet”)
- Activity 1 worksheet: Trying or Not Trying? (cut-and-sort cards into “trying” and “not trying” to build reasoning and discussion)
- Activity 2 worksheet: My Trying Ladder (cut and paste steps pupils can use to keep going, with a personal goal: “I want to get better at…”)
- Exit task prompt: Finish the sentence before packing up… “If I fail I should…”
- Cross-curricular extension ideas included (Reading, Art, Maths, Writing/Reading, Computer, PE)
- A link inside the resource to an editable Canva version of the presentation with interactive features (recommended for use)
Why teachers love it:
- Low-prep, high-impact lesson that teaches resilience without pressure or shame
- Perfect for Year 1: simple language, clear routines, and practical strategies pupils can actually use
- Supports classroom culture by making “try again” normal, safe, and celebrated
- Fits beautifully into early self-belief, perseverance, and emotional literacy work
Suitable for: Year 1 / KS1
Strand: Discovering Me | Unit 1: Me
Theme: Growth Mindset & Self-Belief
About The Ripple Project
The Ripple Project is more than a PSHE curriculum. It’s a mission.
A mission to help children grow into emotionally literate, self-regulated, and informed young people, with the knowledge and skills they need for personal, social, health, and economic life.
Here at RevEd, we believe children deserve more than surface-level lessons that rush through big topics. Our lessons are designed to go deeper, revisit themes over time through spiral learning, and help learners practise real-life skills in creative, practical ways that actually stick.
How the programme is organised
The Ripple Project is divided into three units that learners return to year after year:
- Me: Learners build a picture of who they are, including their interests, strengths, needs, goals, motivators, and values.
- You: Learners explore how they connect to others, including safety, healthy relationships, boundaries, diversity, tolerance, and more.
- Us: Our optional Citizenship unit helps learners connect ideas from Me and You to society and the wider world, encouraging responsibility, justice, and meaningful contribution.
A whole-school spiral curriculum
The Ripple Project spans Year 1 through to Year 11. Students revisit the same themes every year with increasing depth and complexity, so that by the time they reach bigger topics like coercive control in Year 10, they already have a strong foundation. They’ve practised essential concepts such as boundaries, healthy relationships, and consent throughout Years 1, 2, and 3 and beyond.
Every lesson is mapped to DfE statutory guidance, and we intentionally fill the gaps where essential topics are missing or not explored deeply enough.
Ultimately, our aim is to spark a ripple effect that begins with one child’s understanding, one better choice, one kinder response, and one moment of courage. Over time, those small shifts shape behaviour, actions, and values. They travel outward through friendships, families, classrooms, and communities, helping to build a fairer, safer, more compassionate wider world.
When are more resources available?
The Ripple Project is being released in a planned weekly rollout, with new lessons added each week as the programme grows. Keep coming back to see what’s new, or join our mailing list to get updates straight to your inbox. Complete packs will be added to our website as soon as they become available. For enquiries, contact Natalie at natalie@revolutionaryeducation.co.uk
Copyright & licensing
© Revolutionary Education CIC. All rights reserved.
This resource is licensed for use by the original purchaser for personal classroom or home education use only. You may download and print this resource for your own teaching, but you may not share, redistribute, upload, resell, or reproduce it in whole or in part, in any format (including digital sharing via email, messaging apps, social media, or cloud drives).
School-wide, MAT/umbrella organisation, and co-op/home education group licences are available. For licensing enquiries, please contact natalie@revolutionaryeducation.co.uk
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