Learning Managing Stress Strategies Through Roleplay

Even as small children, we are exposed to situations beyond our control. Things like sharing, being told no, and getting our feelings hurt can trigger strong emotional responses, including stress. But by learning positive coping skills, we can resolve these internal and external conflicts, giving us tools to handle difficult emotions throughout our lives.

So while we can’t stop stress from happening to us, we can control how we respond to it—developing essential social and emotional learning skills in the process.

Through this small-group project, students will brainstorm, write and act out a team skit demonstrating how to respond to stress.

Additionally, after all the groups have performed their skit, the students will finish the worksheet by answering questions to help them reflect on what they learned and how they felt about the activity, specifically whether they could tap into their self-awareness skills. Furthermore, students will be asked to assess whether they need additional support finding ways to respond to stress.

Using This Group Worksheet To Teach Students How to Respond to Stress

This project is best used with the Stress Management Teaching Presentation (grades 4-6), which includes a slide introducing the task. It was designed to be completed in small groups and completed over 2-3 days.

Expand This Stress Management Project with More Ways to Grow! 

Take this activity even further by giving your students more opportunities to discuss and explore their reactions to stress.

Turn & Talk 

Invite students to pair up with someone in the seat nearest to them for a 5-minute Turn & Talk. Keep students engaged and on task by directing them to focus on their responses to question 1 in the Reflection section of the worksheet. Use this Turn & Talk session to encourage students to make space for each other by actively listening, asking questions, and practicing empathy.

Draw It! Before & After

Have each student select one of the scenarios outlined on page 1 of the activity. On a separate piece of paper, have each student draw a line down the middle of the page. On the first side, the student should draw the stress-causing scenario before coping skills are applied. On the other side, they should draw the scenario after the stress is managed.

Change the Difficulty Level if Needed

The collaborative nature of this small group activity allows students to contribute at their proficiency level.

Students needing a challenge can be appointed to a leadership role within their small group.

Adversely, purposeful grouping can provide struggling students with needed support.

Easily Prepare This Resource for Your Students

The project directions can be shared digitally or printed for each student. The choice is up to you!

Before You Download

Please use the drop-down option on the Download button to select this resource as a Google Slides file or as a PDF.

This resource was created by Emma L. Welton, a teacher in Colorado and a Teach Starter Collaborator.

We’ve got plenty of resources for helping your students express their emotions. Check out our Social-Emotional Learning area for activities like these!

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Practice stress management techniques with your students with this set of 4 worksheets, which form a stress management toolkit for reference.

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Help your students gauge the severity of everyday challenges with this wall display.