Students will research and define "self-esteem" in their own words, privately reflect on their own self-esteem, then brainstorm in small groups why teenagers might struggle with low self-esteem and share their ideas with the class.

Students will select personal quality cards that represent their strengths, share them with a partner, then merge into groups of six to collaboratively fill out a Team Résumé that captures their collective strengths and values.

Students listen to Maya Angelou's "Still I Rise," discuss its message, and share a personal strength with the group before writing about a time they overcame a struggle and creating a collage of their strengths or sources of encouragement.

Students will identify a personal goal and use Play-Doh to sculpt two figures — one representing something they will do to achieve it and one representing something they will let go of — then share and discuss their sculptures with the group.

Using Bananagrams or Scrabble tiles, students race to unscramble words representing resilience attributes (e.g., courage, bravery, hope), then discuss how each trait can help them face challenges in their own lives.

Students draw cards and share that many facts about themselves, and whenever someone draws a face card they get "zapped" and must write compliments on classmates' papers until the next person is zapped — then everyone reads the compliments they received.

Students draw a numbered puzzle piece, convert the number to a letter, then brainstorm as many descriptive words starting with that letter as possible — circling positives and crossing out negatives — before discussing how the balance of positive vs. negative words in their lives affects them.

Students will write positive words and phrases to describe each of their classmates, then receive and read the words their peers wrote about them and turn those words into a personalized word cloud. They'll then reflect on how it feels to give and receive compliments and what the descriptions reveal about how others see them.

Students pass their named shields around the room in one-minute rotations, with each classmate writing one strength or success on every shield they receive — then get their shield back, add one self-identified strength, and decorate it with art supplies for classroom display.

Students watch a motivational TED Talk or video, discuss what made it effective, then write their own motivational speech or video script to share with the class.

Reflect on what types of statements energize and motivate them, create their own motivational self-talk statements and turn them into a book, and share and discuss their statements with classmates.

Students privately rate their own self-esteem on a 1–10 scale and reflect on what shapes it, then choose a role model with high self-esteem and create a collage or drawing of that person's qualities — sharing connections between their role model and themselves.

Create a Mad Lib story in which other students can fill in either “happy” or “excited” to complete the story, and apply their understanding of the difference between happy and excited to their own Mad Lib as well as to those of their classmates.

Teams draw a random letter tile, then race to come up with a positive word starting with that letter to describe every person in the class — sharing their lists aloud and then discussing how it felt to hear the words others chose for them.

Over several sessions, each student secretly observes an assigned classmate and tracks their positive qualities, then writes a formal letter to that classmate's family describing the strengths they witnessed — which is mailed home after a draft-and-revise process.

Students will identify their positive qualities and write a letter to themselves — building self-confidence by giving themselves the kind of encouragement they often save for others.

Students will create a drawing or collage that expresses how they see themselves and how others see them — building self-confidence by giving voice to who they are on the inside.

Students will be able to identify the people, places, and things they love — building self-confidence by recognizing the joy and goodness already present in their own lives.

Students draw a classmate's name, then decorate a microwaved CD medal with that person's name and a specific written acknowledgment of what they appreciate about them, before presenting their award aloud in a closing ceremony where each recipient takes a moment to receive the recognition.

Students will read Eloise Greenfield's poem "By Myself" and then create their own "I am" poems, building a list of words and phrases that describe who they are. Younger students can draw a picture instead of writing.