Lesson Title: Addressing School Anxiety amongst High School Students

Grade Level: 9th 12th grade

Duration: 45 minutes
ASCA National Standard for Students:
Academic Development
Standard A: Students will acquire the attitudes, knowledge and skills that
contribute to effective learning in school and across the lifespan.
Competencies: A: A1 Improve Academic Self Concept

A:A1.2 display a positive interest in learning

A:A1.5 identify attitudes and behaviors that lead to successful learning
A: A2 Acquire Skills for Improving Learning

A:A2.2 demonstrate how effort and persistence positively affect learning

Standard B: Students will complete school with academic preparation

essential to choose from a wide range of substantial post secondary
options, including college.
Competencies: A: B1 Improve Learning

A:B1.2 learn and apply critical thinking skills

A: B1.6 Use knowledge of learning styles to positively influence school
performance
A: B2 Plan to Achieve Goals

A:B2.5 Use problem solving and decision making skills to assess progress
toward educational goals

Career Development
Standard A: Students will acquire the skills to investigate work in relation
to knowledge of self and to make informed career decisions.
Competences: C: A1 Develop Career Awareness

C: A1.3 Develop an awareness of personal abilities, skills, interests and

motivations.

Personal/Social Development
Standard A: Students will acquire the knowledge, attitudes, and
interpersonal skills to help them understand and respect self and others.

Competencies: PS: A1 Acquire Self Knowledge

PS:
PS:
PS:
PS:

A1.4 Understand change is a part of growth

A1.5 Identify and express feelings
A1.6 Distinguish between appropriate and inappropriate behavior
A1.11 Identify and discuss changing personal and social roles

Standard B: Students will make decisions, set goals, and take necessary
action to achieve goals.
Competencies: PS: B1 Self Knowledge Application

PS: B1.1 Use a decision making and problem solving model

PS: B1.3 Identify alternative solutions to a problem
PS: B1.4 Develop effective coping skills for dealing with problems

Standard C: Students will understand safety and survival skills.

Competencies: PS: C1 Acquire Personal Safety Skills

PS:C1.10 Learn techniques for managing stress and conflict

PS:C1.11 Learn coping skills for managing life events

New York State Learning Standards

English Language Arts
Standard 1 - Language for Information and Understanding Students will listen,
speak, read, and write for information and understanding. As listeners and readers,
students will collect data, facts, and ideas; discover relationships, concepts, and
generalizations; and use knowledge generated from oral, written, and electronically
produced texts. As speakers and writers, they will use oral and written language
that follows the accepted conventions of the English language to acquire, interpret,
apply, and transmit information.
Standard 3: Language for Critical Analysis and EvaluationStudents will listen, speak,
read, and write for critical analysis and evaluation. As listeners and readers,
students will analyze experiences, ideas, information, and issues presented by
others using a variety of established criteria. As speakers and writers, they will use
oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English
language to present, from avariety of perspectives, their opinions and judgments on
experiences, ideas, information and issues.
Health, Physical Education, and Family and Consumer Science
Standard 1: Personal Health and FitnessStudents will have the necessary knowledge
and skills to establish and maintain physical fitness, participate in physical activity,
and maintain personal health.
NOSCA Components
3. Enrichment and Extracurricular Engagement

Goal: Ensure equitable exposure to a wide range of extracurricular and enrichment

opportunities that build leadership, nurture talents and interests, and increase
engagement with school.
Learning Objective: Following individual activities, class discussion, PowerPoint
Presentation, and counselor led instruction, 90% of the students will be gain more
knowledge about anxiety. In addition, theyll learn about the different categories of
anxiety. The students will also learn how to decrease their anxiety by gaining
knowledge on management techniques.
Co-Leaders: 9 12th Grade classroom teachers
Materials: How Anxious Are You? quiz
Pens
Power-Point presentation on Intervention Techniques
White board for projection of PowerPoint presentation
Post Questionnaire worksheet

Accommodation: Student with a learning disability: In order to accommodate a

student with a learning disability, the school counselor will hand out the How
Anxious Are you? quiz. They will inform the student that he or she will only have to
answer half of the questions in the 45 - minute time constraint. This is so the
student has completed the work with the other students on time. The student will
work in the classroom setting, and he or she will be sitting in front of the counselor.
This will help the student in case they have any questions regarding the quiz, such
as repeating instructions or if they dont understand a specific question.

