Sixth Grade
Worksheets
You've Got Potential
National Reaching Your Potential Month
Reading Comprehension for January 11
Okay, kids, listen up. January is National Reaching Your Potential Month. You have thirty-one days to pull yourself together and live up to your potential! Somebody believes in you. Somebody knows that you have potential.
You were born with potential. It wasn't immediately obvious back in the days of diapers and bottles. In the beginning no one expected you to do more than cry and eat. Even then, your natural talent was there inside you, waiting for the right time to emerge.
Perhaps you aren't interested in reaching your potential. After all, it couldn't be as fun as playing video games and lip-syncing to your favorite songs. You would be satisfied to be average or even below-average if it meant that people would leave you alone and let you be a couch potato. Hmmm. If you believe that, then you aren't as smart as you look!
People who reach their full potential have a happier and fuller life. Really! Hard work pays off in the end! That self-esteem stuff you keep hearing about - work on reaching your potential, and you'll have lots of it. It will ooze through your pores like honey. Wouldn't that be sweet? The best thing about your potential is that it revolves around something you love. Therefore, working on developing it won't be a problem for you. Whatever your potential is, you will find it to be fun and helpful. It may even make life better or happier for others!
The person you are right now is the person who has potential. You have some kind of talent or intelligence. If you don't yet know what it is, perhaps you haven't yet begun to develop it. It is still there. You may need a little help drawing it out. That is our focus for this month.
There are many different areas where your talent may lie. Some of these areas may not have occurred to you. Most people, when they think of talent, think of the performing arts - music, drama, or dance. If you have been performing for your relatives since you were three years old, you can be sure that your potential lies in the performing arts. However, there are many other types of intelligence and talent.
Let's see if you recognize your area of potential from the following list:
Musical - this type of intelligence comes out early in life. You may have heard babies try to sing and bob to music. Kids with potential in this area need opportunities to sing or play musical instruments. They need to listen to different kinds of music and perform it. They should be encouraged to join a choir or a band or in some other way work on developing their musical talent.
