A Resilience Word Search for Elementary Students

Resilience is one of those buzzwords that elementary school teachers use often in the classroom. We tell our students to “bounce back” from setbacks or adopt a “growth mindset” when struggling with challenges. But do our students really know what resilience is, or what it looks like in the context of their own lives? 

This engaging word search has been designed by our experienced teacher team to introduce your students to some of the subject-specific vocabulary related to the concept of resilience. By completing the word search, students will learn synonyms and associated words related to this important aspect of social-emotional learning, thus deepening their understanding of what it means to face life with a resilient mindset. 

The word search contains 12 words for students to find: resilience, determined, confident, tough, grit, try, flexible, manage, strength, control, adapt, choices.

Download the black-and-white PDF, or if you’d like to make any personal alterations to the resource, an editable Google Slides version is also available. 

In addition to learning about resilience, this word search will allow students to practice valuable cognitive skills such as visual scanning, pattern recognition and sustained attention. 

The Importance of Understanding the Meaning of Resilience

Resilience is what helps us face all sorts of life challenges – big and small. It helps us face those challenges with a positive attitude and the belief that we can overcome them.

It is important that we teach our students the importance of this key life skill as early as possible. Here’s three reasons why:

1. Dealing with Failure – Learning to be resilient helps our students understand that making mistakes or facing failure is a natural part of learning and growing. Instead of feeling defeated, resilient kids learn from their mistakes and use them as opportunities to improve.
2. Adapting to Change – Life is constantly changing, and being able to adapt is a crucial skill. Resilience helps children cope with new situations, whether it’s moving to a new school, making new friends or facing changes in their family life.
3. Building Confidence – When kids develop resilience, they become more confident in their abilities. They start to believe in themselves and their capacity to overcome challenges. This confidence is a powerful tool that they can carry with them into adolescence and adulthood.

Download to Explore Resilience Vocabulary

Use the Download button to access your preferred version of this resilience word search. If you select the Google Slides file, please note that you will be prompted to copy a version to your own drive.

As this resource contains an answer sheet, we recommend that you print one copy of the resource, then remove the answer page before making copies for your students.

This resource was created by Lisamarie del Valle, a teacher in Florida and a Teach Starter collaborator.

More Resilience Activities for Kids

Are you looking for more engaging resources to assist you in teaching your students about the importance of resilience? Click below for great options from the Teach Starter team!

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