Instructional Sample:
Mindful Breathing
K-3, Physical and Health Education
Rationale
Research on
the effectiveness of mindfulness interventions has grown substantially in the
past 15 years, moving from clinical/medical settings to population-based
application at the school level.
For
students, training in mindfulness practice has demonstrated improvements in
working memory, attention, academic skills, social skills, emotional
regulation, and self-esteem, as well as self-reported improvements in mood and
decreases in anxiety, stress, and fatigue.
This
approach can be used at the start or end of class, or between activities; it
can also be used during a transition time, to help students calm and prepare themselves
for a reflective activity after physical activity.
Big Ideas:
·
Our physical, emotional, and mental health are
interconnected
·
Adopting healthy personal practices and safety
strategies protects ourselves and others.
Curricular Competency:
·
Identify and apply strategies that promote
mental well-being
Content:
·
Practices that promote health and well-being
Core
Competencies:
·
Personal Awareness and Responsibility –
Well-being
First Peoples
Principles of Learning:
·
Learning involves patience and time.
Description
Getting ready: Finding a relaxed position
Ask students
to sit with you in a circle on a flat surface, facing toward the centre, with their
legs crossed and hands clasped and resting in their lap. If there is enough
space, you can ask the students to lie down.
Group activity: Mindful breathing
Tell the
students you are going to teach them a special way of breathing that can help
them relax when they are upset or stressed. Explain the deep breathing
technique by saying, “We are going to breathe in and out slowly and evenly. On
the first count we breathe in [model the ‘in’ breath], and on the second count
we breathe out [model the ‘out’ breath]. Let’s all try the even breathing now.”
Let the
students try three sets of evenly spaced in-and-out breathing.
At the end
of the three sets, ask the students to raise their hands if they feel more
relaxed.
Explain to
students that even breathing can calm them down when they are stressed or
angry, and that no one else will even know what they are doing. Tell them the
deep breathing technique is like having their own first aid kit for regaining
calm and feeling in control. Continue the exercise until all students have been
quiet and relaxed for a few minutes.
When the
group begins to stir, ask everyone to follow you by taking a deep breath in,
letting it out, standing up, and stretching.
Ask the
students what it was like to just think about their breathing for a few moments
– how did it make them feel?
Invite
students to try the breathing exercise at home. Brainstorm with them about good
times to use it (e.g., before they go to sleep) and ask them to report back
about how it worked. Remind the students that they can use deep breathing any time
they need to calm down or de-stress. Remind students to breathe out as slowly
as they breathe in. Breathing in deeply without relaxed, slow exhalation can
lead to dizziness or hyperventilation.
Follow-up: Application
A few days
later, ask the students to share their experiences of using the breathing
exercise at home. Did it work? If not, ask them to think about some of the
reasons why it might not have worked. Were they distracted by others? Were they
unable to find a quiet spot to do it? Did they repeat their deep breath in and
slow exhalation?
Ask the
students to reflect again on other instances when the breathing exercise might
help to relax them or calm them down, and have them commit to trying it again.
Resources
Mindfulness for K-3
- Kids have Stress Too! Activities for Classrooms Grades
1-3
- The MindUP™ program is used in many BC schools.
- The following are just a few of
the many mindfulness programs in schools:
- Inner Kids Program (Pre-K-8)
- Inner Resilience Program (K-8, adults)
- Mindful Schools (K-12)
- Still Quiet Place (Pre-K-12, adults)
- Wellness Works in Schools™ (Ages 3-18 years)
Social emotional learning for K-3
Additional tips and information for teachers
·
The concept of “mental health” is often
confused with “mental illness.” The Physical and Health Education curriculum
focus on “mental well-being” recognizes that everyone falls somewhere on a
continuum between optimal mental health and poor mental health, independent of
the presence or absence of a mental illness.[*]
From this perspective, classroom-based and whole-school strategies can be
geared to enhancing the positive mental health and well-being of all students, including those with and
without identified mental health challenges.
·
Teachers have an important role to play in
fostering the mental well-being of their students, though they do not require
specialized or expert knowledge to do so (i.e., they are not expected to play
the role of psychologist or counsellor). Teachers may understand their role to
include, as a guide:
o
supporting students to understand how to
foster and maintain positive mental health and well-being, and thereby enhance
their readiness to learn
o
creating a welcoming and safe classroom/school
environment
o
highlighting things that enhance both physical
and mental well-being, such as adequate sleep, physical activity, healthy
eating, and stress management techniques
o
helping students recognize the signs of common
mental health concerns
o
guiding students to trustworthy information
and resources related to mental health
o
supporting students to know how to seek
assistance when needed
o
challenging common stigmas related to mental
health
·
There are a number of simple, everyday
practices that teachers can use to supplement their instructional approaches to
mental well-being. These include:
o
increasing opportunities for physical activity
o
taking students outside, even for a short
time, to help them to restore readiness to learn
o
leading a circle check-in, where all students have
a chance to voice their perspective
o
intentionally strengthening their
relationships with students through personal conversations
·
For students who are experiencing a problem
related to their mental health, sources of support include:
o
talking to a school counsellor
·
Teachers are encouraged to think about their
own mental well-being, and what strategies may be required to support it. A
number of helpful health and wellness resources can be found on the BC Teachers’ Federation website.
[*]
Viewed from the perspective that “mental health” and “mental illness” are two
separate but related concepts, someone could have optimal mental health
(feeling good about and functioning well in life) while experiencing a mental
illness. Conversely, someone without a mental illness could have poor mental
health.
© Stephen Smith and Mali Bain. Instructional Sample based on
the Psychology Foundation of Canada (2011), Kids
Have Stress Too! Activities for Classrooms – Grades 1-3 (2011), https://psychologyfoundation.org/Public/Resources/Public/Resources/Resources.aspx?hkey=dd3ae1e1-877b-4eb4-a69c-06552878dd7f.
This derivative resource is licensed under the Creative Commons
Attribution-NonCommercial–ShareAlike 4.0 International License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
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