I’m thrilled to announce that our Sportsmanship lesson has been updated again! Those of you who have downloaded previous versions will immediately notice the improvements. First, we have a complete refresh of all diagrams. The goal was to make understanding the game as straightforward and enjoyable as possible, and these enhancements will definitely help accomplish that.

One of the most notable changes is the differentiation between the game's middle school and upper elementary school versions. First, the middle school game also has an extra level of competition where one team is directly playing against another. For middle school students, we are asking them to "value the long term over the short term." This is incredibly hard for them to do because the ability to delay gratification is one of the primary roles of the prefrontal cortex, which is still developing in this age group. However, the sooner they understand this message, the better. A concrete example I give them is a (bitter) rival player from another school could very well be their teammate when they move on to high school. Their interactions in grade school will influence their ability to play with each other and be friends in high school. To gamify this example, the added twist to the middle school version is that rival teams combine for the "championship," and to be the most successful, all players need to be integrated into the new team, similar to how old rivals become teammates as they move from middle school to high school.

I invite you to download the new and improved Sportsmanship lesson, which is, as always, completely free. We’re committed to providing quality resources, and we believe these updates will positively impact your teaching and your students' experience.

Thank you for your continued support and happy teaching!