Resilience and Inclusion Lessons & Activities

Product Details

• Each lesson is designed to last approximately 60 minutes. However, each lesson could easily be broken into shorter segments for use in a homeroom or advisory period or extended for longer sessions. Facilitator notes found throughout the lesson often describe ways to modify the lesson for time.
• Each lesson could be adapted for in-person or online delivery.
• Lessons can be delivered in any order.
• Student Guides are included so that participants can easily follow along with the lesson and complete each activity. Handouts are fillable PDF documents, which can be typed in, saved, and attached to e-mails. You can also print the handouts if you prefer hard copies.

Stress Management and Mental Health

To be resilient, we must manage our stress.  Stress management helps us overcome challenges and adversity and pursue our individual and team goals.

Students will learn how to support their mental health by:

• understanding the difference between good stress and distress
• developing a stress management plan that helps them recognize their stress, choose the right mindset, take the right actions, and evaluate the outcome of their stress management.
• CASEL Core Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Competency Alignment: Self-Management
• Six Pillar Alignment: Responsibility

Overcoming Obstacles with a Growth Mindset

Learning from mistakes and failures, overcoming obstacles, and moving beyond challenges can separate successful individuals from those who don’t achieve their full potential.

Students will learn how to identify what is and is not within their control. Additionally, students will identify how to learn from their experiences and use that knowledge to improve.

• CASEL Core Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Competency Alignment: Responsible Decision-Making
• Six Pillar Alignment: Trustworthiness

Creating an Inclusive Culture

Inclusive cultures are resilient cultures because there is strength in unity and togetherness.

Inclusion is reflected in behaviors that welcome and embrace diversity and ensues when compassion, courage, and a sense of community are intentionally pursued through communication.

Students will define what inclusion looks like in their life (as part of a team, classroom, or at school) and learn strategies to:

• seek to understand and be understood
• provide feedback that is honest and fair
• receive feedback without shame, blame, or the need to explain.

CASEL Core Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Competency Alignment: Self-Awareness

• Six Pillar Alignment: Responsibility

Taking Ownership of Actions, Decisions, and Mistakes

Resilient individuals are able to overcome errors, make difficult decisions, and take ownership of their actions, regardless of the outcome.

Students will learn how to make good decisions, reflect on past choices, and acknowledge when a mistake is made.

• CASEL Core Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Competency Alignment: Social Awareness, Relationship Skills
• Six Pillar Alignment: Respect, Caring, Fairness

Optional Training Available

Resilience and inclusion lessons work especially well in athletics and other extra-curricular activities. Two-hour and half-day professional development workshops focused on integrating our athletic programming, Pursuing Victory With Honor, are available.

To maximize your utilization of any curricular resource from CHARACTER COUNTS!, we provide online and in-person professional development sessions to help you navigate all the features, and determine how to adapt the materials to best meet the needs of your organization.

If your school or youth-serving organization is interested in being trained on implementing CHARACTER COUNTS! click here to see a list of workshops or contact us at customerservice@charactercounts.org or 515-271-4840.