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In addition to backpacks and school supplies, high school students often carry the burden of stress, anxiety, and depression from class to class. But unlike books and heavy backpacks, teenagers don’t always put them down easily—unless they know how to regulate their emotions and connect with their true feelings.
Mindfulness is the practice of focusing on the present moment and the way your body responds to it. From meditation scripts to breathing exercises to mindful writing ideas, this set of mindfulness activities for high school students includes thoughtful ways to help students understand how their bodies carry emotions and lighten their emotional load before moving on to their next class.
Quick Mindfulness Activities for Task Switching
Moving from one classroom task to another can be confusing and not entirely relaxing after a while. Give high school students a short SEL brain break to get their bearings and notice their feelings and surroundings.
- Scan your body: Where are students’ anxieties? Teach them to do a quick internal body scan and notice the physical sensations of their emotions.
- catch my breath: If your high school student comes to class with hunched shoulders and a lot of stress, take a moment between tasks to breathe in and out slowly and purposefully.
- Schedule a minute of yoga: You don’t need to teach a gym to get your teens moving! Show them some standing or seated yoga poses (think seated cat-cow pose) to release any tension they have hidden deep in their body.
- Reflect on the final activity: What did the students think of the previous lesson? Take a few seconds to have an open class discussion about whether your lesson today was easy or anxiety-provoking.
Give students some time to breathe and refocus
The best mindfulness activities for high school students are quick and easy to learn (and teach). Use these easy-to-implement resources to help teens listen to their bodies and center their experience in a short time.
Mindfulness Practice: Mindfulness Mandala and Task Card Activity Pack
children’s issues
Grade: 5-10
Topics: School Counseling, School Psychology
A series of mindfulness mantras and task cards allow students to become aware of their surroundings and practice self-awareness. From breathing exercises to paying attention to your surroundings, each activity is a clever way for students to stay grounded and self-regulated.
Post-Test Brain Break Activities – SEL or Mindfulness Middle School or High School
Through innovative English teaching
Grade: Grades 6-12
Fight test anxiety and ensure everyone stays quiet with post-exam mindfulness activities. Easy coloring projects, Sudoku puzzles, doodle prompts and foldout pages ensure everyone can cool down after exams without disturbing other classmates.
Mindful writing activities for high school students
For some students, writing is an effective way to truly connect emotionally with the here and now. From daily SEL check-in writing prompts to longer essay assignments, these activities are suitable for ELA, social studies, or any other class where students need time to reflect.
- Keep a stress diary: Are Mondays more stressful for students than other days? Will exams make them anxious all day long? Have them track their stress levels in class and throughout the week with SEL journal prompts and stress monitor levels.
- Assign SEL check-in writing prompt: Before beginning the day’s class work, give students five minutes to reflect on how their day has gone so far. They might be able to leave some concerns on the page that will make them more willing to learn from you.
- Write an emotional poem: Nothing makes you feel more present than poetry. Take students outside and encourage them to write about what they see, hear, smell, and feel while sitting in one place.
- Track growth areas: Stress is not always an accurate indicator of how well a person is performing. Have students set a goal for an area of improvement, such as a specific grade or skill, and encourage them to track their progress.
Help students write down their thoughts and feelings
What is the difference between thoughts and feelings? Help students decipher each with writing prompts and activities that focus on the physical sensations of feelings, the way thoughts contribute to stress, and how to calm the body when experiencing strong emotions.
Journal of Mental Health & Mindfulness (in partnership with @caffeinateandeducate)
Author: Donut Love Teacher
Grade: Grade 5-9
Topics: Classroom Community, Social Emotional Learning
Teach students to identify how they feel, how their thoughts affect them, and how their bodies react through a series of journaling prompts and interactive digital activities.
Mindfulness meditation activities for teenagers to try
Although some consider meditation in high school to be controversial, it can actually be as simple as taking a moment in class to center your mind and body. Guide students through the meditation process to keep them mindful and alert for the rest of the day (and their day).
