Sample Stress Management Classroom Activities

August 20, 2009 | By Belinda Bison In stres management activities |

Attending school is more than just teaching students facts about science, history, and math. Instead, it is about giving them tools with which to see the world, understand it, and cope with it. Thus, it makes sense to include stress management training between reading and music lessons so that students are all the more equipped to deal with what the world throws their way. Including discussion of the causes of stress and including stress management classroom activities into lesson planning will give students valuable lessons that could help them not only in the classroom but also outside of it.

Breathing Exercises

One of the best ways to include stress management classroom activities in the classroom is to have students perform relaxation techniques to show them the benefits of the actions. This way, the students learn through doing and can physically experience what some of these activities are like. Thus, when thinking up stress management classroom activities, you should think about everything from having the space for such activities to sound issues.

For example, one of the best stress management classroom activities you can do is to organize the group in a circle and have them scream at the same time. This shows the students the benefits of finding an outlet for their stress. If you do this kind of activity, take the time to go outside so that you don’t disturb other classes or teachers.

Yoga and breathing exercises are great stress management classroom activities. If you show the students how to relax, they will understand what they may need to do when they are feeling overwhelmed or like the world is against them. Thus, lead your students through such stress management classroom activities as yoga poses meant to relax a person’s muscles and show them how to steady their breathing so they can cope with intense emotions.

Talk About Stress

Since a lot of stress occurs when folks are around other people, it helps to divide your classroom into small groups so they can talk about stress. For example, one of the most effective stress management classroom activities is to divide the classroom up and have each group come up with a list of stressors (i.e. things that commonly cause stress) and ways that a person could deal with the stress both in the moment and later on. This gets students talking about their lives, their personalities, and what stresses them out, and it can prove to not only teach them about stress in general but how they themselves deal with intense emotions. Follow this activity by explaining the benefits of talking to other people when stressed and how it helps to analyze one’s coping mechanisms to figure out the best ways to personally deal with the phenomenon.

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