Nearly all of us face frustration, sadness, and discomfort as part of life. Resilience is not about ignoring those difficult feelings; it is about connecting with our emotions, understanding them, and learning from them through “aatm chintan” (or self-reflection). This helps us to recognise our true inner self, appreciate the support we have in our lives, and identify the unique qualities that help us navigate challenges and difficult times.
This lesson will help students develop confidence and inner strength over time. Students will explore the concept of resilience using the banyan tree, the deeply sacred national tree of India, as a metaphor through drawing, writing and music. The banyan tree symbolises many things: longevity, shelter, and wisdom. It endures storms and harsh conditions, yet always stands strong and tall. Students will be encouraged to connect their own life experiences to the structure of the banyan tree by identifying their roots, supports, and strengths that help them navigate difficult times.
Prior to teaching this lesson, watch the expert and guest artist video and create your own writing and music playlist/Banyan Tree drawing to share with your students. The educator will choose one creative activity for the class to do together.
Launching the Lesson
“In life, all of us go through different kinds of challenges and face uncertainty. Sometimes it may be exams, family situations, friendships, health issues, grief, or times when things don’t go as planned. During these moments, it is completely normal to feel different emotions like sadness, anger, fear, or disappointment. Emotions are the natural signals our inner self sends us to tell us what we care about, what feels safe or unsafe, and how we are experiencing the world around us. These feelings are a natural part of being human.
But there’s something unique that everyone has, something deep inside us that helps us get through tough times. You can’t see it, but it’s there, quietly helping you keep going even when things get hard. I’m sure we can all think about a time in our own lives when we faced a difficult situation or challenge and we overcame it.
That something is called resilience. It is the quality that helps us to adapt to and grow through the challenges and draw strength from supportive relationships, community, and personal practices.
How many of you have heard this word before? And how many of you are hearing it for the first time? Who wants to share what they think resilience means, or how they would describe it in their own words?
Introducing the Featured Video
Example of What You Could Say:
To understand resilience and this idea more deeply, we will look at something very special: the banyan tree, one of the most sacred and beloved trees in India.
Have you all seen a banyan tree? Can you tell the class what the tree was like?
(Slide 1). What is unique about this tree is that it can endure high winds, violent storms, and extreme heat. Still, the banyan tree can be seen standing tall even through difficult weather.
The banyan tree does not rely on one single trunk. When its branches grow wide, it sends down new roots. Those roots become additional trunks that support it and can span indefinitely. Like the banyan tree, we can also grow stronger when we develop deeper roots. Some of our roots can be symbolised by the support that we have in our lives, whether that is our family, friends, values, faith, teachers, or any practice that makes us feel grounded.
But some of the roots for your tree will be skills and tools you develop and strengthen on your own. There have been storms that have destroyed everything, yet the Banyan Tree survived. The largest banyan tree is in India itself in Andhra Pradesh, and it has been standing strong, true and resilient for more than 550 years despite harsh storms.
This is the great thing about resilience – you can keep building it over time, building your confidence and strength in knowing that you can handle the challenges that come your way. You do not need to pretend everything is fine, and you do not need to go through it alone. Sometimes resilience means knowing who and what to lean on.
We are going to watch a short video of a guest artist who will describe the way they cultivated skills and tools that helped them to be resilient when they faced their own storms.
Play Guest Artist Video
Introducing the Creative Activity: Warm-up Freewrite
Example of What You Could Say:
“Today, we are going to begin by thinking about a “storm” or challenge that we’ve had in our own lives. I want to share about a time in my life when I went through a storm and had to strengthen my roots in order to get through the challenge. I wrote about this experience, and I want to share my story with you now…(teacher reads their freewrite and shares the story of a difficult experience that is age-appropriate that they have overcome).
Students write for 5 minutes about a challenging time in their lives when they were able to be resilient.
Feel free to use these questions as a guide to help you write:
-What happened in this situation?
-Who supported you? What did you do to get through it?
You are not required to share what you write, and it will not be collected. This is just for you, however, if you would like to share, you will always have the option to as well. If you’d prefer, you can also write about a character from a story, film, or book who showed strength during a difficult time.
Example of What You Could Say:
“I want you to think about the way you grew strong roots to support you during this time. Did you rely on friends and family? Did you use something else to feel better, like exercise, a new hobby, faith, or making art? For many people, listening to music can be a tool that helps them to be resilient. A song can help you feel less alone by representing and expressing your emotions in words that you are unable to find by yourself.
Music can also shift your mood through uplifting, positive lyrics or an upbeat rhythm. Think about a song, in any language you enjoy, that makes you feel stronger, calmer, or less alone when things feel hard. It could be a film song, a bhajan, a folk song your family sings, something from your community or tribe, or anything that moves you. You will make a ‘resilience playlist’ by selecting a few of these songs, giving your playlist a title, and creating cover art for your album (you can draw symbols, images, or designs that symbolise strength to you or match your playlist). I will share my example with you. One song that helped me was: share a song from your resilience playlist.” I will share my example with you. One song that helped me was…(Share a song from your own cultural background for your resilience playlist or a song that you feel will resonate with your students.)
Using the handout or a piece of paper, students select three or four songs that help them to be resilient and that they can listen to when they are going through a difficult time. They can also create cover art for their album (drawing or digitally) and give their album a title.”
Example of What You Could Say:
“Now that you have taken time to write and reflect on a challenge you’ve overcome, we are going to do a creative activity where you represent the way you were able to be resilient during that difficult time using the metaphor of a tree. I’ll start by sharing my drawing of the tree with you… (Teacher shares drawing, highlighting what they wrote for the roots, trunk, branches and storm cloud).
We’re going to think about the tree in different sections:
(Slide 2)
You can also add words, phrases, or symbols to your drawing if it helps express your feelings, support systems, strengths, or growth, as I did. Take your time and be creative as you would like, there’s no right or wrong way to do this.”
Example of What You Could Say:
“Thank you so much for doing this activity. Would anyone like to share a part of their project or share the way this activity made them feel? Sharing is completely optional, and you can share if you feel comfortable. If you’d like to share only a small part of what you made, for instance, what you named your album or one word from your tree, that’s perfectly fine too.
(Invite a few students to share.)
“I was really inspired by you today. I hope this activity helped you see how much strength you carry and the strength that comes from within you and from everyone around you who cares for you. I know for me, it’s not something I always stop to think about.
Just like the banyan tree, our roots and trunk keep us grounded during life’s storms. And the beautiful thing is, if some of our roots feel like they aren’t supportive anymore, we can grow new roots. Just like the banyan tree, we can find new supports that help us feel stable and rooted.
This activity helped me appreciate all the support and roots I’ve had in my life, and it reminded me that I can also be there for other people.
If this activity brought up some difficult emotions or if you feel like you need additional support, I am always here or I can connect you with someone in our school community who can help.”