Mental Health Worksheets to Help Students Process the News

 

In recent years, many teachers have been struggling to find effective ways to respond to increasing anxiety and mental health challenges students are facing. Many of these mental health challenges are exacerbated as students learn about local and global news through social media, TV, and other sources. The reality of global wars, natural disasters, and other heavy events often lead to students' feelings of hopelessness and sadness, especially when the events in the news are deeply connected with students' personal experiences. 

We wanted to create a mental health guide to support students with processing the emotions they feel as a result of engaging with the news. This series of four printable worksheets include: 

1. an art activity for students to draw symbols that represent their emotions
2. an emotional wheel for students to select terms that describe their feelings
3. a body check-in activity to analyze physical sensations
4. journal prompts to process feelings about the elections
5. space to list members of the community that students can turn to for mental health support
6. a list of self care tools and activities
7. a chart to help students process things that they can control, as well as things that are outside of their control
8. journal prompts to help students brainstorm ways they can care for folks in their local community, as well as ways they can contact elected officials to advocate for issues that matter to them

If you're searching for a meaningful way to help students process their feelings and channel those emotions into positive actions, we encourage you to explore these worksheets for processing the news.