GRADES K-3

Specific Session Objective
Students will explore methods of dealing with fears and anxieties.

Session Materials
Name tags with "FearBusters" and the participant's name (one per player)
Magnifying Glasses made out of construction paper (one per player)
FearBuster supply kits (one per player plus one spare) consisting of:
     construction paper,  magnifying glass, a journal
     a water gun, a small flashlight, a pencil
A sign that says "Jason's Room"
Masking tape
Enough chairs to make a bed, dresser, closet, etc.

Session Content
1. Before the class starts mark off an area of the room that will be Jason's room.  Hang the sign in the area.  It may be helpful to mark the area out in masking tape so that the bedroom boundaries are clear.  Mark areas of the room such as the bed, the closet, the dresser, etc. using chairs and signs.

2. Distribute name tags to all participants.  Inform the participants that they will be acting as FearBusters.  FearBusters are known for their ability to help any person overcome their fear and anxiety.

3. The leader is in role as the Head FearBuster.  Thank you for attending this emergency meeting.  Jason, a seven year old boy, has a terrible fear of the dark.  It seems that Jason has heard strange noises in his room at night.  Sometimes he hears a low growling noise; other times he may hear an evil chuckle or the creaking of the closet door. Jason is not sure where the thing in his room lives.  As FearBusters, our task is to develop ways to get rid of this "thing" in Jason's room. Remember that these bedroom "things" can be tricky so we're going to have to all work together to solve this one.  Oh, one more thing. Remember that physically attacking the monster does not help--it only causes the "thing" to break into a bunch of smaller "things".  I'm excited about this challenge!  Let's get ready to go!

4. Pass out the supply kits to the FearBusters.  These are tools that we have successfully used before to get rid of bedroom "things" before. Allow the FearBusters a few minutes to reacquaint themselves with the tools.  Although we have used a magic liquid in the water guns in the past, we are trying out a new invisible substance that works just as well.  However, when our job here is finished you are welcome to take these tools home.  If you choose to use the magic liquid in the water guns for personal use, that is up to you.  I am sure that you will find the new invisible substance works just as well for all types of unknown "things".  There are some new additions to your supplies.  Recent studies have shown that recording information about the "thing" or  writing a story about it has been shown to work in certain instances. The flashlight contains a special beam which works to disintegrate the "thing".  The magnifying glass, as you recall, is used to look for clues so that we can find where the "thing" in Jason's room is hiding.  Does anyone have any questions before we leave?

5. Lead the FearBusters to Jason's bedroom.  Pause just outside the entrance.  Please be careful and work together.  We don't want any casualties in there.  You know, it's always possible that there is more than one "thing" in Jason's room.  Each "thing" responds differently to our tools so we'll have to figure out just what kind of "thing" or "things" we're dealing with and figure out what tool will work best. Quiet now, let's go.  Lead the FearBusters into Jason's room.  Divide them into small groups to look for clues in different areas of Jason's bedroom: the bed, the closet, etc.  The leader moves around between the groups and facilitates as needed.  Allow a few minutes cf clue hunting and then huddle together in the middle of the room to discuss the findings.  Remember to whisper!  What did the group by the bed find? The closet group?  The window group?  Let's put these all together and figure out what kind of "things" we're dealing with.  Does anyone have any ideas?  Leader facilitates as necessary.

6. After the group has decided what types of "thing(s)" they are dealing with, they must decide what tools to use.  What tool do you think will work best for this thing in Jason's room?  If there are multiple "things" in the room, discuss the best method for getting rid of each one.  Leader facilitates as necessary.  Ok.  Now that we've decided on a tool, let's try it out.  If there is just one "thing", the entire group can use their tools together.  If there are multiple "things", divide the FearBusters into smaller groups that will fight each "thing".  What do you guys think?  Did we dispel this "thing" from Jason's room?  Is it gone for good?  If the "thing" has not been thoroughly dispelled:
Sometimes it takes a combination of two different tools to work.  Let's try that.  No bedroom thing has ever survived the use of two tools! Allow the FearBusters to choose the tools they want to use and as before you may work as one group or divide into smaller groups.  Shhhhhhh!  Do you hear that?  We did it!  The bedroom "thing" is gone!  Now Jason will be able to sleep again.  Before we go, let's leave Jason a note about what he can do if any "things" show up again.  The leader-in-role writes the note while soliciting suggestions from the FearBusters.  I'll leave Jason one of our tool kits and our work here is finished! Congratulations, troops!  Lead the group out of Jason's bedroom and back to the FearBusters' headquarters.  Thank you for all of your help.  You are free to go home now.

Session Assessment
1. Bring the group into a circle.  Discuss the different tools that we had to use against the "thing" in Jason's room.  Suggest that if they know anyone at home who has a "thing" in his/her room, that they can use these tools to get rid of the "thing".
2. The "thing" in the room is an unknown fear.  But what about known fears like snakes, spiders or flying?  The leader may offer an example of something he/she is afraid of.  Solicit examples of things the players are afraid of.  How can we face or get rid of these known fears? Suggest that journaling is one way of dealing with any type of fear.

Relevant References in Goleman's Emotional Intelligence: pp. 56-58.
                                                                Designed by: Michelle Renee White

GRADES 4-5
Specific Session Objective
    Student will recognize patterns of negative self-talk and apply strategies to transform negative self-talk to positive.

