Wired for Well-Being - Book A - First Year

Young people face ever-increasing challenges and demands as they grow into adulthood. There is a vital need to equip them with the skills and strategies that will help them to flourish and thrive despite these challenges. The Wired for Well-Being programme aims to introduce adolescents to these evidence-based skills, drawn from the fields of Positive Psychology and Neuroscience, in order to develop positive well-being habits for life. It is a secondary school Well-Being and SPHE programme with 8 lessons per year level. This is the first book in the series.

Wired for Well-Being aims to introduce young people to skills and strategies from the fields of Positive Psychology and Neuroscience to empower them to become active participants in understanding, creating and maintaining their well-being and resilience. In doing so, it aims to help young people to reach their potential, to flourish and to become thriving citizens.

Wired For Well-Being – Book A – Outline of Lessons:

• Skills 1: Understand Your Well-Being
• Skills 2: Nurture Neuroplasticity
• Skills 3: Savour Your Sleep 
• Skills 4: Prioritise Positivity
• Skills 5: Choose Kindness
• Skills 6: Be Your Own Best Friend
• Skills 7: Tame Technology
• Skills 8: Become Wired for Well-Being

Structure of the Programme:

The programme has 8 lessons, each with the following components:

• Lesson plans – containing relevant SPHE modules and DES well-being indicators (Resilient, Connected, Respected, Active, Aware and Responsible), lesson outcomes, resources, Body and Mind Check-in, warm-up activities, subsequent development, suggested supplementary resources and posters.
• PowerPoint slides – containing all relevant material for the presentation of the lesson, including a multi-media element and links to online research articles for further information if required.
• Pupil Book – Containing four pupil activity pages per lesson including key message, self-assessment of learning outcomes and homework activity. Some lessons also include ‘Replay’ sections to remind students of previous learning from the Weaving Well-Being primary school programme.
• Parent/Guardian/Carer Guide  – a pull-out section in the centre of each Pupil Book to encourage parents to learn about and support their child in using the skills.

Timing: The lessons are best suited for delivery in a one-hour time frame over eight consecutive weeks if possible. For shorter lesson slots, some lessons may need to be split over two periods or adapted as necessary by the teacher.

Additional Resources required: Any additional resources required such as post-it notes and blank sheets of paper are mentioned at the start of each lesson plan. Students are also encouraged to obtain their own Well-Being Journal to keep recording activities from Lesson 4 and 5 for twenty-one days.

Well-Being Journal: Encourage students to obtain their own Well-Being Journal (a blank notebook or journal of any kind) to reflect in during and after the delivery of the programme. There are specific well-being journal prompts at the back of the Pupil Book and students are also encouraged to keep recording activities from Lesson 4 and 5 for twenty-one days in their Well-Being Journal.