Managing Energy Lesson Plan

Standards Addressed

• Self-Awareness: Recognizing one's emotions and values as well as one's strengths and limitations.
• Self-Management: The ability to regulate one's emotions, thoughts, and behaviors effectively in different situations.

Materials

• Paper (one sheet per student)
• Markers, colored pencils, or crayons
• Whiteboard or chart paper
• Printed battery icons or emoji stickers (optional)

Objectives

Students will be able to:

• Identify activities and situations that drain their energy
• Identify activities and situations that recharge their energy
• Create a personal plan to manage their energy throughout the day

Assessment

Students can be assessed on:

• Identifying at least 3 of their biggest energy drains and 3 of their biggest energy rechargers during the day
• Developing strategies to help them recharge when they are feeling drained at different points during the day

Activating Prior Knowledge

• Begin by drawing a simple battery on the board, half-full. Explain that there are different ways your energy is impacted during the day:
  • Energy Drains - things that use up your energy; they might be hard, boring, or take a lot of effort (example: homework)
  • Energy Gains - things that charge you back up; usually things that feel good or easy (example: going for a walk)
• Brainstorm with students specific examples of energy drains and energy gains.
• Let students know that they will not all have the same answers because everyone’s battery is different.

Lesson Steps

1) Have students fold a piece of paper in half or draw a line down the middle. On the left side write “Energy Drains” with an arrow pointing down. On the right side, write “Energy Gains” with an arrow pointing up.

2) Tell students that you’re going to map out a typical school day to help them figure out what drains them and what charges them up. Start with “Before School.” Write on the board two examples, such as “Getting dressed for school” and “Eating breakfast.” Say to students: "Think about this part of your day. What uses up your energy? What gives you energy? Write or draw it on your paper." Have a few volunteers share other examples.

3) Walk students through the rest of their day, putting a couple of examples from each time frame on the board. For example:

• During School - Class discussions, Lunch
• After School - Homework, Sports practice

Students should fill in a few examples of both energy drains and energy gains for the different parts of their day.

As you circulate, ask questions to get the students to be as specific as possible with their drains and gains. For example, “Do you find ALL class discussions draining? Or is it just certain classes?”

Teacher note: explain to students that some things can be both fun and draining. For example, playing a sport can make you feel good, but it also drains your energy.

4) After students have write and categorize what drains and charges their battery, have them pick their top 3 energy drains and top 3 energy rechargers and write them on the back of the paper. Help them brainstorm energy management strategies they can try for their energy drains. Give some examples on the board, such as:

• “If I’m drained after school, I can _________ to recharge before starting homework.”
  • Suggestions might include getting a snack or playing a game for 30 minutes.
• “If ________ drains my battery a lot, I can ________ to reduce the drain.
  • Suggestions might include going to eat in the library if the cafeteria is too noisy.

Circulate and help students create specific, realistic energy management plans. For instance, if they write down “take a break” as a way to recharge, guide them to put down a specific activity to do during that break, such as “play with my fidget toy” or “go for a short walk.”

Reflection

Ask students to share one energy drain they discovered that they didn’t realize until this activity. Explain to students that we can’t eliminate all energy drains in life, but we can plan for them by:

• Making them smaller when possible
• Building in rechargers throughout the day
• Recognizing when our battery is getting low so we’re not caught off guard

Also explain that it’s perfectly normal for your battery capacity to change from day to day. For instance, on sick days or when we are feeling stressed, we’re going to start the day with a lower battery, and that’s ok.

Challenge students to try one energy management strategy from their plan this week and notice what happens. Check back in with them to find out how it worked.

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Here is the printable version of  Managing Energy Lesson Plan.

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