Less Stress = More Success: 50 Activities for Teaching Relaxation and Stress Management to Teens – Grades Six Through Twelve

This timely book provides concrete and useful strategies to help students get in touch with the effects of stress in their lives, and more importantly, helps students learn what they can do about it. Stress has an enormous impact on the ability of students to learn. The body’s defense system is built for short-term physical stressors, not long-term psychological and emotional stress, which can lead to health problems, memory loss, severe learning difficulties, and angry outbursts. Less Stress = More Success includes meaningful activities and impactful student “experience sheets” designed to help students understand what causes stress, identify sources of personal stress, and learn strategies for managing stress. Activities cover relaxation techniques; the roles of nutrition and exercise; success strategies such as goal setting, time management; and positive self-talk; and tips for dealing with anger, worry, and high-stakes testing. The relevant introduction covers current learning theory and brain science basics.