Primary student well-being

Use this lesson in face-to-face, online or hybrid teaching to discuss student well-being with your primary learners.

Author

Jo Blackmore

Introduction

This lesson focuses on well-being for primary children. Many children will have experienced feelings of worry, confusion, anger or sadness. This lesson gives learners an opportunity to express these emotions and explore ways of caring for their own well-being. They will think about what contributes to well-being and find practical ways to put this into practice by creating a 'happy box'. They will also explore ideas to help them complete a 'well-being journal' for homework.

Aims

Reflect upon feelings in different situations
Identify practical solutions for looking after well-being
Practise critical-thinking skills
Use pair work and collaboration skills

Age/ Level

Aged 9–12 years (CEFR level A2+)

Time

110-120 minutes - This can be done over 2 lessons.

Materials

Face-to-face lesson plan
Online lesson plan
Presentation - This can replace the worksheets.
Worksheet 1 - The Happy box
Worksheet 2 - Ways to well-being
Worksheet 3 - Journal template

In addition:

The teacher will need a box (e.g. a shoe box) with 8–10 everyday items to make the 'happy box'.
The learners will need writing implements such as a pen and notebook,or a mini whiteboard and pen.

Face-to-face lesson one (50 minutes)

Before the lesson

Download and make copies of the worksheets you need for the lesson.
Cut up the emotions cards (if using). Note: These could be used in follow up lessons to review vocabulary and check learner’s feelings.
Prepare a ‘happy box’. This CBBC video gives instructions on how to do so:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ulpKdmkr6E

Note: Other online sources suggest including items which appeal to the five senses. Here are some examples of items you could include:
-    touch – a soft toy; a squishy ball
-    smell – a soap; a scented candle
-    hearing – a playlist of songs that make you happy; a wind chime
-    taste – some dried fruits; some chocolate
-    sight – a photo of a pet; a colouring page; a positive message.

Warmer (10 minutes)

Ask the learners to think of their favourite emoji and draw it on a paper, mini whiteboard or using an app on their phone. You can display slide 2 to set up this task.
After two minutes, they hold them up.
Ask learners which emoji is the most popular? How many students have drawn a happy face?

Reviewing vocabulary for feelings (10 minutes)

•    Draw emojis on the board for the emotions below or use slide 3 of the PDF.
•    Ask learners what emotion each emoji makes them think of.
•    Elicit synonyms where possible. Accept any reasonable answers

Possible answers:

happy; smiling; glad; cheerful
sad; unhappy; depressed; miserable
scared; frightened; afraid
excited; enthusiastic; eager
calm; quiet; cool; peaceful
worried; confused; unsure; anxious
angry; annoyed; cross; furious
tired; sleepy; bored; fed up

Make sure to drill any new language that comes up.

Reinforce vocabulary (10 minutes)

Ask the learners what they do when they feel these emotions, for example they smile/laugh when they’re happy, they cry when they’re sad, etc.
Practise all together, showing the different emotions on your face or with your body.
Tell the learners that you are going to show one of the feelings and they have to guess which it is.
Play a miming game, where one learner shows an emotion, and the others guess what it is.
The learner who correctly identifies the emotion first does the next emotion mime.

Tip: If your learners need more practice of this put them into groups of 4 or 5. Ask each child to do an emotion mime while the rest of the group guesses the emotion. Monitor and support the groups.

Note: The emotions cards can be used at this stage to prompt the miming students

Reacting to statements (10 minutes)

Tell the learners that we all feel a lot of emotions, and you are going to show them some statements and they are going to tell you how these statements make them feel.
Tip: Give each child a set of the emotion cards from Appendix 1 if you are using them. Or ask the learners to write or draw on a mini whiteboard or a piece of paper how the statement makes them feel. Alternatively, they could show the emotion with a facial expression.
Display slide 4, or alternatively read the statements one at a time or write them on the board.

