an image asking if it is a threat challenge or opportunity

ask the question!

Teachers! The purpose of this page:

To develop a student's ability to manage anxious feelings and to begin to differentiate between a challenge, threat or opportunity.

WHY:

The brain cannot tell the difference between real and perceived threat.

If we can get students asking this question when they feel overwhelmed, nervous or anxious: Is this a threat, challenge or opportunity? We will be giving them a skill set to overcome fears and reach their goals throughout life.

Links to Curriculum - see here

How to use this page:

You could create this into a unit of work to follow for a term, there are enough activities to run a lesson once a week.

Or you could choose to run activities as part of an allocated pastoral care or wellbeing time.

K - 6

Explain threat, challenge and opportunity using the images below:

Invite students to lie down in a comfortable position and listen to the song 99 times

At the end of the song: think/pair and share - what is the main message of the song?

Next, invite students to stand up and free dance. Only rule, when the music stops you need to practice finger breathing, belly breathing, snake breathing or guard dog breathing. Play the song and pause it at different times.

In the animation: Meet the Grow Your Mind animals (watch again if students have forgotten it) it explains that the Guard Dog is great at keeping us safe but sometimes, you might get out in handball or a mistake happens and the Guard Dog reacts like there is a threat.

Your brain is super clever BUT it needs help. You can ask the Guard Dog, is this a threat, challenge or opportunity?

Play 99 times again and explain that when you PAUSE the music, you will be asking students to turn to someone near them and ask: why might asking this question, is it a threat, challenge or opportunity be helpful?

Play the music again and ask:

Can you remember a time when your body reacted like there was a threat when really it was an opportunity or a challenge?

Consolidate:

If we learn to tell the difference between safe scary and danger scary we will overcome our fears and feel more resilient. Resilience is a muscle that needs to be worked, otherwise it will waste. The more times we can train our brain to notice our feelings but see it as something that is NOT a threat, the more times we build our resilience.

Listen to the episode: Threat, Challenge or Opportunity. Students can colour in while they listen.

Download full student journal here for Year 3 - 6 with questions, reflection tasks and more.

Stage 3 - is this a threat, challenge or opportunity?

Scroll through the slides and determine whether each situation is a threat, challenge or opportunity.

Threat - wave your arms in the air

Challenge - hands on hips

Opportunity - pondering pose!

Year 3 - 6

Our guard dog (amygdala) cannot tell the difference between a real and a perceived threat. This means it can be great at keeping us safe, but sometimes we have things to do that require courage (speaking in public, participating in the swimming carnival etc) and our guard dog acts as though you are in DANGER! But you are safe!

And on the other end - someone might stand too close to us and our guard dog will let us know we are not safe.

The trick is to stop and remember your guard dog can ask: Is this a threat, a challenge or an opportunity?

Practice makes progress. So we are going to try each of these activities and see if we can start telling the difference between threats, challenges and opportunities.

Play song 99 times and invite students to fill in the gap

What about when it is a threat?!

K - 6

99 times at school chances are you are safe and there is no threat.

However, even within school and outside school there might be times when your body is telling you it is a threat. You feel your heart beating at a 1000 miles an hour? Or sweaty palms? Or feel super nauseous? Sometimes this might mean that you are about to do something safe, but scary. Perhaps you are about to present something in front of your class. Or compete in the athletics carnival.

However, these signals can also be your body's way of saying: no, don't do this! It is therefore important to listen to your body when someone asks you to do something. What is it telling you?

Listen to: Introducing the Sensitive Octopus episode and reflect on when your octopus may have sent you an alarm that something was off.

Print and complete the

K- 2 student reflection journal

3- 6 student reflection journal

Play the consent music clip from 1:32 to .1.50

What are some clues that your body gives you when you want to say no to something?

Be a body detective and colour in where you feel certain emotions.