BECOMING MY BEST SELF as a Young Person and as a Student
To work towards achieving this, requires you to feel that you have choices in what you do, feel that you have the strengths and skills you need, and feel that you belong at school and feel connected to your family and friends. A healthy state of wellbeing is feeling positive and hopeful about today and for your future, because you know that you are working towards becoming your best self.
NAME CLASS
AS A YOUNG PERSON
To become my best self as a young person I will...
A choice that I will need to make to overcome it is
Who can help me to do this?
Acknowledgement: Sonja Lyubomirsky & Tal Ben Shahar
CHARACTER STRENGTHS WEEKS
A challenge that I will need to overcome is
A choice that I will need to make to overcome it is
Who can help me to do this?
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.
“Never stop dreaming, never stop believing, never give up, never stop trying, and never stop learning.” Roy T. Bennett
EXCITING YEAR 7 EXPECTATIONS
This Lesson: WHY: for you to be excited starting Year 7 and to ensure that you enjoy yourself by meeting a number of expectations. HOW: use your strengths to be determined to follow these simple and practical strategies that work. As Michael Jordan once said, “You must expect things of yourself before you can do them.”
EXPECTATION
Rate yourself using Usually Sometimes Not Yet
Practice - building your brain pathways by deliberately practising what you learn.
Usually Sometimes Not Yet
When is a time that you were proud of how you did this?
Self-Belief - valuing yourself and believing that you have what it takes
Usually Sometimes Not Yet
Effort - realising that putting in private efforts comes before public achievement.
Usually Sometimes Not Yet
Fun - enjoying the journey by making new friends and having fun with them
Usually Sometimes Not Yet
Feedback - asking for feedback from your teachers on what you need to do to improve
Usually Sometimes Not Yet
Fail Well - believing that mistakes guide what you need to learn to improve yourself.
Usually Sometimes Not Yet
Acknowledgement: Ericsson & Tal Ben Shahar
“I create the weather in my life. No one can make me feel anything. My thoughts enable me to choose to or not to choose to.” MW
HABITS OF MIND
This Lesson: WHY: for you to explore Habits of Mind to learn how to change how you think for different situations. HOW: Habits of Mind are 16 more intelligent ways to think. For example, when talking with a friend who was upset, you can think using Listening with Understanding and Empathy. Check out www.habitsofmind.org for ideas.
Practise thinking about your thinking to choose the best Habit of Mind to use for situations that you are in. You may wish to write and save them in the interactive Exploring Habits of Mind Thinking Tool from the website to build your own thinking collection.
Rate how often you think with each Habit using Usually Sometimes Not Yet
LISTENING WITH UNDERSTANDING AND EMPATHY
Understanding and accepting others’ needs and feelings and reading what messages their body language is sending to you. When is a time that you have listened this way?
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 have persisted to succeed?
Usually Sometimes Not Yet
THINKING FLEXIBLY
Changing the way you think for different situations and when you receive new information. Changing negative thoughts to positive thinking. When is a time that you have thought this way?
Usually Sometimes Not Yet
MANAGING IMPULSIVITY
Considering and understanding ideas before you make a judgement. Planning ways to solve a problem before you start. When is a time that you have shown control to not be impulsive?
Usually Sometimes Not Yet
THINKING ABOUT THINKING
Understanding what patterns and processes that you use in how you think. Being aware of how you are thinking. When is a time that you have thought about how you were thinking?
Usually Sometimes Not Yet
Acknowledgement: Costa & Kellick
“The past is behind, learn from it, the future is ahead, prepare for it, the present is here, live it.” Thomas S Monson
Neuroplasticity
WHY: by understanding that every experience you have rewires your brain, called neuroplasticity, you will be able to grow your brain’s abilities through deliberate practice.
HOW: in your brain there are millions of nerve cells called neurons, which join to send messages from neuron to neuron. Practising things that you want to develop will strengthen the connections between the neurons, making them easier to do. Stretch your abilities by practising more difficult tasks to create new brain pathways, rather than same old tasks.
Acknowledgement: Pascual-Leone & Dweck
DO: when is a time that you increased the difficulty of what you practised and what happened?
How does an elite performer in any field practise to improve?
Which Character Strength can help you with Neuroplasticity? (page 124)
“If it doesn’t challenge you, it won’t change you.” Fred Devito
RESILIENCE BUILDER
CONTROLLING YOUR EMOTIONS. when is a time that you were faced with a stressful challenge, but managed to remain in control of your emotions to stop them strengthening?
CHARACTER CHALLENGE
THINKING OF OTHERS: every day this week sending a text to a different friend or a family member saying that you are thinking about them and asking how they are travelling. What is a kind text that you can send?
Which Character Strength did you use? ...............................................................................
Acknowledgement: 7-8 Building Social-emotional Resilience, Graduate School of Education, University of Melbourne
Present Positive:
Acknowledgement: Seligman & Peterson
what are you currently enjoying doing at home or at school?
WEEKLY HEALTH FOCUS
Colour the sections to reflect how well you went.
Exercise daily
BARELY LITTLE BIT ENOUGH MOSTLY HEAPS
Sleep well
BARELY LITTLE BIT OK MOSTLY HEAPS
Drink water
BARELY LITTLE BIT ENOUGH MOSTLY HEAPS
Eat healthy
BARELY LITTLE BIT HALF HALF MOSTLY HEAPS
Feel positive
BARELY LITTLE BIT OK MOSTLY HEAPS
WHAT HAPPENED THIS WEEK?
