Stress is an inevitable part of life, and it can have a significant impact on our ability to make sound decisions. Educators play a crucial role in teaching students how to cope with stress and make better choices under pressure. This blog post will discuss an easy-to-implement activity and discussion questions that promote social-emotional learning and help students develop essential skills for managing stress and decision-making.

No-Prep Activity: The Stress Balloon

This activity requires no preparation or materials from the educator and can be easily incorporated into a lesson plan. The purpose of the Stress Balloon activity is to help students visualize their stress and learn to release it in a healthy way.

1. Ask students to imagine they are holding a balloon.
2. Explain that the balloon represents their stress and that it is filling up as they encounter stressful situations.
3. Encourage students to visualize their stress as a color or shape inside the balloon.
4. Ask students to take deep breaths, imagining that they are filling the balloon with air as they inhale and releasing the stress-filled air as they exhale.
5. Repeat this process until the balloon is entirely deflated and the stress is released.

Discussion Questions

1. How does stress affect your decision-making process?
2. What are some signs that you are feeling stressed or overwhelmed?
3. What strategies can you use to cope with stress and make better decisions?
4. How can you support your peers when they are feeling stressed or overwhelmed?
5. Why is it important to communicate your feelings and needs when you are under pressure?

Related Skills

Alongside stress management and decision-making, students can also benefit from developing other social-emotional skills, such as:

• Emotion regulation: Learning to understand and manage emotions effectively.
• Empathy: Understanding and sharing the feelings of others.
• Active listening: Paying full attention to the speaker and responding thoughtfully.
• Assertiveness: Expressing oneself clearly and confidently while respecting the rights of others.
• Conflict resolution: Addressing and resolving disagreements in a constructive manner.

Next Steps

To further support your students in developing stress management and decision-making skills, sign up for free samples of social-emotional learning materials at Everyday Speech. These resources can help you incorporate valuable lessons into your curriculum and empower your students to make better decisions under pressure.