Anxiety and Worry

Last week, the 4th-8th grade students read Wilma Jean the Worry Machine by Julia Cook. 

After we read the book, the students wrote down their worries on sticky notes (one worry per note). Like the book, the students then divided their worries into "Worries I Can Control" and "Worries I Can't Control."

Most of the students said that they cannot control their worries. We discussed each worry as a class and discovered ways to control our worries (i.e. study for test so that you do well). 

You can purchase this lesson plan here.

In class this week, we filled out the worksheets from this lesson.

Then, students then described where on their body they feel worried and anxious. The somatizations included stomach aches, headaches, clammy hands, feeling like their brain is going crazy, tense shoulders, and much more!

Then, we talked about  healthy ways to cope with our worries and anxiety. The students drew their 'happy' place, listed three people they can talk to about their worries, reviewed 'Push, Pull, Dangle,' practiced square breathing, and learned the cooked/uncooked spaghetti method.

Next week, we will play the Wilma Jean the Worry Machine Game Show!

Self-Esteem

This week, the K-3 students read Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon by Patty Lovell.

I was inspired by First Grade and Fancy Free's lesson on Molly Lou Melon, so the students made a list of everything that Molly Lou Melon can do.

Next, the students brainstormed something they can do that makes them proud. They wrote an "I Can" statement, drew themselves doing their activity, and presented their artwork to the class!

This 45-minute lesson plan is available for purchase here.

Teamwork

This week, the 5th-8th grade classes read Teamwork Isn't My Thing and I Don't Like to Share by Julia Cook.

 

When we finished reading the book, I divided the classes into two groups then gave each group five cups and a rubber band with four strings. 

The challenge was to create pyramid out of the cups using only the rubber band and string. The students could not touch the cups! Some of the teams built a pyramid within two minutes while other teams took up to 10 minutes. Some of the students got frustrated and wanted to quit. Other students got frustrated but were determined to not give up. Throughout class, I switched students from team to team so that they could practice interacting with all of their classmates.  The students found that the other students couldn't read their minds and that they had to communicate effectively so that they all pulled the string at the right time and in the right direction. 

After the students tried several formations, I ended the lesson with the following questions:

How are you feeling after the challenge?

Who thinks they were good at teamwork?  
What traits make a good teammate?
What did you learn about yourself? 
About your teammates?

What did you learn about teamwork?

What are some skills needed to be good at teamwork?

How can we use what we learned in the Cup Challenge outside of this class?

The 45-minute multisensory lesson plan is available here.

Anxiety and Worry

This week, the K-3rd grade classes read Wilma Jean the Worry Machine by Julia Cook.

After discussing their worries, the students made their own Worry Hats. 

They can say their worries into the hat, put the hat on, and their worries will disappear!

The 45-minute, multi-sensory lesson plan is available here.