Building Resilience

Overview

This is Lesson 5 of a 10-lesson unit titled "Building Resilience and Communication" designed for Year 5 students in NSW, focusing on Health education. This lesson specifically targets the development of understanding resilience strategies and recognising when and how to apply them.

Curriculum Alignment

Learning Outcomes:
PH3-IHW-01: Examines and explains factors that influence identity, health and wellbeing of individuals and groups.
PH3-CWT-01: Creating written texts supports understanding of health, safety and well-being.
NSW Health and Physical Education Syllabus for Years 5 and 6:
Students explain how factors influence identities, propose strategies to manage emotions and transitions, and analyse information to enhance their own and others’ wellbeing.

Learning Intentions

WALT (We Are Learning To)

Recognise resilience strategies that support managing challenges and emotional changes.

Success Criteria

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

Illustrate situations where different resilience strategies can be used.
Explain how applying these strategies helps maintain health and wellbeing.
Share personal experiences of resilience in small groups.

Differentiation

For diverse learners and varied abilities:
Flexible grouping: small groups of mixed abilities for discussion to encourage peer support.
Use of visual aids and scenario cards to assist students who benefit from concrete examples.
Provide sentence starters and writing frames for students who require scaffolding when illustrating resilience strategies.
Extension task for advanced learners: design a resilience “toolkit” poster to share with the class.

Resources Needed

Whiteboard/flipchart and markers
Scenario cards illustrating different challenges (e.g., friendship issues, receiving criticism, losing a game)
Resilience strategy prompt sheets (e.g., deep breathing, positive self-talk, seeking help)
Paper and coloured pencils for illustrations
Small group discussion prompt cards

Lesson Structure (45 minutes)

Time	Activity	Description	Differentiation Notes
0–5 min	Introduction and Recap	Recap briefly resilience from previous lessons. Ask: “What does resilience mean?” Record student responses on the board to activate prior knowledge.	Use visuals and simple definitions for clarity.
5–15 min	Class Discussion: Recognising Resilience	Present 3-4 short scenarios of common challenges Year 5 students face. In groups, students identify which resilience strategies could help in each situation.	Provide scenario cards with pictures for support.
15–25 min	Small Group Sharing & Personal Reflection	Break class into small groups (4-5 students). Each student shares a personal experience where they showed resilience or wish they had. Groups discuss helpful strategies.	Monitor and support sensitive sharing; allow students to pass if uncomfortable.
25–35 min	Illustration Activity	Individually, students select one scenario or personal experience and illustrate when and how to apply resilience strategies (e.g., drawing or labelled diagram).	Provide sentence starters like “I would use… because…” for students needing writing support.
35–43 min	Gallery Walk and Peer Feedback	Students display their illustrations around the room. Each student walks around, views others' work, and provides positive feedback or adds one new resilience strategy they learned on sticky notes.	Use printed feedback prompts for guidance.
43–45 min	Lesson Closure	Whole class reflection: Invite volunteers to share what new resilience strategies they learned and how these can help them. Summarise key points and remind students to practise these daily.	Reinforce verbal and social skills inclusively.

Assessment Opportunities

Observe group discussions to assess students’ ability to identify resilience strategies.
Review illustrations for correct identification and understanding of when/how to apply strategies.
Informal formative assessment through peer feedback on resilience strategy use.

Teaching Tips

Foster a supportive environment where students feel safe to share personal stories.
Use real-life examples relevant to Year 5 students to make resilience strategies relatable.
Emphasise that resilience is a skill that can be developed over time with practice.
Encourage empathy by highlighting different ways students may respond to challenges.

Preview of Next Lesson

Lesson 6: Communication Skills – We Are Learning To use active listening to improve communication.
Builds on resilience by developing skills in expressing needs and understanding others.

Summary

This lesson plan integrates key NSW Health outcomes focused on identity, emotional wellbeing, and communication through resilience. It involves interactive, reflective, and creative activities suited to the developmental stage of Year 5 students. The use of small group discussion as differentiation encourages inclusion and respect for varied personal experiences while building health literacy and social-emotional skills.

If you would like, I can also provide plans for Lessons 1-4 and 6-10 following similar structure to complete the 10-lesson unit.

Teaching Instructions