Mental Health Lesson - “Tennis Ball Toss” Resiliency

A "fly on the wall" look into our classroom.
Full 8th Grade mental health lesson included!

RESILIENCE: the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness.

Notice the ups and downs of classroom energy throughout the activity. The group of students were presented with a challenge-- watch and listen in as the class battles failure to finally achieve success.

The tennis ball toss stirred the classroom with just a bit of movement to boost brain activity. The props are analogies, and this metaphorical look at mental health is meant to create connections and deeper understanding. This also helped create social connectedness, which is a huge piece in a person's developing mental health.

You'll hear this group socialize throughout the activity. The reactions and chatter are all on-task; students are engaged and learning-- the quick side conversations are allowed because you'll hear they all involve thoughts about the class activity. Often, teenagers blurt out questions or comments because that's how they learn. These don't always need a response. In fact, you'll hear the group get louder and then quiet down to absolute silence as they internalize specific analogies presented to them.

Subsequent lessons take the focus off of the teacher and allow students to be the central part of activities. We will reflect through small group discussions, journaling, and further activities to develop life skills.

Health concepts in this lesson/unit: resiliency, coping strategies, decision making, influence analysis, bullying, upstanding behavior, peer pressure, self-esteem, and social connectedness.

[anamairazapata]

What an awsome exercise. Its awkward enough to be in a room full of people u dont know but by doing this everybody gets to know each other, the kids feel more relax and therefore participate and learn a lesson at the same time

[EPrice-tuof]

His ability to keep focus keeps the kids in order great job!!! Excellent class control without missing a beat!

[aileenmyers-bird]

I've been teaching middle school health for over a decade and I really feel this lesson would make a huge impact on my students. I plan on incorporating it into my curriculum, asap. Well done, Mr. Todnem. You seem to really enjoy your job AND your kids seem to enjoy you. What an amazing feat! :)

[cripkick]

I had this man as my health teacher at sculler middle and he was the one teacher who made my day better when I went to his class and wasn’t boring

[spookyjdun]

I found this video while looking for classroom observation videos to watch for my teaching certificate. I was so engaged watching these kids cheer each other on! I love how the teacher incorporated SEL into a fun engaging game! These kids seem so happy to be in his class and he obviously has fostered a wonderful learning environment. Rock on!!!

[EPrice-tuof]

I love it when teachers are so real with students...

[tarashannon]

I am a grad student co-leading group counseling sessions addressing chronic absenteeism. I did this demo in my last session and connected it to my students dreams and aspirations (i.e., "you need to be resilient to achieve your dreams"). This was the most my students have been engaged during sessions and gave me the opportunity to practice my leadership skills. Thank you for this amazing resource!

[stephaniebruce]

I absolutely loved watching this lesson. I'm a counselor in an elementary school, and I taught a unit on connectedness. Now I'm teaching my last transition to middle school and the social-emotional and developmental changes that lie ahead. This lesson is perfect (and it's mental health awareness month in May so double win)! Thanks so much for sharing!!!

[magicDirection]

Probably one of the best approaches to mental health I've ever seen. Interesting metaphors that are easy to grasp and are never too subtle, and that are funny and entertaining at the same time. The kids seemed to enjoy the lesson just as much as I did. Bravo to you, keep up the good work.

[ThaCinna]

Hi, I just wanted to say thank you for uploading this. I'm a first year teacher who just had a difficult day at school and I have been browsing the Internet looking for inspiration to improve my practice going forward. Loved your ideas, style and enthusiasm - thanks for sharing it with the world.

[traceyholloway]

This lesson AND teacher is awesome. I wish I had more teachers like him. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK.

[mckennaimoh]

I’m running a workshop on adolescence and resiliency that’s two hours long and will use this as my opening exercises to introduce them and teach them the definition of resilience

[JT-xtwd]

thanks homie, ima steal your ideas for my job, keep them coming, SUBSCRIBED

[wafabannob]

It is very astonishing to hear the most important communication between teenagers
Human communication and social communication
Feeling, emotions, experience, simulation
This is great. I will return to Yemen soon and will be keen to implement it as an independent activity
Thanks for sharing

[dannybrown]

In my 36 year of teaching Health in Middle School and that was an awesome lesson!

[brandonpavloski]

Thank you for this video! I am currently finishing my application for student teaching and I want to teach health. I loved this lesson and the way you engaged with the students. I cannot wait to follow similar examples!

[andrewsexton]

Fantastic video and explanations, i didnt think i had time to watch 27minutes whilst planing my current R U OK unit, but this captured me! Thank you so much for sharing, I watched start to finish, wrote notes and will add to my program :)

[davidcruz]

This would be great for my students, thanks for sharing

[LatoyaNickee]

This is an amazing lesson. I love the student engagement and metaphors you utilized!

[ATG]

I wish I had a teacher like you back in a day! Loved it!