Great Quotes for Kids About Courage

Have you ever done something that you knew was the right thing to do, but you were scared to do it?  Or maybe you did something that looked very hard, but you decided to try it.  That is courage in action and you probably felt very good about what you did.  And you should!

Courage shows up in many ways all around you.  Courage is standing up for a friend, helping someone in need or sticking with something that is hard for you to do.  As a young person, courage is one of the most important things you can develop.  Having courage makes you a better person, a better student and a better citizen.  Here are some great quotes on the topic of courage:

• “Courage is doing what you’re afraid to do. There can be no courage unless you’re scared.” – Edward Vernon Rickenbacker
• “Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear – not absence of fear.” – Mark Twain
• “One of the greatest discoveries a man makes, one of his great surprises, is to find he can do what he was afraid he couldn’t do.” – Henry Ford
• “It takes courage for people to listen to their own goodness and act on it.” – Pablo Casals
• “He is courageous who endures and fears the right thing, for the right motive, in the right way and at the right times.” – Aristotle
• “The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing that you will make one.” – Elbert Hubbard
• “A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is braver five minutes longer.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
• “You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
• “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” – Sir Winston Churchill
• “Courage is never to let your actions be influenced by your fears.” – Arthur Koestler
• “Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.” – Anais Nin
• “To dream anything that you want to dream. That’s the beauty of the human mind. To do anything that you want to do. That is the strength of the human will. To trust yourself to test your limits. That is the courage to succeed.” – Bernard Edmonds
• “All our dreams can come true…if we have the courage to pursue them.” – Walt Disney
• “Trust the still, small voice that says, ‘this might work and I’ll try it.'” – Diane Mariechild
• “Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.” – André Gide
• “The greatest test of courage on earth is to bear defeat without losing heart.” – Robert Green Ingersoll
• “Life is not meant to be easy, my child; but take courage — it can be delightful.” – George Bernard Shaw
• “Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.” – Winston Churchill
• “Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I’ll try again tomorrow.” – Mary Anne Radmacher
• “Have the courage to say no. Have the courage to face the truth. Do the right thing because it is right. These are the magic keys to living your life with integrity.” W. Clement Stone
• “It may take courage to embrace the possibilities of your own potential, but once you’ve flown past the summit of your fears, nothing will seem impossible.” – Michael McKee

Additional Resources:

• Click here for a bunch of great IMK stories and videos about courageous people, animals and causes.

Topics for Discussion:

• What is something courageous that you’ve done?  How did you feel after you did it?
• Talk about a courageous person.  What makes them courageous?
• Can you remember a story that you have read where the characters have courage?  Or how about a story where a character did not have courage?
• What are some things you can do in your life that take courage?

Take Action:

• The next time you are afraid to do something but you know it is the right thing to do, just do it.  See how it makes you feel.
• Do something worthwhile that will benefit other people.  Find a cause that you care about, such as animals, and find something you can do to help.  Click here for a great list of ideas to help animals from the ASPCA or here for ways to help the environment.

Teacher Features:

• Here is a link to a Critical Reading Skills worksheet that you can use for elementary school students.
• Here is a link to a Critical Reading Skills worksheet that you can use for middle school students.