Name: .............................................................................................................. Class: ...................................
Growing My Best Self
My Living Growth is my pathway to getting better at getting better as a young person, and my Learning Growth is my pathway to getting better at getting better as a student. I can do this by making the effort to leave my comfort zone to try harder tasks. This will help me to learn new things that will always keep my best getting better. Hard things will become easy.
Living Growth Challenge: to get better at getting better as a young person, I will...
Growth Action: who can help me with my living growth challenge and what do I need to practise?
Learning Growth Challenge: to get better at getting better as a student, I will...
Growth Action: who can help me with my learning growth challenge and what do I need to practise?
Wellbeing Growth Action: what is something that I will do to feel more positive and hopeful that I can grow my best self...
Acknowledgement: Sonja Lyubomirsky &Tal Ben Shahar
Character Strengths Weeks
There are six Strengths Weeks spread throughout this planner. They provide you and your class with opportunities to practise using your strengths to welcome living, learning and wellbeing challenges. They are also fun to do at home with your family. The order of these weeks are: Gratitude, Kindness, Bravery, Honesty, Creativity and Teamwork.
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.
“We know what we are but know not what we may be.” Shakespeare
PERMAH+: My Living & Learning Wellbeing Growth
This Lesson: WHY: for you to understand what each of the PERMAH+ elements of wellbeing are and think of something that you could do to grow them. HOW: each week one of the elements is explored for you to learn more about how you could use it to grow your wellbeing. The six equally important PERMAH+ elements work together as a family and describe your living and learning wellbeing.
POSITIVE EMOTION + gratitude – being able to create positive emotions in yourself and being grateful for the special people and the things that you value in your life.
Describe how by you doing little positive and kind things you could create more positive emotions in yourself every day.
Who are people that are always there for you and that you are grateful to have in your life?
ENGAGEMENT + mindfulness – being able to feel connected to yourself, your teacher and classmates to notice something positive and different about every day.
Describe how you could involve yourself actively in class by connecting more with your teacher and classmates.
How could looking forward to noticing something different about every day help you to become more aware?
RELATIONSHIPS + empathy – being able to build and enjoy respectful relationships and showing empathy for others’ needs and feelings as well as your own.
Describe how showing empathy that you and other people matter could help you to build and enjoy respectful relationships.
How you could show more empathy for other students’, your teachers’ and your own needs and feelings?
Acknowledgement: Seligman & Peterson
“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.” Aristotle
PERMAH+: My Living & Learning Wellbeing Growth
No one of the elements of PERMAH+ on its own can describe your living and learning wellbeing. All six of them contribute to how healthy your wellbeing is, so aim to build each of them to grow your best self.
MEANING + purpose – being able to add meaning to your life by giving and having a purpose that really matters to you and makes the world a better place.
Describe how you could add meaning to your and others’ lives by giving of yourself to be kind.
How could having a sense of purpose to make a positive difference help you to grow your best self?
ACCOMPLISHMENT + optimism – being able to set goals that stretch your abilities to keep you getting better at getting better to grow your best self.
Describe how you could keep growing your best self by writing down three goals each term to aim for.
How could believing that you can keep getting better at getting better grow your living and learning wellbeing?
HEALTH + strengths – being able to use your strengths to have a healthy body, a healthy mind and a healthy outlook on life.
Describe how making the effort to do and record the Big Five well could help you to keep you healthy.
How could using your strengths to stretch yourself on harder tasks lead to living and learning growth?
Acknowledgement: Seligman & Peterson
“We first make our habits, then our habits make us.” John Dryden
Mirror Copying
WHY: by understanding that we all have mirror neurons, which copy how people around us act and feel, your challenge is to be a good person to act in ways that will spread happy feelings.
HOW: show that you enjoy life and are happy. Your own moods and ways of acting will be unconsciously copied by others who you spend time with. Choose to be with grateful and fun people to help you feel and act the same way, which will grow everyone’s wellbeing.
Acknowledgement: Greenfield & Iacoboni
DO: share your thoughts about how you could use your and others’ mirror neurons to create a happy and healthy classroom.
What is something good classmates could copy from you?
“Attitude is contagious; do you want others to catch yours?” MW
Problem Solving
Counting Triangles
How many triangles are in the picture?
Wellbeing Growth Tip
When travelling, stretch your arm and leg muscles every ten minutes.
Mindfulness Maze
Heading
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This Lesson: WHY: for you to set three goals this Term, one for improving your learning and thinking skills in class, one for building your respectful relationships, and one for what you want to achieve for yourself. HOW: for each of your goals, think about what you need to learn, who can help you and what strengths you will use. Your goals motivate you to be more curious about learning things that you need to help you to move forward towards building your best self.
TERM TWO LEARNING GOALS
GOAL
I will
About improving my learning and thinking skills in class.
Who can help me learn what I need to learn?
