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Managing Stress

Seventh graders learn that everyone feels stress — what matters is coping in healthy ways. Deep breaths, movement, talking to someone you trust, and writing all help; taking it out on others or bottling it up do not. They sort healthy from unhealthy coping, then build a stress-relief plan.

Grade 7Managing Stress45 minutes1 class periodSHAPEExplicit teaching4 StandardsSHAPE
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Lesson at a Glance

Everything you need before the bell rings

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to…

  • ✓See stress as normal.
  • ✓Tell healthy from unhealthy coping.
  • ✓Use calming strategies.
  • ✓Make a stress plan.
Essential Question

What are healthy ways to handle stress?

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Lesson Phases
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Vocabulary Terms
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Standards Aligned
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Interactive Task
Sort It · Interactive

Healthy or Unhealthy Coping?

Project this and sort each way of coping into Healthy or Unhealthy.

🧘 Sort each — a healthy or unhealthy way to cope with stress?Try it
💚 Healthy coping
⚠️ Unhealthy coping
Tap a strategy, then tap a box.
The Lesson · Health & PE Flow (Warm-Up · Learn · Practice · Apply · Cool-Down)

45 minutes, five moves

Tap any phase to open the teacher moves and student actions.

1

Warm-Up — Under Pressure

5 min

What is something that stresses you out?

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Name a stressor.
  • Invite a few.
  • Set the goal.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Think.
  • Share.
  • Get ready.
2

Learn — Managing Stress

11 min

Students learn.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Send students to Healthy or Unhealthy Coping?
  • Sort each strategy.
  • Note breathe, move, talk, write.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Sort.
  • Say.
  • Note it.
3

Practice — Practice

13 min

Students practice.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Try a slow breath together.
  • Name a healthy strategy.
  • Spot an unhealthy one.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Breathe.
  • Name.
  • Spot.
4

Apply — Apply

11 min

Students apply.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Build a stress-relief plan.
  • Pick 2 strategies that fit you.
  • Name a trusted person.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Build.
  • Pick.
  • Name.
5

Cool-Down — Cool-Down

5 min

Students close.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Name a healthy coping skill.
  • Say who you can talk to.
  • Complete the exit ticket.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Name one.
  • Say it.
  • Complete the exit ticket.
Standards Alignment

Built to the standards you report on

Aligned to the SHAPE America National Standards for Health Education and Physical Education.

SHAPE
HE.7

Practice healthy stress-management skills.

SHAPE
HE.5

Choose healthy ways to cope.

SHAPE
HE.4

Communicate feelings and ask for support.

SHAPE
HE.1

Explain how stress affects health.

Differentiation

One lesson, every learner

Multilingual Learners

ELL / EMERGING READERS
  • Coping picture cards.
  • Frame: “a healthy way is ___.”
  • Practice breaths together.

Support & Access

IEP / 504
  • Sort healthy vs unhealthy only.
  • Pick one strategy.
  • Use a calm visual.

Stretch & Extend

GIFTED / EARLY FINISHERS
  • Make a personal coping toolkit.
  • Teach a strategy to a peer.
  • Track stress and coping for a week.
Materials

What to gather

  • 📽️Screen / board
  • 🧘Coping cards
  • 💻Healthy or Unhealthy Coping?
  • 📋Stress-plan sheet
  • 📓Notebooks
  • 🎫Exit-ticket slips
Vocabulary

Key terms — hover for a quick definition

stresstension from pressure or demandsstressorsomething that causes stresscopinghow you handle stresshealthy copingways that help (breathe, move, talk, write)deep breathinga calming slow breathtrusted adulta safe person to talk tosupporthelp from otherscalma settled, relaxed state
Evaluate

Exit Ticket

Preview the three formative checks. Tap “Sample answer” to see what mastery looks like — hide them before you print for students.

QUESTION 1
Is feeling stress normal?
Yes — what matters is coping in healthy ways.
QUESTION 2
Name a healthy way to cope.
Deep breaths, moving, talking to someone you trust, or writing.
QUESTION 3
If stress feels like too much, what can you do?
Talk to a trusted adult or a counselor.

Cool-down: managing stress.

Have students build a stress-relief plan with 2 healthy strategies and a trusted person. A printable coping-toolkit sheet is in the PE & Health library.

Study · Flashcards

Study the key terms

Tap a card to flip it, then rate whether you knew it. Built from this lesson’s vocabulary.

🃏 Managing StressFlip
Card 1
Term
Tap to flip →
Meaning
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Nice work!

Practice · Quiz

Check your understanding

A quick self-check with instant feedback, drawn from this lesson’s key terms.

📝 Managing StressQuiz
Score: 0
1 / 6
Question 1
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Nice work!

Practice · Worksheet

Printable worksheet

A print-and-go review sheet with a built-in answer key. Tap “Show answer key” to reveal answers, or print the clean version for students.

🖨️ Managing StressPrint
Name: ________________________
Date: ____________

Part A · Write the word that matches each meaning

Word bank: calm, coping, deep breathing, healthy coping, stress, stressor, support, trusted adult
  1. tension from pressure or demands
  2. a settled, relaxed state
  3. a safe person to talk to
  4. how you handle stress
  5. ways that help (breathe, move, talk, write)
  6. a calming slow breath
  7. help from others
  8. something that causes stress

Part B · Show what you learned

  1. Is feeling stress normal?
  2. Name a healthy way to cope.
  3. If stress feels like too much, what can you do?
Answer key — Part A: 1) stress · 2) calm · 3) trusted adult · 4) coping · 5) healthy coping · 6) deep breathing · 7) support · 8) stressor
Part B: 1) Yes — what matters is coping in healthy ways. 2) Deep breaths, moving, talking to someone you trust, or writing. 3) Talk to a trusted adult or a counselor.