At the weekend, I have to stay at home to help my family.
My parents are too busy to help me with my homework.
I can watch TV or go online after school
I can chat to my friends after school
I can’t see my grandparents or my cousins
I can draw or play games after school
My family has a lot of problems.
I can go to a party at the weekend

Introducing the ‘happy box’ (10 minutes)

Tell the learners that it’s normal to feel anxious, confused, sad or angry sometimes. But if these feelings don’t go away, it’s important to talk to an adult, like your parents or a teacher. You can display slide 5.
Show the learners the box that you have previously prepared. Only show the outside of the box for the moment. Tell them that it’s called a ‘happy box’ and it can help them to feel calm when they feel scared, sad or angry. Ask them to predict what’s inside the box.
Elicit the five senses by miming sight, smell, hearing, taste and touch. Write these on the board. You can display slide 6.
Open your box and take out the items one by one. Ask the learners which sense you use for each item. For example, the soft toy is something you can touch. The photo is something you can look at.

Face-to-face lesson two (60 minutes)

Making a ‘happy box’ (20 minutes)

If you are doing this plan over 2 lessons bring out your happy box and review the contents
Now tell the learners that they are going to decide what to put in their own ‘happy box’. The learners will ideally work in pairs if your context allows. However, it could also be done as a whole-class activity or an activity that learners do individually.
Put the learners in their groups and give them each worksheet 1.
Tell the learners to think of as many different things as they can to put in their ‘happy box’ and then to choose their favourite items (approximately 8–10) and write them on the worksheet in the correct place. If time allows, they can also draw the items and decorate the picture of the box.
Invite some of the students to share their ideas with the class, and suggest that if they wish, they could make the box at home.

Ways to well-being – critical thinking (15 minutes)

Note: The UK Children’s Society has explored the links between children’s everyday activities and their well-being, and developed a report, ‘Ways to well-being’. These activities fall into the following categories: Connect; Be active; Take notice; Keep learning; Be creative and play.

Explain to the learners that being happy and healthy is sometimes called ‘well-being’ and that they are going to look at some of the ways to well-being. Display slide 7 or write each of the ways to well-being on the board.
Elicit the meaning of these terms, possible activities and why it’s important to do these things. Answers will vary, but some suggestions could be:

Connect: talk with your family; see your friends; share experiences
Be active: walk; cycle; run; do sports; feel energised; have a healthy body
Notice: use your five senses to notice things around you; notice how you feel
Learn: read for fun; teach yourself something new; watch a YouTube tutorial
Be creative and play: draw; paint; play games
Help and give: help at home with chores; give someone a present.

Tell learners ‘Each of these ways can help you feel good, make you happy and positive, give you confidence, reduce stress and worry.’

Critical thinking and speaking (15 minutes)

The activities in this task are intended to give children examples of what they can do for each of the ways to well-being. They are activities which would mostly be possible in a lockdown situation. It will help the learners complete the well-being journal at home.
Either give out Worksheet 2 or display slide 8. For a low resource lesson you could write the following on the board:

Connect:
Be active:
Notice:
Learn:
Be creative and play
Help and give

Then read out the sentences and ask learners which category they belong under. Accept any reasonable answers if learners can justify their choice.
Example: Play a board game with your family. (1, 5)
a)    Do a five-minute exercise video. (2)
b)    Open the window and listen. Write down everything you can hear. (1, 3)
c)    Talk to your grandparents on the phone. (1)
d)    Do the washing-up after a family meal. (6)
e)    Plant some seeds. (1,3)
f)    Try a new recipe and cook some food for your family. (2, 4, 6)
g)    Make a quiz to do with your friends online. (1, 4, 5)
h)    Go for a walk. (2)
i)    Talk to your parents if you’re worried about something.(1)
j)    Practise your English on a website like LearnEnglish Kids.(4)
Note: Incidental activity, such as cooking and gardening can be as good for our physical and mental health as playing a sport.

If using the worksheet, put the learners in pairs. This could also be done as a whole-class activity or an activity that learners do individually.
Tell the learners that they are going to read some sentences and then match each activity to one of the ways to well-being. Sometimes the activity relates to more than one way to well-being.
Discuss the example on Worksheet 2 as a whole class. Answers can vary. Accept all reasonable suggestions.
Learners complete the worksheet and then work together to find another activity for each category.
Compare ideas in a whole-class discussion

Alternative task

The learners could write the additional activities on sticky notes, which are then used to make a class display, presented under headings of each of the six categories.

