Unit Title MIND MATTERS Stage 5 Unit Length: 8 lessons (50 minutes)
Unit Description
In this unit, students will examine mental health and how it can impact upon a persons’ wellbeing during every day life. Students will learn the language of mental illness and break down different illnesses and analyse the impact this may have upon a person suffering from each illness. Students will also examine ways to create a positive state of mental health and how this can improve their home, school and living environment. Student knowledge will be assessed through points of discussion (to be assessed by teacher) and written exam toward the end of the unit.
Knowledge and Understanding Outcomes
5.1 – A student analyses how they can support their own and others’ sense of self
5.6 – A student analyses attitudes, behaviours and consequences related to health issues affecting young people
Skills Outcomes
4.11 - Selects and uses communication skills and strategies clearly and coherently in a range of new and challenging situations
4.12 – Assesses risk and social influences and reflects on personal experiences to make informed decisions
Students learn about: Mental health
- Understanding mental health - Maintaining connections - Help-seeking behaviours
- Loss and grief, helpful and unhelpful strategies - Reching out; helping yourself and helping others
Supporting yourself - Identifying “put downs”
- Reframing negative thoughts and statements and positive thinking - Effective stress and anger management
- Appropriate expression of needs and feelings
Students learn to:
- Challenge negative community perceptions of mental health and identify reasons why these have developed
- Explore the relationship between body image and gender, and the impact of the media on the manufacture of the ideal male and female body types
- Suggest positive strategies of loss and grief
- Analyse the range of influences that impact on an individual’s ability to behave in healthy and safe ways
- Explain how thoughts can affect feelings and behaviour and practice strategies to manage unhelpful tand unrealistic ways of thinking - Examine the role and impact of stress on health and rehearse a range
of positive management strategies, eg yoga, relaxation, physical activity, lstening to music
Resources
Cross Curricular
ICT – Interactive software used in classroom Literacy – extended responses are used in this unit
Assessment Opportunities
Assessment can be continuous, this unit promotes high levels of discussion to create understanding, teacher’s can assess understanding through this
discussion. Exam at the end of the workbook/unit.
MIND MATTERS
Syllabus and Teaching Focus Teaching and Learning Sequence Classroom Resources
5.1 – A student analyses how they can support their own and others’ sense of self
5.6 – A student analyses attitudes, behaviours and consequences related to health issues affecting young people
Students learn about: Mental health
- Understanding mental health - Maintaining connections - Help-seeking behaviours
- Loss and grief, helpful and unhelpful strategies - Reching out; helping yourself and helping others
Supporting yourself - Identifying “put downs”
- Reframing negative thoughts and statements and positive thinking
- Effective stress and anger management - Appropriate expression of needs and feelings
Lesson one: Introduction to Mental Illness, examining the terminology that will be used throughout the unit and a brief
summary of some of the mental illnesses that will be examined. Brief worksheet to determine prior knowledge.
Discussion: The focus of this lesson is through discussion, students can learn from each other through this process.
Important: Reassure the students that this classroom is a safe
environment, where students can open up and will be respected. Also important to note if students do find the content confronting, to let the teacher know.
What do we want students to learn? Students will learn the language terminology as well as brief definitions of some of the mental illnesses to be covered.
Lesson two: Understanding Depression Align with Prezi Presentation.
ICT video – used to introduce depression, also use for talking points throughout the lesson.
Engaging students in discussion about depression through various YouTube clips and discussion points. This lesson creates an awareness about the severity of depression and the impacts it can have on an individual suffering from the effects of the illness. Important to share stories if you have some of your own. What do we want students to learn? Depression is an ever increasing mental illness that is often not recognised by younger communities or confused for other symptoms. This is why it is important to create an awareness about the severity of depression.
Will require a laptop and some form of electronic
presentation, for all lessons.
Students learn to:
- Challenge negative community perceptions of mental health and identify reasons why these have developed
- Explore the relationship between body image and gender, and the impact of the media on the manufacture of the ideal male and female body types
- Suggest positive strategies of loss and grief - Analyse the range of influences that impact on
an individual’s ability to behave in healthy and safe ways
- Explain how thoughts can affect feelings and behaviour and practice strategies to manage unhelpful tand unrealistic ways of thinking - Examine the role and impact of stress on health
and rehearse a range of positive management strategies, eg yoga, relaxation, physical activity, lstening to music
Lesson three: Understanding Eating Disorders Align with Prezi Presentation
*SENSITIVITYNEEDSTOBECONSIDEREDWHENEXAMININGTHIS PARTICULARMENTALILLNESS*
ICT video – used for introduction and discussion throughout the lessons
What do we want students to learn? Opportunity here to highlight the influences of media and public opinion on issues such as body image and weight gain. This is a tricky lesson as the focus cannot be solely on anorexia and bulimia but the illnesses do need to be addressed. The attempt is to relate it to perception of the media and community.
Lesson Four: Anxiety Disorders Align with Prezi Presentation
ICT videos – introduction and discussion points for/throughout the lesson
Discussion: Discussion of how anxiety disorders can develop, relate to the work load of students and the roles they can be juggling at one time. Take the time to distinguish between the different anxiety disorders and discuss on each.
What do we want students to learn? Students need to be able to identify and understand the different forms anxiety can take and how it can impact on the person as well as the people around them.
Lesson Five: Bipolar Mood Disorder Align with Prezi Presentation ICT – use video as a discussion point
Black Dog Institute examination of website and organisation What do we want students to learn? With knowledge already gained on depression from previous lesson, build upon this knowledge with discussion on bipolar, students will need to
Lesson 6: Schizophrenia
This is the last mental health problem to be examined Align lesson with Prezi Presentation
Use ICT videos as discussion points: Videos give an easy,
interactive breakdown of schizophrenia and provide active points for discussion about the illness.
What do we want students to learn? Students need to become aware of what Schizophrenia is and the challenges that sufferers face. Active support services should also be identified with the students as well as the importance of support networks among friends and family.
Lesson 7: Chance for assessment. The booklet has a
revision/assessment on page 53-54. Recommendation is individually scanning the exams and handing them out (saves back checking through the book). This will also allow you to assess their knowledge and how much has been learned. Continue over the page once
assessment is complete to engage students in an opinion survey about mental illness.
What do we want students to learn? Students should be able to recall information about the previous mental illnesses studied in class, there by answering the questions given to them in the exam paper. Students should then be able to answer the opinion questionnaire, challenge their opinions and justify their choices.
Lesson 8: Understanding and Attitudes
Significant opportunity for discussion, no use of ICT technology needed for this lesson, focus is on student opinion. Need ability to facilitate discussion and prompt students with questioning.
