Goals
1.
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To enable students to talk freely about the different problems they confront regularly.
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2.
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To define stress and discuss situations that precipitate it.
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3.
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To begin to develop a stress and problem solving vocabulary.
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4.
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To introduce the problem solving approach as a method that effectively handles stress.
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Words to Study
feelings
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consequences
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stress
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strategy
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problem
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goal
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Materials
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List of different tough situations that middle school students face regularly.
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Traffic light poster with the problem solving steps
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Chalk and blackboard
Procedure
After talking with students about their own feelings, what things cause them the most stress, and the symptoms of stress, the teacher will present different situations to the students for discussion. The teacher will ask questions and allow the students to speak freely about how they would respond to any of these problems. The teacher will write on the board solutions given by the students, such as “I will fight.”, “I will break his nose!”, “I won’t talk to her any more.” The teacher will then introduce the word “consequence,” writing it on the board. Students will look it up in the dictionary to find out its meaning. Here the teacher will talk about cause and effect, and the possible consequences of reacting in certain ways to the problem. The teacher will then point to the poster displayed on the problem solving bulletin board and start analyzing the graphic with the students.
“Stop”What does it mean?
“Calm down”What does it mean?
“Think before you act”The teacher will give examples to the students.
Finally, the teacher will help the students to set positive goals, think ahead of time about the consequences, and then go ahead and try the best plan.
Related Activity
Each student will have a copy of the traffic light poster. They will color it following the instructions and will share it with other members of their family.