My Wellbeing Journey – Year 8

MY WELLBEING JOURNEY – YEAR 8 DEVELOPING MY BEST SELF as a Young Person and as a Student

Every day you have choices on how you will think, speak and act, and these choices shape your life. Choosing to develop your best self is a great first choice.

Healthy Wellbeing is feeling positive about your future, because you know that you are working towards developing your best self.

NAME CLASS

AS A YOUNG PERSON

What do I expect from myself and what type of young person do I want to develop into?

» show gratitude to do good to feel good and feel good to do good

show empathy for others’ and your own needs and feelings

AS A STUDENT

What do I expect from myself as a student and what do I want to achieve this year?

» use grit to challenge myself to deliberately practise

develop growth mindsets to stretch my brain’s abilities

CHARACTER STRENGTHS WEEKS

There are eight Character Strengths Weeks spread throughout this journal. They provide you and your class with opportunities to practise using your strengths to build your wellbeing. They are also fun to do at home with your family. There are Wellbeing Award Certificates for each of these weeks. The order of these weeks are: Curiosity, Leadership, Gratitude, Teamwork, Love of Learning, Kindness, Perseverance, Zest.

From the website www.learningcurve.com.au download the Strengths Weeks sheets from Individual Resources/Character Strengths Weeks and the Wellbeing Awards Certificates from Individual Resources/Wellbeing Awards.

“Enjoy the little things,

one day

look back and realize

were the big things.”

Sonja Lyubomirsky & Tal Ben Shahar

YOUR RESILIENCE SKILLS

This Lesson: WHY: for you to learn about the resilience skills that you need to respond well to challenges. HOW: be aware of opportunities to practise using each of these skills every day. Describe a time you have used each skill well, and reflect on how often you are using them with Usually At Times Not Yet

Optimism and Hope: believing that you can influence your own future through your own efforts.

Usually At Times Not Yet

When is a time that you used this resilience skill well?

Practice: looking forward to something every day and writing down term goals that you want to achieve. Ask “How am I going on them?”

Controlling Emotions: keeping your emotions under control when you are upset about something.

Usually At Times Not Yet

When is a time that you used this resilience skill well?

Practice: calming yourself using coping strategies such as colouring in, using self-talk or deep breathing exercises.

Controlling Impulses: stopping yourself speaking or acting without first thinking.

Usually At Times Not Yet

When is a time that you used this resilience skill well?

Practice: pausing to give yourself self-awareness time, before you speak or act.

Thinking Flexibly: contesting negative unhelpful thoughts with self-talk to think positively again.

Usually At Times Not Yet

When is a time that you used this resilience skill well?

Practice: create three I can and I will self-talk statements, and practise saying them to yourself, to be prepared when you need them.

Acknowledgement:

YOUR RESILIENCE SKILLS

Being able to respond well to challenges and bounce back from setbacks and failures don’t just happen as you get older, you have to work at them.

Empathy: showing that other people matter by understanding and caring for their needs and feelings.

Usually At Times Not Yet

When is a time that you used this resilience skill well?

Practice: every day looking for opportunities to listen and be kind to other people and yourself.

Self-Belief: feeling that you have what it takes to achieve what you set out to do.

Usually At Times Not Yet

When is a time that you used this resilience skill well?

Practice: focus on doing everyday things in interesting ways, because they matter towards developing your best self.

Connecting with Others: building relationships with others and asking for help when you need it.

Usually At Times Not Yet

When is a time that you used this resilience skill well?

Practice: asking other people RUOK, pausing to wait for them to answer, and then listening to their words, not your own thoughts.

When is a time that you were proud of yourself for responding well to a challenge or bouncing back from a setback or failure?

Find a short youtube video about being resilient to share with your class. What character strengths can you use to be resilient?

