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Crisis Compass

Lesson Plan

Compass Coaching Outline

Guide an 8th grade student to recognize personal crisis triggers, map their emotional response, and apply coping strategies through a structured, 25-minute one-on-one coaching session.

At-risk students often lack structured support to navigate emotional crises. This lesson builds self-awareness, quick-response skills, and coping tools, reducing escalation and empowering positive decision-making.

Audience

8th Grade Student

Time

25 minutes

Approach

Interactive coaching with visual mapping and reflective journaling.

Materials

Prep

Review and Prepare Materials

10 minutes

Step 1

Build Rapport

3 minutes

  • Greet the student warmly and check in on their current feelings
  • Use prompts from the Compass Coaching Outline to set a trusting tone
  • Assure confidentiality and explain that the session is a safe space for them to share

Step 2

Set Session Objective

2 minutes

  • Explain that today’s goal is to understand their crisis triggers and learn quick strategies
  • Show the first slides of the Step-by-Step Crisis Guide to outline the flow
  • Invite questions about what they hope to gain

Step 3

Identify Crisis Elements

7 minutes

  • Hand the student the My Crisis Map Worksheet
  • Guide them to map out:
    • Recent triggering event(s)
    • Emotions they felt at each stage
    • People or places they associate with safety
  • Ask open-ended questions to deepen their self-awareness

Step 4

Explore Coping Strategies

8 minutes

  • Navigate through key slides in the Step-by-Step Crisis Guide:
    1. Pause and Pause Again
    2. Breathing Techniques
    3. Reach Out for Support
    4. Create a Safe Space
    5. Problem-Solving Steps
  • Discuss how each step applies to their mapped crisis scenario
  • Role-play or model one quick strategy (e.g., deep breathing)

Step 5

Reflect & Journal

4 minutes

  • Provide the Reflection Prompts Journal
  • Ask the student to write responses to prompts like:
    • What strategy felt most helpful and why?
    • What felt challenging in using it?
    • How will you remember to use this next time?
  • Encourage honest answers; no grading involved

Step 6

Wrap-Up & Next Steps

1 minute

  • Summarize key takeaways and reinforce the coping steps
  • Schedule a brief follow-up check-in
  • Encourage the student to keep the worksheet and journal for future reference
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Slide Deck

Crisis Compass: Step-by-Step Guide

In this guide, we’ll explore five key steps to help you respond to a crisis:

  1. Pause and Pause Again
  2. Breathing Techniques
  3. Reach Out for Support
  4. Create a Safe Space
  5. Problem-Solving Steps

Use these steps when you feel overwhelmed to help you stay calm and make positive choices.

Introduce the session objective. Emphasize this is a personal guide the student can use anytime. Encourage questions.

1. Pause and Pause Again

When you feel a crisis brewing, pause for a moment. Take a brief break from the situation. Ask yourself:

  • What’s happening right now?
  • What am I feeling?

Then pause again to give yourself space to think before reacting.

Explain the importance of creating a mental break. Model counting to three. Ask the student to share a moment they could pause.

2. Breathing Techniques

Use simple breathing exercises to calm your mind and body:
• 4-4-4 Breathing: Inhale 4 seconds, hold 4 seconds, exhale 4 seconds.
• 5-5 Breathing: Inhale 5 seconds, exhale 5 seconds.

Repeat until you feel more grounded.

Demonstrate one breathing technique with the student. Encourage them to place a hand on their belly and feel it rise and fall.

3. Reach Out for Support

Talking to someone can help you feel less alone:
• Call or text a trusted friend or family member
• Talk to a teacher, counselor, or coach
• Send a quick message asking for help

Choose one person and reach out when you need support.

Guide the student to list two people they can contact. Discuss barriers and solutions for reaching out.

4. Create a Safe Space

Find or build a space where you feel secure:
• A quiet corner at home or school
• A calming playlist or noise-canceling headphones
• Holding a comforting object (stuffed animal, stress ball)

Plan where and how you’ll access this space.

Ask the student to describe what makes a place feel safe. Help them visualize and plan creating this space.

5. Problem-Solving Steps

Use these steps to tackle the situation:

  1. Identify the problem
  2. Brainstorm solutions
  3. Choose one solution
  4. Try it and evaluate
  5. Adjust as needed

Writing these steps down can make them easier to follow.

Walk through each problem-solving step with a sample scenario. Encourage the student to apply the steps to a personal challenge.

Putting It All Together

When you sense a crisis:

  1. Pause → 2. Breathe → 3. Reach Out → 4. Safe Space → 5. Problem-Solve

Keep this flow in mind. Practice each step so it becomes natural.

Review the full sequence. Ask the student to explain it back. Encourage them to practice and rehearse the flow.

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Worksheet

My Crisis Map

Use this worksheet to map out a recent crisis, the emotions you experienced, where you find safety, and the coping steps you can use. Refer to the Step-by-Step Crisis Guide for ideas on each strategy.

1. Describe the Triggering Event

What happened? When and where did it occur?







2. Emotional Timeline

Write how you felt before, during, and after the event.

Before the crisis, I felt:





During the crisis, I felt:





After the crisis, I felt:





3. My Safety Network

List three people you can turn to when you feel overwhelmed, and two places where you feel safe.

People I can reach out to:

  1. _______________________________________

  2. _______________________________________

  3. _______________________________________

Places I feel safe:

  • _______________________________________

  • _______________________________________

4. Coping Strategies in Action

For each step below, write or sketch how you could use it during a crisis. Use the Step-by-Step Crisis Guide as a reference.

  1. Pause and Pause Again:






  1. Breathing Techniques:






  1. Reach Out for Support:






  1. Create a Safe Space:






  1. Problem-Solving Steps (Identify → Brainstorm → Choose → Try → Adjust):










5. Visual Crisis Map

Draw your full crisis map below. Include the triggering event, emotions along the way, your safety people/places, and arrows pointing to each coping strategy.



















Keep this worksheet handy and add to it whenever you need to plan for or reflect on a challenging moment.

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Journal

Reflection Prompts Journal

Use these prompts to reflect on today’s session and deepen your understanding of how you cope during a crisis. Write your thoughts honestly and in as much detail as you wish.

1. Most Helpful Step

Which of the five steps from the Step-by-Step Crisis Guide felt most helpful to you today, and why?







2. Biggest Challenge

Describe a moment in this session when you found it difficult to use a coping strategy. What made it challenging for you?







3. Emotional Shift

How did your feelings change from the beginning to the end of our session? What did you notice about your thoughts or body?









4. Future Reminders

Choose one coping strategy you plan to use again. How will you remind yourself to use it when you need it? Describe a cue, note, or plan you can set up.











5. Peer Coaching

Imagine a friend is also facing a crisis. In your own words, explain the full Crisis Compass flow (Pause → Breathe → Reach Out → Safe Space → Problem-Solve). You can write or draw simple symbols for each step.













6. Goal Setting

What is one goal you can set for yourself to practice these strategies over the next week? How will you track your progress and celebrate your effort?











Keep this journal page ready to add new reflections after future sessions or real-life practice.

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