Teaching sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

10 minutes

Explore: Working with your inner villain

30 minutes

Discover: Harnessing your hero

15 minutes

Thrive: Positive self-talk

Explore: Working with your inner villain

Teacher note: This lesson builds upon concepts taught in another lesson titled ‘Self: Identifying Strengths.’ If you haven’t taught the ‘Self: Identifying Strengths’ lesson, it is recommended you read over the lesson and ensure students are familiar with the basic concepts before proceeding.

Step 1

Re-introduce the concept of the inner hero and inner villain:

Explain that our inner hero is the thoughts, feelings, emotions and behaviours that create the best version of ourselves, aligned with our goals and vision.
Our inner villain, on the other hand, is the thoughts, feelings, emotions and behaviours that take us away from being the best version of ourselves, often not aligned with our goals and values.

Explain that it's important to be aware of when their inner villain takes control of their thoughts, emotions and actions. Then reassure them there are strategies they can use to tame their inner villain and grow their inner hero.

Step 2

This step looks at The Hip Game.

Introduce The Hip Game by reading the following instructions aloud (try and avoid answering any questions they may have before starting):

Find a partner and stand side-by-side (facing opposite directions)
When I shout ‘go’, hold hands (one hand each), similar to an arm wrestle.
For 2 minutes, your goal is to try and score as many points as possible by trying to get your partner’s hand to touch their leg/hip. Each time their hand taps their leg/hip, you score a point.

After playing, remind students that the aim of the game was to score as many points as possible.

Use the following questions to debrief the game:

How many points were scored? Allow them to answer individually before asking them to combine their score. If students ask why they should combine their scores, reread the instructions and explain that their goal was to try and score as many points as possible; it didn’t say they needed to work against each other to do so.
What technique did they use to score the most points?
Was there a better way to do it to score more points?
How could they have worked together to have more success?

Provide the following explanation to assist their thinking:

Show them that if they worked with their partner and moved their hands back and forth on each other's hips, they could have scored over 200 points in the allocated time. This shows that when we work with our villain, rather than fighting against it, we have more opportunities for success.

Discover: Harnessing your hero

Step 1

Provide students with the worksheet Understanding Your Villain and explain they will use it to explore the traits and behaviours of their inner villain. Encourage students to complete the task independently, then discuss their answers in small groups or as a class.

Examples:

When does your villain take control? When they’re tired, anxious, etc.
What does your villain say to you? “I’m not good enough.”
How does your villain make you feel? Cranky, frustrated, etc.
What are your actions when your villain is in control? Withdraw and isolate myself from my friends.

Provide the following explanation to assist their thinking:

Our villain is unique and will look and sound different to each of us. It is important to understand how our villain shows up so we are aware and able to find strategies to manage it.

Step 2

Display the Strategy Posters around the room and explain that it’s important to have a toolbox of strategies to call upon when we notice our villain is in control.

Provide each student with the Harnessing Your Hero worksheet and ask them to write down strategies they’d like to use in response to the different scenarios. Encourage them to include strategies from the posters as well as any they already know and use. Facilitate a class discussion once everyone has completed the worksheet.

Use the following questions to prompt discussion:

What are some new strategies you’d like to try?
What are some strategies you’ve used before? Were they helpful?
How do you think these strategies can help you manage negative thoughts, feelings and emotions that may arise?

Provide the following explanation to assist their thinking:

It may take trial and error to determine which strategies work best for you and the situation at hand. Don’t be discouraged if they initially feel awkward or uncomfortable, as they’ll become easier and feel more natural with practice. By pushing through and trying them anyway, you might find some are really effective and can be added to your toolkit.

Step 3

Explain that positive self-talk is a valuable strategy to shift from villain to hero. On the Harnessing Your Hero worksheet, there is a space for students to create their own hero affirmations. The hero affirmation can be used when they identify their inner villain is present and can be used to reframe their thoughts from negative to positive.

Examples:

I am powerful and capable of doing amazing things.
I am enough.
I am an incredible person who has so much to look forward to.

When students have decided on their hero affirmation, encourage them to write it on the board and facilitate a class discussion.

Use the following questions to prompt discussion:

What do you notice about the language in these hero affirmations?
Why do you think this is an effective strategy?
Can you think of a time when you have used this strategy or something similar?
When do you think you could use this strategy in your life?

Thrive: Positive self-talk

Step 1

Ask students to provide an example of negative self-talk and write it on the board. For example, “I am not good at making new friends”. Then ask how it could be reframed to focus on some positive attributes or outcomes. For example, “I lack confidence when it comes to making new friends, but I know how to be a good friend and have lots to offer those who take the time to get to know me.”

Provide the following explanation to assist their thinking:

Reassure students that it’s normal to engage in negative self-talk at times but that we don’t have to let it play out once we recognise it’s happening. Explain that we all have the power to change how we talk to ourselves, and we can do this by practising self-love, compassion and awareness.

Step 2

Ask students to pair up and provide them with the Negative Self-talk statements. Encourage them to role-play each scenario by imagining they are helping a friend flip their negative self-talk into positive. After 5-10 minutes, invite pairs to share and compare their approaches with another group.

Step 3

Next, invite students to consider what advice they could give a friend who’s constantly talking negatively about themselves. Have them consider an appropriate time and setting for this conversation. For example, would you tell them straight after they said something negative or mention it some other time? Why/why not? Facilitate a class discussion to share and evaluate different ideas.

Self: Positive Self-Talk to Manage Emotions

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