SELF-IMAGE

1. I AM SPECIAL! …………………………………………………1

2. ONE OF A KIND ...... …. …..….9

3. THERE'S MEANING IN A NAME ...... 13

4. GETTING THE PICTURE IN FOCUS ...... 17

5. GETTING TO KNOW YOU ...... 25

6. GROWING EVERY DAY ..……………………………………29

7. I'M AS SMART AS I CAN BE ... I CAN SAY NO TO

ALCOHOL, TOBACCO & OTHER DRUGS!...... 35

8. I CAN BE HELPFUL...... …41 .

9. YOU CAN BE A STAR JUST THE WAY YOU ARE! ….. 45

'

10. WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH, THE TOUGH

GET GOING! ………………………………………………….... 49

11. I CAN BE... A STRESS-BUSTER WITHOUT ALCOHOL,

TOBACCO & OTHER DRUGS…………………………….53

12. YOU ARE THE PRODUCER! ………………………………..57

UNIT REVIEW …………………...... 64

'c^N' (0 1994 1 The 7i7 7°l- ('-n-ti

Self-Image .

I CAN BE... A STRESS-BUSTER

WITHOUT ALCOHOL,

TOBACCO 8 OTHER DRUGS

"It's not the situation but how we respond to the situation that's important."

OBJECTIVE:To help students identify stress and to handle it in a positive, healthy way.

MATERIALS:"I Can Be ... A Stress-Buster" Activity (K-1) (Incl.)

"I Can Be ... A Stress-Buster" Activity (4-5) (Incl.)

SUGGESTEDCheck with school librarian or school counselor for a current list of books on

LITERATURE:this topic.

INTRODUCTION: Help students develop a definition for stress. Ask students to tell how they feel when they are stressed using the certain feelings suggested to stimulate discussion: worried, headache, tummy ache, confused, upset, unhappy.

Discuss situations that bring about stress. Ask students to tell about an experience in which they have felt stress. Use the following topics to elicit further discussion:

gradesbreaking rules or laws

testsfear of not doing well

conflicts with friendstardiness

acceptanceschool plays or performances

Discuss how to eliminate stress. Ask students to tell how they can make stress go away. Use the following to trigger discussion, and write the students' responses on the chalkboard.

a

WAYS TO ELIMINATE STRESS

-talk to parents, teachers, friends, etc.

-play a game or sport

- go out and do something nice for someone - -take a break and do something else

53

ACTIVITIES:

Grades K-1

Hand out the "I Can Be... A Stress-Buster" Activity. Ask students to list things which make them unhappy in one column, and list what they do to make themselves happy in the next column. Allow students to share their work with their classmates.

Grades 2-3 Ask students to think about the following scenarios. Allow them to role-play the situations, then challenge them to be "stress-busters" by providing solutions to the problems.

  • You and your friends are trying out for a soccer team. They all make it and you don't. How do you feel? What do you do?
  • You are a new student at school. You walk into the classroom and everyone is staring at you. How do you feel? What do you do?
  • There is a spelling bee at school. You misspell the last word and your team loses. How do you feel? What do you do?
  • Your teacher explains that you must get to school on time. The next day you oversleep and arrive at school after the bell has rung. How do you feel? What do you do?

Grades 4-5Hand out "I Can Be... A Stress-Buster" Activity. Encourage students to share their stress and stress-buster examples with the class.

CLOSING: Discuss how stress can be handled inappropriately. "Some people use alcohol, tobacco or other drugs to try to make stress go away. " Explain that drugs only mask stress temporarily. "Drugs do not make stress go away, and often create more stress.

"An I CAN person handles stress in a positive, healthy way!" Remind students that some stress in life is normal, but too much stress is unhealthy. In closing, review some positive, healthy ways to eliminate stress.