Grief and Loss Exploration

This lesson plan focuses on grief and loss in the topic of Inequity.

Review the last lesson on resilience, particularly: There are a number of well proven ways to build resilience, but they boil down to three core strategies, which are:

Accept the reality, be willing to face what is really happening. Often, it is when we accept all the difficulties that we find the strength and means to deal with them.

Find a purpose. Even in extreme situations, those who can find some personal meaning are more likely to survive. In the midst of anxiety and pressure it can be useful to reconnect to a sense of purpose.

Improvise – if what you are doing isn’t working, try something else. Sounds obvious, but we can easily get stuck in a rut, or keep hoping that someone else will change things first. So look for different ideas and use any available resource.

We know that people often forget to do these things when stressed, so this is a helpful reminder. However pressured you are feeling, it is useful to use these approaches to help get through.

Make an engaging activity that gets students involved and learning about grief and loss based on the information: Grief is a natural response to loss. It’s the emotional suffering you feel when something or someone you love is taken away. The more significant the loss, the more intense your grief will be. You may associate grieving with the death of a loved one—which is often the cause of the most intense type of grief—but any loss can cause grief, including:

Divorce Relationship breakups Loss of health Death of a pet Serious illness of someone close Loss of a friendship Moving home

Students to watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgzEGWJvkWM

After the video, students to complete the following activity: Gallery Walk #2: Students write down/ draw an activity / strategy they do to help manage grief / loss. These activities/ strategies are posted around the room. Whilst sticking up their note students walk around the room viewing different activities other students do. After the activity, students discuss as a class and write down responses to the following: What were the various types of activities / strategies to manage grief / loss? Were they different? Why / Why not? Why is it important to allow a person to manage grief / loss in their own terms?
What support networks are available/ accessible to those dealing with grief / loss?

Have students develop a table that has them list the differences between grief and loss and similarities. There is an exemplar from the teacher that they can use or copy.

Research task: Why are support networks import in both managing stress and coping with loss and grief? (give examples of different support networks and the services they provide)

Year Level

Year 10 (age 15-16)

Duration

60 minutes

Class Size

21 students

Curriculum Alignment

Australian Curriculum: Health and Physical Education (v9)

ACPPS101: Investigate and select strategies to promote health, safety and wellbeing, including managing change and transitions.
ACPPS099: Investigate and apply strategies to promote respect and inclusivity within communities.
ACPPS102: Plan and apply strategies to build resilience and recognise the influence of emotions and relationships on health decisions.

(Health and Physical Education, Year 10 content descriptions particularly align with managing grief, loss, resilience, emotional regulation, and support strategies.)

Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson, students will:

Understand grief as a natural emotional response to different types of loss.
Identify a variety of losses that can trigger grief beyond death.
Explore and share personal and peer strategies for managing grief and loss.
Analyse the importance of individualized grief responses and support networks.
Differentiate between the concepts of grief and loss through collaborative research.
Appreciate the role of resilience strategies (acceptance, finding purpose, improvisation) in coping with grief and loss.

Success Criteria

Students will be successful if they can:

Explain what grief is and identify different types of losses causing grief.
Share and evaluate diverse management strategies for grief in a respectful manner.
Contribute meaningfully to a gallery walk and class discussion on grief management.
Complete a comparative table showing similarities and differences between grief and loss.
Articulate the significance of support networks in managing grief and stress with accurate examples.
Demonstrate reflection on resilience strategies linked to grief experiences.

Resources

Video resource (teacher to download prior to class): A brief educational video on grief and loss (as per teacher’s selected video content).
Chart paper or whiteboard for classroom discussion notes.
Sticky notes and pens for gallery walk activity.
Template for grief vs loss comparison table (exemplar provided by teacher).
Access to research materials (e.g., printed/screen research sources or library access).

Lesson Breakdown

Time	Activity	Details	Differentiation Strategies
0-5 min	Introduction & Recap	Recap resilience strategies from last lesson: Acceptance, Finding Purpose, Improvisation. Pose reflective questions linking resilience to grief management.	Provide visual prompts and examples for EAL/D and diverse learners; offer sentence starters for oral reflection.
5-15 min	Video Presentation	Watch video about grief and loss covering definitions, types of loss, and emotional responses.	Captioning for students with hearing difficulties; pause to clarify key points for diverse learners.
15-20 min	Clarification Discussion	Brief Q&A to ensure understanding. Teacher highlights that grief is personal and multifaceted, not just tied to death.	Use think-pair-share for peer support; write key terms on board for vocabulary support.
20-35 min	Gallery Walk #2 Activity

Students write/draw one strategy/activity they personally use to cope with grief or loss on sticky notes.
Notes posted around classroom.
Students walk around, reading peers’ strategies.
Group discussion follows focusing on:
- Variety of strategies seen – differences and similarities
- Why personal approaches to grief management vary
- Importance of respecting individual grief responses
- Support networks available for grief and loss | Provide option to write or draw; provide examples of coping strategies for less confident students; group students for peer discussion to scaffold contributions. | | 35-45 min | Class Discussion & Note-taking | Whole-class capture of discussion insights. Teacher facilitates recording responses on whiteboard or chart paper. | Assign note-taker role to different students; use graphic organiser to show key points. | | 45-55 min | Grief vs Loss Table | Students develop a table listing:
Differences between grief and loss
Similarities between grief and loss
Use exemplar for guidance and reference. | Provide exemplar table for all; encourage extension task for advanced learners to add examples or personal reflection; provide sentence starters for EAL/D. | | 55-60 min | Research Task Explanation & Exit Reflection |
Set homework/research task: Why are support networks important in managing stress, grief, and loss? Include examples of support networks and services.
Quick round of personal reflections on resilience strategies revisited today. | Provide research scaffolds like question prompts; offer options for oral or written submission. |

Differentiation Strategies

Visual aids, captions, and written prompts support varied literacy and language backgrounds.
Allow drawing as an alternative to written work for expression.
Use think-pair-share and small group discussions for social learners and those needing peer support.
Provide exemplar materials, sentence starters, and graphic organisers to scaffold tasks.
Extension opportunities include further research and additional reflective writing.

Assessment & Feedback

Formative assessment through observation during discussion and gallery walk participation.
Review of grief vs loss tables for comprehension of concepts.
Homework research task assesses ability to connect theory to real-world support systems.
Positive verbal feedback and encouragement for sharing personal coping strategies.

Teacher Notes

Ensure a safe, supportive environment for discussion as grief and loss can be sensitive topics.
Remind students confidentiality and respect for sharing personal experiences.
Link back continually to resilience principles to empower students with practical coping tools.
Connect support network discussion to local Australian services for relevance.
Encourage open-ended questions to deepen critical thinking about emotional wellbeing.

This detailed plan directly references Australian Curriculum v9 Health and Physical Education outcomes focusing on resilience, emotional wellbeing, and respectful engagement with difficult emotional topics. It balances cognitive understanding and personal reflection with peer learning and research, appropriate for Year 10 students’ developmental level.

Teachers are encouraged to adapt the video content and specific support examples to their school context and student needs.

If you want, I can provide formatted templates for the grief vs loss table or gallery walk sheets to aid classroom implementation.

Teaching Instructions