Coping Skills/Strategies: Ways to work through uncomfortable feelings/situations.
What Will students do during this lesson?
Students will collectively brainstorm coping skills that they could use when faced with an uncomfortable feeling/situation. This list might include:
Getting a drink of water
Squeezing a stress ball
Doing a wall push up
Writing what is bothering you and throwing paper away
Talk to a trusted adult
Deep Breathing
Rainbow Walk
Use an I-Statement
What will students be taught?
After our brainstorm and discussion around coping skills, students will be given a list of 100 coping strategies for them to keep. They will be asked to add any strategies they might like to try or currently use to the list.
Students will then be introduced to the website/app Headspace that offers mindfulness activities. We will practice a few of these short mindfulness activities to emphasize the ease and accessibility this type of site can offer.
Self- Talk: can be used to alert ourselves and others to how we are feeling. This can be done by using a whisper voice or with an internal "thought bubble". We are acknowledging our current emotion. May also be used to affirm positive feelings/situations (i.e. "I feel happy when I ride my bike with a friend.")
Anger = "I feel angry, I need to calm down."
Sadness = "I feel sad, I will work to feel better."
Visualizing:
Close your eyes and think about a favorite memory or place you love.
Encourage students to think about how this memory/place feels, smells and sounds.
Open your eyes once you begin to feel more calm/content.
Repeat as needed.
Coping Tools to make at home
Glitter Jar - Great and easy to make tools to support calming down and focus.
Squeeze Ball - another tool for calming. Can purchase these or make them (using a balloon filled with flour, kinetic sand, playdough, etc.)