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Time

2-5 minutes

Level

Primary / Junior / Intermediate

Material

Paper and pencil (optional)

Purpose

To provide students with a tool to calm their anxious feelings and manage stress

  1. Spread out the fingers of your hand, just like a star, and use the index finger of the other hand to follow its contours.
  2. Starting at the bottom of your thumb on the outside of your hand, slide your index finger up your thumb and pause at the top. Then slide your finger down the other side. Now slide your index finger up your second finger, pause, and slide down the other side. Continue tracing your fingers like this until you have reached the outside of your pinky.
  3. Now add breathing. Breathe in through your nose slowly while going up, and out through your mouth while coming down.
  4. Repeat step two.
  5. Prompting debriefing questions: Do you feel calmer now? Would you like to take another five?
  • Instead of tracing their hand, students can draw a hand on paper and trace it if they find the sliding of their finger uncomfortable. Or, the image of a hand can be distributed.
  • Another option, instead of your hand, use the image of a star, or a cut-out star, and give to each student. Each point is a hold-in breath, exhale along each line of the star, alternate with an inhale and an exhale.

Guided breathing exercises are an effective tool to help students regulate emotions (Metz et al., 2013). These interventions decrease physiological arousal, so the emotion and anxiety students feel becomes less intense (Gregoski, Barnes, Tingen, Harshfield, & Treiber, 2011), and students can refocus their attention on learning

Guided breathing exercises are an effective tool to help students regulate emotions (Metz et al., 2013). These interventions decrease physiological arousal, so the emotion and anxiety students feel becomes less intense (Gregoski, Barnes, Tingen, Harshfield, & Treiber, 2011), and students can refocus their attention on learning

Metz, S. M., Frank, J. L., Reibel, D., Cantrell, T., Sanders, R., & Broderick, P. C. (2013). The Effectiveness of the Learning to BREATHE Program on Adolescent Emotion Regulation. Research in Human Development, 10(3), 252-272. doi:10.1080/15427609.2013.818488

The Pope Francis’ Five Finger Prayer Guide can be a faith-filled way to instill an understanding of the power of prayer for oneself and others.

(3a) A reflective, creative and holistic thinker who recognizes there is more grace in our world than sin and that hope is essential in facing all challenges.

Self-regulation and well-being: to develop an awareness of ways to be calm, focused, and alert so they are better to learn