CSUC LESSON PLAN TEMPLATE

Candidate Name: Lesson Date:

Riley Duff March 10, 2019

Subject: Learners’ Grade Level(s):

Health, Personal Health: Emotional Health Fifth or Sixth​ ​Grade

Planned Lesson Duration:

1 Hour

Section 1:

KEY CONCEPT/THEME:
Emotional Health

OVERVIEW:
In this lesson, the class will openly discuss emotions and the many nuances of emotions. I will
guide their conversations and bring up emotional disorders, such as anxiety and depression. We
will briefly touch on the neural chemicals that cause emotions and the chemical imbalances that
lead to emotional disorders. Puberty and changing hormones will be brought up to put these
topics into perspective for students as it is something they can all relate to. I will provide tips and
tools for students to deal with emotions. The broad objective of this lesson is to establish the
discussion of emotions as ​normal​and create a space in my classroom in which my students feel
comfortable doing so.

RATIONALE:
It is important that students understand that mental health is just as important as physical health.
They need to be able to recognize the signs of mental health disorders and know when they need
help or when they see someone who needs help. Strong mental health positively influences all
aspects of a person’s life into adulthood.

STANDARDS:
Grade Five: Growth, Development, and Sexual Health, Standard 1: Essential Concepts
Grade Six: Mental, Emotional and Social Health, Standard 1: Essential Concepts

CA ACADEMIC CONTENT STANDARDS:

1.3.G Identify the physical, social, and emotional changes that occur during puberty.
1.1.M Describe the signs, causes, and health effects of stress, loss, and depression.
1.4.M Describe the importance of being aware of one’s emotions
1.6.M Explain why getting help for mental, emotional, and social health problems is appropriate
and necessary
OBJECTIVES/LEARNING TARGETS:
- Be able to define different emotional disorders, such as anxiety and depression, and the
over/under production of the neurotransmitters that cause them.
- Identify three healthy ways to cope with stress.
- Identify “red flags” that signal that a person’s mental health is suffering and they need
help.
- Identify major eating disorders and their differences.

Section 2:

INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES:
​This lesson will be part lecture and activities in the classroom and part outdoor activities. I will
assess the students pre-existing experience and knowledge with mental health with a survey and
whole class jeopardy-style game to follow up. The lesson is very discussion based and no notes
will be taken. I will emphasize the importance of talking to friends and family about mental
health and ensure that all of my students feel that my classroom is a safe, judgment-free space.

ACADEMIC LANGUAGE (Vocabulary Terms):

-Hormones
-Puberty
-Mental health
-Stress
-Anxiety
-Depression
-Neurotransmitter
-Eating Disorders
-Communication

PROCEDURES:

Introduction/Anticipatory Set:
​The lesson will be introduced by survey that each student will take individually for the first 5-10
minutes. The introductory survey will evaluate student’s prior knowledge and experience with
mental health and emotional disorders. After all students have completed the survey, the whole
class will participate in a Jeopardy or Kahoot type of game to put their knowledge to the test.

Instructional Sequence:
-​I will introduce the subject of mental health as a very serious and important topic. I will explain
that because a person’s mental wellbeing is not always externally evident, it is important that
there is open communication with students and their friends and family.

-After the students finish taking their introductory surveys I will ask for volunteers to share any
questions or wonderings about mental health. I will also tell them that it is okay to share personal
experiences or questions as long as they feel comfortable. It will be made clear that all peers and
teachers are allies and resources and the school is a judgment-free zone.
-I will lead a class jeopardy or kahoot game that goes over important vocabulary terms.

-Next, I will ask students to share one thing that they learned from the game that they didn't
know before. There will be a short lecture about the many different types of emotional disorders.
Students will be given hypothetical scenarios and asked to identify the warning signs or “red
flags” that the person in the situation needs help. I will then lecture on the different resources that
students can go to to get help for themselves or others.

-The rest of this lesson will be all about healthy ways to cope with emotions and stress. We will
go outside for a portion of this instruction.

Activity Sequence:
​-Students take an introductory survey individually.

-As a class, we discuss questions and experience with mental health.

-As a class, the students participate in a kahoot or Jeopardy-style game.

-The instructor lectures and students ask questions or share comments.

-We head outside as a class to learn about stress and emotion management techniques.

-The instructor leads breathing exercises, relaxation visualization strategies, stretches, and a
simple weaving art project.

Closure:
​The lesson will end outside in a large circle. All students will have a turn to share their
experience with mental health and emotions and a strategy that they found most useful for
dealing with stress, anxiety, or depression

Section 3:

ASSESSMENT:
Due to the fact that this lesson is largely discussion based, I would like to have my students do
their assessments individually so I can get a more accurate feel for their level of understanding of
the topic. The assessment will be a writing assignment that each student completes individually
at home. The prompt for the writing assignment will be: “Compose a letter to a person who you
believe is suffering with a mental illness or to a parent or authority figure to alert them that you
believe a person’s mental health is at risk. Be sure to include the warning signs that you noticed
and the actions that should be taken to help the individual.”
 10 points- 8 points- 5 points-
Outstanding Good Needs Improvement

The student
composes a complete,
3 paragraph letter
with little to no
grammatical errors

The student uses

appropriate language
and vocabulary
learned in class

The student identifies

at least 3 “red flags”
and at least 3 “next
steps”

It is clear that the

student understands
different mental
illnesses and takes
mental health
seriously

Section 4:

MATERIALS:
● Computer and projector
● Grassy space outside
● Towels or yoga mats
● Yarn and scissors

REFLECTION:

1. I really enjoyed planning this lesson. I feel that the sections were broken up in a logical and
clear way. I found it to be less overwhelming than I was expecting and I had fun with it!

2. Some resources I found helpful were visiting my mom’s fourth grade classroom and
listening to a health lesson about stress that she presented. I also used the ​Teaching Today’s
Health​textbook for ideas and guidelines.
3. I would like feedback on more ideas for different types of activities I could incorporate into
my lesson to extend it so it could span over several days.

4. Mental health can be a very sensitive topic. I think it would be challenging to deliver the
lesson in a way that makes students feel comfortable and like they can approach me but
emphasizes the seriousness of the topic.

5. One resource that I think would have been very helpful is an elementary level health
textbook. I think this would be beneficial because we have a textbook from the educators
perspective, but I found it challenging to try to remember what I learned in health as an
elementary grade student.