Wellness & Safety Teacher Resources

Find balance in your life and encourage your class to do the same with our comprehensive set of instructional ideas and activities on wellness and mind/body well-being. Understanding the mind-body connection is key to a person’s successful development. Help young learners focus on every aspect of their personal health, whether it’s mental, emotional, physical, social, or spiritual health, with Lesson Planet’s teacher-curated resources.

First, introduce class members to the idea of whole-body health with elementarymiddle school, and high school lessons on wellness. For younger learners, a short video helps them understand how to stay healthy, and older students can watch a video on Gilbert Ryle’s The Concept of Mind about the ways emotions can affect behavior.

The negative consequences of how mental and emotional health can affect physical health can be dire. Discuss the risk factors for drug addiction with a series of case studies, and follow up with a lesson on the ways to recover from addiction to prescription or other drugs.

Maintaining learners’ self-esteem can be tricky amidst puberty, peer pressure, and daily stress. Help them reflect on their self-worth with a workbook on several challenging situations, and a lesson that focuses on keeping a healthy body image. When discussing lifestyle changes, use a resource that examines how small daily improvements can contribute to long-term success.

Students need all the support they can get when it comes to their mental and emotional health. It’s your job to help support them—and it’s our job to support you and your curriculum needs.

Showing 377 resources
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45 Items in Curriculum Set
Lesson Planet Curated

Health Smart Virginia: 10th Grade Social Emotional Health

For Teachers 10th
The 16 activities and lessons in this curriculum set support high school sophomores' social and emotional development. Scholars learn how to evaluate websites and online resources and gather accurate information about various types of...
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11 Items in Topic
Lesson Planet Curated

KidsHealth in the Classroom: Health Problems Series Grades 3-5

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Teach kids in grades 3 through 5 about health problems with a collection of 11 lessons that cover issues related to physical health (alcohol, tobacco, and drugs), emotions and behavioral health (bullying, sadness, and stress), as well as...
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8 Items in Topic
Lesson Planet Curated

Self Esteem Matters

For Teachers 3rd - 8th Standards
As teachers we do not just teach what can be found in the standards; we teach our children how to be amazing human beings. Part of being amazing is realizing one's talents and having the confidence to showcase them for the world to see....
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10 Items in Unit
Lesson Planet Curated

From Child to Adult

For Teachers 8th
There's no question that the middle schoolers in your class are going through a myriad of transitions. Adolescence brings changes in self esteem, relationships, anatomy, and emotions. Additionally, they will face additional challenges...
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8 Items in Topic
Lesson Planet Curated

Environmental Justice Curriculum

For Teachers 6th - 12th
What to do with environmental hazards and where to put toxic waste is a global concern. The eight resources in the Environmental Justice collection ask young ecologists to consider how to incorporate environmental justice in future waste...
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10 Items in Unit
Lesson Planet Curated

In Sync Personal Development: Year 8

For Teachers 8th Standards
It’s not easy being a teen. The 10 resources in the In Sync Personal Development unit module help eighth-graders navigate the complex nature of teenage relationships, to help them make mature choices, manage peer pressure and other...
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10 Items in Unit
Lesson Planet Curated

In Sync Personal Development: Year 9

For Teachers 9th Standards
Change is inevitable—learning how to manage those changes is the focus of the 10 lessons In Sync Personal Development unit module designed for high school freshmen. Scholars develop behaviors and strategies for identifying and expressing...
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10 Items in Unit
Lesson Planet Curated

In Sync Personal Development: Year 10

For Teachers 10th Standards
The 10 lessons in the In Sync Personal Development unit module encourage high school sophomores to take personal responsibility for the changes in their lives and develop tactics to deal with these changes. Individuals set goals and...
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31 Items in Topic
Lesson Planet Curated

Ken Burns in the Classroom: Hemingway

For Teachers 11th - Higher Ed Standards
Hemingway: BH, AH. Before Hemingway and after Hemingway. A collection of PBS lessons, authored by Julia E. Torres, uses clips from Ken Burns and Lynn Novick’s documentary to EXPLORE the influence events in Hemingway’s life had on his...
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26 Items in Curriculum Set
Lesson Planet Curated

