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      Our emotions toolkit: challenges

      Lesson details

      Learning outcome

      I can explain that challenges look different for everyone and can impact people in different ways.

      Key learning points

      1. We all face different challenges in life.
      2. Different challenges can affect our emotions in different ways.
      3. Our self-esteem and resilience can affect the way we face challenges.
      4. Some people find challenges fun and exciting.
      5. Some people find challenges overwhelming and frustrating.

      Keywords

      • Challenge - in this context, a problem that is difficult to solve or overcome

      • Lonely - sadness from feeling like you're alone or that you don't belong

      • Frustrated - feeling mad or upset when things don't go the way you want them to go

      • Self-esteem - feeling good about yourself, knowing that you're a good person who deserves to be treated well

      Common misconception

      It's a bad thing if you find it tricky to overcome a challenge.

      Everybody faces challenges, whether finding something hard to do, or an experience that makes you feel negative.

      Teacher tip

      Try and link this lesson to what you know about your class. Use examples of things that they have found challenging and how the experiences of this were different across the class.

      Licence

      This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0
      except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions
      (Collection 2).

      Lesson video

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      Prior knowledge starter quiz

      6 Questions

      Q1.
      Match the word to the definition.

      Correct Answer:emotions,the feelings we have inside, like happiness, sadness or anger

      the feelings we have inside, like happiness, sadness or anger

      Correct Answer:positive,good, encouraging thoughts or comments

      good, encouraging thoughts or comments

      Correct Answer:support,to provide help and encouragement to others

      to provide help and encouragement to others

      Q2.
      How can we build our self-esteem?

      by reminding ourselves of the things we can't do
      Correct answer: by reminding ourselves of what we can do
      Correct answer: by thinking about the things that make us special
      by thinking about the things that we don't like about ourselves

      Q3.
      What can we do if we struggle with our self-esteem?

      Correct answer: we can seek support from a trusted adult
      we can keep our emotions to ourselves
      we can stay indoors all day
      Correct answer: we can celebrate our successes, no matter how small they are

      Q4.
      Being mentally healthy means that we feel all but that we are able to return to feeling happy.

      Correct Answer: emotions, feelings

      Q5.
      Which statements are true?

      The same things will make people happy.
      Correct answer: Different things will make different people happy.
      Correct answer: It’s important to do things that we enjoy and that we feel we're good at.
      We should only do things that other people enjoy doing.

      Q6.
      How can we improve our mental health?

      Correct answer: by eating a balanced diet
      Correct answer: by talking to our friends and family about our emotions
      by spending time with people who make us feel down
      by sleeping all day
      Correct answer: by exercising regularly

      6 Questions

      Q1.
      Match the word to the definition.

      Correct Answer:challenge,in this context, a problem that is difficult to solve or overcome

      in this context, a problem that is difficult to solve or overcome

      Correct Answer:frustrated,feeling mad or upset when things don't go the way you want them to go

      feeling mad or upset when things don't go the way you want them to go

      Correct Answer:self-esteem,feeling good about yourself and knowing that you're a good person

      feeling good about yourself and knowing that you're a good person

      Q2.
      What challenges might a person face in their life?

      Correct answer: learning or doing something new
      finding school work easy
      Correct answer: changes at home or school
      feeling confident in being their true self

      Q3.
      Different challenges can affect our in different ways.

      Correct Answer: emotions, feelings, mental health

      Q4.
      What can affect the way we face challenges?

      how intelligent we are
      Correct answer: our self-esteem
      Correct answer: how resilient we are
      our age and height
      how much we like to sing

      Q5.
      Which statements are true?

      Correct answer: Some people find challenges fun and exciting.
      We all deal with challenges in the same way.
      Correct answer: Some people find challenges overwhelming and frustrating.
      Everyone finds challenges easy.

      Q6.
      How can we overcome challenges?

      by avoiding challenges
      by keeping our emotions to ourselves
      Correct answer: by breaking them down into steps
      Correct answer: by having a positive mindset

      To help you plan your 5 RSHE (PSHE) lesson on: Our emotions toolkit: challenges, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...