Building self-esteem
Self-esteem is the opinion you have of yourself and your abilities. This opinion can fluctuate wildly in young people, especially during puberty. By understanding what self-esteem is and how to improve it, students can identify steps to help them maintain self-confidence and achieve self-actualisation.
Year level
7-8
Duration
60 minutes
Type
In class activity
SEL Competencies
Self-awareness
Self-management
Learning intention
Students will understand the concept of self-esteem and identify strategies for improving their own and others’ self-esteem.
Key outcomes
By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:
define what self-esteem is
identify strategies to improve their own and others’ self-esteem.
Materials needed
ReachOut article 10 tips for improving your self-esteem
Whiteboard/projector
Mapped to
Australian Curriculum: Health and Physical Education
Analyse and reflect on the influence of values and beliefs on the development of identities (AC9HP8P01)
Analyse factors that influence emotional responses and devise strategies to self-manage emotions (AC9HP8P06)
Australian Curriculum: General Capabilities
Personal and Social Capability:
Self-management
Self-awareness
Literacy:
Reading
Writing
NSW PDHPE Syllabus
Examines and evaluates strategies to manage current and future challenges (PD4-1)
Victorian Curriculum: Health and Physical Education
Evaluate strategies to manage personal, physical and social changes that occur as they grow older (VCHPEP124)
Activity 1
Read up on self-esteem
10 minutes
As a class, students read the ReachOut article 10 tips for improving your self-esteem. You could display the article on an interactive whiteboard or using a projector, and hand out printed copies to students.
Activity 2
Frayer Model: What is self-esteem?
25 minutes
Divide students into groups of four.
Students continue reading the article and record their understanding of self-esteem using the Frayer Model template (one worksheet per group). The template can be pre-filled, with the centre text reading ‘Self-esteem’.
Each student completes all sections of the worksheet.
Using this worksheet, students will define what self-esteem is and isn’t, differentiate between low and high self-esteem, and offer examples of each for discussion.
Encourage students to share their definitions within their group.
Activity 3
Group discussions
10 minutes
Guide discussions of their answers within student groups.
Encourage students to come up with a group definition and examples of high and low self-esteem.
Activity 4
Self-esteem strategies
15 minutes
Using their Frayer Model group worksheet, students identify within groups which tips they think could help them to boost their self-esteem and describe how they might put these into practice.
Encourage groups to share their tips with the whole class. You may like to display worksheets around the classroom as reminders of the importance of self-esteem.