Health Smart Virginia: 8th Grade Social Emotional Health

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders investigate various health concepts, skills, and behaviors to plan for their personal, lifelong health goals. These include awareness and consequences of risky behaviors, disease prevention, overall wellness, and...
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43 Items in Curriculum Set
Lesson Planet Curated

Health Smart Virginia: 9th Grade Social Emotional Health

For Teachers 9th
To begin the Social-Emotional Health series designed for high school freshmen, a seven-page packet of activity ideas, lesson plans, and information resources provides instructors with a wealth of materials to support teaching the...
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18 Items in Topic
Lesson Planet Curated

KidsHealth in the Classroom: Health Problems Series Grades 9-12

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The KidsHealth in the Classroom: Health Problems Series for high schoolers is divided into 18 lessons that examine alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs; emotional and behavioral health; infectious diseases; and conditions such as diabetes,...
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18 Items in Topic
Lesson Planet Curated

KidsHealth in the Classroom: Health Problems Series Grades 6-8

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
The KidsHealth in the Classroom: Health Problems Series, designed to address the CASEL competencies, focuses on helping middle schoolers understand what can happen when the body doesn’t function properly. The 18 lessons cover three...
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14 Items in Unit
Lesson Planet Curated

Youth Risk Behavior Survey Curriculum

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Five units comprise the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) Curriculum unit module for high schoolers. Learners investigate bullying and school safety data, study the effects of stress and learn different ways to manage stress, and explore...
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12 Items in Topic
Lesson Planet Curated

Tools for Supporting Emotional Well-Being: Youth and Teens

For Students 3rd - 12th
The “Tools for Supporting Emotional Well-Being: Youth and Teens” collection is comprised of six videos that provide young people with techniques they can use to help them cope with anxiety and stress. The comic book-style videos are...
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10 Items in Topic
Lesson Planet Curated

Lions Quest SEL Mindfulness Resources

For Teachers 6th - 12th
The eight resources in the Lions Quest SEL Mindfulness collection focus on mindfulness, self-management, and self-awareness. Participants learn how to practice mindful breathing to focus their attention and reduce stress, how to identify...
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PPT
Curated OER

The Health Triangle

For Teachers 6th - 12th
What else does physical health include besides exercise and nutrition? How can I support my mental health? Does social health just refer to relationships with friends? How are all of these questions vital to the body's overall efficiency...
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Activity
US National Library of Medicine

Mental Health Awareness Project

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Here is a thoughtful group assignment for researching mental health disorders. Team members focus on a different aspect of a chosen disorder: symptoms, treatments, and community resources.
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Instructional Video13:07
TED-Ed

Toward a New Understanding of Mental Illness

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
We know that as a result of early detection and intervention, we are able to make great strides in treating common diseases; however, this is not yet the case in the realm of mental illness. Explore this query with your class and touch...
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Lesson Plan
Texas Education Agency (TEA)

Road Blocks to Mental Health

For Teachers 11th - 12th
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), fewer than half of adults seek treatment for mental health disorders. Those interested in careers in mental health investigate why this is so by looking at the stigma...
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Unit Plan
Mental Health Literacy

Mental Health and High School Curriculum Guide - Version 3

For Teachers 9th - 12th
A 171-page curriculum provides educators with the information they need to help and support high schoolers' mental health. The curriculum targets five domains: learning how to maintain good mental health, learning about mental disorders...
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Lesson Plan
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Health Smart Virginia

Face of Mental Illness

For Teachers 10th
There are a lot of myths and misinformation out there about mental illness. Help set the record straight with a resource that debunks the falsehoods and provides high schoolers with accurate and important information about the various...
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Lesson Plan
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Health Smart Virginia

Face of Mental Illness

For Teachers 9th
To develop an understanding of the stigma surrounding mental health problems and the impact stigma and discrimination have on those who would seek help, groups investigate the symptoms of and risk factors associated with eight different...
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Lesson Plan
1
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Health Smart Virginia

Ending the Silence on Mental Illness

For Teachers 9th
To end the silence on mental illness, groups research a mental illness. They then create a scene-by-scene script, cast parts, and record a video that details the symptoms, causes, and treatment of the disorder. They also include what...