Teaching Sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

15 minutes

Tune In: What does it mean to be tough?

25 minutes

Find Out: Mental toughness

100+ minutes

Take Action: Shift the focus

10 minutes

Reflection

Tune In: What does it mean to be tough?

Step 1

Play this video as students enter the class:

Quinn XCII - Tough (Official Video) ft. Noah Kahan - (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26svno14ADU)

Step 2

Create a mindmap with students, with the word ‘tough’ at the centre. Work with the class to think of different examples of what it means to be ‘tough’.

If you are handwriting on the board, group the ideas so that all the ‘physical’ types of toughness are together on one side and the ‘mental’ types are together on the other. Later in the lesson, you will then be able to draw a circle around both groups, which will provide for an interesting conversation as you come to Part B.

Step 3

Play the following video:

NOT TOUGH (https://vimeo.com/668028158) Password: CowardCool

Ask students if they have any other ideas about what it means to be ‘tough’. Add them to the mindmap.

Find Out: Mental toughness

Step 1

Explain that in the rest of this lesson, we’re going to focus on ‘mental toughness’, or what is also referred to as ‘grit’.

This is a good place to draw circles around the students’ examples of ‘physical’ and ‘mental’ toughness. Depending on the balance of responses, you might have a conversation about why one side had more examples than the other.

Read through this mental toughness model with the students:

Mental toughness has four components:

Control - I can always find a way to influence what’s happening for me
Challenge - Pressure is just part of the deal, you’ve got to embrace it
Confidence - I’m willing to back myself in pretty much any situation
Commitment - I’m determined to keep on showing up, no matter what.

(Source)

Step 2

Invite students to write independently, or discuss with a partner how much mental toughness they think they might have.

Step 3

Support students to complete this survey independently on their own device: https://angeladuckworth.com/grit-scale/

If students don’t have internet-enabled devices, you could print and distribute this Grit Survey, but you will need to assist them in adding up their scores.

Safety first: Don’t ask students to share their scores, as some may want to keep them private

Step 4

Explain that Dylan Alcott is a role model for mental toughness, as one of Australia’s most loved Paralympians. Play this video:

Dylan Alcott - (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAef2Ls9UJ0)

Ask students to discuss what they think helped Dylan develop his mental toughness.

Step 5

Split the students into two groups. Set up shared online documents or hand out some butcher’s paper and markers. Invite each group to brainstorm ideas for how they could improve their mental toughness or grit.

Take Action: Shift the focus

Step 1

Explain to students that they are going to work in their groups (or smaller groups) to develop a social campaign that educates their peers and encourages them to focus more on their mental toughness and less on ‘being tough’.

Now is a good time to remind them of the STOP the Coward Punch campaign video they watched earlier. Perhaps consider playing it again as inspiration.

The task is as follows:

Create a campaign that speaks to your peer (age and cultural) group. Your campaign should:

educate your audience on the benefits and components of mental toughness
teach strategies for developing mental toughness
debunk the myth that ‘acting tough’ is real toughness
have a strong colour palette, logo and slogan
be visually appealing, well-designed and memorable
use few printed words and instead focus on images or short videos.

Make sure your work is something you would be proud to release publicly. You may need to go through a few drafts or create a portfolio of ideas before creating your final campaign ‘media kit’.

Step 2

Allow students time to work on their campaigns. Move around the room offering ideas and feedback.

Step 3

Have students showcase their campaigns through a gallery walk, oral presentation or web platform. Allow opportunities for constructive peer feedback addressing the task criteria above.

Reflection

Invite students to sit in a circle and have each student share one learning and one challenge they experienced while creating their campaign or learning about toughness.

Coward Punch - That's Tough!

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