Lesson video

Hello, my name is Miss Wroth.

Today we are going to be looking at the lesson called Facing Challenges.

This fits into the lesson unit Emotions: How can we manage challenges? Now, this lesson is going to be really important because it's going to help us identify the different challenges that we might face in life and how to overcome them.

So let's get ready to begin.

Today's lesson outcome is: "I can explain why I am feeling challenged and describe ways to take action to overcome this." Let's begin by taking a look at our ground rules together.

Laura says we should listen to others, and that means we are not going to interrupt when somebody else is speaking.

Andeep says we should respect privacy.

And that means if somebody decides to share a story or their own experience, we are not going to repeat it to others outside of this lesson.

Jacob says, no judgement.

And that means if somebody does decide to share a story or their own experience, we are not going to make comments or judge them because of it.

And Izzy says, choose your level of participation, and that means you can decide if you simply just want to listen or if you want to share something throughout the lesson.

All of these ground rules are here to keep everyone safe throughout the lesson.

Here are today's keywords.

We have challenge and strategy.

So challenge in this context means a problem that is difficult to solve or overcome, and strategy is a plan that you make to reach a goal or win something, like figuring out the best moves in a game or how to study for a test.

Let's see if we can spot these keywords in today's lesson.

Here is the lessons outlined, and we're going to begin with, how do challenges affect you? A challenge is a problem which is difficult to solve or overcome.

There are many reasons why we might find something challenging, such as: how high or low our self-esteem is.

And this means how confident we feel in ourselves generally.

And how much energy we have, for example, how tired or how hungry we feel.

We might find challenges more difficult to solve if we haven't had enough sleep or if we haven't had a nutritious pill.

And how we are feeling emotionally.

So if you're feeling a little bit wobbly on a particular day, then you might find challenges a little bit more difficult to solve.

Time for a check for understanding.

Tell your partner two reasons why we might find something challenging.

Pause this video so you can have some time to think about your answer.

Okay, well done for having a go.

You might have said, you might find something challenging, depending on: how high or low our self-esteem is, how much energy we have, for example, how tired or hungry we feel, and how we're feeling emotionally.

Well done if your answer was similar to mine.

Challenges can affect us in lots of different ways.

For example, challenges can help us to learn and to grow as people.

When we overcome a challenge, like solving a tricky maths problem or doing something for the first time, our brains remember how we did it and get better at handling similar challenges in the future.

Challenges can also help develop our resilience.

If we keep trying, even when something is hard, we become more confident and better at bouncing back the next time we have to face a challenge.

Time for a check for understanding.

How can challenges help us in life? Is it A: they help us to learn and grow as people, B: they help us do things easily, or C: they help us develop our resilience? Hmm, how can challenges help us in life? Pause this video so you can have some time to think about your answer.

Well done if you said A and C.

Challenges help us in life because they help us to learn and grow as people, and they help us develop our resilience.

Challenges can also affect our emotions and how we feel in lots of different ways.

They might make us feel worried, frustrated, or even like giving up if the challenge feels too big to manage on our own.

On the other hand, challenges might make us feel excited, determined, or proud, especially when we keep going and succeed.

Time for a check for understanding.

Fill in the missing word in this sentence.

Challenges can affect our- in lots of different ways.

So what is that missing word? Pause this video so you can have some time to think about your answer.

Well done if you said emotions.

Challenges can affect our emotions in lots of different ways.

Time for a task now.

We are going to read the scenario below together, and then I would like you to write down two to three ways Felix has been affected by his challenge.

So Felix says, "I recently joined the writing club at school.

At first, I felt nervous and I wasn't sure if I was good enough.

Then I thought about ways to overcome this challenge.

I kept showing up, tried my best in every session, and asked for help when I needed it.

Now I know that when I give things a chance and don't give up straight away, I am more likely to succeed and I'm proud of myself." So your task is to write down two to three ways Felix has been affected by his challenge.

Pause this video so you can have some time to do the task, and then we will go through the answers together.

Well done for having a go.

Your answer could look like this: At first, Felix's emotions were affected.

He felt nervous and unsure about his ability to do well at writing club, but by having a go and not giving up, he overcame his challenge and grew in both confidence and resilience.

He was also able to feel proud of himself afterwards for overcoming his challenge.

Well done if your answer is similar to mine.

We are now going to move on to the second part of our lesson, what can you do to overcome challenges? There are many things we can do to help us overcome challenges.

First, we should pay attention to our emotions so that we can understand why we feel something is challenging.

Then we can figure out a strategy to help us overcome the challenge.

Okay, time for a check for understanding.

What should you do first when trying to overcome a challenge? Pause this video so you can have some time to think about your answer.

Okay, well done for having a go.

You should have said: We should pay attention to our emotions so that we can understand why we find something challenging.

If we feel worried about a challenge, we can use this strategy.

Take a deep breath and think about how to break it down into smaller, manageable steps.

So for example, your challenge might be that you are joining a new club and you feel anxious.

So we can break this challenge down into smaller, manageable steps.

First, find out more about the club.

What will you be doing? Who is leading it? Is it a teacher from your school or is it somebody that you haven't met yet? Then talk to someone about your feelings.

You could speak to a trusted adult or friend.

And finally, make a plan to prepare.

What do you need to bring? Is there a uniform you have to wear? If we've got everything that we need before we do something, it can help us feel less anxious about going to a new place.

