Mindfulness - (PDF version)
Ice breaker - 15 minutes
You will need a packet of raisins (one raisin per student)
Give each student a raisin, they’re not supposed to eat it YET. As you give the following instructions, you can write any suggested vocabulary on the board.
The following is a modified mindfulness exercise:
Pick the raisin in the palm of your hand. Look at it. Examine it. Describe the raisin (to each other or individually) What does it look like? What colour is it? How would you describe the texture?
Now, feel the raisin in the palm of your hand. What does it feel like against your skin? Pick it up with your other hand. What does it feel like in your fingers? Is it slimy? Rough? Smooth? Soft? Hard? Squeeze it softly. What do you feel? Smell the raisin. Describe how it smells. Put the raisin in your mouth, but do not eat it. What does it feel like on your tongue? What does the texture feel like now? How does it taste? How does the taste compare to the way it smelled? Move it around in your mouth and notice every aspect of the raisin. Bite the raisin and think about what you taste. Now how does the raisin feel in your mouth? Finish chewing and eat the raisin. How did it taste?
Explain - memory sometimes relies on the senses: taste, smell, sound or colours. Nominate a smell, taste or colour (cut grass, sunset, bells ringing...you can use flashcards, a screen or printouts) and ask your partner to describe it, then a memory attached to that thing/experience
Video/open debate 15/20minutes
Elicit - What is mindfulness?
Stop at the following times:
0.45 – When did you last do nothing?
3.01 – what is the meaning of ‘flipped my life upside down’?
3.14 – what are some different ways to deal with stress?
5.00 – how can daydreaming make you unhappy? What do you think you can do about it?
END – do you take time out of your life to relax and reflect? How do you ‘switch off’?
Do you think people think too much? Are we often distracted by our devices?
Debate 20 minutes
Separate the class into 4 groups (if possible), allow each group 5 minutes to discuss their topic, then have them move to a new group (they should sit with different people each time)
1 Could meditation help you live longer?
2 Could meditation help in education?
3 Do you meditate or would you like to learn?
4 What's the best time or place to meditate? What do people think about?
Writing (FCE/CAE standard)
A magazine is asking for articles on stress in the 21st century. The article must include
- examples of how get stressed and anxious in the 21st century
- how we can relieve stress and anxiety
OR Presentation
Present to your group a summary of common ways in which people experience stress and examples of how they combat it