Lesson Plan
From Worry to Well-being: Managing Anxiety
To equip 11th-grade students with cognitive and behavioral strategies to identify triggers, challenge anxious thoughts, and implement calming techniques for managing anxiety.
Anxiety is a common experience, especially during stressful academic and transitional periods. Learning effective management techniques can significantly improve students' well-being and academic performance.
Audience
11th Grade Students
Time
60 minutes
Approach
Integrates guided exercises, group discussions, and practical tools to build a personal toolkit.
Materials
From Worry to Well-being: Managing Anxiety Slide Deck, Anxiety Trigger & Coping Worksheet Worksheet, My Anxiety Toolkit Activity, Whiteboard or Projector, Markers/Pens, and Paper for students
Prep
Preparation
15 minutes
- Review all generated materials, including the Anxiety Lesson Plan, From Worry to Well-being: Managing Anxiety Slide Deck, Anxiety Trigger & Coping Worksheet, and My Anxiety Toolkit Activity.
- Ensure whiteboard or projector is set up.
- Have markers/pens and paper ready for students.
Step 1
Warm-up: What Does Anxiety Feel Like?
5 minutes
- Begin by asking students: "When you hear the word 'anxiety,' what comes to mind? How does it feel in your body?" (2 minutes)
- Have students share words or short phrases. Write these on the board or project them. (3 minutes)
Step 2
Introduction: Normalizing Anxiety
5 minutes
- Use the From Worry to Well-being: Managing Anxiety Slide Deck (Slide 1-2).
- Introduce the topic of anxiety, emphasizing that it's a normal human emotion. (2 minutes)
- Briefly explain the lesson's objective: to understand anxiety better and learn practical ways to manage it. (3 minutes)
Step 3
Understanding Anxiety: Triggers and Thoughts
15 minutes
- Use the From Worry to Well-being: Managing Anxiety Slide Deck (Slide 3-5).
- Discuss common anxiety triggers for high school students (e.g., exams, social situations, future plans). (5 minutes)
- Introduce the concept of anxious thoughts and how they can spiral. Explain cognitive reframing – challenging unhelpful thoughts. (5 minutes)
- Distribute the Anxiety Trigger & Coping Worksheet. Guide students through the "Identifying Triggers" and "Challenging Anxious Thoughts" sections. (5 minutes)
Step 4
Coping Strategies: Building Your Toolkit
15 minutes
- Use the From Worry to Well-being: Managing Anxiety Slide Deck (Slide 6-8).
- Introduce a variety of calming techniques: deep breathing (guided practice), mindfulness, progressive muscle relaxation, grounding techniques. (8 minutes)
- Discuss behavioral strategies: exercise, healthy eating, sleep, talking to someone, setting boundaries. (7 minutes)
Step 5
Activity: My Anxiety Toolkit
15 minutes
- Introduce the My Anxiety Toolkit Activity. (2 minutes)
- Explain that students will create their own personalized toolkit of strategies. (2 minutes)
- Allow students time to work on their toolkits, encouraging them to think about what works best for them. Circulate to offer support and answer questions. (11 minutes)
Step 6
Wrap-up & Reflection
5 minutes
- Use the From Worry to Well-being: Managing Anxiety Slide Deck (Slide 9).
- Ask students to share one new strategy they learned or one they plan to try from their toolkit. (3 minutes)
- Reiterate that managing anxiety is a journey and that it's okay to seek help. (2 minutes)
use Lenny to create lessons.
No credit card needed
Slide Deck
From Worry to Well-being: Managing Anxiety
Your Guide to Understanding and Managing Stress
Let's explore how we can turn worry into well-being.
What comes to mind when you hear 'anxiety'?
How does it feel in your body?
(Write responses on board)
Welcome students. Begin by asking them about their initial thoughts on anxiety as a warm-up. This slide sets the stage and normalizes the conversation.
It's Okay to Feel Anxious
Anxiety is a natural human emotion.
It's your body's way of reacting to stress and potential danger.
Today, we'll learn to:
- Understand what triggers our anxiety.
- Challenge anxious thoughts.
- Discover practical calming and coping strategies.
Briefly introduce the lesson's purpose: to understand anxiety and learn practical management tools. Emphasize that anxiety is a normal emotion.
What Triggers Our Worries?
Anxiety can be triggered by many things, such as:
- Academic pressure (exams, grades, homework)
- Social situations (friendships, peer pressure, fitting in)
- Future uncertainty (college, career, big decisions)
- Personal challenges (family, health, self-esteem)
What are some of YOUR common triggers?
Discuss common high school triggers for anxiety. Encourage students to think about their personal triggers.
The Cycle of Anxious Thoughts
Our thoughts can make anxiety worse.
Anxious thoughts are often:
- Negative
- Exaggerated
- Focused on 'what ifs'
These thoughts can create a cycle that makes us feel even more anxious.
