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From Pressure to Performance

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Kimest Sanders

Tier 1
For Schools

Lesson Plan

Stress to Performance Plan

Students will identify personal stressors and match them with at least two context-appropriate coping strategies by exploring the Yerkes-Dodson Curve and creating a personalized coping menu.

Managing stress helps students achieve optimal performance, build resilience, and develop lifelong coping skills for both academic and personal challenges.

Audience

7th Grade

Time

45 minutes

Approach

Interactive mini-lesson, guided matching, and reflective creation.

Materials

Yerkes-Dodson Curve Slides, Coping Strategy Carousel, Match-the-Strategy Chart, and My Go-To Coping Menu

Prep

Prepare Materials

10 minutes

  • Review Yerkes-Dodson Curve Slides
  • Print enough copies of Match-the-Strategy Chart and My Go-To Coping Menu for each student
  • Set up 4–5 stations around the room for the Coping Strategy Carousel
  • Prepare a large poster or board for the bell ringer stress-rating scale

Step 1

Bell Ringer: Stress Check

5 minutes

  • Display a scale from 1 (low stress) to 10 (high stress) on the board
  • Ask students to silently rate their current stress level and place a sticky note or mark on the scale
  • Briefly discuss where most students fall to normalize feelings and set context

Step 2

Mini-Lesson: Optimal Stress

10 minutes

  • Present Yerkes-Dodson Curve Slides explaining how moderate stress can boost performance
  • Introduce “circles of control” to distinguish between stressors we can and can’t change
  • Check for understanding with quick questions (e.g., “Is test anxiety always bad?”)

Step 3

Guided Matching Activity

10 minutes

  • Distribute Match-the-Strategy Chart
  • In pairs, students list two personal stressors in one column and brainstorm 3–4 coping strategies in the adjacent column
  • Circulate to prompt context-appropriate strategies (e.g., quick breathing vs. long-term planning)

Step 4

Create Personalized Menu

15 minutes

  • Hand out My Go-To Coping Menu
  • Students choose at least two coping strategies for each of these settings: classroom, home, social situations
  • Encourage variety (physical, creative, social, mindfulness)
  • Remind students to note help-seeking pathways (teacher, counselor, parent)

Step 5

Share & Commit

5 minutes

  • Invite volunteers to share one new strategy they’ll try before the next class
  • Post a classroom chart of strategies for future reference
  • Collect menus or have students keep them in their journals for ongoing use
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Slide Deck

From Pressure to Performance

• Explore how stress levels impact our performance
• Learn the Yerkes-Dodson Curve
• Discover Circles of Control
• Reflect on your own stressors and strategies

Welcome students and introduce the lesson: how stress affects performance and what we can control.

The Yerkes-Dodson Curve

Performance vs. Stress (Arousal):
• Low stress → low alertness & low performance
• Moderate stress → optimal alertness & high performance
• High stress → overload & performance drops

Explain the concept of the Yerkes-Dodson Curve, using simple terms and real-world examples like sports or tests.

Visualizing the Curve

[Insert graph of an inverted U-shape]
• Left side = under-aroused
• Peak = optimal arousal
• Right side = over-aroused

Show a clear graphic of the curve. Point out the “sweet spot” in the middle where performance peaks.

Circles of Control

• Inner Circle: What YOU can control (effort, thoughts)
• Middle Circle: What you can influence (friends, team projects)
• Outer Circle: What you can’t control (weather, others’ actions)

Introduce the Circles of Control model. Emphasize focusing energy on what we can change.

Apply to Your Stressors

  1. Identify one current stressor
  2. Place it in Inner, Middle, or Outer circle
  3. Ask: “How can I move this toward my circle of control?”

Have students apply the model: pick a personal stressor and decide which circle it belongs to.

Quick Check

  1. Why is moderate stress helpful?
  2. Give an example of a stressor in your middle circle.
  3. How might you shift an outer-circle worry inward?

Check understanding with quick questions and invite brief answers.

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Activity

Coping Strategy Carousel Stations

Time: Rotate in small groups every 3 minutes
Materials: Station cards, props as listed below, timer or chime for rotations

Station 1: Physical Breaks

Prompt: Imagine you have a big quiz in 5 minutes and your heart is racing.
Materials:

  • Stress balls or fidget toys
  • “Quick Movement” cards with jump-jacks, wall-push-ups, or stretches
    Instructions:
  1. Pick a Quick Movement card.
  2. Practice for 30 seconds.
  3. Jot down how your body feels afterward.


