Resilience In Action

Overview

Students investigate resilience as a set of learnable skills and attitudes that can support safety, health, wellbeing and participation. They brainstorm characteristics, examine how a public figure has responded to adversity, and complete a private self-reflection identifying one strength and one practical next step.

Learning intentions

Students will:

• explain resilience using health-related examples
• identify skills and attitudes that can support resilience
• analyse how a person responded to challenge, including the role of support
• reflect on personal strengths and choose a realistic strategy to practise

Success criteria

• I can describe resilience without suggesting people must cope alone.
• I can identify and explain at least four resilience skills or attitudes.
• I can use evidence from a real story to explain how resilience was demonstrated.
• I can choose one safe, achievable action to strengthen my own wellbeing.

Curriculum links

• Evaluating the effectiveness and suitability of health information and support services for improved individual and community safety, health and wellbeing.
• Designing and evaluating strategies that enhance safety, health and participation in lifelong physical activity.
• Thinking critically about health information, risk, wellbeing and the influence of social connections.

Lesson structure (50 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Hook and brainstorm. Display the question “Is resilience something you are born with, or something you can build?” using the opening question slide. Students complete a quick think-pair-share, then contribute words or phrases to a class brainstorm; clarify that resilience does not mean ignoring feelings, coping alone or accepting unsafe situations.

2. 5–12 min · Direct teaching. Use the resilience skills slides to introduce resilience as adapting, recovering and seeking support during challenge or change. Briefly define the target characteristics: problem-solving, strong social connections, survivor mentality, emotional regulation, self-compassion, happiness, control, optimism, hardiness and communication. Explain that “survivor mentality” means persistence and recognising strengths after difficult experiences, not blaming people for hardship; happiness is an outcome that may come and go, not a requirement. Students record three characteristics they already use and one they want to understand better.

3. 12–17 min · Strategy sort. In groups of three, students use the stress response and coping strategy cards to match possible strategies with the resilience characteristics they support, such as connecting with a trusted person, planning a next step, grounding, resting or communicating clearly. Groups justify one match. Teacher checks that strategies are safe, realistic and suitable for the situation.

4. 17–32 min · Case-study investigation. Distribute the resilience case-study investigation worksheet. Pairs select one teacher-prepared profile from the worksheet, such as Dylan Alcott, Jessica Watson, Turia Pitt, Michael Jordan, Malala Yousafzai or another age-appropriate public figure. Students identify the challenge, evidence of at least four resilience characteristics, people or services that provided support, and one limitation or risk in the story. Remind students not to speculate about private mental health information. Teacher circulates, prompting: “What evidence supports that conclusion?” and “How did support, opportunity or resources influence the outcome?”

5. 32–40 min · Share and evaluate. Pairs present a 60-second “resilience spotlight” using the case-study sharing prompts. Classmates listen for one skill, one attitude and one support shown in each story. After several presentations, students discuss whether individual qualities alone explain success, considering access to family, friends, professionals, education, safe environments and community support.

6. 40–47 min · Self-investigation. Students complete the personal reflection section of the resilience self-investigation page privately. They rate their current confidence with each characteristic, identify a recent low-stakes challenge they managed, and select one skill to practise this week. They write a specific if–then plan, such as “If I feel overwhelmed by an assessment, then I will break it into two steps and ask my teacher or a trusted adult for help.” Students may use a fictional scenario instead of personal information.

7. 47–50 min · Plenary and exit check. Show the final reflection slide. Students submit an exit response: “Resilience is more than ______ because ______. One safe support or strategy I can use is ______.” Invite volunteers to share, while reminding students that a trusted adult, school counsellor, GP or relevant support service can help when challenges feel too difficult to manage alone.

Resources

• the resilience skills and discussion deck
• the resilience case-study investigation worksheet
• the stress response and coping strategy cards
• Teacher-prepared, age-appropriate public-figure profiles
• Projector or interactive display
• Pens and highlighters
• Timer
• Whiteboard and markers

Assessment

• Monitor brainstorm contributions, group card justifications and use of accurate resilience vocabulary.
• Assess case-study worksheets for evidence-based explanation, recognition of support and understanding that resilience is not solely an individual responsibility.
• Use the exit response to check conceptual understanding and identify students needing further support with help-seeking or self-management.

Differentiation

• Provide a word bank, definitions, sentence starters and a completed example for students requiring support: “The person showed ___ when ___”; “This support was effective because ___.”
• Offer case studies with varied reading levels and allow students to work with a supportive partner or listen to an audio version.
• EAL/D students may sketch or use labelled notes before writing; explicitly teach words such as adversity, strategy, support, adapt and evidence.
• Students needing emotional support may choose a fictional scenario and should never be required to disclose personal experiences. Extension students can evaluate which support or strategy was most effective and explain what additional support might improve the outcome.