MS/HS Course: Week 2, Day 1

In these first couple of weeks, some of the teacher-led parts will take much of your five minutes. This is so students can learn some of the concepts from you and not feel pushed to participate right away. This will change on Wednesday when you do your first paired sharing.

This week we’re going to look at how we hold stress in our bodies. This is just a beginning awareness. You don’t have to close your eyes, just take a deep breath and try to relax as much as you can, just sitting there.

[Pause] 

We know that managing stress keeps us healthier, so the more we can learn and be aware of this, the better. Today we’re just going to think about, or notice, how stress affects us. You don’t have to speak about yourself, just keep it general. Talk about what you think might be true for students. 

• What do you notice about stress in teen lives?

[Let students respond to this and the following bullet points. Give nods and kudos or thank them for contributing to the discussion.]

• How would teen lives be different if we could decrease the stress?
• How do you think stress affects teen health?
• How do you think it affects their sleep?
• What concerns you most about stress in people’s lives?

Second step of the activity: Now we’re going to take another minute and help you really focus on how stress feels in your body. You could look down at the floor and let your vision get blurry, or you can close your eyes.

Let yourself be as relaxed as you can be and see if you can figure out two or three places you hold stress in your body. For now, we want to become more and more aware of stress in our bodies because we can manage that stress much better when we know where we hold it. 

Find one place that holds stress, take a nice deep breath as though you could breathe right into that stress and when you exhale, let some of the stress go out with your breath. 

Again… one more deep breath and see if you can just let a little more of the stress go as you exhale.

Tune into that part of your body again and see if you feel just a little more relaxed. Lots of times people realize it helps right from the beginning, but it is a skill that we can improve over time.

Ring your bell or cymbal to denote the beginning and ending of this 1 minute reflection time.

Today, notice if there are times you feel stressed. Try taking a deep breath to see if you can relax.

On Wednesday of this week, you’ll begin your first paired sharing day. Decide how you will have students pair up.

Thursday will be your first small group session. Plan for how students can join their group quickly.

On Friday this week, show any one of the suggested YouTube videos posted from Week 1 Day 5. Otherwise, figure out a fun activity that lasts five minutes that has a goal of having a great time and laughing together.