Activity: Students listen to the story and reflect on how the elephant helped the tiger gain the courage to face his fears. Students discuss the elephant’s behavior when he refused to let his fears get in the way of doing something he really wanted to do, and how that relates to their lives. They respond to the questions: Do fear and worry keep you from doing things you’d really like to do? How do you calm yourself down when you’re scared or worried? Students learn some coping and calming techniques to put in their life skills toolkit.
Materials needed: the video; a chart with directions for the Happy Memory activity and the Body and Feelings activity
Directions: Show the story video. Explain: “Today we’ll discuss the story, ‘Be Brave Little Tiger’ and what we can learn from its message about facing our fears. We’ll also talk about what we can do when we feel worried or scared.” Point out that the tiger was afraid of everything until he saw that the elephant didn’t allow his scary experience with the mouse deter him from courageously going back to the fruit tree for a delicious meal. That’s when the tiger decided to do something about his fears by singing a song to remind him to be brave - and it worked. Remind students that everyone has fears and we all need to find ways to be brave. Explain: “We don’t want our fears and worries to keep us from doing things we’d really like to do. Additionally, we want to find ways to calm ourselves down when we need to. Do you remember how the tiger calmed himself with a song? We will practice some ways that will help us be calm when we need it here at school, and I hope you’ll also try them out at home.” Lead students through the following practices. Provide a visual aid for the activities as a daily reminder.
Happy Memory activity: This can be done in pairs or individually. Have them close their eyes unless they have a partner. If they’re in pairs, signal for each person’s time to share. Begin by telling them to think of a really happy memory; make some suggestions if they need a prompt. Give students a half a minute or so to come up with something and check to see if everyone has one. Tell students to answer these questions with as much detail as possible. If they’re in pairs, signal when the second person should begin sharing. (1) Where are you? Describe what the place looks like. (2) What do you hear? (3) Can you smell something? (4) What does it feel like to be there? (4) If you’re with people, what are they talking about or doing? (5) What are you doing? (5) Why does this experience make you feel so happy? Pause after each question to give them time to visualize the memory. Lead a discussion about the activity by asking volunteers to share about their Happy Memory experience. Point to the chart that lists all the questions and encourage each volunteer to answer all those questions. Explain that we need reminders of the good experiences in our lives, especially when we’re worried or afraid: “The next time you feel worried or afraid, do the Happy Memory activity. Take a few minutes, close your eyes so you can see the picture in your mind of your happy memory. Go through all the details of what it was like, and then, when you’re done, see if it makes you feel better.”
Relax your body activity: Tell students to sit in their chairs with straight backs and close their eyes. Or they can sit or lie down in a circle on the floor with you, with legs stretched out and toes in the middle of the circle. Explain that we’re going to relax our bodies, one part at a time. Guide them through the process, counting to 5 slowly for each movement: Wiggle your toes, point your toes, relax your toes; scrunch your feet, stretch them out, relax your feet; shake your legs, make them stiff as a board, make them still; tuck in your tummy, stick it out, relax your tummy; shrug your shoulders, relax them; wiggle your arms, make them stiff as a tree branch, relax your arms; move your neck around and around one way in circles, then the other way, relax your neck; crunch up your face, relax your face. Take a deep belly breath, then let it out, and do this three times. Open eyes, and sit up if lying down. Take a minute before getting up. Ask, how do you feel?
ABC’s game: Explain: “Do this when you can’t stop thinking about something that worries you. This will distract you until you have a chance to talk to someone about the problem. Make sure you tell someone when you have a problem that you can’t get out of your mind. That’s the best way to get results. We’ll try it out in pairs and I’ll show you how to use it by yourself.” In pairs: Take turns naming the letters in the alphabet one by one and identifying an object in the room (or somewhere else if you can’t find one) that begins with that letter. Start at A and end in Z, going in order. If you get stuck, ask your partner for help, or the teacher. If you’re by yourself, you do the whole alphabet on your own.
Wrap up: Explain that today we talked about how we don’t want our fears and worries to keep us from doing the things we’d like to do. Additionally, we learned some practices that will help us relax, be calm, and think about our happiest memories. Repeat the activity as much as possible so students can learn these coping methods. Add activities that help kids deal with fears and worries.
