Name: Maggie Do Valle

Grade Level: High School (9-12)

Date: Spring Semester 2018

Topic: Reflection

Lesson Title: Being mindful about our thoughts and feelings

Age of Target Population: 14-18 years old

Demographics: young high school minority students, mostly female

Objectives (need to use the ABDCE formula):

Cognitive: Following the lesson, the participants will identify 3 ways to deal with
negative thoughts by writing it down on index cards

Affective: The participants will show willingness to try meditation at least once a
week by creating and signing a behavior change contract

Psychomotor: Participants will journal for 5 minutes during the lesson on a piece of
paper that will be handed out to them

Introduction: In this lesson participants will be taught about what mind chattering is,
as well as the effects our thoughts have on our actions and vice versa. As well as
different ways to cope with negative thoughts. At the end of the lesson, participants
will be knowledgeable on at least 2 coping mechanisms, and will know a little more
about mindful self-reflection.

I. Developmental Section: (this is the core of the lesson plan and includes
content material from MindUp book and discussion questions)

Content Outline Method/Strategy Estimated Time Materials Needed

Needed

I. Introduction of Lecture 10 minutes Laptop, Projector

Reflection

II. Fill in the Blank Discussion 10 minutes Piece of paper,

writing utensil
 III. My mind is a Role Play 10 minutes Math worksheet,
cast of characters writing utensil,
nametags, script

IV. Journaling Reflection 5 minutes Piece of paper,

writing utensil

II.

Summary of Discussion Questions:

For the lecture portion of the lesson, participants will be asked if they have ever been
kept up at night because of flooding of thoughts. They will be then asked some effects
that those floods have on their daily lives, and whether those thoughts are mostly positive
or negative. Then at the end of the fill in the blank activity, participants will be asked
whether situations affect their thoughts and then later their actions, and for examples of
that. After the “my mind is a cast of characters” activity, participants will be asked how
the stress put on them by outside forces affect their emotional and mental health. Finally
participants will be asked how they felt after journaling about their week.

Conclusion/Culmination:

 Thoughts are just thoughts, and we have the power within ourselves to keep
negative thoughts from negative impacting our everyday lives
 Participants will be able to identify at least 3 strategies to cope with negative
thoughts and mind chattering
 Culminating questions: What do you think are some effects that your thoughts
have on your actions? What have you learned about mind chattering today?
 Next Meeting: “In today’s meeting you learned about negative thoughts, but also
start to think about whether you consider yourself an emotional person, and how
your emotions impact your everyday decisions”

Anticipated Problems/Possible Solutions:

Some anticipated problems include students not being fully engaged in activities, as well
as not taking the journaling exercise seriously. Some ways to solve these issues would be
to make sure that the facilitators are asking open questions to the participants as well as
being really high energy. Secondly in order to make sure that participants are taking the
journaling exercise seriously, the facilitators should reiterate the importance and positive
effects of using this coping mechanism, as well as not making the activity too long to the
point where students are getting bored.
 Evaluation: An anonymous posttest will be handed out to participants asking for
feedback on the lesson, how much they enjoyed each activity, and what the likelihood is
that they will incorporate what they learned into their daily routine.

Supplemental Material to Support the Developmental Section (here you will expand on each
section of your outline. Please see pp. 226-229 for an example).

I. Introduction of Reflection – Lecture

1. Review the previous weeks’ material that focused on mindfulness regarding the body

2. Begin by asking discussion questions, such as whether any of them have ever been
kept up at night due to their thoughts flooding their minds, as well as asking whether their
distracting thoughts are usually positive or negative

3. Following the small discussion, state that thoughts are simply thoughts

4. Define what mind chattering is

Conclude by: introducing the idea that there is a relationship between our thoughts, emotions,
and actions

II. Fill in the Blanks- Discussion

1. Have participants take out some kind of writing utensil and a piece of paper. Then tell the
participants to number the paper from 1 to 5.
2. Read the following statements out loud and tell the participants to fill in the blanks.
3. The following statements are as follows:
a. I got an 80 on a test that I stayed up late to study for. I feel ____ because ____.
b. The coach comes into the gym to tell us who made the team. I feel ____ because
____.
c. During lunch in the cafeteria, I see my best friend talking to the new students in
class. I feel ____ because ____.
d. My brother has a surprise party for his birthday. I feel ____ because ____.
 e. I get a notice that the tickets for the school prom are $90. I feel ____ because
____.
4. Ask the participants to share their answers with the people around them.
5. After a couple of minutes, begin an open discussion with the whole group and ask some
participants to share their responses to the statements.

Conclude with: Our thoughts have a direct impact on our actions. For example, for the first fill in
the blank, if you only got an 80 on a test that you stayed up and studied all night for, you may
feel unmotivated to study for the next test because your hard work didn’t pay off.

Then, begin speaking about the relationship between thoughts, feelings, and actions. For example
if you are in a good mood and happy, you are more likely to act kind and positive towards those
around you. Then introduce the effects that negative thoughts have on our actions, leading to a
cycle of negativity.

Lastly finish by showing a power point slide of different strategies that help when trying to cope
with negative thoughts.

III. My Mind is a Cast of Characters

This activity is used to further explain the term mind-chattering.

1. Ask one participant to volunteer to sit in front of the class as the student, and ask four
participants to volunteer to be the students’ thoughts.
2. Hand out name tags with the name of a role (parent, teacher, friend, and self) and a script to
each of the students who are “thoughts”
3. Have the participants who are the “thoughts” stand in a circle around the seated student
4. Explain to the class that a math worksheet is being given to the seated student to complete.
5. While she is filling out the worksheet, ask all the “thoughts” to repeat their lines over and
over again

After the demonstration is complete, ask the volunteers as well as the rest of the group the following
questions:

 How did this experience affect your ability to complete the worksheet?
 Were the “thoughts” helpful or unhelpful? Pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral?
 How did listening to this affect your mood?
 How difficult was it to stay focused?
 What other kinds of messages or thoughts did you find in your mind at times?
 Is this activity relatable to your personal lives?

Conclude by: Stating that thoughts are just thoughts. The mind constantly chatters. We can work with
the chattering mind by being mindful of our thoughts and watching them come and go. We don’t need
to believe everything we think, and we should try to be aware of them instead of just ignoring
them.

IV. Journaling

1. Ask each participant to take out a writing utensil and a piece of paper

2. Express to the participants how important it is to cope with negative thoughts in a

healthy manner, and that our thoughts do not control us that we instead control it. That although
it is inevitable that our mind will chatter and that negative thoughts will run through our minds,
that it is important that we are all knowledgeable on ways to stop them from having a negative
impact on our lives.

3. Ask the students to for a few minutes reflect on their week. Then ask them to write
down any negative or positive feelings they may have had throughout the week and what
caused them.

4. Reiterate the fact that these are for their personal growth, and that they do not need to
share it with the group.

Conclude by: Asking how they felt after writing down their reflection, and whether it was helpful
or not to them.

Evaluation: (see p. 229 for an example)

Objective Technique of Assessment

Cognitive: At the end of the lesson the Facilitator will go around the room asking
participants will identify 3 ways to deal participants to share with the group a
with negative thoughts by writing it down coping mechanism that they learned
on index cards through the lesson

Affective: Participants will show Facilitator will ask participants to share

willingness to try a destressing method by how they will incorporate a destressing
creating and signing a contract for method in their everyday lives
themselves on a piece of paper.

Psychomotor: Participants will participate Facilitator will ask the participants to share
in journaling on a piece of paper for 5 whether this exercise was helpful
minutes at the end of the lesson