Emotional Toughness (Grades 6-12)

Overview: Students today need more opportunities to build their emotional toughness in a world that is as fast paced and ever changing.  Thus, creating conditions that allow them to take responsibility for their behavior, emotions, and responses is important in building resilience for learning and development. This lesson will have students focus on their emotional toughness and highlight the need to be responsible for our responses in emotional situations.

Character Education Objectives:

Students will:

• utilize the Scale of Emotion to describe how they feel 
• discuss Emotional Toughness Indicators
• reflect on their own emotional resilience and the importance of taking responsibility for their own emotional response.

Materials

• Scale of Emotion 
• Emotional Toughness Handout 
• Emotional Toughness Indicators 
• Exit Ticket 

Lesson Plan

Journal (5 mins)

• Using the Scale of Emotion explain where you feel you are today and why. 

Small Group or Whole Group Discussion (30 mins)

• Read through the Emotional Toughness Indicators
• As a group discuss/respond to the following: 
  • Emotional Flexibility
    • Define productive and unproductive states of emotion
    • What emotions make you unproductive?
    • Why are emotions so important?
    • Who is responsible for your emotions?
  • Emotional Responsiveness 
    • What are some positive responses students when you face unpleasant or unproductive emotions?
    • Give an example of a time you took responsibility for creating a positive emotional response
      • How did this impact you and those around you?
  • Emotional Resiliency
    • Look up the definition of resilience and come up with a working definition with your group 
    • What is a situation you have had to show resiliency in your own life?
    • How has this situation made you more responsible and resilient?
  • Emotional Strength
    • How do people develop a never-quit attitude?

References
Hurst, K., 2020. Learn How To Move UP The (Vibrational) Emotional Scale. [online] The Law Of Attraction. Available at: <https://www.thelawofattraction.com/law-attraction-learning-move-emotional-scale/> [Accessed 24 March 2020]. 

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