How can you tell they’ve got it: Persisting When It's Hard?

If they’ve got it, you’ll see things like: Keep working on a difficult task for a sustained period without giving up or asking someone else to do it; After making a mistake, try again with a different approach rather than saying 'I can't do it'; Talk about difficulty positively — e.g. 'This is hard but I'm getting better' rather than 'I'm no good at this'. Or just try it together: If your child finds a puzzle or activity really tricky, do they keep trying different ways rather than giving up straight away?

Learning to Learn Ages 5–6

Persisting When It's Hard

Your child keeps trying when something feels hard. They know that mistakes, and trying again, are how learning happens.

In curriculum terms

Keep trying when something feels hard — making mistakes and trying again is how learning happens

Ages are typical, not deadlines — follow your child’s pace. How to help at home →

How to tell they’ve got it

Tick these off as you see them — no test required.

Keep working on a difficult task for a sustained period without giving up or asking someone else to do it
After making a mistake, try again with a different approach rather than saying 'I can't do it'
Talk about difficulty positively — e.g. 'This is hard but I'm getting better' rather than 'I'm no good at this'

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Try this together

If your child finds a puzzle or activity really tricky, do they keep trying different ways rather than giving up straight away?

Where this sits on the map

Stuck here? Check the skills it builds on first. Confident? Here’s what it unlocks.

Builds on

Nothing on the map comes before this — it’s a starting point.

Persisting When It's Hardthis skill · ages 5–6

Unlocks

Thinking Before Startingages 6–7Activating prior knowledge requires the foundational habit of persistent engagement with new material

Asking scientific questionsages 5–8Scientific enquiry requires persistence through uncertainty — the universal persistence habit underpins willingness to keep investigating

Making Sense of Problemsages 5–6Mathematical perseverance with problems is the domain-specific application of the universal persistence habit

solid = must come firstdashed = helps

Curriculum alignment

Where this fits in the official school curriculum — our best automated guess, not yet checked by a person.

This skill aligns to ACARA’s General Capabilities rather than a learning-area code.

Nearby on the map

Asking for Helpages 5–6 Checking Your Own Workages 5–6 Feeling of not understandingages 6–7 Planning a Taskages 6–7

All Learning to Learn skills →