A lesson · Everybody Has an Off Game
Grade 3-5Everybody Has an Off Game
A bad day doesn’t erase the good stuff underneath — ask any athlete.
Assumptions & Caveats
Before you begin
What you should know
This age can name their own moods with real specificity (“I’m not sad, I’m just off today”) in a way 5-8 year-olds can’t yet, which makes this the first age where a genuine — if simple — conversation about it is possible. They’re also starting to internalize the idea that performance equals worth (grades beginning to matter more, competitive sports, comparison with siblings and classmates), so an off day can start to feel like a small personal failure rather than just a mood. Keep the bridge concrete and specific — a real athlete having a real bad game — rather than moving into the more abstract “grading yourself” language used at 11-14; this age understands a bad game far better than it understands a belief about itself.
What we're assuming
- Most kids this age can name a recent day they felt “off,” low, or just not like themselves, even without a clear reason.
- Some kids may already feel real pressure to seem upbeat or fine, especially around peers. Stay alert to a kid who brushes off the topic too quickly or too cheerfully — that’s sometimes worth a gentle one-on-one follow-up.
- This isn’t the moment to problem-solve anyone’s specific bad day. The point is narrower: having one doesn’t mean something’s wrong with them.
Learning goals
What they walk away with
- Name, out loud or to a partner, a recent day they felt off, low, or not like themselves.
- Understand — through the athlete comparison, not as an abstract claim — that one off day doesn’t erase who they actually are or what they’re actually good at.
- Carry one simple phrase into the week: “I know I’m okay, but today I feel ___.”
- Locate one real day, past or upcoming, where it would help to remember that an off day doesn’t need a reason to be real, or a fix to be okay.
How to hold the room
Before you start talking
- Let the athlete comparison do the work — don’t over-explain it. Ask “does one bad game mean a player isn’t actually good at the sport?” and let them answer it themselves.
- Pairs of 2-3 work better than one big open floor at this age for anything personal — more kids actually talk that way.
- If a kid insists they never have off days, that’s fine — don’t push. Move on; the lesson still lands for them later.
The lesson flow
Step by step
Each beat alternates a little input, a little doing, and a little reflecting. Skip, slow down, or stretch any of these to fit your group.
Warm-up: name an off day
Ask: “Think of a recent day you felt kind of off — grumpy, low, just not yourself, even if you’re not sure why. You don’t have to explain it, just notice it happened.”
Let a few kids share quickly if they want to, round-robin style. No pressure to explain why.
The off-game story
Tell or read aloud:
“Think about a really good soccer player, or basketball player, or any athlete you admire. Even the best players in the world have games where nothing goes right — they miss shots, they’re slow, it’s just an off day for them. Does that one bad game mean they’re actually not good at the sport? No. It means they had an off game. The next game, they’re still the same player, same skill, same everything — just a different day.”
Ask (pairs, 2 min): “Has anyone ever had an ‘off game’ at something — sports, a test, an instrument, anything? Did it change how good you actually are at it, or was it just one day?”
Naming it as their own off days
“People have off days too — not just at sports, just in general. A grumpy or low day doesn’t mean something’s wrong with you, the same way an off game doesn’t mean a good player isn’t actually good.”
Read together:
“Man is God’s reflection, needing no cultivation, but ever beautiful and complete.”
Science and Health, p. 527:4
Ask: ”‘Already complete’ — that means not needing to fix yourself first to be okay. What do you think that means for a day you’re just feeling off?”
Try the phrase, in pairs
Introduce: “You can actually say two true things at once. Like: ‘I know I’m okay, but today I feel kind of off.’ Both things are true at the same time.”
In pairs, have kids try finishing the sentence out loud to a partner: “I know ___, but today I feel ___.” Keep it light — this doesn’t need to be deep, just practiced.
Closing
“An off day doesn’t need a reason to be real, and it doesn’t mean anything’s wrong with you. Same as an off game doesn’t erase being good at the sport — you’re still you, even on a day that feels off.”
What you'll need
The materials
- A whiteboard or poster paper for Beat 1 (optional)
- Nothing else required
If it's not going well
When this one gets heavy
If a kid’s “off days” come up as a pattern rather than a one-time thing, or if what they describe sounds like more than ordinary kid moodiness — persistent sadness, withdrawing from things they used to enjoy, or comments that worry you — don’t try to resolve it in the group setting. Follow up with them individually after class, and consult the site’s mentor safety guidelines (For Mentors page) if it sounds like it goes beyond an ordinary off day.
For the fuller tiered guidance — including what to do if someone discloses something serious — see For Mentors.
Help this get better
Teaching this to a group we haven't planned for?
Tell us — this only gets better with your eyes on it. We read every one of these.