Age & Level: Teenager/High School Age; Level B2 (Per CEFR Levels)
Length of Lessons: 90 Minutes
SWBAT:
Apply stress management methods in their own lives.
Outline what strategies a student uses to manage stress
Design a daily schedule before a test with activities that promote learning while managing exam stress
Language Skills and Strategies in Focus:
Recognize different ways students manage stress
Implementing action and support in their own lives through dialogues found in student communities
Examine how different student manage stress in different scenarios/environments/cultures
Academic Learning Strategies:
Work on pronunciation with near homophones
Identify stress/anxiety and stressors in scenarios
Reflect on a stressful/anxiety- inducing moment in their lives to employ new vocabulary
*Predictable Misunderstandings
Many cultures may have varying attitudes towards stress, allow students to talk from their experiences with these and do not make assumptions about what is "good/bad"–it depends on the individual!
The difference between stress and anxiety is a fine line and it may be hard to differentiate them at first.
During the review discussion a mini-demonstration before the whole class activity is helpful for students to understand the layout, as well as the visuals attached in the slide deck.
Add materials, plus link to teacher toolkit (or button)
(10 mins, Google Slides)
(20 mins, using Google Slides)Build background knowledge of stress and anxiety while highlighting their differences:
Stress has a specific cause, while anxiety may not have a specific cause
Stress goes away after the cause is over
Explain that STRESSORS are what cause stress/anxiety
(10 mins, Google Slides)
Have students begin the discussion in pairs (by seating arrangement, counting off, or free choice). Ask them the following questions:
What is the difference between stress and anxiety?
What are some stressors in your life?
Return to the full class and ask students to share about question #1 as a check for understanding.
What are common Stressors for Students? (20 mins, Google Slides)
Present the "Common Stressors for Students" slide and highlight any that were shared in the class discussion.
Go through the slides and define stressors for students. Encourage students to share other stressors and add them to the whiteboard.
Move the conversation towards external factors that can cause stress and anxiety at school like clubs or sports.
How can something that is fun still cause stress?
Continue to add stressors to the board that students share with the class.
Pronunciation Practice
(20 mins, Google Slides)
Have students find a NEW partner (not the same one from the first partner share out). One partner will be the SPEAKER and the other will be LISTENER.
The SPEAKER sits FACING the screen. They will see a word pair and say both words.
The LISTENER sits facing AWAY from the screen. They will listen to the speaker and decide which word is related to student stress and anxiety.
After guessing, the listener makes a short sentence using the correct word from the word pair.
This sequence will occur four times before students SWITCH ROLES. Once both students have had a turn as the speaker and the listener you may conclude the activity.
CCQ's:
Who will you work with?
A partner.
Which way does the listener face?
Away from the screen.
What will the listener guess?How will the speaker know which is the correct word?
Which word is related to stress and anxiety, this word will be bolded and underlined.
What will they do after they guess?
Say a sentence with the related word.
When will you switch roles?
After you are done with round 1.
Reflection:
As a class discuss the following questions:
-What was difficult/easy about the activity?
-Was it easier to be the speaker or the listener?
Inner-Outer Circle Discussion (30 mins, Google Slides)
*A mini-demonstration before the whole class activity is helpful for students to understand the layout, as well as the visuals attached in the slide deck.
Begin by assigning half the class to be group 1 and the other half to be group 2.
Tell the students that these groups will be forming two circles.
Group 1 on the OUTSIDE
Group 2 on the INSIDE
Each round, a scenario about a student will be placed on the board. With their partner (the student they are facing in the other circle) they will discuss:
Is the student experiencing stress or anxiety?
What are the stressors in their life?
*Find scenarios here.
Each round will last 3 minutes, with five rounds total.
Before moving to the next round, encourage 2-3 students to share out what they or their partner said.
After each round, have group 1 (Outer circle) move one person to the right to ensure students talk with multiple peers.
CCQ's:
Which circle will move?
Group 1/The outside circle will move to the right.
What are you identifying?
Stress or anxiety, what are the stressors.
How long is each round?
Three minutes.
Self-Reflection Writing Activity (20 mins, Google Slides)
On a piece of paper, have the students write about a time that they felt stress or anxiety. Have them answer these questions:
Was it stress or anxiety? How do you know?
What are the stressors?
Challenge Question: What did you do to reduce your stress/anxiety?