But we can learn to break the cycle!
Explain how anxious thoughts can become a cycle. Introduce the idea of cognitive reframing simply: changing how we think about things.
Challenging Anxious Thoughts
Don't believe everything you think!
Ask yourself:
- Is this thought 100% true?
- Is there another way to look at this situation?
- What's the evidence for and against this thought?
- Is this thought helping me or hurting me?
(We'll practice this with our worksheet!)
Introduce the concept of challenging anxious thoughts using simple questions. Explain that the worksheet will help them practice.
Calming Your Body: Deep Breathing
One of the quickest ways to calm down is through your breath.
Guided Deep Breathing:
- Breathe in slowly through your nose for 4 counts.
- Hold your breath for 4 counts.
- Exhale slowly through your mouth for 6 counts.
- Repeat 3-5 times.
Feel your belly rise and fall.
Guide students through a brief deep breathing exercise. Emphasize the physical benefits.
Other Calming Techniques
Try these strategies to recenter yourself:
- Mindfulness: Focusing on the present moment without judgment. (e.g., pay attention to what you hear, see, smell, taste, touch)
- Progressive Muscle Relaxation: Tensing and then relaxing different muscle groups.
- Grounding Techniques: Engaging your five senses to connect with your surroundings. (e.g., 5 things you can see, 4 things you can feel, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell, 1 thing you can taste)
Briefly explain mindfulness and grounding. Give a quick example of a grounding technique (e.g., 5 senses).
Behavioral Strategies: Healthy Habits
What we do matters!
- Exercise: Get moving! Even a short walk can help.
- Healthy Eating: Fuel your body with good nutrition.
- Enough Sleep: Aim for 7-9 hours of quality sleep.
- Talk About It: Share your feelings with a trusted friend, family member, or adult.
- Set Boundaries: Learn to say no and protect your time and energy.
Discuss simple, effective behavioral strategies for long-term anxiety management.
Your Personal Toolkit
You now have a toolkit of strategies to manage anxiety!
- Identifying Triggers
- Challenging Anxious Thoughts
- Calming Techniques (Breathing, Mindfulness, Grounding)
- Healthy Habits (Exercise, Sleep, Talking)
What's one strategy you're excited to try?
Conclude by inviting students to share one takeaway and reinforcing the idea that they have tools to manage anxiety.
Worksheet
Anxiety Trigger & Coping Worksheet
Part 1: Identifying Your Triggers
Think about times when you feel anxious. What situations, events, or thoughts seem to bring on your anxiety? List at least three specific triggers.
-
Trigger:
How does it make you feel? -
Trigger:
How does it make you feel? -
Trigger:
How does it make you feel?
Part 2: Challenging Anxious Thoughts
Choose one of your triggers from Part 1, or a common anxious thought you have. Write down the anxious thought, then use the questions to challenge it.
My Anxious Thought:
-
Is this thought 100% true? What evidence do I have to support it?
-
What evidence do I have that contradicts this thought, or shows another possibility?
-
If a friend had this thought, what advice would I give them?
-
What is a more balanced or helpful thought I can replace it with?
Part 3: Practice a Calming Technique
Let's try a deep breathing exercise. Follow these steps and then reflect on how you feel.
Deep Breathing Steps:
- Breathe in slowly through your nose for 4 counts.
- Hold your breath for 4 counts.
- Exhale slowly through your mouth for 6 counts.
- Repeat 3-5 times.
After practicing, how do you feel? Did you notice any changes in your body or mind?
Activity
My Anxiety Toolkit Activity
Build Your Personal Toolkit!
Now that we've explored different ways to understand and manage anxiety, it's time to build your very own personalized anxiety toolkit. This toolkit will be a collection of strategies that you can use when you start to feel worried or overwhelmed.
Instructions:
- Review the strategies we discussed today (Identifying Triggers, Challenging Anxious Thoughts, Deep Breathing, Mindfulness, Grounding, Exercise, Healthy Eating, Sleep, Talking About It, Setting Boundaries).
- Think about what resonates with you. Which strategies do you think would be most helpful for you?
- Choose at least 5-7 strategies that you want to include in your toolkit. You can also add your own ideas!
- For each strategy, briefly explain why you chose it and how you plan to use it.
- Design your toolkit. You can draw a box, a bag, a mind map, or just list them out. Be creative!
My Anxiety Toolkit
Strategy 1:
What it is:
Why I chose it:
How I'll use it:
Strategy 2:
What it is:
Why I chose it:
How I'll use it:
Strategy 3:
What it is:
Why I chose it:
How I'll use it:
Strategy 4:
What it is:
Why I chose it:
How I'll use it:
Strategy 5:
What it is:
Why I chose it:
How I'll use it:
My Own Strategy (Optional):
What it is:
Why I chose it:
How I'll use it:
Reflection
How do you feel about having a personalized toolkit to manage anxiety?