The Teaching of Wellness – PRIME Instructional Strategies and Activities #6

• Branding/Communication – Design posters with set icons for each of the Character Strengths and the PERMAH pillars to help students make visual and text-based (i.e., definitions and applications) connections. Use the same designs in the game cards (secondary strategy listed on individual strength pages). The same goes for using the icons and text in the student planners. Another option is to have a printout of the strengths and PERMAH that can be taped on to student desktops. A starting place for the design work is the Character Lab icon listing that is shared under their terms of use. They also provide samples of posters but they do not include the beautiful icons. Do note that in time we could have a Wellness@SSIS app that includes the icons, definitions, research background, application, etc. Another youth orientated resource that is copyright protected is from the VIA Institute on Character. The layout offers a model for one variation of poster formatting. The icons are not as elementary student friendly as the ones from Character Lab.

• Strengths Spotting – Students, teachers and parents look for strengths in those around them. Design a construct or two for students to report their sighting with explanation of their analysis. You could have a “strengths wall” with icons and definitions of each strength. To the side could be a tray of student photos and note cards. When students spot strengths in their classmates, they go to the wall to pin the photo of the student with the strength. They then write a sentence or two on the card describing the strength in action to then pin it under the photo.

  One “tool” for sharing not only about strengths is to designate a place for students to share. Think about designing a sharing spot in the front of the class or having a raised chair labeled as “the sharing chair”. You can build in the ritual of good listening skills possibly using SLANT to reinforce attentive listening as well as good speaking skills. The See – Think – Wonder (STW) thinking routine can help in introducing individual character strengths. Load up a slideshow with images of the strengths in action. Have your students go through the process of first describing the image to then share the ideas that come into their minds as they point out the character strength. Apply the wonder step by asking questions such as “where might we see this strength in action…how might this strength connect to other strengths…which PERMAH pillar might this strength support?”. Here is a sample STW lesson for K-1.

  An additional strategy to support strength awareness is to speak with students in term of “strength blocking” as in what might be preventing the students from fully engaging in some of their strengths. Dr. Lea Waters says “A blocked strength can cause a strong emotional response. When we can’t live a way that feels wrong and we get angry.”

  You could use a mind map approach for older students to list the blocked strength at the center node of the diagram to then prompt them with questions to brainstorm possible causes for the blockage. The next step might be to analyze each barrier to list ways they can overcome them.

Images: Branding | Strength Spotting