A Creature Like You

• Makedo Invent Kit

• Upcycled cardboard

• Journal and pencil/pen

• Markers

• Colouring and craft supplies for decorating (optional)

Part 1 - Creature Making

1. Invite students to find a quiet space with their pen and paper to journal answers to the following:

   • What are your best qualities (unrelated to appearance)?

   • What are you good at?

   • What comes easily to you?

   • What do you love doing?

2. Using the insights from journaling, students identify two to four personal strengths. These should be character/personality-related rather than appearance-related, such as kindness, bravery, humour, creativity, forgiveness, self-control, fairness, etc. You may wish to consult the VIA character strengths youth poster.

3. Students channel those strengths into a unique cardboard creature that represents them. For example, the wildly wacky creature may have a big smile representing humour, round edges representing kindness and a horn representing bravery.

4. Students use markers to label the different parts of their creature that reflect certain traits (eg. write ‘bravery’ on the horn of their creature).

Part 2 - Group Discussion

1. How could you utilise your strengths to be more successful in school, sports, hobbies, family life, etc? 

   🎓 Teacher note: Our strengths help to remind us of the many great things we offer the world, improving our confidence and authenticity. We can play to our strengths when facing challenges and channel towards goals.

2. Did you find it difficult to identify your strengths? If you had been asked about your limitations, would that have been easier? If so, why do you think this is the case?

3. Think ahead to the future and discuss how your strengths might benefit you later in life.

• Is there a certain characteristic that you would love to have more of? What could you do to generate more of this?

• How might focusing on personal weaknesses rather than strengths negatively impact your life? 

• Do you think knowing the character strengths of your family and friends could help your relationships with these people? Explain.

• Strength Mantra: Students create mantras to remind themselves of their strengths during tough times and to channel areas of their lives they want to improve.

• Strength Story: Students write a narrative positioning themselves as the main character, utilising their strengths in a time of challenge.

• Strong Class: Discuss how the class could work as a team to utilise each other's strengths for everyone to succeed. Consider if there is a set of class rules or a daily/weekly practice that you could engage with to make this happen.