Self-Discovery

Supporting Emotional Health and Wellbeing in School

Alison Waterhouse

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2019
• eBook ISBN: 9780429766015
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

One of the five books in the Mental Health and Wellbeing Teacher Toolkit, this practical resource focuses on how to support children and young people on a voyage of self-discovery, as they learn to be their own best friend. The book offers research-driven, practical strategies, along with creative material and step-by-step lesson plans to support educators and health professionals. This is a resource book for practitioners looking to have a positive impact on the mental health and wellbeing of the children and young people in their care; both now and in the future.

Chapters span key topics including Developing Resilience, Positive Thinking, Emotional Awareness and Self-Efficacy. A complete toolkit for teachers and counsellors, this book offers:

• Easy to follow and flexible lesson plans that can be adapted and personalised for use in lessons or smaller groups or 1:1 work
• Resources that are linked to the PSHE and Wellbeing curriculum for KS1, KS2 and KS3
• New research, 'Circles for Learning', where the introduction of baby observation into the classroom by a teacher is used to understand and develop self-awareness, skills for learning, relationships, neuroscience and awareness of others
• Sections on the development of key skills in communication, skills for learning, collaboration, empathy and self-confidence
• Learning links, learning objectives and reflection questions.

Offering research-driven, practical strategies and lesson plans, Self Discovery is an essential resource book for educators and health professionals looking for fresh, engaging ways to support the wellbeing of children and young people.

Chapter 1
Developing resilience

WHAT IS RESILIENCE? OUR ‘BOUNCE BACK’ ABILITY

MY GIFTS AND QUALITIES BOX

PERSISTENCE AND RESILIENCE

MY RESILIENCE TREE

RESILIENCE SNAKES AND LADDERS

What is resilience? Our ‘bounce back’ ability

Session objectives

To understand what resilience is and how we can strengthen it within ourselves.

Session outcomes

• To create a poster/bookmark/animated video clip to remind us how important it is to develop our resilience and not give up.

Lesson plan

• Remind the children of a time when their class baby was finding things difficult. Discuss what they did, how they reacted and what the parent did, and how they responded.
• Remind them about how they felt when they saw the baby struggle and what they wanted to do – was this what the baby needed? How would they know?
• Share video clip.

For those classrooms not able to undertake the Circles for Learning Project, video clips or photographs can be used to support the discussion around the topic and stimulate thoughts and ideas from the children and young people.

1. Show the children a ball of modelling clay and tennis ball and ask what will happen if you drop them both.
2. Demonstrate and highlight how the modelling clay has got stuck and gone nowhere but the ball has bounced back ready to try again.
3. Explain that this is what resilience is – our ‘bounce back’ factor.
4. Ask the children/young people to think of a time when they found something really hard and gave up and walked away. How did they feel?
5. Ask them to think of a time when they found something really hard but kept going. – What kept them going? Was it:– someone helping them, positive self-talk, the fact that there was a good reason?
6. How did they feel when they succeeded?
7. Discuss the different strategies that they have described and record them on the board. Ask them to choose which one they might try next time that they haven’t tried before and why.
8. Record this as a class list – so you can check in on how they are doing in the future.

Task

Poster KS1

Bookmark KS2/3

Video animation KS3

Poster

Discuss what a poster must share with people and identify the success criteria of a good poster.

• Eye-catching
• Colourful
• Catchphrase

Ask the children to draw/use a photograph of themselves/find a photograph, that shows themselves or someone else being resilient.

Ask the children to find or create a catchphrase to go with this and then create a poster to show what resilience is and to help people develop resilience.

Bookmark

Ask the children to think about why a bookmark could help them develop their resilience. Recap on the strategies they came up with in part 1.

Identify the success criteria for a good bookmark.

• Size
• Clear
• Catchphrase
• Easy to understand

Ask the children to make a bookmark to remind them about resilience and strategies to use to help them bounce back.

Video animation

Ask the children to think about what makes a good animation.

Recap on the strategies to develop resilience that they identified in part 1.

Identify success criteria for a good animation about resilience.

• Clear
• Easily understood
• Short and to the point

When the children have completed their task, ask them to share or create a mini exhibition where they can share their creation. Ask them to share the ups and downs of creation and the process they had to go through.

Link how they respond to frustration and not being able to achieve something with the baby. Link how you as the teacher feel to the way the parent responded i.e. how you have to respond in 30 different ways!!

Resources

1. Pens for flip chart
2. Sticky notes
3. Paper and pens
4. Coloured pens
5. Card
6. Laminator
7. Sticky stars etc.

Important points

• That resilience can be strengthened and developed with practice.
• That we can use a range of strategies to help us keep going.

Learning links

Speaking and listening, collaboration, information processing, questioning, observation, creativity, planning and organisation, teamwork.

Reflection

Questions:

Positive comment from child:

Positive comment from adult:

LEARNING DIMENSIONS

SOCIAL & EMOTIONAL SKILL...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Introduction
• Chapter 1 Developing resilience
• Chapter 2 Problem solving
• Chapter 3 Emotional reactivity
• Chapter 4 Positive thinking
• Chapter 5 Emotional awareness and self-regulation
• Chapter 6 Empathy
• Chapter 7 Self-efficacy and responsibility
• Bibliography