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MODULE TWO
MENTAL & EMOTIONAL HEALTH

Years 9 & 10 Band, Health & Physical Education

FOCUS AREA:

  • Alcohol & Other Drugs

  • Food & Nutrition

  • Mental Health & Wellbeing

LESSON PLAN:

Facts & myths about drugs & alcohol (inc vaping) - 45 minutes

 

TOPICS:

1. Gauging levels of adolescent stress

2. Avoiding or coping with risky situations

3. Managing peer pressure including drug use

Close - Portfolio/homework allocated

SUGGESTED SESSION TIME ALLOCATIONS:

15 minutes

15 minutes

10 minutes

5 minutes

NOTE ON FLEXIBILITY:

Teachers may prefer to allocate 2 or more 45 minute sessions to this module, to allow students more time to respond online and re-watch videos. This would be particularly relevant, if additional, longer-term projects were determined as useful to consolidate and share knowledge and findings in the wider community.

MENTAL & EMOTIONAL
HEALTH

Introductory Notes:

It is important for teachers & facilitators to understand that social and emotional learning fosters the ability to make positive choices about how we behave. As teens, students need to build up the ‘tool kit’ of life skills to strengthen their decision-making skills.

These include:

  • self-awareness

  • self-concept

  • social awareness

  • social management

  • critical thinking

  • problem solving

  • reflecting & analysing

These can be incorporated through the segment via online group discussion. Additionally, when face to face group opportunities present themselves use may be made in pedagogy such as role-play, debating, presentations at assemblies, and local community groups. Teachers will also know that our experiences and actions affect the way our brains develop and positive role models and interactions from family members and others such as club leaders, coaches, teachers, friends and social groups.

Quality feedback, reactions and experiential learning add to the teen’s ‘tool kit’ by helping them to learn:
 

• Strategies for relating and interacting with others

• Assertive behaviour skill

• How to establish and manage changing relationships – offline and online

• General health and wellbeing activities

• What impact Social / emotional health has on general well being

• Observe real resilience skills in action that support resilient behaviour

• See how others demonstrate coping skills and help seeking strategies

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Topic 1 - Gauging levels of adolescent stress

BACKGROUND INFORMATION FOR TEACHERS & FACILITATORS

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UNDER
CONSTRUCTION

Being mindful of our mental and emotional health and wellbeing is a vital contributor to overall health. For adolescents it can be a more vulnerable time, because of the rapid changes in their brain development, puberty, new relationships and transitioning into adulthood and the associated decisions they need to make for their welfare and future life.

Knowledge about maintaining norms in this arena can help us to recognise warning signs, how to manage stress and in particular, for adolescents, how to avoid risky situations, manage peer pressure, including drug use. All of these are related to managing adolescent stress.

ONLINE CLASSROOM TASK

RECOGNISING AND DEALING WITH STRESS

Teachers / facilitators provide brief introduction to point out that a level of stress is a normal part of life, but if a person feels overwhelmed it is important to do something healthy to alleviate it: going for a walk; doing exercise; listen to music.

Other ideas can be found here:

Gauging stress levels

Helpful follow up activity out of session

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Topic 2 - Avoiding or coping with risky situations

BACKGROUND INFORMATION FOR TEACHERS / FACILITATORS

It’s normal for adolescents to want new experiences. They need to explore their own limits and abilities, as well as the boundaries set. They also need to express themselves as individuals. It’s all part of their path to becoming independent young adults, with their own identities.

Parts of the teenage brain that handle planning and impulse control don’t completely mature until about age 25. This means they are sometimes more likely than adults to make quick decisions without always thinking through the consequences.

An important pressure is the fact that sometimes teenagers make decisions about potentially risky things to fit in with a group.

 

Common risky behaviour can include:

Unprotected sexual activity

Social media sexting

Illegal substance use

Dangerous driving

Illegal activities like trespassing or vandalism

Source: The Australian Parenting Website

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ONLINE CLASSROOM TASK

Teenage risky behaviour: a guide

*scroll down to video

Transcript of the above video and discussion points

Topic 3 - Managing peer pressure including drug use

BACKGROUND INFORMATION FOR TEACHERS AND FACILITATORS

Peer pressure is a significant influencer for adolescents as their transition from reliance on family members moves more towards friendships they form.

What is peer pressure?

Read or listen to Yenee's story -

Being sober when no one else is

AND/OR

How to resist peer pressure to vape

HELPFUL SITES FOR TEACHERS / FACILITATORS:

The increasing prevalence of vaping

Doctor's warning about dangers of vaping

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ONLINE CLASSROOM TASK

SUITED TO AN EXTENDED

PORTFOLIO / HOMESTUDY PROJECT

(continued from Module 1)

 

AIM:

To develop a documented response that provides examples of where health information on vaping and drug use has been analysed and applied from a range of sources to result in good health decisions and outcomes.

 

TASK:

Ask Students to find out more about vaping and its effects on the teen brain. They may include investigations on the many accounts of young people who have been hospitalized because of vaping. Students could present their findings online, graphically in a PowerPoint, a display in the school library and/or at a school assembly. A range of references should be documented.

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Links to the Australian Curriculum

KEY LEARNING AREAS:

Health and Physical Education

 

  • ACPPS092 - Propose, practice and evaluate responses in situations where external influences may impact on their ability to make healthy and safe choices

  • ACPPS095 - Critically analyse and apply health information from a range of sources to health decisions and situations

Want to get involved?

REACH OUT

If you are interested in participating at any level, or want more information, please contact Jo Baxter at Drug Free Australia

admin@drugfree.org.au

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