Building Self-Esteem with Positive Self-Talk Scenarios

Positive self-talk is a vital component of self-esteem and overall mental well-being. Helping students develop the skill of using positive self-talk in challenging situations can significantly boost their self-esteem. This resource has been thoughtfully created to facilitate this skill. In this resource, students need to pair 20 challenging scenarios with positive self-talk responses.

Here are some examples of the situations children will be faced with in this match-up activity:

• Your classmate calls you a mean name at playtime.
• You are frustrated because you can’t figure out a problem on your maths assignment.
• You have been playing basketball at playtime but still can’t make a basket.
• A friend says your hair is weird and different from everyone else.
• You are upset because you have to stay after school to finish a project.

How to Use this Positive Self-Talk Resource

Begin by introducing the concept of positive self-talk to the class and discuss how our inner dialogue can impact our feelings and actions.

Pick a scenario to talk through as a whole class, engage the students in a discussion around potential negative thoughts that might arise from the situation, and brainstorm a list of possible self-talk responses. 

Then, in small groups, have students match the scenarios with the self-talk responses. 

Download and Match Today!

Use the dropdown menu to choose between the quick print PDF resource or the editable Google Slide version of this resource. It is advised that you print this on thick card or laminate it to ensure the durability of the activity.

This resource was created by Lindsey Phillips, a Teach Starter collaborator.

More Self-Esteem Resources for the Classroom

If you are after some more teaching resources that can support your social emotional learning lesson planning, we have you covered…

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