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Healing Through Grief

Lesson Plan

Healing Through Grief Plan

Students will identify common grief reactions, expand their emotional vocabulary, openly share experiences in a safe space, and create two personalized coping strategies to manage grief.

Grief affects emotional well-being and learning. By naming feelings and developing coping techniques, students gain resilience, empathy, and tools to navigate loss and support peers.

Audience

7th Grade Students

Time

30 minutes

Approach

Guided discussion, vocabulary building, personal reflection, and peer sharing.

Materials

Prep

Prepare Materials

10 minutes

Step 1

Warm-Up: Feeling Check-In

5 minutes

  • Invite students to sit in a circle and pass a small talking object
  • Ask each student to name one word from the Emotion Vocabulary Chart that describes how they feel right now
  • Encourage respectful listening without interruptions

Step 2

Discussion: Understanding Grief

10 minutes

  • Define grief and common reactions (sadness, confusion, anger)
  • Use the Emotion Vocabulary Chart to explore nuanced feelings
  • Prompt volunteers to share experiences of loss or change and how it felt
  • Reinforce that all emotions are valid and normal

Step 3

Activity: Coping Strategy Development

10 minutes

  • Distribute the Coping Strategies Worksheet
  • Explain each section: identify current feelings, list personal coping methods, choose two strategies to try
  • Allow students to reflect and write quietly in their journals
  • Circulate and offer support or examples as needed

Step 4

Cool-Down: Reflection and Commitments

5 minutes

  • Ask students to volunteer one coping strategy they feel comfortable using
  • Encourage a brief group affirmation: “We support each other.”
  • Remind students they can revisit their journals anytime and seek help from trusted adults
  • End with deep breaths together to transition back to regular class
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Slide Deck

Healing Through Grief

Exploring healthy ways to understand and cope with grief

7th Grade | 30 minutes

Welcome students and introduce the session. Emphasize this is a safe space to learn and share.

Learning Objectives

• Identify common reactions to grief
• Expand emotional vocabulary
• Share personal experiences in a supportive circle
• Create two personalized coping strategies

Read each objective aloud and confirm understanding. Connect objectives to student well-being.

Emotional Vocabulary

Use the Emotion Vocabulary Chart to explore nuanced feelings:
• Sorrow • Confusion • Anger
• Relief • Loneliness • Hope

Explain that naming our emotions helps us process them. Refer to the chart as a resource.

Understanding Grief

What is grief?
Common reactions:
• Sadness • Confusion • Anger

Discussion Prompts:

  1. Have you experienced loss or change?
  2. Which emotion from our chart matches how it felt?

Define grief and prompt students to respond to these questions. Encourage respectful listening.

Coping Strategy Development

Complete the Coping Strategies Worksheet:

  1. Identify your current feelings
  2. List personal coping methods you’ve tried
  3. Choose two strategies to practice this week

Distribute worksheets now. Explain the three worksheet sections clearly.

Reflection & Commitments

• Volunteer one coping strategy you’ll use
• Group affirmation: “We support each other.”

Take three deep breaths together to close.

Invite volunteers to share one strategy. Lead the group affirmation and breathing exercise.

You Are Not Alone

Remember: grief is natural and you don’t have to face it alone.
Reach out to trusted adults and revisit your journal anytime.

End with reassurance and encourage seeking help when needed.

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Worksheet

Emotion Vocabulary Chart

Use this chart to explore and name your feelings during our grief discussions and activities.

Emotion CategorySynonyms / Related Words
Sadnesssorrowful, heartbroken, melancholic
Angerirritated, frustrated, resentful
Confusionperplexed, uncertain, puzzled
Lonelinessisolated, abandoned, left out
Reliefcomforted, reassured, alleviated
Hopeoptimistic, encouraged, expectant

Feel free to add your own words below as you discover new ways to describe what you feel:

My Own Emotion WordDefinition / When I Felt This Way
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Worksheet

Coping Strategies Worksheet

Use this worksheet to reflect on your feelings, review methods you’ve tried, and choose two new strategies to support yourself.

1. My Current Feelings

List three feelings you’ve experienced recently and describe when you felt them.

a) Feeling: __________



When I felt this way: __________


b) Feeling: __________



When I felt this way: __________


c) Feeling: __________



When I felt this way: __________


2. Coping Methods I’ve Tried

Write two strategies you’ve used before. Indicate if they helped and add any notes.

Coping MethodHelped? (Yes/No)Notes / How it felt












3. New Strategies to Try

Choose two coping strategies from our discussion or the Emotion Vocabulary Chart. For each, explain how and when you will practice it.

a) Strategy 1: __________






How I will practice it: __________





b) Strategy 2: __________






How I will practice it: __________





Remember: You can revisit these strategies anytime in your journal and adjust them as you learn what helps you most.

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Journal

Grief Reflection Prompts

Use these prompts to explore your thoughts and feelings. Write freely and honestly in your journal.

1. Naming Your Grief

Think about a recent time you felt grief or loss. Describe what happened, the emotions you felt, and any physical sensations you noticed.






2. Exploring Emotions

Choose three words from the Emotion Vocabulary Chart that describe how you experience grief. For each word, explain why you chose it and what it means to you.











3. Letter to Your Grief

Write a letter addressed to your grief. What would you say? Acknowledge what grief has brought you and what you hope to learn from this experience.











4. Creative Expression

Use your preferred creative format (poem, drawing, metaphor) to express your experience of grief. Describe why you chose this form and how it helped you.











5. Coping Strategy Reflection

Reflect on the two coping strategies you selected in the Coping Strategies Worksheet. Write down what you tried, how it felt, and any adjustments you would like to make.






6. Support and Connection

Think of someone you could reach out to when you feel grief. Describe why this person is helpful and how you will connect with them next time you feel overwhelmed.



Reminder: This journal is your safe space. There are no right or wrong answers—only your honest reflections.

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Healing Through Grief • Lenny Learning