Acknowledgement: Rievich & Shatte

“Never give up! Never, never, never!” Winston Churchill

S S X Y D C K P Y F C K P S Y S N H K T Y O R G O U T U S T E O U U O S E M N T I E R E I N I A W M V E T P R M P P N S D T O R A O R N I A K O O R O N O S R G O U P O Q S H S I I I M B G L O S R C H W S E A R K E E C N A T P E C C A I F U R E L A T I O N S H I P S O C Z E C N E L L E C X E G I E N Y T I V I T A E R C B T V W S F O R G I V E N E S S O D Q M E D U T I T A R G F L Z E S T W R E S P O N S I B I L I T Y H U M I L I T Y M E A N I N G

CHARACTER STRENGTHS WEEK - KINDNESS WEEK

This Lesson: WHY: for you to use the nominated character strengths during these weeks to make a positive difference to your and others’ wellbeing. HOW: download the Kindness sheet from the Character Strengths section of the website, and put one up in your home room and one on the fridge at home. Then when someone notices another person or themselves being kind, they celebrate it by writing it down on the sheet. Read page 1 to learn more about Character Strengths weeks.

KINDNESS WEEK

There is a Japanese saying which says that one kind word can warm three winters. Being kind to others and to yourself are great ways to live a full and happy life and make a positive difference in the world. Kind acts don’t have to be big. Sometimes a smile or saying hello are enough to be kind to others. This week make Kindness Walls both in your classroom and at home for your class and your family to write down or draw acts of kindness they received or did for others or themselves, that they are grateful for.

This Week’s Kind Gratitudes: This week write down or draw acts of kindness they did for others or themselves, and ones they are grateful they received.

“Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.” Mark Twain

Acknowledgement: Seligman & Peterson

“Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.” Mark Twain

Positive Self-Talk

WHY: by using positive self-talk as a coping strategy to contest negative unhelpful thoughts, you will start feeling positive again.

HOW: say I can and I will statements over and over to yourself (page 119). For example, I can and I will control my emotions and impulses, or I can and I will keep asking questions when I don’t understand something. It also works well to spur yourself on to overcome challenges and to calm yourself when you feel anxious.

Acknowledgement: Ryan & Deci

what self-talk can you use when you want to stop yourself doing something risky with your friends?

When you need to be strong to take breaks from social media, what self-talk can you use?

character strength can help

day may not be good, but there is something good in every day.” Alice Morse Earle

RESILIENT ME: I AM ENOUGH

HAVING A SENSE OF PURPOSE. You focus on using your strengths to make a difference in your community by helping older neighbours to do jobs for them. What are two other things that you could do to give you a sense of purpose to make a difference?

Enjoy the challenge of making it through the maze. MINDFUL MAZE

Building Social-emotional

Education,

Fabulous First 5 Minutes:

is something that you do when building relationships with other people?

Looking Forward:

things are you keen to achieve

do this week?

KEYSTONE HABIT

that

WEEKLY HEALTH FOCUS

Exercise daily

always have

When is a

that you were proud of how you were hopeful that you can influence

own

WHAT ARE YOU GRATEFUL FOR?

Sleep well

Drink water

Eat healthy

Feel positive

COLOURING

Kind To You

WHY: by treating yourself with kindness, you will be calmer and have greater problem solving abilities to welcome tackling more difficult tasks.

HOW: the most important relationship that you have is the one with yourself. To grow it use your strengths to practise kind self-talk, use JOMO to have frequent breaks from social media, do each of the Big Five really well, give to add meaning to your life, smile, have fun and laugh and savour your proudest achievements oftens.

Acknowledgement: Niemiec, Neff & McGehee

DO: what is something that you love doing that you should do more often to be kind to yourself?

Who is someone that you enjoy being with who brings out the best in you?

resilience skill can help you with Kind to You?

am not what has happened to me. I am what I choose to become.”

ACTIVITY – HELP THE TAXI FIND ITS WAY TO THE HOUSE.

Fabulous First 5 Minutes:

healthy foods

you

that you should eat more of?

Looking Forward:

things

you keen

achieve

do this week?

WEEKLY HEALTH FOCUS

Exercise daily

Sleep well

Drink water

Eat healthy

Feel positive

WHAT HAPPENED THIS WEEK?

MY GOAL THIS WEEK

MY GOAL NEXT WEEK

Alfred Adler

Empathy is seeing with the eyes of another, listening with the ears of another and feeling with the heart of another.

