Health and well-being

Objective & content

This sheet on health and well-being opens on the school nurse's advice in the school newsletter, "Exam year? Look after yourself!". In an exam year, some stress is normal: the nurse gives simple advice on sleep, exercise, breaks and relaxing, and reminds pupils that the school counsellor is there to listen, because asking for help is a strength. The advice carries all the target words in context, from well-being, mental health and routine to concentrate, mood, anxious, exhausted and support. By the end, pupils understand and use the words to talk about stress, sleep and well-being, and to give advice ("You should take a break", "If you feel anxious, talk to someone").

Pedagogical guide

The vocabulary work comes out of the advice, never from a list. Page 1 checks understanding with six multiple-choice questions, then pupils write the right word under six pictures (alarm clock, gym, water bottle); two words in the box have no picture. Page 2 matches eight words with their meanings (well-being, overwhelmed, a routine, a counsellor) and six collocations (take a break, ask for help, look after yourself). Page 3 uses eight words from a box of ten in new sentences, with two extra words, turns nouns into adjectives with -ful (stress, stressful), with a worked example and five items, and ends on a crossword of ten words, with clues from the nurse's advice. It is the hardest task, as there is no word box. Every task tests words, never grammar. Keep the talk practical and positive, and remind pupils who they can talk to at school.

Suggested procedure

1. (5 min) Ask pupils what helps them feel good before a test; write the words they know on the board.
2. (15 min) Pupils read the advice, answer the six questions and label the pictures.
3. (10 min) Page 2: match the meanings, then the collocations.
4. (15 min) Page 3: complete the eight sentences, the adjectives with -ful, then the crossword.
5. (10 min) Correct with the answer key on pages 4 and 5; end by naming the people pupils can talk to at school.

Adaptations

[S] Read the advice aloud together first; do the first two meanings on page 2 together.

[A] After the collocations, pupils write three pieces of advice for a friend before an exam.

Materials & prerequisites

One copy per pupil of the three pupil pages, in colour or black and white. Pages 4 and 5 are the answer key with teacher notes: keep them. Pupils should know the imperative, should, the first conditional, the present perfect and relative clauses. To take it further, pupils make a well-being poster for the classroom.