Session Content
    Emotion Game Show
        Students as contestants line up.  They are told that they will be asked a series of questions about how they see themselves.  The object of the game is to answer each question in a positive manner.  If their answer reflects a negative self-image, they will be "bonged" by the other contestants and sent to the back of the line.  If they answer with a positive, they will be asked two more questions, and if these are positively answered, they can come to the front and sit down.  Each contestant is to listen and assist with "bonging".  The pacing should be very fast, and questions rapid-fire.
    Forum Theatre
        Set up a scenario of the first day of school.  Ask for a volunteer to be the "new kid".  Ask for suggestions about the worse possible first day experiences.  Other students are assigned roles accordingly.  The "new kid" has a shadow that is his/her own "self-talk".  This person will reflect their internal monologue.  Use spotlighting to freeze the action in order to discuss anxiety and fear responses.  Elicit suggestions from the students about how to manage these responses more effectively.  Encourage students to take turns in the "first day kid" role and apply the new strategies being discussed.

Session Assessment
    Discuss strategies that may be employed to monitor "self-talk".  Ask for suggestions for a situation where they often feel anger, fear or sadness.  Have them role play in groups, applying strategies to handle these feeling while recognizing that the feelings do not change who they are as people.  Discuss what came out during the scenarios and whether they would feel more comfortable next time they experience any of these emotion.
                Designed by L. Hager

GRADES 6-8
Specific Session Objective
    Students will recognize that anger is not a primary emotion.
    Students will explore the emotions that lead to anger.
    Students will pinpoint examples of primary emotions that lead to anger in their daily lives.
Terms
    Primary Emotion - one's first, initial gut reaction to a situation
    Secondary Emotion - a broader, more overpowering emotion immediately following one's
                                     primary emotion
    Emotional Hijacking - moments when the neocortex, or thinking brain, is overpowered
                                      by the limbic brain, causing an emotional explosion or outburst
Materials
    chalk and chalkboard
Session Content
1.  Introduction:  The leader will be sitting in front of the room reading quietly as the class arrives.  Once everyone is present, another instructor from the school will come in and start an argument with the leader.  Once this has gotten the attention of the entire class, the discussion should build to a heated argument, and then the leader should call "freeze."  Explain that the argument was a dramatization, then discuss what students observed about the progression of feelings.  The gist of the discussion should be that the reason you became so angry was that the entire class was watching.  Then discuss how you label that feeling (embarrassment), and clarify that embarrassment was your primary emotion, leading to the secondary emotion of anger.  Discuss the fact that anger is never a primary response, it always grows out of some other emotion.
2.  Dramatization:  Divide the class into groups of 3-4.  Give each group a primary emotion to dramatize (frustration, disappointment, sadness, rejection, fear) that leads to the protagonist's anger.  Have each group present their scene to the class.  Ask the class to identify what the primary response was and how they knew, then have them identify the moment when the secondary response of anger took over.
Session Assessment
    Read to the class pp. 61-62 from Emotional Intelligence and discuss the concept of emotional hijacking.   By the next class, have students journal three situations where they became emotionally hijacked, and ask them to pinpoint what the primary response was that lead to anger.  If they cannot figure out what it was, have them journal the situation in great detail, then present it to the class to get their feedback on what the primary response in the situation was.
Relevant References in Goleman's Emotional Intelligence: pp. 13-14, 26, 61-62, 137-138
                                                                                  Developed by H. Drastal
 

GRADES 9-12
Specific Session Objective:
    Students will brain storm situations that may lead to an emotional hijacking and explore how they can deal with the flood of emotion to stay in control of the situation.

This lesson requires previous discussion and/or exploration of the concept of emotional hijacking.  Emotional Intelligence pp. 13-14, 61-62, 137-138.

Session Content
1.  Warm-up:  Split the class into pairs.
    "The Emotional Hijacking Exhibit"
        Each student will share with their partner a situation in which they were emotionally hijacked.
        Partners will then decide which story to portray and will create a tableaux to represent
        their scenario.
        Encourage students to pay attention to detail, especially concerning character, relationship,
        setting, preceding action, etc.
        Have half the class set up their tableaux as the rest of the class walks through the "exhibit."
        If time permits, have the spectators decide on titles for the sculptures, or rearrange the
        exhibit in the space to group statues by similar emotions or body positions, amount of
        tension, etc.
        Switch groups and experience the new "exhibits."
        Discuss what the students saw/learned/understood from the exhibit.
2.  Brainstorm with the class several situations that would result in at least one of the people involved having to deal with an emotional hijacking.
    Prompt the class to come up with situations that involve different emotions, (i.e. fear, anxiety, anger, sadness.)  Point out that these situations will involve more than one emotion.
    Split the class into groups of four.
    Have each group pick a scenario.  It is important that the group pick a scenario that is not too personal.
    Two members of the group will improvise the scene.
    Two members of the group will be the characters' "self-talk" monitoring their emotions and making suggestions (as the rational mind) on what actions to take to try to steer the scene.
    If time permits, ask for volunteers to show scenes to the class.
Session Assessment
    Have the class gather and discuss the influence their "rational voices" had on the scenes.  Discuss other observations or insights from the playing and/or observing.
    Closure:  ask students to journal about the situation they shared with partners during the warm-up.  This time they must also include how they might have talked themselves through the situation to arrive at a more positive or productive outcome.
                                                                                Developed by J. Goodstone