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3.4 Stress Management

Instructor Preparation and Summary

In this unit, you will teach students how to cope in a positive way with stress in their lives. College is a fertile ground for developing stress, and it is no different for students with unique learning needs. Stress is an abstract concept, and abstract concepts can be challenging for many students. This unit provides some concrete ways to engage with the concept through H5P activities, hands-on activities and group work. The group activity provides an opportunity for students to discuss their feelings of stress and choose some healthy coping strategies as a group.

Stress impacts our mental health, and by opening up the discussion on this topic, you can begin to decrease the stigma attached to discussing mental health. There is a great deal of content to cover in this unit, and it might be preferable to divide the unit into chunks to meet your students’ needs.

The principles of Universal Design for Learning are incorporated into the variety of activities in this unit.

This unit will help some students to:

  • Define Stress
  • Describe the difference between good stress and bad stress.
  • List the physical and emotional problems that can result from stress.
  • Identify things in their life that they can and can’t control.
  • Explain healthy responses to stress.
  • Apply healthy responses to stress in their own life.

Classroom Activities

Videos

Click through the following interactive video carousel to view each video. There are 3 in total.

Interactive Elements

Below is an alternate version of the Stress Knowledge Quiz (which appears in the level 2 and 3 assessments below) in an Interactive H5P format:

Quiz Text Description
1. TrueFalse Activity
Stress itself is not negative – it is unresolved or persistent stress that starts have unhealthy effects. (True/False)
2. True/False Activity
Chronic stress can cause negative physical changes, including a weakened immune system, digestive system problems, elevated blood pressure, muscle and back pain, and frequent headaches. (True/False)
3. True/False Activity
Chronic or acute stress rarely affects our minds and emotions and generally does not impact our ability to think or learn.  (True/False)
4. True/False Activity
Drinking alcohol or coffee, sleeping a lot, using drugs or tobacco and eating alot are positive ways to deal with stress. (True/False)
5. True/False Activity
There are positive ways to cope with stress, including using relaxation techniques and talking with your professors and college counsellors. (True/False)
6. True/False Activity
Paying attention to things that cause your stress and changing what you can is one way to begin coping with stress. (True/False)

Solution:

  1. True
  2. True
  3. False
  4. False
  5. True
  6. True

Below is an alternate version of  the Things I Can and Can’t Control Activity (which appears in the level 1 assessment below) in an Interactive H5P format.

Instructions: Look at the list of things that are listed below the circles. Now think about if this is something that is in your control or not. If it is something you can control, then drag it to the circle that has Things I Can Control in it.. If it is something that you can’t control, then drag it to the circle that has Things I Can’t Control in it.

Text Description
Sorting Activity
Stress management activity screen with a blue geometric background. Two large circles are shown: a blue circle on the left labelled “Things I Can Control” and a green circle on the right labelled “Things I Can’t Control.” Along the bottom are drag-and-drop style buttons with examples for students to sort, including: “Getting to class on time,” “The teacher not answering my email,” “Getting to bed early,” “Spending more time outside,” “Being sick,” “Students not listening to my ideas in group work,” “Presenting in front of the class,” “Cutting back screen time,” “Eating healthy food,” “Someone talking loud,” “Doing my schoolwork,” “Emailing my teachers,” “Other people being rude,” “Being more physically active,” “Someone interrupting me when I am talking,” and “Someone saying bad things about me.”

Solution:

  • “Things I Can Control”
    • Getting to class on time
    • Getting to bed early
    • Spending more time outside
    • Presenting in front of the class
    • Cutting back screen time
    • Eating healthy food
    • Doing my schoolwork
    • Emailing my teachers
    • Being more physically active
  • “Things I Can’t Control”
    • The teacher not answering my email
    • Being sick
    • Students not listening to my ideas in group work
    • Someone talking loud
    • Other people being rude
    • Someone interrupting me when I am talking
    • Someone saying bad things about me

Applied Learning Assessments

Text Description
Level 1 Assessment
  1. Complete the Things I Can and Cant Control Activity (PDF). Look at the list of things that are in our life in the box. Now think about if this is something that is in your control or not.
  2. Complete the What Would You Do Activity – Stress Scenarios (PDF). These scenarios are highly stressful for most people. How could you handle these situations?
Level 2 Assessment
  1. Complete the Things I Can and Can’t Control Activity (PDF). Look at the list of things that are in our life in the box. Now, think about whether this is something that is in your control or not.
  2. Complete the What Would You Do Activity – Stress Scenarios (PDF). These scenarios are highly stressful for most people. How could you handle these situations?
  3. Take the Stress Knowledge Quiz (PDF).
  4. Fill out the Meditation Log Activity (PDF). Find a free App for meditation or a YouTube video with a meditation that is 5 minutes or less, and load the App on your phone. Meditate at least 3 times this week for at least 5 minutes. Fill out the meditation reflection log after each time you meditate this week. Submit your log to the teacher when completed.
Level 3 Assessment
  1. Complete the Things I Can and Cant Control Activity (PDF). Look at the list of things that are in our life in the box. Now think about if this is something that is in your control or not.
  2. Complete the What Would You Do Activity – Stress Scenarios (PDF). These scenarios are highly stressful for most people. How could you handle these situations?
  3. Take the Stress Knowledge Quiz (PDF).
  4. Complete the Reduce Your Stress Level Activity worksheet (PDF).

Instructor Resources

Slide Deck

Worksheets

References

A Guide for Successful Students by Irene Stewart and Aaron Maisonville is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted. (Adapted: for paraphrased key takeaways and students’ responses to stress)

University Success – 2nd Edition by University of Saskatchewan is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted. (Adapted: for student questionnaire into a list)

Blueprint for Success in College: Indispensable Study Skills and Time Management Strategies by Dave Dillon is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted. (Adapted for Reduce Your Stress Activity)

License

Icon for the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License

Empowering Unique Learners for College Success Copyright © 2022 by Robin Frkovic, MEd., BSc is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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