When students think critically about mental health skills, they are more likely to apply this learning to their lives when they need it most. There are a few helpful ways that you can encourage this level of student engagement with the Open Parachute lessons:
1. Encourage students to reflect deeply on their own choices
For example, when you teach a lesson on friendship challenges, you can ask questions that help students reflect on how they might respond to this challenge, such as: "What helpful/unhelpful choices do we make when we find ourselves in this type of a situation with our friends?"
2. Encourage students to reflect often on their own thoughts.
For example, if you are teaching a lesson that introduces a breathing strategy for stress/anxiety, you can help students notice what is going on in their own minds by saying: "Are we thinking we can try this strategy, or are we holding ourselves back with unhelpful thoughts about why this won’t work…?”
For more helpful strategies on how you can help students engage with the content, see our Help Article: Helping Students Relate to the Lessons.
If you would like more information on reinforcing and facilitating meaningful student learning throughout the school day, refer to our Help Article: Scaffolding Opportunities.