Setting homework (10 minutes)

Tell the learners that they can write a journal every day to help them take care of their well-being
Elicit a few journal ideas from the whole group. E.g. Think about today
- Who did you talk to, write to or message?
-     What did you do to be active?
-     What did you notice around you?
-     What did you learn?
-     What did you make or play?
-     What did you do to help?
-     What was the best thing about today?
-     How do you feel today?
You can display slide 9 or write their ideas on the board.
Then give out Worksheet 3, the journal, and ask learners to complete the journal for homework for one of the days next week.

Further ideas and resources

The Children’s Society Ways to Well-being - https://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/what-we-do/research/well-being/ways-well-being
Ways of Well-being: Connect https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9FAtTlOck4
Ways of Well-being: Take Notice https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ossVbMjWajc
Ways of Well-being: Learning https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIyXzJhbBsQ
Ways of Well-being: Be active https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EXe5UZ9CME
Ways of Well-being: Be creative and play https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbPqZ-HmISM

Online lesson one (60 minutes)

Before the lesson

Prepare a ‘happy box’. This CBBC video gives instructions on how to do so:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ulpKdmkr6E
Other online sources suggest including items which appeal to the five senses. Here are some examples of items you could include:
-    touch – a soft toy; a squishy ball
-    smell – a soap; a scented candle
-    hearing – a playlist of songs that make you happy, a wind chime
-   taste – some dried fruits; some chocolate
-    sight – a photo of a pet; a colouring page; a positive message.

Before you start the lesson:

Test your microphone and camera to make sure they work. And have the presentation ready

Start of the lesson - Slide 1

Welcome the learners as they arrive:
- Check that you can all hear and see each other.
- Check that they can see the first slide
If they can’t, ask them (or ideally an adult) to check their settings or troubleshoot in the way you have shown them previously. You may need to write this in the chat facility if they cannot hear you.

Tips:

Consider having a short task for the learners to do until they have all arrived. For example, you could have a poll set up (if your platform has this function) or a simple activity where they write in the chat, such as saying what they’ve done that week.
Consider muting learners’ microphones after greeting them to avoid having too much background noise when you get started. Tell them if you do this and explain why. You could also suggest that, if possible, they use a headset with a mic rather than their device’s in-built speakers and mic.

Warmer (10 mins)- Slide 2

Ask the learners to think of their favourite emoji and draw it on their paper or whiteboard. After two minutes they hold them up to the camera.
What is the most common? How many students have drawn a happy face?
Note: On some online lesson apps learners are able to annotate the screen, so this may be an good option for this activity if learners do not have good bandwidth.

Reviewing vocabulary for feelings (10 mins) - Slide 3

Ask learners what emotion each emoji makes them think of. Elicit synonyms where possible. Answers here could vary so accept any reasonable suggestions.

Possible answers:

happy; smiling; glad, cheerful
sad; unhappy; depressed; miserable
scared; frightened; afraid
excited; enthusiastic; eager
calm; quiet; cool; peaceful
worried; confused; unsure; anxious
angry; annoyed; cross; furious
tired; sleepy; bored; fed up

Reinforce vocabulary for feelings (10 mins) - Slide 3

Ask the learners what they you do when they feel these emotions, for example they smile/laugh when they’re happy, they cry when they’re sad, etc.
Practise all together, showing the different emotions on your face or with your body.
Tell the learners that you are going to show one of the feelings and they have to guess which it is.
Play a miming game where one learner shows an emotion and the others guess what it is.

Reacting to statements (15 mins) - Slide 4

Tell the learners that we all feel a lot of emotions, and you are going to show them some statements and they are going to tell you how these statements make them feel.
Display the text on slide 4 and read the first statement.
- If your platform has an annotate function, ask the learners to write on the screen the word to describe how they feel about that statement.
- Otherwise, ask them to write in the chat, or on paper or mini whiteboard to show the camera (they could also show the emotion on their face).

Introducing the ‘happy box’ (15 mins) - Slide 5 & 6

Tell the learners that it’s normal to feel anxious, confused, sad or angry sometimes. But if these feelings don’t go away, it’s important to talk to an adult, like your parents or a teacher.
Show the learners the box that you have previously prepared.
Only show the outside of the box for the moment.
Tell them that it’s called a ‘happy box’ and it can help them to feel calm when they feel scared, sad or angry. Ask them to predict what’s inside the box.
Show slide 6. Ask learners to match each sense to one of the pictures.
Note: You may need to gloss some of the terminology as learners may know listen and see, rather than hearing and sight. For example, ‘I use my sight to see’.