Developmental Learning Activity:

Introduction (10 minutes): The school counselor will begin by introducing
themselves to the class, as well as thanking them for participation. They will then
introduce todays lesson topic, which is Addressing School Anxiety amongst High
School Students The counselor will briefly go over different types of anxiety
disorders. They will begin by defining anxiety as a feeling of worry, nervousness, or
unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain
outcome. The counselor will then ask questions to the students about the different
types of disorders such as separation anxiety, social anxiety, post traumatic stress
disorder, panic disorder, etc. The counselor will ask questions such as what is
PTSD?, What is social anxiety?, and What is separation anxiety? This is so the
school counselor has an idea of what the students already know about anxiety
before the lesson is started. School counselors will discuss how these disorders
affect students school performance overall. Approximately one third of children
were missing at least 90% of the time due to anxiety. Also, 53% of teenagers
received more than one anxiety disorder diagnosis (Last, 1998). Students may not

want to attend class due to a fear of some sort; therefore its important to try to
overcome these obstacles in order to succeed.
After giving the students some questions and statistical facts about anxiety,
they will be given a quiz based on what situations make them anxious. Theyll have
to write either 0 (never) to 10 (always). Each question is different based on the
different types of anxiety disorders. This will be followed me a discussion about how
to rate the scores. Then, the counselor will be given a PowerPoint presentation
based on techniques and interventions to help decrease anxiety. Lastly, there will be
a post questionnaire based on their knowledge throughout the lesson.
Activity #1 (10 minutes):
1) The school counselor will distribute a quiz titled How Anxious Are You? They will
be given a question and each student will have to rate how anxious they get during
different types of situations in school. They have to rate the question from 0-10. 0
means that never happens to them, 5 means they sometimes feel that way, and 10
means that they always feel that way.
a) After they take their quiz, the counselor will engage with the students about their
ratings. They will be instructed to add up all of their numbers. If they score from 015 they are below average on the anxiety scale, 15-30 is moderately anxious, and
over 30 is severely anxious. The school counselor will ask the students if they have
any questions about their score and that they can come talk to her after class if
theyd like.
Activity 2 (10 minutes):
1) The school counselor will then present a PowerPoint presentation. This
presentation is based on anxiety management techniques that are beneficial for
students suffering from anxiety. This will help students be more aware of what steps
are needed in order to decrease their anxiety so it wont affect their performance in
school. This presentation will discuss topics such as: relaxation training, cognitive
restructuring, exposure, and social skills training.
Conclusion (15 minutes):
1) The school counselor will distribute a post questionnaire quiz based on their
knowledge of todays lesson. This will be a variety of multiple choice and True and
False questions. These questions will be based on management techniques,
different anxiety disorders, and their quiz that they have taken. The school
counselor will then have a class discussion based on how important this information
is. They will explain how many students are unaware that they have anxiety, but
they start to notice making excuses not to go to class. This information gives a
better understanding to those excuses and what can be done about it. The
counselor will ask the students what they have thought of the lesson as well and if
any of the information had surprised them. The school counselor will then state that
she will be staying for 10 minutes after class for any of those who want to talk to
her about school anxiety privately.