Time for a check for understanding.

Lucas is feeling worried about a challenge he's facing.

Tell your partner one strategy Lucas could use to help him overcome the challenge.

Pause this video so you can have some time to think about your answer.

Okay, so Lucas could take some deep breaths and break the challenge down into smaller, manageable steps.

Well done if you got that answer correct.

If we feel frustrated by a challenge, we can: take a break and come back to the challenge later.

Try to solve the challenge in a different way, or ask for help from a trusted adult or friend.

If the challenge is making us feel sad, we can do something we enjoy and come back to the challenge later, or we can find someone to talk to and ask for help, like a trusted adult or friend.

They will likely be able to come up with a different way to approach or solve the challenge that we are facing.

Time for a check for understanding.

What can we do if a challenge is making us sad? Is it A: do something we enjoy and come back to the challenge later, B: keep our feelings to ourselves and keep trying to solve the challenge, or C: find someone to talk to and ask for help with the challenge? Hmm, what can we do if a challenge is making us sad? Pause this video so you can have some time to think about your answer.

Well done if you said A and C.

If a challenge is making us sad, we can do something we enjoy and come back to the challenge later.

Or we can find someone to talk to, ask for help with the challenge.

Time for a task now.

We're going to read the scenario together, and then I would like you to write down three strategies Sam could use to overcome her challenge.

Sam says, "I've fallen out with my best friend.

He doesn't want to talk to me and I'm not sure what to do." So your task is to write down three strategies Sam could use to overcome her challenge.

Pause this video so you can have some time to do the task, and then we will go through the answers together.

Well done for having a go.

So you might have said: Sam could take some deep breaths and think about how to break her challenge down into smaller, manageable steps.

She could take a break from thinking about her challenge and come back to it later.

She could try to solve the challenge in a different way, and she could ask for help from a trusted adult or friend.

Well done if your answer was similar to mine.

We're now going to move on to the third and the final part of our lesson.

When might you ask for help with a challenge? There are different times that you might ask for help with a challenge.

For example, you might ask for help when you've tried your best to overcome a challenge but still feels stuck.

You might ask a trusted adult or friend, "Please can I have some help with this challenge?" Laura says, "I felt really worried about saying my lines in the school play in front of a big audience.

I tried taking some deep breaths, but I still felt nervous.

I decided to speak to my mum who helped me practise my lines, which made me feel more prepared and confident." You might also ask for help when you feel confused or don't understand how to solve a challenge.

Jacob says, "When I felt confused about our new science topic, I asked my teacher for help.

He showed me a different method that made more sense to me and I understood it much better." Okay, time for a check for understanding.

Explain to your partner when someone might ask for help with a challenge.

Pause this video so you can have some time to think about your answer.

Okay, so you might have said you might ask for help with a challenge if: you've tried your best but still feel stuck, or when you feel confused or don't understand how to solve a challenge.

Well done if your answer was similar to mine.

It's especially important to ask for help with a challenge if you feel worried or upset for a long time.

We can ask for help from: parents and carers and teachers and school staff.

Some challenges need more time, effort, and support to overcome.

It's important to remember we don't have to face challenges alone and asking for help is not a weakness.

It's a good way to learn and feel supported.

Time for a task now.

With your partner, come up with a scenario where someone might ask for help with a challenge.

Try to include what the challenge is, why they need help, who they have asked for help and how they solved the challenge.

Pause this video so you can have some time to do the task, and then we will go through the answers together.

Okay, well done for having a go.

Your scenario could sound like this: Jayden was chosen to represent his class in a school debate.

He was proud to be picked, but when he saw the topic, he started to feel nervous.

He wasn't sure how to come up with strong arguments or speak confidently in front of everyone.

So that's the challenge he's facing.

At first, Jayden tried to write his speech on his own, but he couldn't get his ideas to sound right.

He started to feel stressed and worried he would let his class down.

Jayden decided to ask his teacher for help.

Together, they talked through his ideas and his teacher showed him how to structure his points clearly, and this made him feel better about the challenge.

Alternatively, your scenario could sound like this: Alice was learning how to use a new computer programme for an arts competition.

She wanted to create a digital college, but she didn't know how to use some of the tools.

She felt frustrated because her project wasn't looking how she had imagined.

Alice tried to figure it out by herself, but she got stuck and felt like giving up.

Then she decided to ask her friend who had used the programme before.

Her friend showed her some helpful tips and shortcuts, which made the challenge much easier.

Well done if your scenario included all of the points that we spoke about at the beginning of this task.

This brings us on to the end of our lesson, and here is a summary of everything that we've covered today.

There are many reasons why we might find something challenging, such as how high or low our self-esteem is, or how high or low our energy levels are, or how we are feeling emotionally.

Challenges can affect us in many different ways.

They can help us build our resilience, but they can also affect our emotions, making us feeling frustrated, worried, or upset.

There are lots of ways we can overcome a challenge.

We should first pay attention to our emotions so that we can understand why we feel something challenging.

Then we can figure out the strategy to overcome it.

If a challenge is making us feel worried or upset for a long time, we should speak to a trusted adult.

Here is a slide with different places that you can get support.

We have the NHS websites where the NHS provides advice about health and prevention, including how to access services.

We also have the Childline, which is a website and phone line which is able to offer confidential advice and support.