Using your strengths to do kind things to make others’ lives better will grow your own wellbeing to create your best self. A smile, eye contact and saying “hello” and “thank you” with your heart is a great way to start.
A healthy state of wellbeing is feeling positive and hopeful about today and for your future, because you know that you are working towards creating your best self.
What do I want this year to be for me, and what goals do I have for myself?
What could be challenges for me in making these things come true? Who could help me?
CHARACTER STRENGTHS WEEKS
There are six Character Strengths Weeks spread throughout this journey. They provide you and your class with opportunities to practise using your strengths to build a resilient state of wellbeing. 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.
Acknowledgement: Sonja Lyubirmorsky & Tal Ben Shahar
“Never stop dreaming, never stop believing, never give up, never stop trying, and never stop learning.” Roy T Bennett
Essential Lesson 1
Your Pathway to a Healthy State of Wellbeing
This Lesson: WHY: for you to learn and understand that your wellbeing is made up of the elements of PERMAH+. HOW: for each of the elements of PERMAH+, reflect on the questions asked and write down how well you are doing what you need to do to build your best self.
POSITIVE EMOTION + GRATITUDE – looking on the bright side of life, having happy feelings often, being grateful for what you have and the people in your life, and using I can and I will self-talk to change negative unhelpful thoughts to positive ones.
Do you enjoy happy and positive feelings?
Often Sometimes Not Much
What can you do to create more happy feelings in yourself?
Do you feel grateful for what you have?
Often Sometimes Not Much
What people and things are you grateful to have in your life?
ENGAGEMENT + MINDFULNESS – being present in the moment and connected to now, pausing to be aware of what is happening around you and to you, and noticing something different about every day.
Do you feel tuned in at school?
Often Sometimes Not Much
What activities do you love doing and exploring which excite you?
Are you aware of how you are thinking?
Often Sometimes Not Much
What is something different that you have noticed this week?
RELATIONSHIPS + EMPATHY – being happy with the person you see in the mirror, caring about and trying to understand others’ needs and feelings, and building respectful relationships with other people.
Do you feel happy and safe with others?
Often Sometimes Not Much
What is something which builds healthy and respectful relationships?
Acknowledgement: Seligman & Peterson
Do you show empathy for other people?
Often Sometimes Not Much
What is something that you do to show you care for others’ needs and feelings?
“Love yourself first and everything else falls into place.” Lucille Ball
Essential Lesson 1
P E RMAH+ Your Pathway to a Healthy State of Wellbeing
Your wellbeing is a combination of the six equally important PERMAH+ elements, and no element on its own can describe how healthy your wellbeing is.
MEANING + PURPOSE – being prepared to give of yourself to help other people to add meaning to what you do, and have a purpose larger than yourself which motivates you to get out of bed every morning.
Are you kind to add meaning to your life?
Often Sometimes Not Much
What are little kind things which add up to big things for others?
Do you think about what your purpose is?
Often Sometimes Not Much What is your purpose for putting effort into what you do?
ACCOMPLISHMENT + OPTIMISM – being confident that you have what it takes to achieve what you want to achieve, and feeling positive that through practising you can grow your brain’s abilities.
Do you look at your goals to motivate you?
Often Sometimes Not Much
What is a goal that you are really determined to achieve?
Do you reflect on if your efforts are good enough?
Often Sometimes Not Much
What do you practise to feel hopeful that you are improving?
HEALTH + STRENGTHS – being healthy by using your strengths to exercise daily, be positive, sleep well, drink water and eat healthy foods.
Do you think about the Big Five to be aware?
Often Sometimes Not Much
Which of your Big Five are going well, and which need more effort?
Acknowledgement: Seligman & Peterson
Do you deliberately use your top strengths?
Often Sometimes Not Much
What strengths can you use to do the Big Five well to be healthy?
“Ideas come from curiosity.” Walt Disney
Term One Learning Goals
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 healthy friendships, and one for what you want to achieve for yourself. HOW: for each of your goals, think about and write down what you need to learn and who can help you.
A team approach involving you, your parent/s and your teachers works best for everyone to share, care and celebrate. See pages 41, 69 & 97 to write down Terms 2, 3 and 4 Learning Goals.
TERM ONE LEARNING GOALS
GOAL ONE: About improving my learning and thinking skills in class.
I will
Who can help me to learn what I need to learn?
Circle where I am now By the end of Term circle on achieving this goal: where I can reach: 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
GOAL TWO: About building my healthy friendships.
I will
Who can help me to learn what I need to learn?
Circle where I am now By the end of Term circle on achieving this goal: where I can reach: 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
GOAL THREE: About what I want to achieve for myself.
I will
Who can help me to learn what I need to learn?
Circle where I am now By the end of Term circle on achieving this goal: where I can reach: 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
PROGRESS TOWARDS LEARNING GOALS
GOAL ONE: What did I learn about this goal that I’m grateful for? ................................................................................ Towards achieving this goal I felt I reached: 1 2 3 4 5
GOAL TWO: What did I learn about this goal that I’m grateful for?
................................................................................ Towards achieving this goal I felt I reached: 1 2 3 4 5
GOAL THREE: What did I learn about this goal that I’m grateful for? ................................................................................