MY GOAL THIS WEEK
What do I want to achieve this week?
MY GOAL NEXT WEEK
What do I want to achieve next week?
WORD SEARCH
abilities brain cells challenge character control deliberate difficult emotions experience honest kind message neuron pathway practice strength stressful struggling text
Positive Outlooks
WHY: by understanding that it is frequency of positive emotions which best grows your wellbeing, you will be more likely to have positive outlooks on life.
HOW: try these to achieve this: be grateful for little things, see difficult times as temporary, smile to feel others’ joy, put in more effort, use your strengths, give service to others and be kind. But being too positive, with she’ll be right thinking, can be risky. Strive to balance being positive with being realistic.
Acknowledgement: Boniwell & Diener
DO: when is a time that your positive outlook on life made a big difference for you?
How could a positive outlook help you to see problems you have as temporary?
Which Resilient Character Builder can help you with Positive Outlooks? (pages 6&7)
“It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.” Henry David Thoreau
MINDFULNESS TIME
FAVOURITE RELATIVE. For one of your favourite relatives what are two positive personal descriptors that describe them and two positive emotions that you feel when with them?
Favourite relative
Descriptor 1
Descriptor 2
Emotion 1
Emotion 2
Acknowledgement: Kabat Zin & Baer
GROWTH MINDSET: I WILL
BE HAPPY: understanding and accepting that feeling glad, mad and sad are all normal parts of being human. When is a time that you were proud of how you accepted these feelings?
Acknowledgement: Dweck, Reivich & Shatte
Fabulous First 5 Minutes: what is something that you do when building relationships with other people?
MY THOUGHTS
WEEKLY HEALTH FOCUS
Colour the sections to reflect how well you went.
Exercise daily
BARELY LITTLE BIT ENOUGH MOSTLY HEAPS
Sleep well
BARELY LITTLE BIT OK MOSTLY HEAPS
Drink water
BARELY LITTLE BIT ENOUGH MOSTLY HEAPS
Eat healthy
BARELY LITTLE BIT HALF HALF MOSTLY HEAPS
Feel positive
BARELY LITTLE BIT OK MOSTLY HEAPS
WHAT ARE YOU GRATEFUL FOR?
MINDFULNESS COLOURING IN
Sleep Factor
WHY: by understanding that there is no substitute for a 9 to10 hour sleep to ensure that your mind and body recharge and repair themselves every night, you will be likely to prioritise your sleep.
HOW: bedtime routines help you to fall asleep quickly and include, screens off an hour before bed, warm milk, reading, journaling what went well and what you are looking forward to, colouring in and deep breathing. Beware of falling into the 24/7 social media trap, leading to a lack of sleep.
Acknowledgement: Rath & Breus
DO: what are two bedtime routines that you use to fall asleep quickly?
What are two things that you need to change to have a deep and uninterrupted 9 to 10 hours of sleep?
1, 2. Which Habit of Mind can help you with Sleep Factor? (pages 9 to 11)
“Be the change you want to see in the world.” Gandhi
Mindfulness Puzzle. Enjoy completing the square from the details.
Answer page 133
Future
Positive: what is something that you are looking forward to enjoying?
WEEKLY HEALTH FOCUS
Colour the sections to reflect how well you went.
Exercise daily
BARELY LITTLE BIT ENOUGH MOSTLY HEAPS
Sleep well
BARELY LITTLE BIT OK MOSTLY HEAPS
Drink water
BARELY LITTLE BIT ENOUGH MOSTLY HEAPS
Eat healthy
BARELY LITTLE BIT HALF HALF MOSTLY HEAPS
Feel positive
BARELY LITTLE BIT OK MOSTLY HEAPS
WHAT HAPPENED THIS WEEK?
MY GOAL THIS WEEK
What do I want to achieve this week?
MY GOAL NEXT WEEK
What do I want to achieve next week?
FEELINGS AND EMOTIONS
This Lesson: WHY: for you to develop your vocabulary to describe the feelings that you are experiencing, called emotional literacy. HOW: circle five positive emotions that you enjoy feeling and five not so positive emotions that you don’t enjoy feeling. Being self-aware of your emotions enables you to be in charge of your feelings and the body language that you show for them. Are there any emotions that you need to practise self-controlling more?
For one you enjoy and one you don’t enjoy emotion you chose, describe the thoughts that you would have to make you feel each of them.
Emotion
Enjoy Don’t Enjoy
Acknowledgement: Tal Ben Shahar & Achor
“You
Your Thoughts
may have to fight a battle more than once to win it.”
Margaret Thatcher
RESPECTFUL RELATIONSHIPS
This Lesson: WHY: for you to explore what you do to create and maintain respectful relationships. HOW: aim to feel connected, protected and respected in your relationships. You are hard-wired to be at your best when working together in person with others. The feel-good brain chemicals, serotonin and oxytocin, are released when you feel that others value you, think that you matter and that they can trust you.
Respectful Relationships Perspectives Your Thoughts
What could happen if you read someone’s body language wrongly?
Why is showing empathy for someone’s needs and feelings important in having respectful relationships?
What is a strength you could use for:
1. Not invited to a party?
2. In trouble in class?
3. Making new friends?
When is a time someone being aggressive has caused you and your friends to feel unsafe in a relationship?
What do you think are the top three issues that affect respectful relationships for Year 7 students?
What is a strength and an emotion that students and teachers need to use and feel to enjoy learning in class?
Acknowledgement: 7-8 RRRR, Graduate School of Education, University of Melbourne
“What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” Jane Goodall
