What Makes Me Anxious - 1

by Jerome Cohen

Lesson Plan

Goal: With a visual and/or verbal prompt, the student will identify situations that cause him/her to feel anxiety/worry in 5 out of 10 observable opportunities, as measured by a teacher assessment tool.

Objectives:
1. Recognize the internal and external signs of anxiety in oneself.
2. Identify activities or situations that make oneself feel anxious.
3. Verbally state or use a picture card to select a coping strategy to ease the feeling of anxiety/worry.

Definitions of Key Terms: Anxiety is the feeling of worry or nervousness; an uneasy feeling.

Discussion Points:

  • Everyone feels anxiety.
  • It’s ok to feel anxious.
  • Controlling your anxiety is what is most important.
  • You can identify situations or activities that make you anxious.
  • You can learn statements that allow you to share with others when you are feeling anxious.

Review the discussion points with the students. Teachers may want to share their own examples of when he/she has felt anxious.

Possible activities to review the discussion points:

  • The group should form a circle. Ask a question and allow students to toss a bean bag to those who would like to answer the question.
  • Play tic-tac-toe by dividing the group into teams. Write discussion questions on a post-it note and place them on the tic-tac-toe grid. Allow a representative from the team to select a post-it note and as a team develop an answer to the question. If they get it right they may put their team's marker (x or o) on the grid.

Directions for In-Person or Virtual Learning: You have three options for students to complete this lesson.

  • Option 1: Print the Student Activity Sheet for each student. Complete the lesson as a group and assign the activity sheet to the students.
  • Option 2: Click the Student link to access the activity sheet electronically and post to your Learning Management System (if your school has one) or send the link to the student. The student may complete the activity sheet electronically within the classroom on a shared computer or device.
  • Option 3: Click the Student link to access the activity sheet electronically and send the link to the student. The student may access the link from a home computer, chromebook, iPad or other device.

Activity 1: Situations

As a group discuss situations that might cause you to become anxious or worried. Record answers on the board, chart paper or interactive board.

Allow students time to complete student activity sheet A. If time, seek volunteers to share their work when all are finished.

Materials Needed:
  • Chart paper or interactive board
  • Student Activity Sheet A - 1 per student
  • Pencil for each student

Student Activity Sheet A

Directions: Think of a time you were anxious or worried. Draw a picture to tell about that time.

I was anxious when

Activity 2: Knowing Your Signs

Discuss the signs you feel or see in friends or adults you know that indicate they are feeling anxious or worried. The teacher may also share examples when he/she feels anxious/worried. Examples include, but are not limited to:

Materials Needed:
  • Student Activity Sheet B - 1 per student
  • Pencil for each student
  • trying to avoid others
  • face looks worried (scrunched up eyebrows)
  • can’t pay attention to teacher or learning
  • always looking at door or outside

Student Activity Sheet B

Directions: Select the best answer. If you are getting anxious or worried do you:


Become restless

Have trouble sleeping

Cry

Not want to leave home

Lose focus

Pick or bite at your skin or fingernails

If I am getting anxious I may also:

Activity 3: Coping Skills

Explain to students that coping skills are strategies we use to help us calm down. Review the coping skills on Student Activity Sheet C. Allow students to select the ones that they feel help them to calm down when anxious.

Allow students to select the coping strategies they feel will help them or that they believe they could use to ease their feeling of worry/anxiety. Students may also want to share other actions or ways to cope that they have used.

Materials Needed:

Students should be encouraged to cut out the strategies and keep them somewhere they can easily get to them when they begin to feel anxious. Possible options include: taping them onto a student’s desk, attaching them to a lanyard, or creating visual cues/pictures to remind students when or how to use the coping skill.

Student Activity Sheet C can be found here.

Student Activity Sheet C

Directions: Choose the coping skills that help you calm down when angry. Cut those cards out to keep with you. Create and color one of your own coping cards.

Coping cards can be found here.

Lesson Extension: Listening Comprehension

Explain that a script is a form of dialogue writing between characters in a movie, play, or broadcast. Utilizing the immersive reader students should listen carefully as the teacher plays the example scripts below. Replay the script if needed. Allow students time to answer the questions on student activity sheet D.

Materials Needed:
  • Student Activity Sheet D - 1 per student
  • Pencil for each student
    •

After students have finished, allow those that want to share their comic do so or role play one of the example scripts.

Example of appropriately coping with anxiety:
Silas: I’m worried because I can’t find my favorite toy.
Chris: Have you tried using some coping tools such as taking some deep breaths or counting to 10?
Silas: No, that’s a great idea! I think I will try some deep breathing.

Read Aloud Recommendations: Completing a read aloud with students is a great way to connect text with lesson content while incorporating reading and language practice. Below are suggested titles including, a YouTube link, Lexile and Grade Level information for books relating to the lesson.


Book Title Author Grade Level Lexile Level
Little Mouse’s Big Book of Fears Emily Gravett Pre K-1 510
Wemberly Worried Kevin Henkes Pre K-1 AD480L
100th Day of Worries Margery Cuyler 2 550

Student Activity Sheet D

Directions: Draw a comic to match the script you listened to.

Application Activity

In small groups, have the students create scripts demonstrating how to cope with anxiety or feeling worried appropriately and inappropriately. Use the script sheet to assist the groups in creating scripts.

Materials Needed:

Have students record their scripts using the SiLAS software. Remind students to name and save their recordings. Premiere the movies with the group members at the end of each session.


Script Extensions:

Click the following hyperlinks to have students choose their Characters, Background and Props prior to writing scripts. For examples of script writing accommodations, click Here.


Ideas for modifying this activity based on your students’ needs:

  • create a script as a class
  • pair or group students so that skill levels are varied and assign each a role or task that uses their skill
  • create the script by recording the dialog with a phone or other recording device.
    •

Example of appropriately coping with anxiety:
Silas: Chris, I’m worried because I can’t find my favorite toy.
Chris: Have you tried using some coping tools such as taking some deep breaths or counting to 10?
Silas: No, that’s a great idea! I think I will try some deep breathing.

Example of inappropriately coping with anxiety:
Silas: Chris, I’m worried because I can’t find my favorite toy.
Chris: Have you tried using some coping tools such as taking some deep breaths or counting to 10?
Silas: (yelling) That won’t help. I can’t do it. I know I will fail my test.

Topic Checkout

Review key points from previous activities with the students. Ask students to complete the Student Topic Checkout. Discuss answers when all have finished.

Materials Needed:
  • Student Topic Checkout - 1 per student
  • Pencil for each student
    •

Student Topic Checkout

Directions: Select the best answer.

1. Anxiety is the feeling of worry or nervousness; uneasy feeling.

2. Only a few people feel anxiety.

3. It’s ok to feel anxious.

4. I can use coping skills to feel less worried or anxious.