Term One- Resilience as a whole.

Use the “You Can Do It” program- Ricky Resilience.

Looking at feelings- identifying and classifying feelings

Learn to clam down by finding something fun to do- use puppet. Brainstorm fun activities

“Resilience is being able to calm myself down when I'm upset”

Identify frustrating or challenging events

Role play with puppet about finding an adult to talk to when they need to calm down

“I've found an adult to talk to, now I'm calm!”

Ricky Resilience song

Complete Ricky Resilience activity sheets

Play “Resiliency Detectives”- children have to decide which role plays show resilience and which don't (use puppet)

Review back to when children identified frustrating times. Make a new list in relation to home

Encourage students to use their school resiliency strategies at home as well as at school

This term is about MASTERY over students feelings and emotions- they will be encouraged to think about what they do before they do it and to find ways of coping that show self control.

Term Two- Friendships/ Relationships

Looking at relationships- what kind of relationships can we have?

Brainstorm how friends can help us. Watch segment of Finding Nemo and discuss what friends do (help each other)

“I can use other people to help me through hard times”

“My friends are there to share good times with!”

Identify frustrating or challenging events

Learn and sing Gaby-get-a-long song (from You Can Do It program)

Role play with puppet about talking to your friend about the things that are hard for you

“I've got friends so I don't need to worry!”

Identify ways that we can show we're friends

Breakdown the difference (with clear examples) of what the difference between being and not being a good friend are.

“My friends can help me every day” song

Complete friendship circle activity (concertina people, but in a circle) and hands together activity (concertina hands, but in a circle)

Play “Resiliency Detectives”- children have to decide which role plays show good choices with friends and which don't (teacher aide and LM dress up as ladybugs)

Review back to when children identified frustrating times. Establish that we can be a support for a friends who are having a hard time

Choose a friend and role play helping each other with something

Team work- things are easier if we do them together. Read story about team work.

Create raincoats for each other using garbage bags in small teams. Debrief and talk about some struggles they faced and how they overcame them.

This term focus' on Belonging. Who are our friends and how can we show them that they are important to us, are the main focus questions. By reading stories and being involved in role plays about groups of friends students can feel like they belong in the class. This is confirmed with the 'post box'- students writing letters to each other through the term.

Team work and 'we are part of a team' make the students feel like they are in this together.

The unit also looks at belonging and being friends with our family members so that they identify that as a group that they are part of.

Term Three- Persistence

Use the “You Can Do It” program- Pete Persistence.

Talk about what persistence means, explain it.

Encourage kids to practice things and try them lots of times

Use puppet- Pete to roll play being persistant

Read the Itsy Bitsy Spider.

Teacher model persistence, children copy.

Teacher demonstrates non persistent behaviour

Build some blocks as a class but have some 'wind' come and keep knocking some down- shows persistence by keeping on building the tower

Use Pete to show the journey he's been on to BECOME persistent

Get kids to cut out shapes inside or outside the line- encourage them to be persistent.

Introduce self talk- I can keep trying when things are hard. I know if I try hard, I can do it. The more I try, the better I get

Sing Pete Persistence's song

Children can be 'persistence detectives' they have to decide whether the role play in front of them shows persistence or non persistence.

Take photos of students demonstrating persistence and make a collage as a class.

Term Four- Change

Looking at some things in life that change- we change, families change, friends change etc. Look at why they change

Use a role play to identify how people feel when different things change

“Everyone goes through change”

Identify specific times in the students lives when things have changed for them

Role play with puppet- get child to talk about how that time made them feel

“It's okay to feel sad”

Read a collection of stories relating to change- specifically new babies, grandparents dieing, friends moving away, starting at a new school...

Complete activity sheets and response to story sheets

Play “Resiliency Detectives”- children have to decide which role plays show resilience and which don't (use puppet)

Review back to when children identified times of change. Make a new list showing all the things we can do to help ourselves get through it

Create badges that students can wear that says that they are able to cope with change- make them personalised

Encourage students to use their coping with change strategies at home as well as at school

By looking at the things around us that change the students can learn about independence and how they are in control of themselves. They may not be able to control some things that happen outside of them, but they can influence them and react in certain ways.

The puppets will be great tools for showing how students can be responsible for their own failure or success when dealing with problems.

Looking at using strategies at home and at school will also be a good reminded to students that they are the same person whether they're at home or at school and so they are accountable for their behaviour.