Resilience Action Plans

Overview

This final lesson in the ten-part Building Resilience Together unit brings together students’ learning about protective behaviours, coping strategies, support networks and help-seeking. Students create a practical action plan for responding to a future challenge, then refine it using peer feedback.

Learning intentions

• WALT create a resilience action plan for a future challenge.
• WALT select safe, realistic strategies and sources of support.
• WALT explain how an action plan can promote wellbeing and help-seeking.
• WALT give and respond to respectful feedback.

Success criteria

• I can identify a realistic future challenge.
• I can name strategies that could help me manage the challenge safely.
• I can identify trusted people or services I could contact for support.
• I can complete my action plan and use feedback to improve it.

Curriculum links

• Health and wellbeing — planning and implementing strategies that enhance personal and others’ health, safety, relationships and wellbeing.
• Health and wellbeing — refining protective behaviours and evaluating resources for seeking help for self and others.
• Auslan — collaborating with peers to negotiate, justify and organise an activity, where relevant to the class program.
• Auslan — creating and presenting an informative multimodal text using appropriate visual and signed communication, where relevant.

Lesson structure (30 minutes)

1. 0–4 min · Reconnect and hook. Teacher opens the resilience challenge hook and learning intention and presents the question, “A difficult situation happens tomorrow—what could help you take your next safe step?” Students silently recall one strategy, support person or resource from the unit, then share with a partner or contribute to the group.

2. 4–9 min · Model an action plan. Teacher uses the model action plan slides to demonstrate a simple plan for an age-appropriate challenge, such as feeling overwhelmed by several assessments. Model the sequence: name the challenge, notice signs and feelings, choose two helpful actions, identify support, and decide what to do if the first strategy does not work. Students identify which parts make the plan specific, safe and realistic.

3. 9–19 min · Create individual plans. Teacher distributes the dyslexia-friendly resilience action plan template and explains that students may choose a school, friendship, online, sport or personal wellbeing challenge; remind them not to disclose private or distressing details. Students complete the template, including the challenge, early warning signs, two coping or protective strategies, a trusted adult or service, a first step, and a backup plan. Teacher conferences briefly with each of the five students, prompting with “What could you do first?” and “Who could help?”

4. 19–25 min · Peer feedback conference. Teacher displays the feedback protocol and sentence starters and establishes respectful feedback rules: share only what feels comfortable, listen without judgement, and suggest—not prescribe—changes. Students work in pairs, taking turns to explain their plan or selected sections and offer one strength and one practical suggestion. The fifth student joins the teacher for a supported conference, then pairs rotate if appropriate.

5. 25–28 min · Improve and connect to help. Teacher revisits the help-seeking and backup-plan prompt and reminds students that seeking help is a protective behaviour, not a failure. Students make one improvement to their plan and check that their support option is appropriate, accessible and safe; they may include a trusted adult, school wellbeing staff member, Kids Helpline or another relevant support service.

6. 28–30 min · Exit reflection. Teacher hands out the Success Criteria Exit Ticket Slips and asks students to complete the checklist and reflection before leaving. Students indicate which criteria they met, name one strategy they will remember, and rate their confidence in using a resilience plan from 1–5.

Resources

• resilience action plan and feedback slide deck
• dyslexia-friendly resilience action plan template
• the Success Criteria Exit Ticket Slips
• Board or shared display
• Pens, pencils and highlighters
• Visible list of trusted school and community support options
• Timer

Assessment

• During modelling, check that students can explain the purpose of each action-plan section and distinguish a safe strategy from an unhelpful or risky response.
• Review plans during teacher conferences for a realistic challenge, at least two practical strategies, an appropriate support person or service, and a backup step.
• Use the exit ticket to identify confidence, completed success criteria and students who may need a private follow-up. If a student discloses risk, follow the school’s wellbeing and child-safety procedures immediately.

Differentiation

• Provide examples for schoolwork, friendship conflict, online pressure and managing strong emotions, while allowing students to choose a less personal scenario. Use short instructions, one section at a time and a completed model.
• Use the simplified, dyslexia-friendly worksheet: clear sans-serif font, large writing spaces, uncluttered layout, minimal text, icons and optional sentence starters such as “When I notice…”, “I can try…” and “I can ask…”.
• Support diverse learners through oral explanation, scribing, speech-to-text, drawing, dot points or signing where appropriate. Read instructions aloud, allow additional processing time and avoid requiring personal disclosure.
• For students ready for extension, invite them to present their action plan to the group, justify why their strategies are suitable, and respond to one question or suggestion while maintaining privacy and respectful boundaries.

Extension

• Present the action plan to the group for constructive feedback.
• Create a short visual, signed or multimodal version that could help another student remember the steps for seeking support.