HOW TO USE THIS LESSON: The webpage below is intended to be projected for students to follow along. It includes basic instructions, definitions, etc. to guide students. Depending on your technology, you can have a student in charge of scrolling through the site, on your cues. Just have them try not to scroll past the thin purple dividers or thick colored banners until you are ready to start that next section!

You will also need to download and/or print this facilitator's guide. This document contains extra instructions, facilitator's notes, and other behind-the-scenes content necessary for the lesson.

Our personal strengths are our unique and special gifts that we can lean on as individuals and in teams.  By identifying them, leaning into them, and being able to articulate about our own personal strengths, we can build positive protector factors for mental health and wellness- thus increasing our level of resilience.   In our activity we will be writing a narrative about our strengths, called "YOU AT YOUR BEST” 

Resilience is a positive mental health protective factor, which means that it helps us avoid or tackle mental health struggles.  By definition, resilience is defined as the process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats, or significant sources of stress—such as family and relationship problems, serious health problems, or workplace and financial stressors. 

Learning Activities: 

Journal about the following:

Think of a specific time, recently or a while back, when you were at your best. You were expressing the qualities that make you feel the most authentic and energized. The experience made you feel proud and happy to be alive.

Develop a story for that experience or moment in time. Give the story a beginning, middle, and end. You might take the approach of replaying and reliving the positive experience in your mind, just as you were watching a movie of it.   

Once you are finished writing, share an overview of your story with an elbow partner. 

Pull from the narrative 3 activities/behaviors/strengths/people that help you when you need to bounce back and be more resilient.  

Share with an elbow partner each of your areas and give examples as to why you chose that as your one strength in that category.   

As we close today, think about how you will work to enhance, highlight, and share your personal strengths with others.  Let's take a few minutes to collect our thoughts together. 

When you work in teams, how can you help others  identify/see/understand your areas of strength?

How might you be able to use this strength narrative when you face times of adversity in school? With peers? Family?