Answers

1. Hearing; 2. Sight; 3. Smell; 4. Touch; 5. Taste

Open your box and take out the items one by one. Ask the learners which sense you use for each item. For example, the soft toy is something you can touch. The photo is something you can look at.
Ask learners to think about what they’d put in a box for homework

Online lesson two (60 minutes)

Making a ‘happy box’ (20 minutes) - Slide 6

Briefly review what’s in your box.
Now tell the learners that they are going to decide what to put in their own ‘happy box’. The learners will ideally work in pairs in breakout rooms, if the platform you’re using has this function and your learners are comfortable and responsible when working in breakout rooms. However, it could also be done as a whole-class activity or an activity that learners do individually.

For breakout rooms

Remind learners of the ‘breakout room rules’ before you move them there, for example speaking English only, staying on task, etc. Mention that you will check on them at some point too.
Put the learners in their groups in the breakout rooms and give them the link to the ‘happy box’ worksheet.
Visit each breakout room as soon as possible to make sure the learners in each group have been able to open the link and are working together to think of different things they could put in the ‘happy box’.
Monitor the learners during the activity by regularly moving between breakout rooms. If your platform has the function, turn your camera off while you monitor, so as to disturb the learners less when you enter a room.

After 5–10 minutes, bring the pairs back to the main room, invite some of the students to share their ideas and suggest that they can make their own ‘happy box’ after the lesson. If feasible, you could ask the learners to send you a photo of their box and you could post them on a virtual ‘wall’, using a tool such as Padlet.

As a whole group

Ask learners to draw a box in their notebook, then they can write or draw the items they will put in their box.
Note: Allowing learners to draw allows for differentiation and can also be a way for you to introduce new vocabulary.
Learners can hold up their drawing to the camera or annotate it, so you can provide the vocabulary they need. Remember to drill any useful vocabulary that comes up.

Well-being – critical thinking (10 mins) - slide 7

Background: The UK Children’s Society has explored the links between children’s everyday activities and their well-being and developed a report, Ways to well-being. These activities fall into the following categories: Connect; Be active; Take notice; Keep learning; Be creative and play.
The Children’s Society also explored activities in the category ‘Give’, which could include helping at home or looking after family members and found these to be less important to children’s well-being.

Explain to the learners that being happy and healthy is sometimes called ‘well-being’ and that they are going to look at some of the ways to well-being.
Ask them what each of these six ways to well-being means to them and elicit examples. Why is it important to do these things?

Some suggestions:
1. Connect: talk with your family; see your friends; share experiences
2. Be active: walk; cycle; run; do sports; feel energised; have a healthy body
3. Notice: use your five senses to notice things around you; notice how you feel
4. Learn: read for fun; teach yourself something new; watch a YouTube tutorial
5. Be creative and play: draw; paint; play games
6. Help and give: help at home with chores; give someone a present.

Each of these ways can help you feel good, make you happy and positive, give you confidence, reduce stress and worry.

Matching 10 mins) - Slide 8

This task is intended to give children examples of things they can do to look after their well-being. It will help them complete the well-being journal at home.
Tell the learners that they are going to read some sentences and then match the activity to one of the ways to well-being. Sometimes the activity relates to more than one way to well-being.
Read and discuss as a whole class and accept all reasonable suggestions for the answers.

Pair-work discussion (10 minutes) - Slide 9

The learners will ideally work in pairs in breakout rooms. However, it could also be done as a whole-class activity or an activity that learners do individually.
Tell learners that with their partner they are going to think of more activities that they can do for each of the ways to well-being.
Put the learners in their groups in the breakout rooms. (Please see tips given for slide 6.)
Bring the pairs back to the main room and compare ideas.
Ask learners to write ideas in their notebooks. Support with the spelling and pronunciation of any new vocabulary.

Setting homework (10 mins) - slide 9

Tell the learners that they can write a journal every day to help them take care of their well-being.
Display slide 9 with the examples. You may want to add your own ideas or elicit ideas from the learners
Give the learners the link to the well-being journal worksheet and ask them to complete it for homework for one of the days next week.

End of the lesson - slide 10

Praise the learners for their participation and work and tell them you’re looking forward to seeing them again in the next lesson.
Make sure they know how to exit the platform and wait until they all leave before leaving yourself.

Further ideas and resources