Empowerment Through Strengths-Based Learning
Explore, understand, and celebrate 24 character strengths across six key domains—Wisdom, Courage, Humanity, Justice, Temperance, and Transcendence—with this beautifully illustrated card set by Thriving Minds Education.
Perfect for classrooms, therapy settings, youth programs, or at home, these cards are designed to foster self-awareness, social-emotional learning, and personal growth through a trauma-informed, strengths-based lens.
🔹 Encourages positive identity and self-advocacy
🔹 Supports inclusive education and wellbeing
🔹 Ideal for educators, psychologists, parents, and youth workers
💡 Based on the VIA Institute’s Character Strengths framework.
🎨 Illustrations by Ruslana Lubenets
📚 Referenced in: Creating Trauma-Informed, Strengths-Based Classrooms
📦 Includes:
- Laminated 24 individual strength cards
- Domain categories
- Definitions and examples for each strength
- Guidebook with examples of how to use the cards across different settings
- Clear reusable box
© Thriving Minds Education PTY LTD | Sept 2024www.thrivingmindseducation.com | @ThrivingMindsEducation
Examples of how to use the cards across different settings:
🏫 In the Classroom
1. Strength of the Week:
Choose one card each week to focus on as a class. Discuss its meaning, brainstorm examples, and set a class goal to demonstrate that strength.
2. Morning Check-In:
Ask students to pick a card that represents how they want to show up today, or one they’ve noticed in themselves or others recently.
3. Strengths-Based Reflections:
During journaling or reflection time, have students choose a card and write about a time they used that strength or saw it in someone else.
🧠 Therapy & Wellbeing Sessions
4. Identifying Strengths:
Invite clients to select cards that resonate with them. Use these to build self-awareness, especially in trauma-informed or neuroaffirming practices.
5. Reframing Challenges:
When discussing a difficulty, help the individual identify which strength they used to get through it, or which one could help next time.
6. Strengths Storytelling:
Ask clients to share a personal story through the lens of 3-5 cards they feel describe them best. Great for identity exploration and self-esteem.
🏡 At Home or in Youth Programs
7. Family Strength Spotting:
Each person picks a card for another family member and shares a time they saw them use that strength. Builds connection and affirmation.
8. Daily Strength Draw:
Draw a card each morning and discuss how you could bring that strength into your day (e.g. curiosity at school, kindness with siblings).
9. Game Night Twist:
Incorporate cards into games (e.g. charades using the strength cards) or use them as conversation starters at dinner time.
👥 Team Building & Professional Development
10. Staff Strength Mapping:
Each team member picks 2–3 strengths they bring to the group. Create a “strengths wall” to visualise and value everyone's unique contributions.
11. Values Alignment Workshops:
Use cards to prompt reflection on how team or organisational values align with personal strengths.
Reference: VIA Institute on Character Table 8.1: Character strengths and virtues, Creating Trauma-Informed, Strengths-Based Classrooms: Teacher Strategies for Nurturing Students’ Healing, Growth, and Learning
Images by Ruslana Lubenets
