Outsmarting Worry Because 99% of things you worry about don't even happen!

Title of Project: Outsmarting Worry

Schools and Teachers

Shoreham-Wading River High School Teacher: Susana Vique-Kearney

ENL Proficiency Level | ENL Program | Standards | Technology

Appropriate for all English Proficiency Levels | Stand-Alone | 1A.4a, 1B.4b, 1C.4a | Google Classroom, Chromebooks, Kami

Assessments

Student comprehension of the lesson is observed via student participation, worksheet completion, and teacher observation of whole class verbal interactions.

Description

Worry is a normal feeling. Kids may feel worried about many things - like going to a new school, or a relative that is sick. This is especially true of our ELLs who must live with the daily stressors of living as undocumented individuals, dealing with poverty, navigating our schools, and missing their home countries. Many students, though, might not know how to tell whether or not their worry is normal. Taking time to explain to students what worry is and when it is normal can help students learn to handle their worry in a positive way. By teaching students about what worry and anxiety are, we can empower them to get support when they need it.

Content

I can:

Recognize what worry might feel or look like.
Decide which actions might be more or less effective in dealing with worry.
Analyze the validity or futility in my worrying.

Language

I can:

Write a list of things I often worry about.
Verbally share my worries with my peers and teachers.
Read a chapter and answer questions about the text.

Technology

I can:

Utilize my Chromebook to access Google Classroom.
Access a worksheet from Google Drive and utilize Kami to complete the worksheet.

Procedure

Mode: Live instruction with materials accessed via Google Classroom page on Chromebooks.

Warm up: View a Flocabulary rap titled ‘Managing Worry’. Complete a Worry-Scale Worksheet.

Lesson:

Students translate the word ‘worry’ into their own languages and define the word in English.
Teacher posts a slide which reads, “99% of the things you worry about don’t even happen” and students are instructed to turn/talk about the quote and verbally share their thoughts.
As a group, review vocabulary pertinent to the topic via a Quizlet.
Read the Newsela article "Mental stress hitting more and more students" and utilize Padlet to explain the central idea of the article.

Closing: Write about 3 recent changes in their life and categorize these changes as big, small, exciting, or scary. On the following day, students will analyze the changes taking place in their lives and utilize the coping strategies learned to form a plan of action to help them minimize their level of stress.

Resources and Other Materials

Outsmarting Worry: An Older Kid’s Guide to Managing Anxiety by Dawn Huebner, PhD
Change Happens Worksheet
Worry Scale Worksheet
Flocabulary: Managing Worry
NearPod: Worry Collaborative Board
Vocabulary
"Mental stress hitting more and more students" Article (requires Newsela account)

Reflection

This lesson was a welcome break for students. As three of the ELLs in this Stand-alone ENL class are graduating this year, I could see the agitation that was building up in their demeanor. The worry that native students feel upon graduation is palpable enough, but for our undocumented students it can feel overwhelming. As this class is a close-knit group of friends, it worked really well as all participated and really opened up with one another about their fears - not only for themselves, but for their families, here and back home. As there is a student in the class who is at a first grade reading and writing level in both her home language and English, the collaborative board allowed her to draw her feelings and worries. It was also very important to teach them the vocabulary pertinent to the subject.

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