Related resource: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKDbdAZO-F0&t=1s
Activity: Students listen to the story and reflect on how the elephant helped the tiger gain the courage to face his fears. Students discuss the elephant’s behavior when he refused to let his fears get in the way of doing something he really wanted to do, and how that relates to their lives. They respond to the questions: Do fear and worry keep you from doing things you’d really like to do? How do you calm yourself down when you’re scared or worried? Students learn some coping and calming techniques to put in their life skills toolkit.
Materials needed: the video; a chart with directions for the Happy Memory activity and the Body and Feelings activity
Directions: Show the story video. Explain: “Today we’ll discuss the story, ‘Be Brave Little Tiger’ and what we can learn from its message about facing our fears. We’ll also talk about what we can do when we feel worried or scared.” Point out that the tiger was afraid of everything until he saw that the elephant didn’t allow his scary experience with the mouse deter him from courageously going back to the fruit tree for a delicious meal. That’s when the tiger decided to do something about his fears by singing a song to remind him to be brave - and it worked. Remind students that everyone has fears and we all need to find ways to be brave. Explain: “We don’t want our fears and worries to keep us from doing things we’d really like to do. Additionally, we want to find ways to calm ourselves down when we need to. Do you remember how the tiger calmed himself with a song? We will practice some ways that will help us be calm when we need it here at school, and I hope you’ll also try them out at home.” Lead students through the following practices. Provide a visual aid for the activities as a daily reminder.
Happy Memory activity: This can be done in pairs or individually. Have them close their eyes unless they have a partner. If they’re in pairs, signal for each person’s time to share. Begin by telling them to think of a really happy memory; make some suggestions if they need a prompt. Give students a half a minute or so to come up with something and check to see if everyone has one. Tell students to answer these questions with as much detail as possible. If they’re in pairs, signal when the second person should begin sharing. (1) Where are you? Describe what the place looks like. (2) What do you hear? (3) Can you smell something? (4) What does it feel like to be there? (4) If you’re with people, what are they talking about or doing? (5) What are you doing? (5) Why does this experience make you feel so happy? Pause after each question to give them time to visualize the memory. Lead a discussion about the activity by asking volunteers to share about their Happy Memory experience. Point to the chart that lists all the questions and encourage each volunteer to answer all those questions. Explain that we need reminders of the good experiences in our lives, especially when we’re worried or afraid: “The next time you feel worried or afraid, do the Happy Memory activity. Take a few minutes, close your eyes so you can see the picture in your mind of your happy memory. Go through all the details of what it was like, and then, when you’re done, see if it makes you feel better.”
Relax your body activity: Tell students to sit in their chairs with straight backs and close their eyes. Or they can sit or lie down in a circle on the floor with you, with legs stretched out and toes in the middle of the circle. Explain that we’re going to relax our bodies, one part at a time. Guide them through the process, counting to 5 slowly for each movement: Wiggle your toes, point your toes, relax your toes; scrunch your feet, stretch them out, relax your feet; shake your legs, make them stiff as a board, make them still; tuck in your tummy, stick it out, relax your tummy; shrug your shoulders, relax them; wiggle your arms, make them stiff as a tree branch, relax your arms; move your neck around and around one way in circles, then the other way, relax your neck; crunch up your face, relax your face. Take a deep belly breath, then let it out, and do this three times. Open eyes, and sit up if lying down. Take a minute before getting up. Ask, how do you feel?
ABC’s game: Explain: “Do this when you can’t stop thinking about something that worries you. This will distract you until you have a chance to talk to someone about the problem. Make sure you tell someone when you have a problem that you can’t get out of your mind. That’s the best way to get results. We’ll try it out in pairs and I’ll show you how to use it by yourself.” In pairs: Take turns naming the letters in the alphabet one by one and identifying an object in the room (or somewhere else if you can’t find one) that begins with that letter. Start at A and end in Z, going in order. If you get stuck, ask your partner for help, or the teacher. If you’re by yourself, you do the whole alphabet on your own.
Wrap up: Explain that today we talked about how we don’t want our fears and worries to keep us from doing the things we’d like to do. Additionally, we learned some practices that will help us relax, be calm, and think about our happiest memories. Repeat the activity as much as possible so students can learn these coping methods. Add activities that help kids deal with fears and worries.
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