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What’s Your Stress Strategy?

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Lesson Plan

Stress Strategy Session

Students will learn and practice multiple stress-management techniques, build a personalized calm toolkit, and reflect on strategies to manage stress effectively.

Building self-management skills helps students recognize stress, select healthy coping techniques, and improves emotional well-being, focus, and resilience in daily life.

Audience

5th Grade Class

Time

50 minutes

Approach

Interactive stations, guided reflection, and collaborative discussion.

Materials

Prep

Prepare Classroom and Materials

10 minutes

Step 1

Warm-Up: Mood Meter Check-In

5 minutes

  • Display the Mood Meter Check-In and explain the zones of emotion
  • Ask students to place themselves in a zone representing their current stress level
  • Invite a few volunteers to share why they chose that zone to build awareness and normalize feelings

Step 2

Mini-Lesson: Introduce Stress Strategies

10 minutes

  • Use the Calm Toolkit Slides to define stress and discuss why it happens
  • Highlight five simple coping strategies (deep breathing, positive self-talk, stretching, mindful listening, guided imagery)
  • Model each technique briefly and invite students to practice along

Step 3

Activity: Stress-Buster Stations

20 minutes

  • Explain station rotation: students spend ~4 minutes at each of four Stress-Buster Stations
  • Stations include deep breathing corner, doodle & color area, stretch station, and quiet reflection nook with calming music
  • Rotate until all students have visited every station
  • Circulate to guide students and reinforce focus on each calming technique

Step 4

Reflection: Calm Thoughts Journal

10 minutes

  • Distribute the Calm Thoughts Journal
  • Prompt students to write which strategy they liked most, how it made them feel, and when they might use it outside school
  • Encourage honest reflection and creative expression

Step 5

Wrap-Up: Class Debrief & Share

5 minutes

  • Invite volunteers to share insights or favorite strategies from their journal
  • Create a shared "Stress Strategy Commitment" on chart paper: each student names one strategy they will try today
  • Praise participation and remind students they can revisit these tools anytime
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Slide Deck

What’s Your Stress Strategy?

Exploring Coping Techniques for Managing Stress

Welcome students and introduce the lesson. Explain that today we will explore what stress is and learn strategies to manage it in healthy ways.

Learning Objectives

  • Define stress and recognize its signs
  • Discover healthy coping strategies
  • Practice calming techniques together
  • Reflect and build your personal stress toolkit

Review the objectives so students know what to expect. Emphasize that they will define stress, try strategies, and reflect.

What Is Stress?

  • A natural response to challenges or demands
  • Can cause physical signals (racing heart) and emotional signals (worry)
  • Everyone experiences stress in different ways

Explain that stress is a natural response to challenges. Ask students to share a time they felt stressed and what it felt like.

Why Does Stress Matter?

  • Affects your focus, energy, and mood
  • Too much stress can make you feel tired or upset
  • Learning to cope helps you feel calm and ready to learn

Discuss why stress matters. Highlight effects on learning, focus, mood, and health, then reassure that coping skills can help.

Coping Strategy #1: Deep Breathing

  • Sit or stand comfortably
  • Breathe in slowly through your nose, filling your belly
  • Exhale slowly through your mouth
  • Repeat 5 times

Introduce deep breathing. Model belly breaths and invite students to follow along.

Coping Strategy #2: Positive Self-Talk

  • Notice negative thoughts
  • Replace them with positive statements (e.g., “I can do this”)
  • Repeat encouraging phrases to yourself

Explain positive self-talk. Provide examples of encouraging phrases and encourage students to think of their own.

Coping Strategy #3: Stretching

  • Stand up and stretch your arms overhead
  • Roll your shoulders slowly
  • Gently bend to each side
  • Hold each stretch for 5 seconds

Show simple stretches. Demonstrate each move and remind students to move gently without pain.

