Unit One: Personal Growth

Lesson 1: Who am I? Identity development

One’s identity is based on multiple aspects; in addition to physical appearance, identity includes gender and sexual orientation, ethnicity and culture, personality traits, competencies and talents, and social roles. In our opening lesson, students learn how a person with a strong sense of self can tolerate feedback and potential criticism from others. Similarly, appreciating oneself is the first step in achieving cross-cultural tolerance and appreciation of differences in others.

Lesson 2: Mindfulness: What it is and how to practice it

This lesson teaches students how their thoughts, feelings, and behavior affect each other in a cyclical way to help them build greater self-awareness. With this understanding in place, students are introduced to mindfulness as the practice of purposeful focus. Students learn to identify at least three mindful strategies to remove distractions, and they discover how mindfulness can boost their mood.

Lesson 3: Self Compassion

Merriam-Webster defines compassion as “sympathetic consciousness of others’ distress, together with the desire to alleviate it.” What happens when we take that desire and turn it onto ourselves? This lesson looks at that process. Students will evaluate the concept of ccompassion towards one’s self, and the healing effect that it can have. In this lesson, students will learn to acknowledge their own flaws in a healthy, self-compassionate way.

Lesson 4: Resiliency

In this lesson, students learn self-directed skills to build and to promote resiliency. Whether students are dealing with the effects of bullying or struggling with a learning disability, many of the challenges and traumas they face can chip away at their sense of confidence, self-efficacy, and emotional strength. Students learn that resilience is not a character trait but rather involves developing and using key skills to combat and protect against the negative impacts of various life challenges.

Lesson 5: Origin Story

A person’s identity is based on multiple aspects including physical appearance, personality traits, family history, birth history, and skills and talents. In order to better understand their identities as people in the present, students learn that it is helpful to explore the experiences of their past.