Teachers and Staff

The resources provided are intended to promote your students’ overall well-being as well as your own. The list includes activities, professional development, and strategies that can be implemented virtually or in a traditional classroom setting.

Category

 CDC Foundation

How Right Now is a communications campaign designed to promote and strengthen the emotional well-being and resilience of people disproportionately impacted by mental health challenges. Support for the campaign is provided by CDC and the CDC Foundation.

 CDC Resources

Information about youth connectedness - an important protective factor for health and well-being.
2020 has been a difficult year for many. In addition to the pandemic, our nation has faced an unprecedented hurricane season and historically bad wildfires, as well as earthquakes and tornadoes. Supporting mental health through these challenges is critical, for people of all ages.
CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health (OSH) developed this presentation to educate youth on e-cigarettes, including the health risks, the factors that lead to e-cigarette use, and what youth can do to avoid all tobacco products, including e-cigarettes.
Parents for Healthy Schools

Parents for Healthy Schools
A set of resources to assist schools, school groups, and school wellness committees with encouraging parent involvement in school health. Parents for Healthy Schools uses evidence-based strategies for parent engagement.

Parents for Healthy Schools: A Guide for Getting Parents Involved from K-12
A guide that explains how parents can use Resources for Parents for Healthy Schools, which is designed to motivate and educate parents to help create healthy school environments.

Parents for Healthy Schools E-Learning Course
A course that provides resources to motivate and educate parents to be part of creating a healthy school environment.

Information for teachers and other school staff on increasing parent engagement in school health.
Information about supporting the health of LGBTQ youth by focusing on protective factors.
Tips and resources on school employee wellness programs.
Research brief on how school leaders can improve the overall school environment by strengthening the connection between school nutrition, the social and emotional climate, and social and emotional learning through policies and practices.
Get information, strategies, and resources on addressing the social and emotional climate in schools.

 General Health and Safety

Sleep Education for School
American Academy of Sleep Medicine
Lesson plans to help K–12 teachers educate students about the importance of sleep for overall health.
Ready-made professional development resources to help school teams implement the WSCC model.
Call the USDA National Hunger Hotline at 1-866-3-HUNGRY or 1-877-8-HAMBRE to speak with a representative who will find food resources such as meal sites, food banks, and other social services available near your location.

 Mental Health and Stress Management

An article with accompanying lessons and activities around managing stress, regulating emotions, and responding positively to setbacks.
A handout that includes a self-care self-assessment with key strategies for fostering resilience and a self-care planning tool to assist educators in identifying areas of strength and growth related to self-care and developing self-care plans.
A 33-page professional development guide that includes take-home PD activities.
TAP Online Free Training Series
Boston Children's Hospital
Free professional development for educators on social-emotional learning and behavioral health in schools. Each course is self-paced and includes tools and strategies for use in the classroom and overall school environment.
SEL Resources
Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL)
A collection of resources curated by CASEL designed to support educators, parents, and caregivers in enhancing social and emotional needs.
A few guided exercises to help build gratitude into your life.
A resource that describes how to recognize and address signs of traumatic stress in children of different ages.
Share My Lesson
Share My Lesson (SML)
An offering of lesson plans by educational level. Find strategies and lessons for remote teaching, social emotional learning, coronavirus and assisting special populations.
Health and wellness worksheets, educational games, articles, and tunes for teachers.

 Distance Learning

A library of free resources including printable worksheets, online games, guided lessons, lesson plans, and more organized by age and subject. Requires account creation.
Brain Breaks: Classroom Energizers
K. Welker, C. Cox, H. Baer, S. Duessel (2019)
Here you will find resources and links to classroom energizers for almost any student.
Calm and Re-Focus: Breathing & Stretching Breaks for Students
K. Welker, C. Cox, C. Myers, J. Tiberi-Ramos (2019)
Here you will find links to a variety of breathing and stretching techniques for almost any student.
Creating a Daily Schedule
Nebraska Department of Education
Steps to create a schedule that has the flexibility to meet individual and household needs.
Share My Lesson
Share My Lesson (SML)
An offering of lesson plans by educational level. Find strategies and lessons for remote teaching, social emotional learning, coronavirus and assisting special populations.
A list of free and for-purchase online virtual learning platforms.
WestEd's FAQs around three areas of safety in digital learning environments: securing the digital classroom, how to ensure students display good digital citizenship, and privacy and permissions.

 Physical Activity

Move More Together
American Heart Association
A collection of virtual workouts and streaming events for the family.
Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
A comprehensive text that discusses the proven benefits of physical activity and outlines the amounts and types of physical activity recommended for different ages and populations.