Subject Assignments

WHY: by using a smarter process to research and complete subject assignments, you will produce higher quality pieces of work and achieve better learning outcomes.

HOW: Try this more intelligent process: Define – write topic in your words, break it into smaller pieces and create time targets for each one. Locate – ask library teachers and use the internet to find information. Select – check accuracy of collected data. Organise – write a draft using main points and parent/teacher feedback. Present –finish project with a bibliography.

Acknowledgement: Anderson & Ericsson

DO: what could be benefits for you of using this process?

When is a time that you completed a high quality subject assignment that you were proud of?

character strength can help you

Subject

can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to surf.” Jon Kabat-Zinn

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS?

What is a sensible reason for wanting to develop lifelong attitudes and habits towards healthy exercise and eating to avoid obesity and the possibility of contracting diabetes?

Sensible reason

What is something that you are doing to develop these attitudes and habits?

Acknowledgement: ACARA 7-8 HPE

Fabulous First 5 Minutes:

Forward:

things

8&9)

DECISION THINKING

GREEN THINKING: when you look to be creative with new ideas, how can it add depth to what you know, and how you can extend the idea. When is a time that you were proud of how you thought this way?

Acknowledgement: De Bono

is a time that you have understood why someone thought in a certain way?

you keen to achieve

do this week?

WHAT ARE YOU GRATEFUL FOR?

WEEKLY HEALTH FOCUS

Exercise daily

Sleep well

Drink water

Eat healthy

Feel positive

WORD SEARCH E P H M S M T Y P P T Y G D C T H U L H T T T R R C S U E U A Q C W Y I I O S A E S T P S C N O R S C C B W L L S N T D O Y A E A E A D A S E B E H O L N B U S E I R E H S K M N O M O S S M A S D U I Z B N S T N O E G B F U E W C R A G M S D S C E O T Q F R V C E I A R W E T M I D N E T X E A S R E E E F T C R E A T I V E S T D S S T I O R G A N I S E A E N Z A O E N Y T I L A U Q T R U L D I Q T E H Z C B T U G F Q D M Y D H Z S E N S I B L E T

HABITS OF MIND

This Lesson: WHY: for you to to learn how to change your way of thinking for different situations. HOW: when you need to make a decision about something, pause to give yourself self-awareness time, to choose the Habit of Mind which is the best way to think about it.

Habits of Mind are 16 more intelligent ways to think for different situations. For example, if you were solving a problem, you could think using Thinking Flexibly. To learn more about how you can use them, visit www.habitsofmind.org

Use the interactive Exploring Habits of Mind thinking tool from the website to practise looking for the best ways to think. Rate how you often you think with each Habit using Usually Sometimes Not Yet

LISTENING WITH UNDERSTANDING AND EMPATHY

Listening to understand and accept others’ needs and feelings, and reading what messages their body language is sending to you. When is a time that you listened with understanding and empathy?

Usually Sometimes Not Yet

PERSISTING

Overcoming obstacles and sticking to a task until it is completed. When something doesn’t work, trying other ways to solve the problem. When is a time that you persisted to succeed?

Usually Sometimes Not Yet

THINKING FLEXIBLY

Changing the way that you think for different situations when you hear new ideas. Changing unhelpful negative thoughts to positive thinking. When is a time that you were flexible in your thinking?

Usually Sometimes Not Yet

MANAGING IMPULSIVITY

Thinking and considering your ideas before you act, speak or make a judgement. Planning ways to solve a problem before you start. When is a time that you showed control to not be impulsive?

Usually Sometimes Not Yet

THINKING ABOUT THINKING (METACOGNITION)

Knowing what to do when you don’t know what to do. Being aware of how you are thinking and being able to change it. When is a time that you thought about how you are thinking?

Usually Sometimes Not Yet

HABITS OF MIND

STRIVING FOR ACCURACY

Taking pride in lifting the quality of what you do by deliberate practising. Not accepting near enough is good enough. When is a time that you practised hard to make your best better?

Usually Sometimes Not Yet

THINKING AND COMMUNICATING WITH CLARITY AND PRECISION

Sharing your thoughts with accurate and clear language, both written and verbal. Explaining and giving feedback using correct names and labels. When is a time that you communicated clearly?