Assessment/Evaluation:
Accomplishment of the learning objective is completed by the activities given to the
class. The school counselor will compare the students knowledge before the lesson
and after the lesson. They will take into consideration how many students were able
to answer the questions prior to the lesson. Then, they will look at the post
questionnaire quiz given to the students after the lesson. If 85% are able to identify
what anxiety is, what they learned about their own anxiety, the different types of
disorders, and the management techniques, the learning objective will be met. The
number of responses from students in the class discussion before and after the
lessons will demonstrate on how much it has influenced the students. The
information shared within the lesson and follow up should be shared with other
individuals such as the teachers, administrators, caregivers, and community
programs as well. This is for the stakeholders to work collaboratively on how the
attendance rates will not decrease over the time frame of this lesson presented.
Follow up: In a following lesson, the professional school counselors will ask
students about their previous knowledge in the previous lesson, which was about
bullying. The counselor will ask if they have any questions or concerns regarding
that lesson after giving them time to think about it. This is to also see if the
students are retaining the information and for counselors to notice if the goal to
increase attendance rates are met.

Addressing Anxiety amongst

High School Students
School Anxiety Management Techniques

Cognitive Restructuring
The student is asked to analyze his/her self statements
about school
Their negative beliefs about school is challenged with a
more positive, anxiety reducing perspective

Exposure
This is a step by step process in which the student is
gradually exposing themselves to the anxiety stimulus.

Medication
Drugs such as anti depressants can minimize panic
attacks while at school.

Relaxation Training
Enables the pupil to challenge feelings of anxiety
associated with attending school.
The individual is taught how to relax their bodies and
the use of associated mental imagery is encouraged.
Its to develop the individuals calm and relaxed
response when confronted with the feared stimulus.

Other Tips For

Decreasing School Anxiety
Get enough sleep!
Express yourself
Eat right
Meditate/exercise
Be positive
Plan ahead

Social Skills Training

This training involves the identification of the social
situations that cause anxiety in the student
The student then rehearses these situations, while
learning how to cope with them and what to do.
Social Anxiety is often diagnoses in young women.

How Anxious are you?

Directions: Please rate each situation on a scale from 0-10. 0 means
you never feel that way, while 10 means always you always feel that
way.

1. ______You have trouble speaking with other kids at

school?
2. ______ You feel that you would rather be with your
parents than at school?
3.

______ You have a fear of public speaking in class?

4.

______ You have a fear about being attacked or

bullied by a classmate?

5.

______ You dont want to go to class because youre

afraid of something happening in the school building
(fire, school shooting, etc)?

6.

______ You dont want to go to school because video

games and television is more fun.

7.

______ You have a fear that you will be judged based

on your appearance, so you feel that skipping school
is easier.

8.

______You worry that you wont have a perfect 4.0

GPA.

9.

______ You get sweaty, nausea, increased heart rate,

or shortness of breath while thinking of presenting in
front of class.

10.

______ You worry that failing a course will make you

want to drop out.

Post Questionnaire Quiz

Directions: Please Circle the Best Answer

1) Which type of anxiety disorder is when you have an intense, persistent fear of
being judged?
A) Social Anxiety Disorder
B) Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
C) Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
D) Separation Anxiety
2) Which anxiety management technique is when a student is asked to analyze
his/her self statements about why they are not attending school?
A) Exposure
B) Cognitive Restructuring
C) Medication
D) Relaxation Training

3) Who should you talk to if you are feeling anxious about attending school?
A) Your parents
B) Your teacher
C) Your school counselor
D) All of the above
4) Which tips would be best useful to decrease your anxiety?
A) Get a good night sleep
B) Exercise, such as yoga or meditation
C) Talk to your school counselor
D) All of the above
Please write T for True or F for False
__T__ Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is when individuals have persistent, recurring
thoughts and repetitive behaviors.
__T___ Exposure is when the student is forced to have to expose themselves to
the triggering factor causing the anxiety.
__F___ Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is when you have a fear of going to school
because youll miss your parents too much.
__F___ Young teenage boys develop more anxiety than girls do.
__T___ About one third of teenagers miss school due to having anxiety.
__T___ Relaxation Training is when the student is taught how to relax their bodies
and the use of associated mental imagery is encouraged