Suggested Grade/Age Range: Grade 4-6 (ages 9-11)

Activity Objective: The goal of this activity is to help children develop awareness about the resources (both within the self and through getting help from others) that are available for overcoming challenges. The underlying message is the importance of never giving up and to keep trying, which is an important component to developing healthy self-esteem.

Learning Goals
Big Messages to Kids

Link to Ontario Curriculum

Materials Required:

• Role play cards (8 in total; not all have to be used depending on size of small groups)
  

Prep Time: 10 minutes

• Divide children into small groups of 4-5 students beforehand
• Print out role play cards and cut them for each group. Make extras so there are at least two copies for each group
• Blank paper for groups to write on

Task Time: 1 hour

• Make sure to leave at least 30-40 minutes at the end for presentations and discussions about how each role play relates to boosting one’s self-esteem
• Alternatively, this activity can be completed over two periods or days to give children more time

Activity Description:

Opening Discussion:

1.       Review over the concept of self-esteem and discuss why it may be important for overcoming challenges.

Activity:

2.       Tell children that they will be performing role plays in small groups

3.       Show them the role play cards. Choose one of the scenarios as an example and take the class through the process of planning a role play (e.g., assigning roles, writing down what each character says, etc.)

4.       Have children split into their small groups and start the planning process. Circulate as children prepare for their role plays and give feedback to each group as needed

5.       Once children are finished planning and have shown you a completed script, they may be instructed to begin practicing their role play

Wrap-up Discussion/Presentations:

6.       Once all children have had a chance to run through their role play once, gather the whole class to prepare for the presentations

7.       After each presentation, ask the children:

• What was the main challenge that the main character(s) in each scenario had to overcome?
• What are some important messages we have learned from this role play?
• How does overcoming this challenge help to boost self-esteem?
• How does encouraging or helping others help boost our self-esteem and that of others?

8.       For each role play, follow up with the discussion questions outlined in Step 9. Children’s ideas can be written down on chart paper or on the board. This can be used as review for a later date

Activity Extensions:

• Children can write a short reflection on how overcoming a challenge has boosted their self-esteem.
• Alternatively, children can write about a challenge they are currently working on and the steps they would like to take to overcome it

Additional Comments:

This activity is important as it helps to dispel the misconception that self-esteem is only about the things we are good at. Rather, self-esteem is boosted when we persevere and are resilient in the face of challenges and work on overcoming them. Self-esteem can be boosted through our own actions, through receiving support from others, and also through helping others who are in need.

Additional Resources:

You may want to refer to the book ‘Never Give Up: A Story About Self-esteem’ to review over the ideas of boosting self-esteem by overcoming challenges, receiving help from others, and helping others

You may also choose to review over the Self-esteem Literature Review before implementing this activity. It can be found here.