Usually Sometimes Not Yet

QUESTIONING AND POSING PROBLEMS

Creating and asking the right questions to fill in the gaps of what you don’t know. Recognising the reasons behind why questions are asked. When is a time that you asked the right questions?

Usually Sometimes Not Yet

GATHERING DATA THROUGH ALL SENSES

Understanding a situation by taking in messages from all of your senses. Considering colours, sounds, smells, patterns, tastes, textures and rhythms. When is a time that you learned through your senses?

Usually Sometimes Not Yet

APPLYING PAST KNOWLEDGE TO NEW SITUATIONS

Applying your experience and knowledge to new problems. Adapting what you have learned to make connections to a new situation. When is a time that you used what you learned?

Usually Sometimes Not Yet

CREATING, IMAGINING, INNOVATING

Looking at problems and situations from different angles. Taking risks with and stretching your thinking to imagine “what could be?” When is a time that you stretched your thinking creatively?

Usually Sometimes Not Yet

HABITS OF MIND

RESPONDING WITH WONDERMENT AND AWE

Showing that you are excited, surprised and passionate when exploring new things. Looking forward to learning with curiosity. When is a time that you were excited by what you learnt?

Usually Sometimes Not Yet

THINKING INTERDEPENDENTLY

Sharing learning energy and ideas with others in groups. Knowing that combining thinking power achieves much more. When is a time that you achieved something you were proud of in a group?

Usually Sometimes Not Yet

TAKING RESPONSIBLE RISKS

Leaving your comfort and safe zone to welcome challenges and accept that mistakes are part of the learning process. When is a time that you made mistakes which led to you improving your understanding?

Usually Sometimes Not Yet

REMAINING OPEN TO CONTINUOUS LEARNING

Searching for better ways and approaches to learn and do things. Seeing challenges as opportunities to grow your abilities. When is a time that you showed a willingness to learn more?

Usually Sometimes Not Yet

FINDING HUMOUR

Laughing, having fun and smiling when learning with others. Enjoying feel good brain chemicals which come from humour. When is a time that you felt happy and valued when having fun?

Usually Sometimes Not Yet

THE RIGHT THING TO DO IS NEARLY ALWAYS THE HARD THING TO DO

This is a habit of character to help you to become your best self. Choosing to do what your mind tells you is the right thing to do for you. When is a time that you did this?

Usually Sometimes Not Yet

POSITIVE SELF-TALK

This Lesson: WHY: for you to practise using positive self-talk as both a coping strategy and a way to motivate yourself.

HOW: create and practise saying five self-talk statements to be prepared for when you need to use them.

Positive Self-talk is a coping strategy which spurs you on to learn and try new approaches to overcome challenges and setbacks you have. It generates positive emotions in you to develop your wellbeing and resilience to respond well. Make up some of your own I can and I will positive self-talk statements.

EFFORT – I can and I will...

» smile and say “hello” every morning

» keep asking questions when I don’t understand

» practise what I learn

» try hard to learn new ways to think.

Make up positive self-talk statements for:

1. I need to practise more to make the team.

INITIATIVE – I can and I will...

» create a learning timetable to stay focused

» feel good to do good and do good to feel good

» apply what I learn to new situations

» do at least three kind things every day.

Make up positive self-talk statements for:

1. I want to stick to the Big Five really well.

2. I want to ask more questions to understand things

2. I want to have something to look forward to every day.

COURAGE – I can and I will...

» say “sorry” when I upset someone

» include students who feel left out

» forgive others who upset me

» say no to my friends when they want to do something risky.

Make up positive self-talk statements for:

1. I want to ask someone special I like to sit down to talk with me.

SELF-REGULATION – I can and I will...

» listen to others’, words not my thoughts

» pause and notice something different about every day

» control my feelings and impulses

» concentrate on the body language I use.

Make up positive self-talk statements for:

1. I want to stop trying to mind read other people.

2. I want to not be scared of mistakes when doing harder work.

2. I want to use JOMO to stop looking at my phone.

“Our greatest weapon

stress

choose

thought over another.”

Ryan & Deci