Objectives
- Differentiate between actions that are mindful and actions that are not mindful.
- Describe the benefits of being mindful.
Lesson Plan
This unit helps a child to understand and practice mindfulness. To practice mindfulness is to purposefully pay attention to your breathing, feelings, senses, or actions in the present moment. When a child is mindful, they increase their ability to regulate emotions, manage stress, and self-motivate.
Set The Stage
Ask kids to share a time and place when they were mindful (paused to focus on the present moment).
To use this with your students click here.
Captivate
Mindful
Present the slides to students. Ask them to identify if the scenario describes a person being mindful (paying attention on purpose) or not being mindful.
Educate
Benefits of Being Mindful
Explain that being mindful helps a child recognize their feelings and emotions, which in-turn helps them make healthy choices. Being mindful also supports self-control and helps manage stress.
Check for Understanding: What are the benefits of being mindful? (Answers may vary to include: manage stress, control impulses, and motivate themselves to make healthy choices.)
Activate
Relax
Present the two mindful moment activities (body scan and breathing exercise). Pause and allow students time to independently complete the activity of their choice. If time allows, do both!
Close the Lesson
Today we learned that when you are mindful you are doing good things for your body and brain. Name a time you can pause for a mindful moment and do a breathing exercise or body scan.
Grade: 3-5
Time: 20 Minutes
What You'll Need
Resources
Materials
- Markers
- Poster Board or White Board
- Slideshow
Health Education Standards
- Standard 1: Core Concepts -Promote Mental and Emotional Health
- Standard 4: Interpersonal Communication
- Standard 5: Decision-Making
- Standard 7: Practice Health-Enhancing Behaviors
Social and Emotional Learning Competencies
- Self-Awareness
- Self-Management
- Responsible Decision-Making
Extend the Lesson
- Play Greetings from the fitGames series for kids to practice ways to be mindful when greeting one another.
- Read about Breathing Techniques to help your students relax and become more mindful of their choices.
- Read about how you can help kids be more mindful of their choices with the cue "Think fit. Be fit!"