Lesson 7.4: Recognizing and Managing Stress

Overview

This lesson focuses on stress, what it is, how we respond to it, and common causes in teens. An emphasis is placed on how stress can affect health and ways stress can be managed.

Learning Targets

  • LO13: Explain what stress is.
  • LO14: Identify four examples of common stressors.
  • LO15: Describe how negative stress can affect you.
  • LO16: Identify three ways to manage stress.

Preparation

For the Warm-Up Activity: Write the Journal Question on the board or identify (and copy as needed) the worksheets you plan to use:

For the Content Focus: Open the Lesson 7.4 PowerPoint slides or make copies of the Lesson 7.4 Note-Taking Guide.

For the Lesson Focus: Copy the Lesson 7.4 Skill-Building Challenge Worksheet: Goal-Setting for Stress Management.

Warm-Up Activity

Select a warm-up activity to help get your class focused and on task.

  • Journal Question: When was the last time you felt stressed? What caused you to feel that way? How did you handle the situation?
    • Option: Write or project the question and have students respond in their journal or on their “bell ringer” sheet as they enter class.
    • Option: Have students discuss the question with a partner or in a small group.
  • Vocabulary Review: Have students work individually, in pairs, or in small groups to complete the Lesson 7.4 Vocabulary Review Worksheet.
  • Quiz: Have students complete the Lesson 7.4 Quiz to assess their prior knowledge.
    • Option: Collect the quiz and use it alongside a posttest to demonstrate student learning.
    • Option: Have students share their answers with a partner and then go over the answers together as a class.

Lesson Content

Review the content from the textbook lesson.

Lesson Focus: Goal-Setting for Stress Management

  1. Give each student a copy of the Lesson 7.4 Skill-Building Challenge Worksheet: Goal-Setting for Stress Management.
  2. Have students work individually to complete the worksheet.
  3. Ask students to pair up and share their responses.
  4. Ask for student volunteers to verbally share their short- and long-term SMART goals for stress management.
  5. Follow up with each student volunteer and ask them one action step they will take to reach their goal.

Challenge Activity

Have students needing an additional challenge work on the following Thinking Critically task.

Research how technology might be linked to higher rates of stress in people. Use your findings to write a short public service announcement that helps warn people of the dangers of technology when it comes to their stress and health.

Reflection and Summary

Review the critical content from today’s lesson. Review the learning targets and ask students to answer each question posed.

Can you...

  • Explain what stress is?

    Stress is the body’s reaction to a demanding or difficult situation. A person will experience stress when the situation they are in demands more from them than they are able to handle.

  • Identify four examples of common stressors?

    Acute (short-term) stressors are very short (from minutes to a couple of hours). An example is taking a test.

    Chronic (long-term) stressors keep reoccurring or happen over a period of days to months. An example is feeling nervous and scared in a new school.

    Routine stressors are small, everyday occurrences that are annoying, scary, or frustrating. An example is getting homework done on time.

    Major life events events can also be stressors. An example is having to move neighborhoods or to another state. Some major life stressors are positive experiences that still cause large amounts of stress because they often come with a lot of unknowns. An example is graduating from high school.

    Trauma is also a cause of stress. An example is a terrorist attack.

  • Describe how negative stress can affect you?

    The mismatch between the type of stressors we tend to experience and how our body responds is why stress can be so dangerous to health. When you have to sit there and solve the problem by working harder, all of the physiological changes you are experiencing have nowhere to go and nothing productive to do. This is a negative form of stress distress. Chronic negative stress can also contribute to a wide range of health problems.

  • Identify three ways to manage stress?

    Relaxation techniques are specific stress management strategies that reduce the intensity of the fight-or-flight response. People who are good at relaxation techniques are generally more able to keep themselves from overreacting to stressors. Stress management techniques include

    • breathing deeply,
    • using positive self-talk,
    • reframing the situation,
    • tending to yourself,
    • removing yourself from the situation, and
    • being mindful.

Assessment

Complete one or more of the following assessment tasks for this lesson.

Take It Home

Search for free apps that claim to help reduce stress or provide stress management. Make a list of five different apps, describe what each app does, and then try at least one out. Show the list to other members of your family and also have them try one. Identify the strengths and weaknesses of each app and then share your recommendations with others.