Building Resilience

Curriculum Alignment

Subject: Health
Level: The New Zealand Curriculum Level 4
Strand: Personal Health and Physical Development
Achievement Objective:
– Identify factors that affect mental health and strategies to build resilience, manage emotions, and cope with challenges.

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Lesson Overview

Duration: 20 Minutes
Class Size: 18 Students
Focus: Developing resilience through self-awareness and problem-solving strategies.
Differentiation: Support for students with dyslexia and ADHD through visual aids, movement-based activities, and structured scaffolding.

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Lesson Breakdown

1. Warm-up Activity – "Resilience in Action" (5 Minutes)

Goal: Engage students with a relatable scenario to introduce resilience.

• Begin with a quick Think-Pair-Share question:
  "Can you remember a time when something went wrong, and you had to bounce back?"
• Encourage students to share their experiences with a partner, then bring it back to the class and highlight common themes.

Support Strategies:
✅ Use a whiteboard or image prompts for students who struggle with verbal recall.
✅ Students with ADHD can stand and walk as they talk, encouraging engagement.

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2. Visual Storytelling – "The Rubber Band Challenge" (6 Minutes)

Goal: Illustrate resilience through metaphor.

• Distribute rubber bands to each student.
• Ask them to stretch the band gently and observe how it snaps back into place.
• Explain: "Our minds are like rubber bands – sometimes we get stretched by challenges, but we can bounce back stronger."
• Discuss how resilience helps us recover from difficulties.
• Show a short teacher-led roleplay where one student faces a challenge and applies resilience to overcome it.

Support Strategies:
✅ Visual learners benefit from tangible objects (rubber bands).
✅ ADHD students engage with a hands-on task rather than passive listening.

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3. Strategy Brainstorm – "Resilience Toolbox" (5 Minutes)

Goal: Equip students with practical resilience strategies.

• Write "Resilience Tools" on the board.
• As a class, brainstorm examples like:
  • Talking to a friend
  • Taking deep breaths
  • Writing or drawing emotions
  • Asking for help
  • Positive self-talk
• Students with dyslexia can contribute verbally rather than writing.
• ADHD students can use a mini whiteboard to sketch their ideas instead of listing words.

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4. Reflection & Takeaway – "My Resilience Plan" (4 Minutes)

Goal: Ensure students personalise what they learned.

• Each student selects one resilience tool they will try this week.
• Exit Ticket: Students write or draw their chosen tool on a sticky note and place it on the class Resilience Wall.
• Quick class discussion on how using this tool might help in the future.

Support Strategies:
✅ Alternative to writing: Students can verbally share, draw, or use icons to express their idea.
✅ ADHD students stay engaged with movement by physically adding their note to the wall.

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Teacher Reflection & Next Steps

• Observe student participation and note the effectiveness of differentiation strategies.
• Plan a follow-up lesson using real-life scenarios where students apply resilience tools.
• Introduce roleplay exercises in future sessions to further reinforce emotional coping techniques.

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Why This Works

• Engaging & Active: Multi-sensory activities help all students stay focused.
• Differentiated Learning: Includes verbal, visual, and kinesthetic elements to accommodate ADHD and dyslexia challenges.
• NZ Curriculum-Based: Aligns with mental health objectives to build resilience in young learners.

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Teacher's Final Thought

"This lesson turned a challenging concept into something students could feel, see, and use in their lives. The rubber band metaphor stuck with my class!"