Lesson 8.4: Self-Harm and Suicide

Overview

This lesson focuses on the warning signs of suicide and self-harm and what to do when you experience or encounter them.

Learning Targets

  • LO12: Describe what is meant by the term trigger in the context of mental health.
  • LO13: Explain how self-harm is related to emotional health.
  • LO14: Describe the warning signs of suicide.
  • LO15: Describe three suicide prevention strategies.
  • LO16: Identify resources for suicide prevention.

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 8.4 PowerPoint slides or make copies of the Lesson 8.4 Note-Taking Guide.

For the Lesson Focus: Copy the Skill-Building Challenge Worksheet: Healthy Communication.

Warm-Up Activity

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

  • Journal Question: How do you think social media influences your (or your peers’) perceptions of self-harm and suicide? Explain your response.
    • 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 8.4 Vocabulary Review Worksheet.
  • Quiz: Have students complete the Lesson 8.4 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: Healthy Communication

  1. Give each student a copy of the Skill-Building Challenge Worksheet: Healthy Communication.
  2. Have students work individually to complete the worksheet.
  3. Ask students to pair up and share their responses (only if comfortable).

Challenge Activity

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

Medically assisted suicide is legal in some states. Research what medically assisted suicide is and determine what laws exist in different states. Write a paragraph supporting people’s right to medically assisted suicide and another paragraph that opposes it.

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...

  • Describe what is meant by the term trigger in the context of mental health?

    A trigger is an external event or circumstance that affects your emotional state, often significantly, by causing extreme distress. Triggers can affect anyone at any time.

  • Explain how self-harm is related to emotional health?

    Self-harm is a sign of emotional distress. People who self-harm often do so as a way to distract themselves from overwhelming emotions that they can’t cope with.

  • Describe the warning signs of suicide?

    Warning signs of suicide in teens include

    • talking about committing suicide,
    • writing poems or stories about suicide,
    • giving away valued possessions,
    • engaging in reckless or dangerous behavior,
    • making death seem glamorous or romantic,
    • saying goodbye to friends and family members (in person, in notes, or on social media), and
    • making social media updates that reference death or the end.

  • Describe three suicide prevention strategies?

    Suicide prevention can happen at the community level through policies and practices that strengthen economic supports in a community (like access to low-income housing). Providing reliable and affordable access to mental health care, as well as opportunities for interpersonal connections like clubs, organizations, and community events are examples of strategies that can help reduce suicide rates in a community.

  • Identify resources for suicide prevention?

    National resources are available; a person can call 1-800-273-TALK for 24-hour suicide prevention and help through the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. They can also text the Crisis Text Line at 741741. Major social media outlets may also provide guidance on how to respond to suicidal posts on their sites. If you are not sure where to go, talk to a trusted adult like a school nurse or counselor, a teacher, or a parent or relative.

Assessment

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

  • Quiz: Have students take the Lesson 8.4 quiz.
  • Reviewing Vocabulary: Collect the Lesson 8.4 Vocabulary Review Worksheet and evaluate it for accuracy.
  • Note-Taking Guide: Collect the completed Lesson 8.4 Note-Taking Guide and spot-check one or more items for completion and accuracy.
  • Skill-Building Challenge Worksheet: Have students submit the Skill-Building Challenge Worksheet: Healthy Communication and use the Holistic Rubric: Healthy Communication to evaluate their skill development.
  • Journal Question: Ask students to respond to the Journal Question again, adding information they learned from today’s class. Require a one-paragraph response that uses proper grammar.
  • Test: Have students take the Chapter Test, which covers material from all four lessons, or create a test using the online test bank.

Take It Home

Use the number for the National Suicide Prevention Hotline and other community resources you may find to create a graphic design, drawing, painting or other creative art. Share your creation with a friend or family member.