Class Conversation Starters
To be ready to learn, students must feel a sense of safety, belonging, and well-being at school. The classroom is an excellent place to promote and protect student mental health.
Educators can use these cards as conversation starters to develop a welcoming and caring classroom that supports learning, wellness, and equitable outcomes for all students. This practice aims to support students to build their mental health self-care and social-emotional skills, reduce stigma, and encourage help-seeking.
Class Conversation Starters for Junior Students
This series of Conversation Starters related to stress and its management is designed with junior students in mind. The content is also appropriate for students in older grades—in particular, those who might benefit from simplified text and vocabulary and the inclusion of visuals. The Conversation Starters provide an opportunity for educators to learn more about students’ knowledge and perceptions of stress, while offering basic factual information and helping students affirm and potentially expand healthy stress management strategies. In addition, they support expectations within the Health and Physical Education Curriculum (see examples below). They also support student well-being and mental health, which in turn support all learning.
Specific stress-related topics and a suggested order include:
- Stress 101
- Stress and school
- Getting help with stress
Each topic area is provided in an easy-to-use slide deck format to facilitate sharing with students. Each slide deck includes:
- an ice breaker question to spark students’ thinking
- a series of discussion questions along with follow-up content
- tips for educators in the speaking notes to facilitate the conversation
- a supportive transition activity/practice to help students close the learning and ease into the next part of their day in a positive way
Curriculum connections
These Conversation Starters offer several curriculum connections, both broad and specific. For example, within the Health and Physical Education curriculum, there are connections with Healthy Living (e.g., Strand D – Mental Health Literacy) and Social Emotional Learning Skills (e.g., Strand A – Stress Management and Coping; Healthy Relationships). Take a look at the curriculum for the grade you teach through the lens of mental health to find additional ideas (e.g., the Language curriculum offers many opportunities).