SIGN OFF! Me: ................................................................................................................... Date: / / My Parent/Guardian:
Date: / / My Home Room/Form Teacher:
Acknowledgement: Sheldon & Adams Miller
Date: / /
“If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else.” Booker T Washington
ENGAGEMENT + MINDFULNESS
GROWING BRAIN PATHWAYS
WHY: by practising things that you want to improve, your brain will build new and strengthen existing brain pathways to make it happen.
HOW: practise tasks that are a little harder than your normal ones, so that your brain’s abilities are stretched and will grow. This is how habits are created.
There is a saying which says, practice makes perfect, but because your brain is forever changing, perhaps it should say, practice makes progress. But also, practising poor behaviours creates bad habits.
Acknowledgement: Pascual-Leone & Dweck
DO: what is something that you want to improve and how will you practise it?
When have you created a habit by practising harder learning tasks to stretch yourself?
Which Character Strength can help you with Growing Brain Pathways? (pages 8&9)
“Picture your brain forming new connections as you meet the challenge and learn.” Carol Dweck
Past Positive:
What was an enjoyable experience you had that you think about often?
Respectful Relationships
What does respectful mean and what are the important things which make up a respectful relationship for you?
The Big Five Health Check In
Colour the sections to reflect how well you went. EXERCISE DAILY
Acknowledgement: 5-6 RRRR, Graduate School of Education, University of Melbourne
READERS ARE LEADERS
SAT/SUN
Parent/Carer Signature:
How did you feel this week?
Mindfulness Time
Going Home: Close your eyes and pretend you are travelling home from school. Write down every turn and every time you must stop and start for the whole way home.
Acknowledgement: Kabat Zin & Baer
RELATIONSHIPS + EMPATHY
GRATEFUL FOR YOUR TEACHER
WHY: by understanding that your relationship with your teacher is the biggest influence on you being happy and successful at school, you will be grateful for them.
HOW: earlier you learned about mirror neurons, which copy the attitudes, expressions and moods of those around them. In class show welcoming and enthusiastic body language to send the message to your teacher and classmates that you really want to learn with them. Students learn well and teachers teach well when they are happy being together.
Acknowledgement: Wentzell & Caldwell
DO: what positive body language can you use to build great relationships with your teacher?
What do you think are your teacher’s needs and feelings when in class?
Which Resilience Quality can help you with Grateful for Your Teacher? (pages 6&7)
“Teachers open the door, but you must enter yourself.” Chinese Proverb
Mindfulness Puzzle.
Enjoy the challenge of copying the picture by colouring the squares in the grid to match.
FRIDAY
SAT/SUN
Parent/Carer Signature: MONDAY
The Big Five Health Check In
Colour the sections to reflect how well you went. EXERCISE DAILY
BARELY
BARELY
BARELY LITTLE BIT ENOUGH MOSTLY HEAPS EAT HEALTHY
BARELY LITTLE BIT ENOUGH MOSTLY HEAPS FEEL POSITIVE
BARELY LITTLE BIT ENOUGH MOSTLY HEAPS
Mindfulness Maze
Respectful Relationships
This Lesson: WHY: is for you to learn about how to build and enjoy respectful relationships. HOW: you are hard-wired to be at your best when enjoying healthy relationships with other people, which means that you feel: Connected – sharing and communicating equally, cooperatively and openly with others. Protected – feeling emotionally and physically safe, and Respected – feeling others value all of you as a person who matters. Practise doing the respectful relationships activities to help you to do this.
What do you act like and feel like when you are in a respectful relationship?
What are two respectful relationships that you have with other people where you feel a sense of belonging?
What are two warning signs that you and your friends could feel when in an unsafe relationship?
What are two positive coping strategies that you could use if you felt unsafe or was being bullied?
What are two things that you would notice if someone has power over someone else in a relationship?
Problems need to be sorted out with win-win outcomes for those involved – no winners or losers. What is a friendship problem you had which was worked out fairly for win-win and how did you achieve this?
Acknowledgement: 5-6 RRRR, Graduate School of Education, University of Melbourne
“Forget all the reasons why it won’t work and believe the one reason why it will.” Abdelnour
Self-Talk in Action
This Lesson: WHY: for you to bring positive self-talk alive by planning what you would say for the situations which follow. HOW: self-talk is saying positive I can and I will statements over and over to yourself. You can use it to calm yourself down or make yourself more determined. For example: I can learn this new work, and I will understand it by asking more questions in class. Practise creating self-talk for different and rehearsing it. For two situations of your choice, make up self-talk that you could use.
POSSIBLE SITUATIONS I CAN AND I WILL SELF-TALK
I am not sticking to my Big Five well, eating too much junk food and not exercising enough.
There is something that I really want to have a go at trying but are scared that I might not be able to do it.
My friends keep asking me to join in doing risky things where we could all get hurt.
There is a group of students who I would like to join up with at lunchtimes, but are unsure how to do it.
I am spending way too much time on my phone and social media and want to reduce it.
Acknowledgement: Ryan & Deci
Nothing is impossible. The word itself says, I’m possible.” Audrey Hepburn
