Coping With Failure

Overview

This is lesson 4 of 10 in Building Resilience Together. Students explore personal failure as a normal part of learning, identify helpful coping responses and practise sharing a personal example safely and respectfully. Students may choose a low-risk school, sporting or everyday example rather than discussing sensitive experiences.

Learning intentions

WALT:

• understand that failure can be part of learning and growth
• identify helpful thoughts, actions and support people after a setback
• share a personal example of failure and how to overcome it
• listen respectfully and respond supportively to others

Success criteria

• I can describe a personal or imagined example of failure.
• I can explain how I responded, or how I could respond, in a healthy and constructive way.
• I can identify one strategy or trusted person that could help after a setback.
• I can listen without judging and offer respectful encouragement.

Curriculum links

• Health and Physical Education: developing personal plans and strategies that promote positive mental health and wellbeing.
• Health and Physical Education: refining protective behaviours and identifying trusted people and community resources to seek help.
• Auslan: engaging in modelled exchanges with peers to organise and discuss activities related to daily life and the school environment.
• Auslan: creating and presenting informative or imaginative signed, visual and multimodal texts, using appropriate signs, non-manual features and signing space.

Lesson structure (30 minutes)

1. 0–4 min · Hook and emotional safety. Teacher opens with the failure-to-learning hook slide and asks, “Can a failure ever be useful?” Establishes that students may pass, use an imagined example or share privately; students silently consider a time something did not go as planned and show a 1–5 confidence rating with their fingers.

2. 4–9 min · Direct teach: reframing failure. Teacher uses the coping cycle slides to explain the cycle “setback → feelings → helpful response → next attempt”, modelling neutral language such as “I did not succeed yet” rather than “I am a failure”. Students sort possible responses into helpful, unhelpful or depends, giving a reason through speech, writing or Auslan.

3. 9–14 min · Strategy modelling. Teacher introduces the STOP–RESET–PLAN routine on the STOP–RESET–PLAN strategy slide: Stop and name the feeling; Reset with breathing, movement or a pause; Plan one small next step and identify support. Students practise the routine with a low-stakes scenario, such as missing a deadline, making a mistake in a game or receiving disappointing feedback.

4. 14–22 min · Guided personal reflection. Teacher distributes the dyslexia-friendly failure reflection template and models completing only a safe example. Students record or draw: what happened, how they felt, what they tried, what helped, and what they might do next time. They may use an imagined scenario, keywords, speech-to-text, Auslan video or a scribe instead of writing full sentences.

5. 22–27 min · Peer sharing and support. Teacher pairs students, reminds them to ask permission before responding and displays the respectful sharing and response prompts. Students share only what they are comfortable sharing, then their partner responds with one validating statement and one constructive question, such as “That sounds frustrating” and “What might help next time?” Students may present in Auslan, spoken language or a combination.

6. 27–30 min · Plenary and exit check. Teacher revisits the plenary and exit prompt and asks each student to complete the final section of the worksheet: “One strategy I can use after a setback is…” and “One person or resource I could ask for help is…”. Students share one takeaway or hold up a confidence rating, and the teacher checks understanding before the next lesson.

Resources

• the Building Resilience Together lesson deck
• the dyslexia-friendly failure reflection template
• Whiteboard and markers
• Visual timer
• Optional private response cards or mini whiteboards
• Accessible Auslan recording or classroom communication technology
• Quiet space or designated pass option for students who do not wish to share

Assessment

• During the response-sort activity, listen for students distinguishing constructive coping from avoidance, self-blame or unsafe choices.
• Check reflection templates for a clear example, an identified feeling, a coping strategy and a possible next step or support person.
• Use the final response to assess whether students can name one healthy strategy and recognise when help-seeking may be appropriate. Follow up privately if a student discloses ongoing distress or an unsafe situation, according to school procedures.

Differentiation

• Support students with peer choice, the option to pass, a low-risk scenario bank, sentence starters (“I felt…”, “I tried…”, “Next time I could…”) and the five-part worksheet template. Accept drawing, keywords, speech-to-text, Auslan or dictated responses.
• Use a dyslexia-friendly worksheet with a clear sans-serif font, generous spacing, short instructions, high contrast and no unnecessary text. Read prompts aloud and preview key terms such as setback, coping, support and strategy.
• For students requiring additional emotional support, do not require personal disclosure; allow private teacher conferencing, a quiet reflection space and access to a trusted adult or wellbeing professional.
• Extend advanced learners by developing a personal “future failure strategy plan” with an early warning sign, two coping actions, one next step, a trusted support person and a way to review whether the plan worked. In Auslan, challenge students to present the plan using clear sequencing, signing space and appropriate non-manual features.

Extension

• Students create a short signed, spoken or multimodal message encouraging peers to respond constructively to failure.
• Students compare two coping responses to the same setback and justify which is safer and more effective.