Lesson Plan

HabitWise Lesson #2

Grade Level: 6-12

Length: 45-60 minutes

DE Domain: VAR

  • Students will identify the parts of a habit loop and explain how they work together.
  • Students will analyze how the habit loop applies in their everyday lives.

Students learn how the habit loop works and how, specifically, stress-related habit loops affect our lives.

VAR.7 – Create and track sustainable and desirable habits

VAR.5 – Practice and demonstrate self-awareness of thought processes and behavior

Key vocabulary:

  • Habit loop: A process that trains our brains to do the same thing over and over again.
  • Cue: What prompts a habit loop to start. It can be anything from a certain feeling (which could be emotional or physical), a time of day, a place, people you’re with, what you did just before – or some combination of those things.
  • Behavior: The action of the habit.

What to look and listen for:

  • Can students identify satisfaction and negative side effects associated with behaviors?
  • Can students identify their own habit loops and the impact they have?
  • Are students able to persist when developing new habits or crushing negative habits?
  • If not, are they able to reflect and try new tips?

Lesson:

Engage (20 minutes):

Give your students a few minutes to share about their successes and challenges in working to develop the habit they identified last week.

 

Suggested Questions:

Last week, we identified some new healthy habits to practice.

  • How did you feel when you completed the actions around your helpful habit? Does that motivate you to continue?
  • Did you find it challenging at first to start the new habit? What got in the way?
  • Did you notice any positive or negative effects because of the changes you made?

 

Show Video #2: How Habits Can Help Us Manage Stress and then have students return to their small groups to continue reflecting on the habits they’re beginning to develop.

 

Suggested Questions:

  • What is a habit loop? How can habit loops help us interrupt negative habits and form better habits?
  • Considering the habits you identified in the last lesson, what cues (feeling, time of day, place, people) can help remind you of doing the habit?
  • Is there a small reward you could consider when you follow through with your commitment to developing the habit?

 

Apply (10-15 minutes):

Bring the class back together to discuss the satisfaction and negative side effects associated with certain behaviors, completing a few examples together as shown in the table below:

 

Each of the following behaviors could offer some sense of satisfaction. Some would be likely to have a positive, long-lasting influence on one’s life, but others would be likely to have negative side effects.

  • What satisfaction could be associated with each behavior (even if it’s not a habit you would have)?
  • What negative side effects could be associated with each behavior?

 

Reflect (10-15 minutes):

Give your students time to analyze their own habit loops using this worksheet

Differentiation:

Ask a few students to draw their diagrams on the board and describe them to the class. (Check to be sure that their ideas are in the correct parts of the habit loop.)

Help students understand that stress responses may be subtle or unnoticeable to others (e.g. racing thoughts, forgetfulness, trouble focusing, high heart rate, tightness in chest, sweating, upset stomach).

Optional extensions:

Use the weekly habit recap sheet as a tool to support student journaling and reflection between lessons (this is introduced in lesson 5 of this unit).

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