Station 2: Creative Outlets

Prompt: You’ve been staring at homework for an hour and feel stuck.
Materials:

  • Blank paper & colored pencils
  • Doodle prompt cards (draw your stress as a shape, sketch your calm place)
    Instructions:
  1. Choose a doodle prompt.
  2. Create for 2 minutes.
  3. Write one sentence about how drawing changed your mood.


Station 3: Mindful Moments

Prompt: Your game starts soon but you’re feeling jittery.
Materials:

  • Printed breathing guides (4-7-8, box breathing)
  • A timer or stopwatch
    Instructions:
  1. Follow the breathing guide for 1 minute.
  2. Close your eyes and visualize success for 1 minute.
  3. Note one thought that helped calm you.


Station 4: Social Connections

Prompt: You just had a disagreement with a friend at lunch.
Materials:

  • Role-play scenario cards
  • “I-statements” cheat sheet
    Instructions:
  1. In pairs, choose a scenario.
  2. Practice using an I-statement to express your feelings.
  3. Switch roles and repeat.


Station 5: Plan & Seek Support

Prompt: You have a big group project coming up next week.
Materials:

  • Project planning checklist
  • Teacher/counselor contact info cards
    Instructions:
  1. Outline 2–3 simple next steps on the checklist.
  2. Identify one person you can ask for help and write their name.
  3. Decide when you will reach out.

After completing all stations, return to your seat and discuss with your partner:
• Which station gave you a new coping idea?
• When might you use it next?

Then move on to the “Guided Matching Activity” with your new strategies!

Match-the-Strategy Chart | My Go-To Coping Menu

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Worksheet

Match-the-Strategy Chart

Name: ________________________ Date: ________________

Instructions: In pairs, identify two personal stressors. For each stressor:

  1. Determine which circle of control it belongs to (Inner, Middle, or Outer).
  2. Brainstorm at least 3–4 coping strategies, and note one context where you might use each (e.g., in class, at home, with friends).
StressorCircle of ControlCoping Strategies (with Context)
1. ________________________________________


___________________________


1. ________________________ (Context: __________)
2. ________________________ (Context: __________)
3. ________________________ (Context: __________)
4. ________________________ (Context: __________)
2. ________________________________________


___________________________


1. ________________________ (Context: __________)
2. ________________________ (Context: __________)
3. ________________________ (Context: __________)
4. ________________________ (Context: __________)

Reflect:

Which coping strategy from above seems most practical to try first?
______________________________________________





Use your ideas next in My Go-To Coping Menu to build a personalized plan for different settings.

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Journal

My Go-To Coping Menu

Use the strategies you brainstormed in Match-the-Strategy Chart to build your personalized menu. Fill in at least two go-to strategies for each setting.

Classroom Strategies

  1. Strategy #1: ________________________________________



    • When I’ll use it: _______________________________


  2. Strategy #2: ________________________________________



    • When I’ll use it: _______________________________


Home Strategies

  1. Strategy #1: ________________________________________



    • When I’ll use it: _______________________________


  2. Strategy #2: ________________________________________



    • When I’ll use it: _______________________________


Social Situations Strategies

  1. Strategy #1: ________________________________________



    • When I’ll use it: _______________________________


  2. Strategy #2: ________________________________________



    • When I’ll use it: _______________________________


Help-Seeking Pathways

Who can support me if my coping strategies aren’t enough? Write a name and when you’ll reach out.

  • Teacher/Counselor: _______________________________





  • Parent/Guardian: _______________________________





  • Friend/Peer: ___________________________________





Reflection Prompts

  1. Which strategy above do you think will be most effective for you? Why?





  2. What challenges might you face when trying these strategies, and how could you overcome them?





  3. How will you remind yourself to use these strategies before your stress gets too high?





  4. Thinking about the Yerkes-Dodson Curve Slides, where do you usually fall on the curve? How might these strategies help you stay in the “sweet spot” of optimal performance?





Keep this menu in your journal or binder. Next time you feel pressure building, revisit your strategies and commit to trying at least one before stress climbs too high.

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