Session Description
Mindfulness can help students become aware of their thoughts and feelings. It helps them recognize triggers that can impact their actions. In this webinar, get tips, tools, and ideas for integrating mindful brain breaks into your classroom.
defining Mindfulness
Mindfulness is the practice of noticing what we are feeling, thinking, sensing, and doing in the present moment. It is often defined as living in the moment without judgment. But many of us don’t always function that way.
When a thought pops into our heads, it can be colored by what has happened in the past or what we think might happen in the future. Even if the thought isn’t accurate, we may react to it as if it were.
research and benefits
The practice of mindfulness can help us stay focused on the present. In addition to calming us down, mindfulness can teach us to view our thoughts in a more neutral manner.
The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) is a trusted source for knowledge about high-quality, evidence-based social and emotional learning (SEL).
One way to understand the relationship between mindfulness and SEL is with the adage, “Mindfulness is the canvas and SEL skills are the paint.” SEL is a natural compliment to mindfulness, and vice versa. Whereas mindfulness works from the inside-out, SEL addresses students’ needs from the outside-in. Students need to know how to monitor their inner selves, but they also need to know how to apply social and emotional competencies externally.
how to get started
Start with Yourself: The best way to teach mindfulness is to be mindful.
Schedule five minutes of mindfulness into your day, ideally first thing upon waking:
Find a quiet space to sit comfortably with an erect spine and relaxed body.
Focus on your breathing, putting your awareness in your chest and lungs.
Scan your body from head to toe, relaxing each part as you become aware of it.
When your thoughts bring you away, simply bring your awareness back to your breath; remember that the aim is not to stop or suppress thoughts, but rather to practice bringing awareness back once it has gone away.
2. Set tasks for yourself during the day. For example:
Take three deep breaths at the beginning of each class, before a meal, or to calm yourself when you notice that you are tense, stressed, frustrated or angry.
Feel the sensation of your feet on the ground as you walk to lunch.
Make eye contact and be still while listening fully to another person.
3. Maintain a calm, steady presence.
Use transition time between classes as a reminder to do one or more of the following:
Take three deep breaths, observing how each one feels in your body.
Sense the physical state of your body, scanning it for tension.
Try to notice your emotional state (ask: “how do I feel right now?”).
When a classroom is in chaos:
Be aware of your breathing. If you notice that it is elevated or uneven, observe several breaths or wait for it to slow down before addressing the class.
Speak firmly if necessary, but without anger.
classroom activities
Breathing
Take Five or Five Finger Breathing
Five Finger Breathing brings several of the senses together at the same time. You watch and feel your fingers, while you’re also paying attention to your breath. This requires multisensory and it multi locational awareness – you’re feeling two of your fingers, one on each hand, as well as your breath.
Belly Breathing
Belly Breathing is a great activity for students to practice remaining calm during stressful situations. Centervention has a complete lesson plan you can use on belly breathing.
25 Breathing Exercises to Calm and Focus Your Students
This site contains 25 Breathing Exercises to Calm and Focus Your Students.
More Breathing Techniques
You can find more breathing techniques on our Cultivating Calm Lunch and Learn page.
Calming Corner
As mentioned in this blog, calming corners can help reduce students’ stress and provide calming visual, auditory, and tactile experiences for students to de-stress. A calming corner is a place that can help your students prepare to learn and focus throughout the day. The calming corner can be a physical corner in your classroom or a virtual space.
In addition to the physical space in your classroom, you can also think about creating a digital space. A virtual calm room like this one, shared by Cindy Lewis (@CLewis4ed), is a safe, online space for students to decompress. Try clicking on an object in the room and see what happens. If you are using Google Classroom, have this room listed as an always-available resource.
Below are more resources:
And attached to this post is the Powerpoint Virtual Calm Space from Megan Venezia @venezia_megan!
Brain Breaks
Brain breaks are activities, or short breaks, that promote learning and focus for students. These types of breaks involve students participating in activities like mindful breathing, mindful movements, and mindful yoga. Check out these resources you can use to get your students (and yourself!) up and moving.
Mindful Journaling
Mindful Journaling is a fun and unique way for students to experience the practice of mindfulness in a way that is directly connected to their academic development. This practice will encourage students to be reflective about their lives and actions, and will also enhance their ability to express themselves in writing.
TIP: Generate Interest FOR Older students
Some students, especially those in middle and high school, may feel resistant to experimenting with mindfulness practices, either because they feel it is pointless or too unusual. One option is to play this 10-second YouTube clip of NBA player Lebron James ‘meditating,’ and pose the question: Why do you think he’s doing that?
More Activities
curriculum
ELA: A research paper about a popular figure’s relationship with mindfulness (for example, LeBron James, Oprah Winfrey, etc.)
Science: A lab about how stress affects the human body and how mindfulness may mitigate the effect
Health: A discussion about coping with stress and how mindfulness may impact those efforts
Music: Activities with mindful listening
Art: A mindful creation activity where students draw or paint while listening to a music recording
Physical Education: Mindful movements activity such as yoga or mindful walking
Online courses
If you would like to explore more, be sure to check out TCEA’s online, self-paced courses:
additional resources
