Deeper Dive into Classroom Activities: Resources
Thank you for participating in Strong4Life’s Deeper Dive into Classroom Activities Training. You can download the presentations for both the elementary school and middle/high school versions of the training to keep for your records.
Remember, resilient students are able to identify, express and cope with their feelings in healthy ways. One way you can build resilience is by incorporating opportunities for students to practice identifying and expressing feelings throughout the school day. Below is a guideline of resources and activities for you to help students identify and express their feelings.
In this article:
Outlets for emotional expression
Remind students that there are a variety of options for identifying and expressing their feelings—both in and out of school—including:
- Creating art
- Journaling
- Music
- Dancing
- Sharing their feelings with someone they trust
There are many more healthy ways to express feelings. Encourage students to think about how they best express their feelings.
Emotional expression resources for students
Use these resources to help students identify and express their feelings at school, at home and in the classroom.
In the classroom (Use these resources once per week to multiple times per week)
- Use feeling posters for feeling check-ins and to teach feelings words. Use the identifying feelings tip sheets on the back of these feelings printables for ideas and support.
- Use the feelings prompts tip sheets (elementary school, middle and high school) to help students identify and express feelings (e.g., using books, morning meeting check- in, music, journaling or expressive exercises).
- Use the communication tips on this handout to interact with students and help them express their feelings and needs.
School-wide opportunities
- Distribute on-the-go feelings cards, which you’ll receive in the mail, to help students identify their feelings throughout the day.
- Use the morning announcements tip sheets (elementary school, middle and high school) for ideas on how to talk about feelings and coping skills.
- Share ready-to-use healthy habits newsletter tips with families for practicing healthy habits at home. We update these tips quarterly, so be sure to check back for new content.
At home
- Share the navigating school breaks tip sheets within the first 2 weeks of November.
- Share these articles—Helping Kids Identify and Express Their Feelings and 5 Tips to Communicate Effectively With Kids and Teens—with caregivers to help them to reinforce these concepts at home.
- Share these resilience tip sheets with caregivers for tips to build resilience at every age.
- Share the parent resources webpage with caregivers for more resources to build resilience at home.
- Share the behavioral and mental health services tip sheet with caregivers for an overview of different types of clinicians, types of therapy and interventions, questions to ask as you search, and things to know about therapy.
- Share the Strong4Life Healthy Habits handout with caregivers to promote healthy habits at home.
Educator and school staff well-being resources
Educators face all kinds of challenges throughout the day, making it difficult to prioritize self-care. That’s why it’s critical to be intentional and carve out “me” time each day, if only for a few minutes. Check out these well-being resources for self-care ideas and strategies.
- Use these handouts for ideas to be intentional about self-care before, during and after the school day.
- Use the mindful minutes BINGO card and playing guide for ideas to practice mindfulness throughout the day.
- Use these quick tips to feel physically energized for a morning jump-start or to get over a mid-day slump.