Coping Strategy #4: Mindful Listening

  • Close your eyes and listen quietly
  • Notice three distinct sounds you can hear
  • Focus on each sound without judgment

Guide students in a brief mindful listening exercise. Ask them to close their eyes and focus on sounds.

Coping Strategy #5: Guided Imagery

  • Close your eyes and imagine a peaceful scene (beach, forest, etc.)
  • Picture the sights, sounds, and smells
  • Stay there for a minute while breathing slowly

Lead a short guided imagery session. Describe a calm scene and encourage students to picture details.

Stress-Buster Stations

We will rotate through four stations:

  1. Deep Breathing Corner
  2. Doodle & Color Area
  3. Stretch Station
  4. Quiet Reflection Nook
    Spend about 4 minutes at each station

Explain the Stress-Buster Stations activity. Describe each station and how students will rotate.

Reflection Time

Grab your Calm Thoughts Journal.
Write:
• Your favorite strategy
• How it made you feel
• When you will use it

Distribute the Calm Thoughts Journal. Prompt students to reflect on their experience and record their thoughts.

Your Stress Strategy Commitment

Choose one strategy you’ll try today.
Share your commitment with a partner or the class!

Invite students to choose one strategy they commit to trying today. Encourage them to share their commitment aloud.

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Warm Up

Mood Meter Check-In

Place your name in the quadrant or stand in the area that matches how you’re feeling right now. You can write your name on the chart paper or use a sticky note.

Yellow Zone (Excited, Energetic)Red Zone (Stressed, Overwhelmed)
Name: ________


Name: ________


Green Zone (Calm, Happy)Blue Zone (Sad, Tired)
Name: ________


Name: ________


Quick Share

• What one word best describes how you feel in your zone?

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Activity

Stress-Buster Stations Guide

Students will rotate through four calming stations, spending about 4 minutes at each. Use a timer or chime to signal rotations. Circulate to encourage focus and model techniques.

Station 1: Deep Breathing Corner

Materials: Soft floor cushions or pillows, “Belly Breathing” prompt cards, small mirror (optional)
Activity: Sit comfortably, place one hand on your belly and one on your chest. Inhale slowly through the nose, watching the hand on your belly rise. Exhale through the mouth. Repeat 5 times, using prompt cards as reminders.

Station 2: Doodle & Color Area

Materials: Coloring sheets (nature scenes, mandalas), crayons, colored pencils, markers
Activity: Choose a design and color quietly. Focus on the motion of coloring and how the colors make you feel. Let your mind rest on the shapes and patterns without worrying about the outcome.

Station 3: Stretch Station

Materials: Yoga mats or open floor space, printed stretch instruction cards
Activity: Follow the stretch cards: overhead arm stretch, shoulder rolls, side bends, neck rolls. Hold each stretch for 5 seconds, breathing deeply. Move gently—listen to your body and stop if you feel discomfort.

Station 4: Quiet Reflection Nook

Materials: Noise-cancelling headphones or soft headphones, pre-loaded calming music or nature sounds (1–2 tracks), comfortable seating or pillows
Activity: Put on headphones, close your eyes or soften your gaze. Listen to the music or sounds and notice what feelings or images come to mind. Breathe slowly and allow your mind to rest.

Teacher Tips:

  • Set a visible timer for each rotation.
  • Remind students to move quietly between stations.
  • Encourage them to notice which station felt most calming and why.
  • After rotations, use the Calm Thoughts Journal to capture their reflections.
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Journal

Calm Thoughts Journal

Take a few minutes to reflect on today’s activities. Use the space below each prompt to write or draw your thoughts.

1. Which calming strategy was your favorite today, and why? How did it make you feel?












2. When and where might you use this strategy outside of school?







3. Draw a picture of you using this calming strategy:














4. List three words that describe how you feel now:

  1. ________

  2. ________

  3. ________

5. Create your own positive coping statement to say to yourself when you feel stressed:




Remember, you can revisit these pages anytime you need a calm moment. Feel free to add more drawings or notes on the back!

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What’s Your Stress Strategy? • Lenny Learning