Mental Health Awareness

Overview

In this lesson, students explore how mental health can change during puberty, how emotions can affect thoughts and behaviour, and practical ways to seek help and support for themselves and others. This builds on earlier unit work about nutrition and growth by connecting wellbeing to healthy decision-making and safe support-seeking.

Learning intentions

• Students will identify common mental health experiences during puberty (e.g. stress, anxiety, low mood, mood changes).
• Students will explain factors that can influence emotional responses and how these can affect others.
• Students will practise strategies to self-manage emotions in a way that supports safety and respect.
• Students will develop a help-seeking plan for when they or a friend need support and identify trusted community resources.

Success criteria

• I can describe at least three mental health changes that may happen during puberty and what they can look like.
• I can match a situation to possible emotional factors (personal, social, cultural) and predict likely impacts on others.
• I can use a simple self-management strategy when I feel overwhelmed (and explain why it helps).
• I can name steps for seeking help and identify who I could talk to and what I would say.

Curriculum links

• Health and Physical Education: plan and implement strategies, using health resources, to enhance their own and others’ health, safety, relationships and wellbeing.
• Health and Physical Education: refine protective behaviours and evaluate community resources to seek help for themselves and others.
• Health and Physical Education: analyse factors that influence emotional responses and devise strategies to self-manage emotions.
• Western Australian focus: support students to participate safely, recognise when help is needed, and use appropriate services and trusted adults.

Lesson structure (40 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Hook (think–pair–share). Teacher displays three “puberty wellbeing” prompts (e.g. “Feeling more sensitive”, “Worrying about fitting in”, “Mood swings”). Students think quietly, then pair-share what they think these can mean for mental wellbeing.

2. 5–12 min · Mini-lesson (mental health during puberty). Teacher explains that mental health changes are common and not a character flaw; students watch a teacher-led example scenario (story of a student coping with stress at school and at home). Students complete a quick note: “What I notice” vs “What I might feel.”

3. 12–20 min · Emotional factors (group analysis). Teacher gives four short scenarios on cards (choose 1–2 for different groups):

• exam pressure and sleep loss
• conflict with friends / exclusion
• social media criticism and embarrassment
• family change or responsibility Students, in groups of 4, use a 3-column sheet: “Emotional trigger”, “Possible factors”, “Impact on others (how it could show up)”.

4. 20–28 min · Self-management strategies (skills practice). Teacher models a “STOP + choose” routine (Stop, Take a breath, Observe feelings/body, Pick a helpful action). Students practise using one strategy from a provided menu (breathing, short walk, grounding via 5-4-3-2-1, journalling, talking to someone safe, reducing stimulation like turning off notifications). Students circle one strategy they would realistically use at school.

5. 28–36 min · Help-seeking plan (protective behaviours). Teacher explicitly teaches “You don’t have to handle it alone.” Students complete a “Who / What / How soon” plan:

• Who I would tell (trusted adult at school, family member, counsellor, coach/teacher)
• What I would say (sentence starters provided)
• How soon I would seek help if symptoms persist or feel unsafe Students also identify one community resource their school might use (e.g. school wellbeing staff; external support can be discussed by teacher without naming sensitive details).

6. 36–40 min · Exit ticket (quick check). Teacher collects an exit ticket with two questions:

• “One mental health change during puberty is…”
• “A step I will take to seek help is…”

Resources

• Scenario cards (4) with age-appropriate wording
• Emotional factors worksheet (3-column: trigger / factors / impact on others)
• Self-management strategy menu (breathing, grounding, journalling, reducing notifications, talking to someone)
• “Who / What / How soon” help-seeking plan sheet with sentence starters
• Exit tickets
• Timer and whiteboard/visuals
• Optional: calm-down corner cue cards (only if your school uses them)

Assessment

• Formative: teacher circulates during scenario analysis, checking students can link triggers to factors and impacts on others.
• Formative: observe participation during STOP + choose practice; check students select a realistic strategy.
• Exit ticket: verify students can state a mental health change and one help-seeking step.

Differentiation

• Support: provide sentence starters for help-seeking (“I’ve noticed…, I’m not coping well…, I need help with…”), and offer a smaller set of scenarios for students who need less reading.
• Support: allow students to respond orally or via “choose-and-tick” options for the emotional factors and strategy selection.
• Extension: challenge students to add one “barrier to seeking help” (e.g. fear of judgement) and one “way to overcome it.”
• SEN/EAL: use visuals on worksheets, keep language consistent, and permit partner discussion before writing.

Notes for safe practice

• Use a strengths-based tone; remind students that seeking help is a responsible and caring action.
• If any student shows immediate distress, follow your school’s wellbeing and safeguarding procedures without requiring disclosure in front of peers.