Everyday Wellbeing

Overview

Students explore kindness, mindfulness and gratitude as practical strategies for managing emotional responses and supporting mental health. Through peer teaching, guided practice and reflection, they connect these practices with wellbeing and resilience while recognising that support from trusted adults is important when feelings are difficult or ongoing.

Learning intentions

Students will:

• describe kindness, mindfulness and gratitude in their own words
• explain how each practice may support wellbeing and resilience
• collaborate to teach a wellbeing strategy respectfully
• practise gratitude and identify when to seek trusted adult support

Success criteria

• I can explain what kindness, mindfulness and gratitude mean.
• I can describe one possible benefit of each practice without claiming it fixes every problem.
• I can teach and practise a strategy safely and respectfully.
• I can name a trusted adult and a helpful action when emotions feel overwhelming.

Key vocabulary

Kindness, mindfulness, gratitude, wellbeing, resilience, emotional response, coping strategy, trusted adult, support.

Curriculum links

• PDHPE Stage 3: propose strategies for managing emotional responses and actions that promote their own and others’ mental health.
• Students develop help-seeking, respectful communication, collaboration, self-awareness and decision-making.
• English: speaking, listening and creating short written responses for a familiar purpose and audience.

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 0–6 min · Warm-up: “Small actions, big difference”. Teacher displays the prompt in the opening question slide: “What small action could make someone’s day better?” and reminds students they may pass. Students silently think, share with a partner if comfortable, then contribute examples such as including someone, listening or offering help. Teacher records actions without ranking them.

2. 6–16 min · Explicit teaching and safety. Teacher uses the teaching and wellbeing slides to define:

• Kindness: noticing needs and choosing a helpful, respectful action.
• Mindfulness: paying attention to the present moment with curiosity, without judging thoughts or feelings.
• Gratitude: noticing and appreciating people, experiences or things that support us.

Explain carefully: research suggests these practices can support attention, positive feelings, relationships and coping for some people when used regularly. They are not guaranteed cures, do not remove difficult emotions and do not replace professional mental-health support. Emotions are information, not misbehaviour. If feelings are intense, last a long time, affect safety or stop someone participating in life, students should tell a trusted adult. Briefly model “pause, notice, choose”: pause, notice body/thoughts, choose a safe next step.

Checkpoint: students show thumbs to indicate whether each example is kindness, mindfulness, gratitude or “not sure”, then justify one choice.

3. 16–38 min · Peer-teaching stations. Teacher places students in five groups of about five, assigns mixed roles (reader, demonstrator, encourager, questioner and reporter), and explains that participation can be observed, adapted or passed. Display the station instructions and rotation slide and provide each group with a section of the wellbeing stations and reflection sheet. Rotate every seven minutes, allowing one minute to move.

• Kindness station: Students choose a realistic school scenario, identify how people might feel, and create a respectful action or sentence such as “Would you like to join us?” They teach the action to their group and discuss consent, boundaries and inclusion.
• Mindfulness station: Students teach a 60-second “notice five” practice: notice one thing they can see, four body sensations or sounds, three slow breaths, and one choice for the next moment. Students may keep eyes open, focus on a neutral object or use another quiet strategy.
• Gratitude station: Students model a specific appreciation using the frame “I appreciate ___ because ___.” Students write or draw one example and explain how expressing thanks can strengthen relationships, while noting that nobody must feel grateful for harmful or unfair experiences.

Students complete one response for each station. Teacher circulates, listens for accurate explanations and asks: “How might this help someone manage an emotional response?” and “What could make this practice unsuitable or need adapting?”

4. 38–45 min · Guided mindfulness. Teacher dims stimulation where possible and reads the guided mindfulness slide: feet supported; eyes open, lowered or closed; notice breathing without changing it; notice three sounds; notice one body sensation; name one feeling neutrally; choose a helpful next action. Students practise for two minutes, then silently rate their comfort from 1–5. They may draw, stretch, look around or sit near the teacher instead. Invite, never require, sharing.

5. 45–53 min · Gratitude and emotional responses. Students complete the individual reflection on the personal gratitude and help-seeking section: “Today I appreciate… because…”, choosing a person, place, experience, strength or support. They then answer: “When I notice a strong emotion, one safe strategy is… If I need more help, I can speak to…” Teacher discusses that kindness, mindfulness and gratitude support wellbeing but are not responsibilities students must use to manage serious distress. Reinforce trusted adults at home and school, including the teacher, wellbeing staff, family members or another safe adult.

6. 53–60 min · Share, assess and exit. Students share one learning point with a partner or pass. Teacher checks station explanations and collects the worksheet. Students complete the retrieval practice exit ticket slips:

• One meaning I can explain is…
• One strategy I could try is…
• A trusted adult I could approach is…
• My confidence is 1–5.

Close by thanking students for respectful choices and reminding them that asking for help is a strength.

Resources

• the wellbeing lesson slide deck
• the wellbeing stations and reflection sheet
• the retrieval practice exit ticket slips
• Whiteboard and markers
• Timer
• Calm, accessible space for mindfulness
• Pencils, coloured pencils and optional drawing materials
• School wellbeing and help-seeking information

Assessment

• During the warm-up and explicit teaching, listen for respectful examples and correct classification of the three practices.
• At stations, use a checklist for accurate definitions, connection to wellbeing, safe participation and collaborative teaching.
• Review the worksheet and exit ticket for understanding, a realistic strategy and an identified trusted adult; follow up privately where a student indicates concern or unsafe feelings.

Differentiation

• Offer sentence starters, picture/word prompts, scribing, drawing, speech-to-text and the option to work with a trusted partner. Read all instructions aloud and display them clearly.
• Students with anxiety, trauma histories or neurodivergence may pass, observe, keep eyes open, use headphones or choose movement, grounding or an object-focus alternative. Never require disclosure of personal experiences.
• Provide a quiet space, predictable rotations, reduced sensory stimulation and flexible roles. Avoid touch, forced eye contact and competitive sharing.
• Respect cultural and family differences in how gratitude, emotional expression and support are understood. Invite students to use examples from their own communities without requiring cultural explanation. Seek wellbeing support according to school procedures if a student raises a safety concern.

Classroom safety and respectful participation

Use fictional or low-risk scenarios rather than asking students to disclose personal mental-health experiences. Establish: listen without judgement, no diagnosing or giving therapy, keep personal sharing private unless someone is unsafe, and seek an adult’s help for safety concerns. Follow the school’s wellbeing, child-protection and referral procedures.

Teacher reflection

After the lesson, note which practice students explained most confidently, whether station timing and sensory conditions supported participation, and which students may need a private check-in or further teaching about help-seeking.