Teachers! The purpose of this page:
To build resilience throughout a student's time at school and in life.
WHY:
Resilience is often misunderstood. There are key ingredients needs to be and to feel resilient. Grow Your Mind has created + 4 steps to growing resilience based on the latest research in this area. The + is to surround yourself with good people - as the first myth you need to bust with children is that resilience is something we do alone.
How to use this page:
Once a year see if students can learn and repeat the + 4 steps to being resilient.
Use the podcast and the Grow Your Mind song on resilience to inspire students to learn and practice the steps needed to be resilient.
Focus on resilience for one term with students in Year 4 learning how Bounce Back + Grow Your Mind's version of resilience overlap.
Students in Year 3 to 6 can complete self-led journals on resilience.
Listen to each of the steps to growing resilience
Play each step and the + part twice. Can students explain what the step is? Can they give the step a name
e.g.
Step 1 - Gratitude
Step 2 - ?
K - 2 draw what each step means to you
3 - 4 write a sentence to explain each step
5 - 6 write a sentence to explain each step AND reflect on a time when one of the steps helped you to bounce back in the past. If you can't recall a time, make a plan for using one of the steps in the future.
Listen to the full song and learn all the lyrics
Look/Cover/Say the steps:
Watch the children's version of the rap in visuals:
Discuss: "Resilience it's in you and me but it ain't something that you do independently." What does this mean?
Can you remember the 4 steps and the bit of advice at the start of the rap? Surround yourself with ________________________
Have any of these 4 steps ever helped you when facing a tough time?
Listen:
print your student journal
Listen to: You Can't Grow it Alone and over the next 2 weeks complete the reflection journal. This episode the kids share the myths and truths of being resilient. And the elephant breaks into song about the +4 steps.
print your student journal
Listen to: Ouch it hurts and over the next 2 weeks complete the reflection journal. This episode the kids share the news that set backs, disappointments and missing out on things is a part of life. They also provide some great strategies for the choices you have when you miss out.
Share
Year 4-6:
Practice:
print a student reflection journal
Share
Year 1-3:
Reframe
Year 2 - 6:
Reframe your unhelpful thoughts. Visit the shark and dolphin page to practice reframing unhelpful thoughts.
Remember you can compete against shark thoughts by creating the start of a resilient thought. Think of a shark thought you currently have, now complete these sentences:
That thought is not true because...
Another way of thinking about this is...
The most likely outcome to all of this is....
NB There is a video lesson for K-2 and 3-6 about wellbeing where the concept of shark thinking is introduced.
Feeling frustrated by a situation? Perhaps you are super worried or anxious about something? Can you control what is happening? Can you control the outcome? A strong way to remain resilient is to practice letting go of what you cannot control and shifting the focus to what you CAN control.
Print the above
Ask students to brainstorm things that can't control. E.g. the weather, getting COVID, floods, wars etc.
Now invite them to put their focus on what they CAN control. E.g. My thoughts, my treatment of others, helping others, my attitude etc
Watch:
Click on one of the images above and watch a Guess Who about that particular person. Each of these individuals have shown incredible resilience throughout their life.
What steps from the rap can you see the Guess Who person using?
What enabled the person you watched to be resilient?
NB Sam Bloom is suitable for Year 4 and up.
Alternatively, print and share 12 Guess Who Stories with questions
Support the messaging of the podcast episode: You Can't Grow it Alone with excellent literature:
Stage 3 - create your own definition of resilience
So...resilience, what does it actually mean?
THINK. PAIR. SHARE:
Your own definition of resilience.
Here is a fancy one from a resilience expert, Dr Karen Reivich
"Resilience is the ability to grow and thrive in the face of challenge and bounce back from adversity."