Mark where I am now on achieving this goal:
GOAL
I will
By the end of term mark where I can reach:
About building my healthy friendships.
Who can help me learn what I need to learn?
Mark where I am now on achieving this goal:
GOAL
I will
By the end of term mark where I can reach:
About what I want to achieve for myself.
Who can help me learn what I need to learn?
Mark where I am now on achieving this goal:
Acknowledgement:
By the end of term mark where I can reach:
Acknowledgement: Sheldon & Adams Miller
PROGRESS TOWARDS LEARNING GOALS
GOAL
What did I learn about this goal that I am grateful for?
Towards achieving this goal I felt I reached:
GOAL
What did I learn about this goal that I am grateful for?
Towards achieving this goal I felt I reached:
GOAL
What did I learn about this goal that I am grateful for?
Towards achieving this goal I felt I reached:
“I will study and get ready, and perhaps my chance will come.” Abraham Lincoln
Title Pages
Self-Kindness
WHY: by understanding that the most important relationship that you have is the one with yourself, your challenge is to treat yourself with the kindness you treat others.
HOW: to be self-kind mentally, look at life positively using your strengths, write down goals to achieve, and believe that you can grow your best self through your own efforts. To be self-kind physically, focus every day on doing the Big Five well. Especially be self-kind by spending quality time having fun with your family and friends.
Acknowledgement: Niemiec, Neff & McGehee
DO: share your thoughts about how treating yourself with kindness could help you to enjoy growing your best self.
What is something that you do often to be self-kind?
“The person in the mirror is your best friend.” MW
Creativity Week
This week, enjoy making a positive difference to other peoples’ lives by creating activities using the strength CREATIVITY, to grow relationships with your family, friends, and school community.
(Creativity Week worksheet and Creativity Wellbeing Award are in Individual Resources on www.learningcurve.com.au)
Acknowledgement: Seligman & Peterson
Wellbeing Growth Tip
Throwing a tennis ball around with your family and friends is fun exercise.
Mindfulness Puzzle
Character Strengths
This Lesson: WHY: for you to understand that character strengths are your personal best ways to do what you do. HOW: discover your strengths by doing the free Youth Survey at www.viacharacter.org and for each strength in the table below write where it was on the survey. There are 24 Character strengths and you have your own special mix of them, which you naturally use in your life. The strengths bring six virtues to life, which are: Wisdom, Courage, Humanity, Justice, Temperance and Transcendence. Google Tiffany Shlain to watch an enjoyable YouTube clip “Science of Character” to learn more about them. Before you do the survey think about what your top five strengths will be:
VIRTUES
WISDOM about your thinking and reasoning
COURAGE about your spirit and confidence
HUMANITY about your positive relationships
JUSTICE about you being fair with others
CREATIVITY
Thinking and designing in original and novel ways
BRAVERY
Doing what your mind says is right for you
24 CHARACTER STRENGTHS
CURIOSITY
Exploring and being interested in learning more
JUDGEMENT
Thinking in open-minded and critical ways
LOVE OF LEARNING
Enjoying mastering and learning new things
PERSEVERANCE
Persisting through challenges to finish HONESTY
Being true to your values ZEST
Feeling full of energy and enthusiasm
VIA No............................. VIA No............................. VIA No............................. VIA No.............................
LOVE
Being loving and feeling loved by others
KINDNESS
Being generous and caring with others
SOCIAL INTELLIGENCE
Knowing why others act and think in certain ways VIA
TEAMWORK
Being loyal to and working well with others
TEMPERANCE about being in charge of you
TRANSCENDENCE about you having purpose and valuing others
FORGIVENESS
Giving others a second chance
APPRECIATION OF BEAUTY & EXCELLENCE
Feeling wonder and awe about special things
FAIRNESS
Being just and kind with others
HUMILITY
Letting achievements speak for you
LEADERSHIP
Bringing out the best in others
PERSPECTIVE
Making sense of what is happening
GRATITUDE
Being thankful for what you have in your life
Acknowledgement and thanks to the VIA Institute. © 2014 VIA Institute. All Rights Reserved.
PRUDENCE
Being careful to not take silly risks
HOPE
Feeling you can influence your future
SELFREGULATION
Controlling your impulses and emotions
HUMOUR
Having fun, laughing and smiling
SENSE OF MEANING
Having a purpose larger than yourself
“You’ve always had the power my dear, you just had to learn it for yourself.” Glinda, Wizard of Oz
Strengths Backpack
This Lesson: WHY: for you to think about how well you are using each of your strengths as you are carrying them around in your make-believe backpack, and for each of them set a target to aim for. HOW: write your top strengths in your backpack and write one word to describe something you could do for each of them. Then have fun colouring your backpack.
Mark how you are using them now using and set a target.
“You were given this life because you are strong enough to live it.” Ain Eineziz