Year 2/3

Resilience Project: Rewiring Our Brains for Positivity

In our Resilience Project lessons this term, students have been learning about how we can “rewire our brains” to focus on the good things in our lives. We’ve discussed that humans have inherited what we call a ‘caveman brain’—a brain that is naturally wired to look out for danger and focus on the negatives as a way of keeping us safe.

Students are learning that while this was helpful for survival in the past, it’s also important to train our brains to notice the positives in the present. By practising gratitude and paying attention to the good things around us, we can strengthen positive thinking patterns and improve our overall well-being.

We’ve also been exploring the power of our words—how what we say can lift others up or bring them down. Students have been practising noticing something good about a classmate and giving a genuine compliment. It has been wonderful to see how a simple kind word can make someone’s day brighter and help build a more caring classroom community.

Through these activities, students are developing important emotional literacy and empathy skills that support both their happiness and the well-being of others.

Stage 1

• PHE-IHW-01: identifies factors that contribute to identity, health and wellbeing. 

• PH1-RRS-01: describes and demonstrates actions that support respectful relationships and safety offline and online. 

Stage 2

• PH2-IHW-01: explains how related factors influence identity, health and wellbeing. 

• PH2-RRS-01: describes and applies skills and strategies to strengthen respectful relationships.