Building Resilience

Overview

This 60-minute lesson aims to help Years 11-13 students explore the multifaceted nature of resilience by understanding personal, interpersonal, and societal factors that influence it. They will learn to identify protective and risk factors related to resilience and apply this understanding to their own lives in a New Zealand context.

Alignment with the New Zealand Curriculum Refresh

• Health and Physical Education Learning Area
• Strand: Personal Health and Physical Development
• Achievement Objectives:
• Manage self: Develop skills to make healthy, safe, and informed choices (Levels 7-8)
• Contribute and participate: Understand how to contribute to the wellbeing of others and communities (Levels 7-8)
• Key Competencies:
• Managing self
• Relating to others
• Participating and contributing
• Key Concepts: Hauora (wellbeing), Taiao (environment), Identity, and Belonging.

Learning Objectives

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

1. Define resilience and explain how personal, interpersonal, and societal factors influence it.
2. Identify protective and risk factors that impact resilience in themselves and others.
3. Reflect on how resilience connects to their cultural identity and community wellbeing.
4. Demonstrate an understanding of strategies that strengthen resilience at different levels.

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Lesson Outline

1. Warm-Up: Mind Map on Resilience (10 minutes)

• Activity: Students create a quick mind map of what they think "resilience" means individually.
• Purpose: Activate prior knowledge and generate student voice around resilience concepts.
• Materials: Large paper or digital mind-mapping tools.

2. Presentation: Defining Resilience and Influencing Factors (15 minutes)

• Content: Teacher-led interactive presentation covering:
• The definition of resilience in a holistic health context (mental, emotional, physical, spiritual).
• Personal factors: Self-esteem, coping skills, attitudes.
• Interpersonal factors: Relationships with family, friends, teachers.
• Societal factors: Community support, cultural values (e.g., Māori concepts of Whānau, Manaakitanga), socio-economic conditions.
• Protective factors (e.g., supportive relationships, positive school environment).
• Risk factors (e.g., adverse childhood experiences, discrimination).
• Incorporate: Māori perspectives on resilience such as Whakaute (respect) and Mana (authority, spiritual power).

3. Group Discussion: Case Studies (15 minutes)

• Activity: Students are divided into small groups and given case studies of young people facing challenges (include diverse backgrounds and situations relevant to New Zealand youth).
• Task: Identify personal, interpersonal, and societal factors influencing resilience in each case; list protective and risk factors.
• Sharing: Each group briefly reports back to the class.
• Goal: Apply theoretical knowledge to real-life contexts and encourage empathetic understanding.

4. Individual Reflection: Personal Resilience Plan (15 minutes)

• Activity: Students write a brief reflection answering:
• "What factors influence my resilience?"
• "Which protective factors can I strengthen?"
• "What strategies can I use to manage risk factors in my life?"
• Optional: Link reflections to their cultural identity or community values.
• Outcome: Encourage self-awareness and personal empowerment.

5. Wrap-Up and Assessment (5 minutes)

• Class Discussion: Invite volunteers to share reflections or strategies.
• Formative Assessment: Collect the personal resilience plans to gauge understanding of concepts and ability to apply learning.
• Exit Slip: One thing learned today about resilience and one question they still have.

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Resources Needed

• Mind mapping paper or a digital equivalent
• Case study handouts with diverse New Zealand youth scenarios
• Presentation slides prepared with visuals explaining resilience and factors
• Reflection worksheets for personal resilience plan

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Assessment Ideas

• Formative: Observation and notes during group discussions; review of personal resilience plans for depth of understanding.
• Summative extension: Students could develop a wellbeing toolkit or digital portfolio that includes strategies to enhance resilience, aligned with their cultural and community contexts.

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Additional Teacher Notes

• Ensure sensitivity around risk factors such as trauma; maintain a supportive classroom environment.
• Incorporate local cultural contexts, including Māori and Pasifika values, highlighting the importance of community resilience and collective strength.
• Use kaupapa Māori frameworks where possible to frame resilience (e.g., Whānau, Hapū, Iwi connections).
• Emphasise strengths-based approaches, focusing on growth and empowerment rather than deficit.

This lesson integrates critical Health competencies to equip students with practical knowledge and skills to foster resilience in a culturally responsive and holistic manner, consistent with the refreshed New Zealand Curriculum.