Mindfulness
In the Elementary Classroom
Created by Mallory Goodrich
amonsm@email.sc.edu
EDET 722: J50
University of South Carolina
October 6, 2021
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Welcome
Thank you for your interest in learning more about using mindfulness in your elementary classroom. This module will help you understand what mindfulness is, how to recognize it in your life, identify some of its benefits, and give you some strategies to use with your students.
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Training
Objectives
The purpose of this training is to define mindfulness, explore the benefits of mindfulness, and to learn simple strategies to integrate mindfulness into your classroom.
The target audience for the module is elementary school teachers, however this knowledge could be transferable to other school settings. Participants should have at least one year of classroom teaching experience.
The training module is broken into four lessons and designed to take 15-20 minutes from start to finish. It is recommended that participants complete the lessons in the order in which they are numbered.
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Defining Mindfulness
2
3
1
Examples and �Non-Examples
4
Mindfulness Practices
Benefits of Mindfulness
Learn about the origins, historical definitions and modern definitions of mindfulness
Learn about everyday ways that we show and don’t show mindfulness
Learn about academic, behavioral, and social-emotional benefits of students practicing mindfulness
Learn three different mindfulness strategies to implement with your students
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Lesson 1
Defining Mindfulness
The goal of this lesson is to be able to identify the origins of mindfulness and its current definition.
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Lesson 1
Defining Mindfulness
The word mindfulness is rooted in Buddhist scriptures (Singh & Singh, 2021, p. 11).
The Buddhist scriptures, known as the Theravada, are written in the Pali language (Singh & Singh, 2021, p. 11).
The Pali word “sati” is translated as mindfulness (Singh & Singh, 2021, p. 11).
It’s definition is “memory, recognition, consciousness . . . intentness of mind, wakefulness of mind, mindfulness, alertness, lucidity of mind, self-possession, conscience, self-consciousness” (Pali Text Society, 1999, p. 1513).
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Lesson 1
Checkpoint
Can you explain the origins of mindfulness practice in your own words?
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Lesson 1
Defining Mindfulness
Today, mindfulness has transformed from a Buddhist practice to a practice used by others in many fields, and its meaning has shifted (Singh & Singh, 2021, p. 14).
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines mindfulness as “the practice of maintaining a nonjudgmental state of heightened or complete awareness of one's thoughts, emotions, or experiences on a moment-to-moment basis” (Merriam-Webster, n.d., Definition 2)
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Lesson 1
Defining Mindfulness
Click the video to watch mindfulness expert, Jon Kabat-Zinn, explain his definition of mindfulness (Arthio Productions, 2011).
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Lesson 1
Checkpoint
What are the three key ideas present in both modern definitions of mindfulness?
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Lesson 1
Review
Let’s review! Use what you’ve learned in Lesson 1 to help you answer the following questions:
True or False: The practice of mindfulness originated in the Buddhist religion.
True
False
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Lesson 1
Review
Let’s review! Use what you’ve learned in Lesson 1 to help you answer the following questions:
Which of the following is not a key idea in the modern definition of mindfulness?
heightened awareness
non-judgmental
focus on the present
creating lists
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Lesson 2
Examples and Non-examples
The goal of this lesson is to be able to identify examples of ways that we show and don’t show mindfulness in our daily lives.
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Lesson 2
Examples
Here are some everyday examples of mindfulness:
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Lesson 2
Examples
Here are some everyday examples of mindfulness:
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Lesson 2
Examples
Here are some everyday examples of mindfulness:
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Lesson 2
Examples
Here are some everyday examples of mindfulness:
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Lesson 2
Checkpoint
Write a few sentences about a time in your life when you were being mindful.
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Lesson 2
Non-examples
To be mindful. you don’t need to just sit with your legs crossed, and you don’t need to just focus on your breath. You only need to be aware (Brinson n.d.).
Non-examples of mindfulness include:
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Lesson 2
Checkpoint
Write a few sentences about a time in your life when you were not being mindful.
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Lesson 2
Review
Let’s review! Use what you’ve learned in Lesson 2 to help you answer the following questions:
Read the scenario and classify it as an example or a non-example of mindfulness.
Mike is going on vacation tomorrow. As he goes to sleep he keeps revisiting his mental packing list, making sure he has not forgotten anything.
Example
Non-example
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Lesson 2
Review
Let’s review! Use what you’ve learned in Lesson 2 to help you answer the following questions:
Read the scenario and classify it as an example or a non-example of mindfulness.
Mia is leaving for college tomorrow. When she gets home from work, she sits in her backyard concentrating on the sound of the wind in the trees, the feeling of the sun on her face, and the grass on her feet.
Example
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Lesson 3
Benefits of Mindfulness
The goal of this lesson is to be able to identify academic, behavioral, and social-emotional benefits of mindfulness for students.
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Lesson 3
Benefits of Mindfulness
When students practice mindfulness, there are many academic, behavioral, and social-emotional benefits that they can experience (Singh & Singh, 2021).
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Lesson 3
Benefits of Mindfulness
Here is how mindfulness can benefit students academically:
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Lesson 3
Benefits of Mindfulness
Here is how mindfulness can benefit students behaviorally:
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Lesson 3
Benefits of Mindfulness
Here is how mindfulness can benefit students behaviorally:
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Lesson 3
Benefits of Mindfulness
Here is how mindfulness can benefit students socially and emotionally:
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Lesson 3
Benefits of Mindfulness
Here is how mindfulness can benefit students socially and emotionally:
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Lesson 3
Benefits of Mindfulness
Here is how mindfulness can benefit students socially and emotionally:
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Lesson 3
Checkpoint
Identify a situation from your classroom experience which could have been handled by encouraging students to use mindfulness.
