Facing Challenges

Overview

This lesson (3 of 9) continues Building Resilience Through Values by helping students name common challenges and practise resilience strategies in realistic role-play. Students explore how the nervous system can respond to stress, and how routines, problem-solving, and seeking support can help them cope.

Learning intentions

• WALT recognise common challenges that Year 6 students may face and how these can affect feelings and behaviour.
• WALT understand that stress responses can include fight, flight, or freeze reactions.
• WALT practise resilience strategies using healthy routines, problem-solving, and seeking support.
• WALT use respectful communication during role-plays to show self-care and support others.

Success criteria

• I can describe a challenge in a short, clear way without blaming.
• I can identify at least one sign that my body or thoughts are reacting to stress.
• I can choose and practise a resilience strategy (routine, problem-solving, or seeking support) in a role-play.
• I can use respectful words and actions when asking for help or suggesting solutions.

Curriculum links

• Self-care: nervous system stress responses (fight, flight, freeze) and resilience strategies that support emotional wellbeing.
• Self-care: strategies such as healthy routines, problem-solving, and seeking support to manage emotional challenges.
• Self-care: respectful communication to manage physical and emotional changes and maintain healthy relationships.

Lesson structure (45 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Welcome and check-in

• Teacher shares the lesson focus: “Today we’ll practise what to do when challenges happen.”
• Students complete a quick thumbs check: “Which is most common for you—school stress, friendship issues, worries about mistakes, or something else?” (no need to share aloud).

2. 5–12 min · Mini-teach: What challenges look like

• Teacher displays 4–5 common Year 6 challenge examples (e.g., misunderstandings with friends, being left out, feeling nervous before speaking, losing something, handling teasing, frustration during group work).
• Students pair up to sort examples into: “challenge for my thoughts”, “challenge for my feelings”, or “challenge for my body” (one minute each, then switch).

3. 12–18 min · Stress response language (age-appropriate)

• Teacher explains simply: when we’re stressed, our body can react like fight, flight, or freeze; it doesn’t mean we’re “bad”, it means we need a coping strategy.
• Students choose one example and write a sentence: “When I feel ___, my body might ___ (e.g., get hot, shut down, want to snap).” Volunteers share one sentence.

4. 18–33 min · Role-play practice (resilience strategies)

• Teacher introduces three strategy prompts and models one response using respectful communication:
• Healthy routine (e.g., take a breath, drink water, quiet reset, get organised)
• Problem-solving (e.g., “What’s the problem?”, “What are 2 options?”, “Which option is safest/respectful?”)
• Seeking support (e.g., teacher, buddy, whānau, school support person; using words like “Can you help me with…”)
• Students work in groups of 3.
• Role cards (teacher reads): Scenario A: “You accidentally bump someone’s pencil case and they say you did it on purpose.” Scenario B: “You didn’t get picked for a team and you feel embarrassed.” Scenario C: “You miss instructions during class and worry you’ll be in trouble.”
• Each group performs one 45–60 second role-play using a chosen strategy.
• After each performance, the class offers one “Glow” (what went well) and one “Grow” (one improvement), using the sentence starter: “I noticed you… and I wonder if you could…”

5. 33–40 min · Whole-class problem-solving ladder

• Teacher draws a simple ladder on the board with steps: Notice → Regulate → Solve → Seek support.
• Students in their groups complete a “ladder” for their scenario on a worksheet: write one example action for each step.

6. 40–45 min · Exit ticket

• Teacher asks: “In one sentence, which resilience strategy will you try next time?” and “Who could you seek support from at school?”
• Students submit exit ticket privately.

Resources

• Role-play scenario cards (A–C) printed
• Student worksheet: Stress signs + Resilience ladder template
• Markers/whiteboard
• Timer for role-play rounds
• Scenario support word bank (respectful phrases for help and problem-solving)
• Student journal or scrap paper for quick writing
• Optional: “Glow and Grow” feedback sentence strips

Assessment

• Formative during pair sorting: listen for correct categorisation of challenges (thoughts/feelings/body).
• Formative during role-plays: observe whether students use at least one resilience strategy and respectful communication.
• Exit ticket: check that students can name a strategy and identify a support person at school.

Differentiation

• Provide sentence starters and a word bank for students who need support (e.g., “I noticed…”, “A respectful option is…”, “Can you help me…?”).
• Allow role-play roles to vary: speaker, helper (suggesting strategies), recorder (completing the ladder).
• For students needing challenge, ask them to add an extra step: “What could you do if your first strategy doesn’t work?”
• For EAL learners, keep scenarios familiar and include visual cues (body signs icons: face, hands, shoulders, breathing).