- Start class with a minute of meditation: Imagine a time of day when students are not responsible for writing or turning something in! Dedicate the first minute of class to silent meditation to get students relaxed before they even take out their pencils.
- Create a meditation playlist: Music can help even the most anxious students practice mindfulness. Play calm, meditative music while students study or reflect before packing up.
- Use the guided meditation script: Help students stay mindful and grounded with guided meditation scripts that encourage them to observe their breath, body reactions, and sensory experiences in the moment.
- Quiet your inner dialogue: Describe how negative self-talk can sometimes dictate our inner dialogue, and model ways to observe your thoughts without judgment or distraction.
Take meditation breaks to regulate your mood
Busy teenagers often don’t have any free time in the day, so you need to work it into their schedule. Use these mindfulness activities to allow high school students to practice the art of meditation and connect their physical sensations to emotional awareness.
Mindfulness Meditation for Teens – Social Emotional Learning – Audio and Script
Monday becomes easy
Grade: Grade 5-12
Topics: School Counseling, School Psychology
Standard: CCSS.SL7.1, 7.5, 7.6; SL.8.1, 8.5, 8.6; SL.9-10.5, 9-10.6
CCSS-aligned resources guide students through a seven-minute visual meditation script that helps them increase focus and self-awareness, and reduce stress and anxiety. In addition to the script, this resource also comes with recordings in different digital formats for student meditation and emotional regulation.
Inspiring mindfulness to improve classroom environment
Being mindful is about being aware of your surroundings, which in high school may include busy bulletin boards, noisy classmates, and distracting posters. Use the classroom itself as a mindfulness tool to calm students’ emotions and reduce their stress levels.
- Decorate with SEL strategy: Whether it’s breathing activities, coping skills or reminders of positive affirmations, add mindfulness activities for high school students to your classroom walls or bulletin boards.
- Use calming colors: Swap bright reds and oranges for cooler colors like blues and greens to keep the classroom quiet and help students focus.
- Mantra for establishing a growth mindset: Posters with growth mindset mantras help ease stressful exam days as well as moments of daily anxiety, reminding students that today is just the first step in their personal growth journey.
Decorate your classroom with positive affirmations
Keep negativity out of the classroom by hanging positive affirmations on your walls. Students can incorporate these proverbs into their internal dialogue, making their learning environment an important part of their mindfulness practice.
Mindfulness Bulletin Board Affirmation Cards Freebie!
Author: Counselor Pai
Grade: Grades 6-12
Topics: Health, School Counseling, School Psychology
This mindfulness bulletin board resource is perfect for display in the classroom, office or hallway, emphasizing the importance of self-care and developing a growth mindset. A free affirmation checklist helps students practice positive self-talk, while a complete bulletin board toolkit includes coping mechanisms, stress management strategies, and ways to increase self-awareness and mindfulness.
Benefits of Daily Mindfulness for Teens
Practicing mindfulness in everyday life is a skill that teens can use long after they leave the classroom, especially as they mature and life becomes more complex. That’s why the daily implementation of these exercises can become one of the most important aspects of your lessons, both now and in the future. Short-term and long-term benefits of high school mindfulness activities include:
- Meet national health education standards, including analyzing health resources and setting goals to support mental and emotional health
- Improves attention in class, thereby improving skill retention and grades
- Reduce stress in all aspects of life, whether academic or personal
- Enhancing executive functioning and learning skills in high school students
- Better emotional regulation and behavioral choices
- Stronger relationships with family and peers
Focusing on mindfulness can also enhance a sense of community in the classroom. When students become more aware of their own emotions, they can understand their peers’ perspectives and reduce conflict over time.
Be mindful before, during and after class
Introducing mindfulness activities to high school students does not require additional instructional time. In fact, a course that focuses on mindfulness may be able to complete a lesson with fewer distractions, making your teaching more effective and impactful.
Find ways to create more SEL activities for high schools, including emotion vocabulary lessons and team-building projects. You can also incorporate more high school mindfulness resources into stressful times of the year, daily check-ins, or ways to reach students who are keeping themselves from enjoying important teenage years because of anxiety.