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Lesson 3
Review
Let’s review! Use what you’ve learned in Lesson 3 to help you answer the following questions:
True or False: An improvement in students’ memory is one academic benefit of mindfulness.
True
False
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Lesson 3
Review
Let’s review! Use what you’ve learned in Lesson 3 to help you answer the following questions:
True or False: Improved focus and attention to tasks is one way mindfulness supports students’ behavioral well being.
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Lesson 3
Review
Let’s review! Use what you’ve learned in Lesson 3 to help you answer the following questions:
True or False: An improvement in students’ ability to concentrate is one way mindfulness supports students’ social-emotional well-being.
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Lesson 4
Mindfulness Practices
The goal of this lesson is to provide you with three different mindfulness exercises you can use with your students.
The following examples were suggested by Courtney Ackerman, a graduate of the positive organizational psychology and evaluation program at Claremont Graduate University. She is currently a researcher for the State of California (Ackerman, 2021).
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Lesson 4
Bell Listening Exercise
Follow these steps to practice the Bell Listening exercise with your students:
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You may choose to have them stay at their seats or move seats into a circle. You may also ask students to sit or lay on the floor.
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Lesson 4
Bell Listening Exercise
Follow these steps to practice the Bell Listening exercise with your students:
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Lesson 4
Bell Listening Exercise
Follow these steps to practice the Bell Listening exercise with your students:
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Lesson 4
Checkpoint
Identify a situation in which the Bell Listening exercise could be used in your classroom.
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Lesson 4
Heartbeat Rhythm Exercise
Follow these steps to practice the Heartbeat Rhythm exercise with your students:
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Lesson 4
Heartbeat Rhythm Exercise
Follow these steps to practice the Heartbeat Rhythm exercise with your students:
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Lesson 4
Heartbeat Rhythm Exercise
Follow these steps to practice the Heartbeat Rhythm exercise with your students;
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Lesson 4
Heartbeat Rhythm Exercise
Follow these steps to practice the Heartbeat Rhythm exercise with your students;
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Lesson 4
Heartbeat Rhythm Exercise
Follow these steps to practice the Heartbeat Rhythm exercise with your students;
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Lesson 4
Heartbeat Rhythm Exercise
Follow these steps to practice the Heartbeat Rhythm exercise with your students;
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Lesson 4
Heartbeat Rhythm Exercise
Follow these steps to practice the Heartbeat Rhythm exercise with your students;
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Lesson 4
Checkpoint
Identify a situation in which the Heartbeat Rhythm exercise could be used in your classroom.
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Lesson 4
Body Scan Exercise
Follow these steps to practice the Body Scan exercise with your students;
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Lesson 4
Body Scan Exercise
Follow these steps to practice the Body Scan exercise with your students;
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Lesson 4
Body Scan Exercise
Follow these steps to practice the Body Scan exercise with your students;
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Lesson 4
Body Scan Exercise
Follow these steps to practice the Body Scan exercise with your students;
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Lesson 4
Checkpoint
Identify a situation in which the Body Scan exercise could be used in your classroom.
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Lesson 4
Review
Let’s review! Use what you’ve learned in Lesson 4 to help you answer the following questions:
True or False: The purpose of the bell listening exercise is to help students become interested in playing music.
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Lesson 4
Review
Let’s review! Use what you’ve learned in Lesson 4 to help you answer the following questions:
True or False: The purpose of the heartbeat rhythm exercise is to help students learn to pause and reset when they are in stressful situations.
True
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Lesson 4
Review
Let’s review! Use what you’ve learned in Lesson 4 to help you answer the following questions:
True or False: The purpose of the body scan exercise is to allow students a chance to move their bodies to help release stress.
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Congratulations on completing Lessons 1-4 of this training module!
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References
Ackerman, C. E. (2021, July 16). Mindfulness in education: 31+ ways of teaching mindfulness in schools. PositivePsychology.Com. https://positivepsychology.com/mindfulness-education/
Arthio Productions. (2011, August 14). What is mindfulness? [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWaK2mI_rZw
Brinson, S. (n.d.). What mindfulness is and is not. Sam Brinson. Retrieved September 7, 2021, from https://www.sambrinson.com/what-mindfulness-is-and-is-not/
Mayo Clinic Staff. (2020, September 15). Mindfulness exercises. Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/consumer-health/in-depth/mindfulness-exercises/art-20046356
Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Mindfulness. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved September 6, 2020, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mindfulness/
Mindful Schools. (n.d.). Research on mindfulness in education. Retrieved September 9, 2021, from https://www.mindfulschools.org/about-mindfulness/research-on-mindfulness/
O’Brien, M. (2019, August 28). What is mindfulness? (and what does it mean to you?). Mrs. Mindfulness. https://mrsmindfulness.com/what-is-mindfulness/
Okafor, J. (2020, September 2). Mindfulness for students - benefits and practice. TRVST. https://www.trvst.world/mind-body/benefits-of-mindfulness-for-students/
Pali Text Society. (1999). Sati. In T. W. R. Davids & W. Stede (Eds.), In Pāli-English Dictionary. http://media.voog.com/0000/0037/7838/files/Pali-English%20Dictionary%20Free.pdf
Singh, N. N., Singh Joy, S. D. (Eds.). (2021). Mindfulness-based interventions with children and adolescents: Research and practice. New York: Taylor and Francis.
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Thanks!
Thank you for your interest in this instructional module. I hope that you find using mindfulness in your classroom helpful, fulfilling, and valuable.
Thank you again for your time. Please contact me with any questions you may have.
Do you have any questions?
Mallory Goodrich
amonsm@email.sc.edu
EDET 722: J50
University of South Carolina
October 6, 2021
Please keep this slide for attribution
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