5 mental health classroom resources for beginner to experienced educators
There’s no question educators have a significant role in student mental health promotion—you see students regularly and form trusting relationships. Plus, schools are the most common place where students will seek support for their mental health. But teaching about mental health can feel tricky—after all, most educators don’t have backgrounds in social work or psychology. And there’s already a lot to cover, outside of mental health promotion.
The good news is there’s plenty of evidence-informed mental health classroom resources available that are both easy-to-implement and effective. With little prep work, you can incorporate mental health promotion into your class routines. We’ve rounded up five mental health classroom resources that don’t require a deep knowledge of mental health science.
Easy-to-implement classroom resources that support student mental health
The materials below are selected from our library of more than 80 resources. You can filter the materials by topic and type. You may wish to bookmark the resource library for quick reference later.
Everyday mental health classroom resource websites
Level: all
These four websites were developed in partnership with the educator unions and offer collections of everyday mental health classroom practices organized by social-emotional skill category. The filter page of the sites includes a ‘virtual option’ filter which will show practices that can easily be adapted for remote learning.
Grab and Go Tools – Simple learning activities to use everyday at home and in the classroom
Level: all
These grab and go mental health learning tools are pulled from some of our larger lesson plan resources. They’re excellent as part of a lesson or when used on their own. Start Well – 5 days of ready to use morning activities Level: Primary, junior How does five days of ready-to-use activities to connect, calm and begin your and your students’ day sound? Each day includes a quick check in, learning about a mental health support strategy, and a resource you can share with parents/caregivers to continue the learning at home
Start Well – 5 days of ready to use morning activities
Level: Primary, junior
How does five days of ready-to-use activities to connect, calm and begin your and your students’ day sound? Each day includes a quick check in, learning about a mental health support strategy, and a resource you can share with parents/caregivers to continue the learning at home.
Read Aloud – children’s books that support mental health and social and emotional skill development
Level: primary, junior
We’ve recorded seven children’s books – read aloud by one of our team members. These books were intentionally selected for their important messages. You can use these read aloud videos together with your class or share with parents/caregivers as a resource for home.
Class Conversation Starters
Level: intermediate, secondary
This resource was originally developed for September 2020, after the first period of virtual learning. They’re designed to help you start conversations about important topics: seeking help, helping a friend, healthy sleep, and handling stress. The resource also includes ice breaker activities – great for the start of the year/semester.
We hope these resources are helpful to you as you help to guide your students in supporting their well-being. If you practice regular self-care that you enjoy, or have at times in your life, then you no doubt recognize the value in consistently doing small things. It really can make a difference, and you have the chance to help your students learn that early!
If you want to build your knowledge of mental health and can carve out about six hours, you’re always welcome to take our online course—free for Ontario educators.