Year 5/6 Bulletin

Learning Intention

To understand how positive and negative self-talk influences emotions and responses to challenges.

Learning Experience Overview

Understanding Self-Talk

This week, students explored how the way we speak to ourselves in our minds, our self-talk, can influence emotions, confidence and resilience.

Language 

In this lesson, students developed the language needed to recognise and reshape self-talk.

We explicitly explored vocabulary such as:

• Self-talk
• Positive self-talk
• Negative self-talk
• Exaggeration
• Realistic thinking
• Optimism
• Persistence
• Encouragement
• Evidence from past experience

Students practised:

• Identifying unhelpful or exaggerated internal messages
• Reframing negative statements into balanced, constructive alternatives
• Using specific and practical language rather than vague reassurance
• Drawing on prior successes to strengthen positive self-talk

For example, students learned to shift from:

“I’m terrible at this.”

to:

“This is challenging, but I’ve improved before and I can keep practising.”

The focus was not on pretending problems don’t exist, but on using realistic, honest and helpful language to support emotional regulation and resilience.

Whole

Big Idea: Our Thoughts Influence Our Feelings and Actions

Students began by revisiting prior learning about:

• How emotions can feel intense in the body
• How we experience emotional ups and downs
• How character strengths help us face challenges

We introduced the concept of self-talk — the internal conversation we have with ourselves throughout the day.

Students learned that:

• Self-talk can be positive or negative
• It can either help us cope or make situations feel worse
• The way we interpret events shapes how we feel and respond

We discussed real-life examples such as missing a catch in sport or receiving a disappointing test result, and how different internal messages can lead to very different emotional outcomes.

Small

Skill Focus: Identifying and Rewriting Self-Talk

Students worked in small groups to practise recognising and reshaping self-talk in different scenarios.

Each group:

• Analysed a scenario (e.g. starting at a new school)
• Scripted examples of negative self-talk
• Rewrote these into positive, realistic self-talk

Through discussion, students identified patterns:

Negative self-talk often:

• Exaggerates how bad something is
• Assumes things will last forever
• Focuses only on failure
• Ignores strengths and past successes

Positive self-talk tends to:

• Acknowledge effort
• Be realistic about the situation
• Offer practical next steps
• Encourage persistence
• Draw on past experiences

Students were coached to make positive self-talk more believable by:

• Challenging exaggerations
• Using specific and practical language
• Referring to evidence from past success

Whole

Applying the Learning: Building Resilience

We brought the lesson back to the big picture — resilience.

Students reflected on how practising positive self-talk can:

• Help manage disappointment
• Reduce emotional intensity
• Strengthen determination
• Improve confidence
• Support long-term wellbeing

They recognised that negative self-talk often feels automatic, but positive self-talk is a skill that can be developed through awareness and practice.

To continue the learning at home, from this experience: 

You might ask your child:

• “What kind of self-talk helps you most?”
• “What could you say to yourself in that situation instead?”
• “Have you handled something like this before?”

Helping children challenge unhelpful thoughts and replace them with realistic, encouraging alternatives builds strong emotional regulation skills.

Allira, Gemma and Gracie

allira.zeneli@education.vic.gov.au

gemma.baggio@education.vic.gov.au

gracie.willis@education.vic.gov.au