Title of Lesson: Understanding Feelings and Coping Strategies

Grade Levels: 9-12

Duration: 45 minutes
Learning Objective: The objective is to learn from peers and to normalize the feelings that
come with emotional experiences. The goal is to understand one anothers experiences and learn
how to safely cope with their emotions.
ASCA/NYSSCA National Standards and Competencies:
Academic Development
Standard A: Students will acquire the attitudes, knowledge, and skills that contribute to effective
learning in school and across the life span.
Competencies: A: A1 Improve Academic Self-Concept
A: A1: 1 Articulate feelings of competence and confidence as learners
A: A2 Acquire Skills for Improving Learning
A: A2: 3 Use communication skills to know when and how to ask for help when
needed
A: A2: 4 Apply knowledge and learning styles to positively influence school
performance
A: A3 Achieve School Success
A: A3: 2: Demonstrate the ability to work independently, as well as the ability to
work cooperatively with other students
A: A3: 4 Demonstrate dependability, productivity and initiative
A: A3: 5 Share knowledge
Standard B: Students will complete school with the academic preparation essential to choose
from a wide range of substantial post-secondary options, including college.
Competencies: A: B1 Improve Learning
A: B1: 4 Seek information and support from faculty, staff, family, and peers.
Career Development
Standard A: Students will acquire skills to investigate the world of work in relation to knowledge
of self and to make informed career decisions.
Competencies: C: A1 Develop Career Awareness
C: A1: 4 Learn how to interact and work cooperatively in teams
C: A1: 5 Learn to make decisions
C: C2 Apply Skills to Achieve Career Goals
C: C2: 3 Learn to work cooperatively with others as a team member
Personal/Social Development
Standard A: Students will acquire the knowledge, attitudes, and interpersonal skills to help them
understand and respect self and others.
Competencies: PS: A1 Acquire Self Knowledge

PS: A1: 5 Identify and express feelings

PS: A1: 6 Distinguish between appropriate and inappropriate behavior
PS: A1: 8 Understand the need for self-control and how to practice it

Standard B: Students will make decisions, set goals, and take necessary action to achieve goals.
Competencies: PS: B1 Self-knowledge Application
PS: B1: 4 Develop effective coping skills for dealing with problems
Standard C: Students will understand safety and survival skills.
Competencies: PS: C1 Acquire Personal Safety Skills
PS: C1: 11 Learn coping skills for managing life events
New York State Learning Standards
Health, Physical Education, and Family and Consumer Sciences
Standard 2: A Safe and Healthy Environment: Students will acquire the knowledge and ability
necessary to create and maintain a safe and healthy environment. Students will identify ways
they care for and show respect for self and others. Students will also understand some basic
requirements of nurturing people of various ages and demonstrate appropriate ways to interact
with them.
NOSCA Component
Enrichment and Extracurricular Engagement
Goal: Ensure equitable exposure to a wide range of extracurricular and enrichment opportunities
that build leadership, nurture talents and interests, and increase engagement with school.
English Language Arts Standard 1: Language for Information and Understanding: Students
will listen, speak, read, and write for information and understanding. As listeners and readers,
students will collect data, facts, and ideas; discover relationships, concepts, and generalizations;
and use knowledge generate from oral and written language that follows the accepted
conventions of the English language to acquire, interpret, apply and transmit information.
Materials:
Laptop
Whiteboard for projection of PowerPoint/writing classs coping strategies
Coping strategies handouts
Five-six plain white poster boards
White board markers
One marker for each student
Introduction: (10 minutes)
The school counselor begins by greeting and thanking the class for their participating and
introducing himself/herself to the students. The professional school counselor picture will then
introduce the lesson topic, Understanding Feelings and Coping Strategies. The professional
school counselor will then briefly discuss how everyone reacts to tragedy and feelings
differently. He/she will also explain that if at any time during the lesson someone feels

uncomfortable or does not want to express their feelings or personal stories, they are not
obligated to in any way. In addition to those stipulations, if a student does expose a personal
story about himself/herself, the other students are required to respect that students privacy and
maintain confidentiality. The professional school counselor will discuss how adolescents at their
age experience many stressors daily and at least 25% of them will experience at least one
significant stressor while the time they are in school (Skinner & Zimmer-Gembeck, 2008).
Connecting students and normalizing their experiences is a major goal in this lesson. This topic
will then lead into the introduction of the word cope and how the students define it.
Activity #1: Individual Brainstorming (10 minutes)
1. The professional school counselor will ask how students cope with difficult issues and
how they believe their coping strategies fit into those categories.
2. The professional school counselor will distribute a handout that defines the four coping
strategies (also displayed on the PowerPoint).
3. Ask students to share their ideas or examples of what they believe fit into those
categories.
4. The professional school counselor will write students individual ideas about coping
strategies on the white board.
Activity #2: Put Your Ideas to Work! (15 minutes)
1. Divide the class into four groups.
2. Assign each group the task of identifying which coping strategy on the list fits which
category:
Group A: positive coping strategies
Group B: negative coping strategies
Group C: neutral coping strategies
Group D: time-out strategies
*Groups may be adjusted according to class size
3. Following the counselor-led instruction, the students will divide the coping strategies into
their specific groups through the use of brainstorming, teamwork, active learning, and
intrapersonal intelligence.
4. Each group will present their category using the provided poster board on which coping
strategies they thought belonged in their category. The students will discuss their list and
why they chose particular coping strategies.
Conclusion/Cool Down (10 Minutes)
The last 10 minutes of the class will be dedicated to any last minute questions or discussion
topics that the students wanted to discuss. Due to the nature of the topic, it may have brought up
some emotional issues and some students may want to share personal stories. An End of Lesson
Assessment will be distributed as a means to measure if the students understood the activity.
This time is to allow an open forum for students to express their feelings. It may also be a time
for the school counselor to point out common themes within each groups charts to promote
further discussion. This time can be to further discuss any confusion, comments, or questions
students have from throughout the lesson.

COPING STRATEGIES ASSESSMENT

Please list two possible coping methods for each category:

Positive Coping Strategy

Negative Coping Strategy

Neutral Coping Strategy

Time-Out Strategy

Thank you!

References
Coping Strategies: Managing Feelings (2011). Web. Retrieved from
http://morningsidecenter.org/teachable-moment/lessons/coping-strategies-managingfeelings
Helping Kids During Crisis (2014). Web. Retrieved from
http://www.schoolcounselor.org/school-counselors-members/professionaldevelopment/learn-more/helping-kids-during-crisis
Jacobsen, K. Hunter College.
Tillman, K., Ph.D. and Rust, J., Ph.D. (2011). Kids Supporting Kids. ASCA School Counselor.
Retrieved from http://www.schoolcounselor.org/magazine/blogs/september-october2011/kids-supporting-kids
Roaten, G. (2007) From Crisis Come Opportunity. ASCA School Counselor. Retrieved from
http://www.schoolcounselor.org/magazine/blogs/march-april-2007/from-crisis-comesopportunity
Zimmer-Gembeck, M. J., & Skinner, E. A. (2008). Adolescents coping with stress:
development and diversity. Prevention Researcher, 15, 3-7.