Healthy Living

Unit Plan

In this 6-lesson unit, students will learn to recognize signs of mental health struggle and how to be there for others.

Healthy Living

Lesson

Students will learn to recognize their limits and how to take care of their own mental health.

Healthy Living

Lesson

Students will learn the difference between a mental health struggle and crisis, how to start a conversation with someone who is struggling with their mental health, and what to do if someone is in crisis.

Healthy Living

Lesson

Students will learn how to build trust and find practical ways to help someone through their day to day life.

Healthy Living

Lesson

Students will learn what it means to be a good listener and how to balance the conversation.

Healthy Living

Lesson

Students will learn what their role is - and is not - when supporting someone and how to set boundaries to protect their relationships and their own mental health.

Healthy Living

Lesson

In this lesson, your students will learn to access professional and community resources and what to expect from them.

Mental Health

Lesson

In this lesson, students will review key terms and concepts from the Jack Talk: How to Apply Mental Health Knowledge module. They will then discuss and practise the steps for developing effective inquiry questions. Building on their understanding of mental illnesses and addictions introduced in the Jack Talk, students will create their own inquiry questions focused on a specific mental illness or addiction.

Mental Health

Lesson

In this lesson, your students will revisit key terms and concepts from the Jack Talk: Introducing How to Be There for Ourselves. By applying their knowledge to scenarios and identifying ways to practise self-awareness, emotional regulation, self-compassion, self-care, and help-seeking behaviours when faced with challenges, they will deepen their understanding.

Mental Health

Lesson

As part of the Jack Talks program, this On Demand Talk uses peer-to-peer learning to teach young people across Canada that we all have mental health and we all need to care for it. Jack Talks aim to reduce barriers to help-seeking through the goals of all Jack.org programs: increasing mental health awareness, knowledge, and literacy; reducing negative attitudes like shame, stigma, and silence; and advocating for more appropriate and accessible services. 

Mental Health

Lesson

As a follow-up to Jack Talk On Demand: Mental Health Essentials, students have the opportunity to revisit some of the key ideas shared by the speakers. Students can consolidate their learning through discussion, reflection, and application of knowledge.

Indigenous

Lesson

This lesson explores Indigenous perspectives on wellness, highlighting diverse supports—nature, laughter, relationships, creativity, animals, and personal reflection.

Mental Health

Lesson

In this lesson, students will revisit key terms and concepts from the Jack Talk: Practicing How to Be There for Ourselves. They will reflect on strategies for building resilience and discuss various topics, including overcoming challenges, the role of support systems, and the importance of community.

Jack Intersections

Lesson

This video-based lesson helps students explore how digital platforms can both support connection and increase stress, especially during emergencies. Students learn to notice the emotional impact of online content, identify signs of stress from digital use, set healthy boundaries with social media and news, and develop strategies to protect their well-being while staying connected to peers and trusted supports.

Digital

Activity

Students will reflect on their digital interactions and their effects, whether through social media, games, apps, or other online platforms.

Digital

Activity

In this activity, students reflect on how different online spaces, people, and content affect their mood and mindset, recognizing which support their well-being and which tend to drain or distract them. They then decide what to keep, limit, or let go of.

Digital

Activity

In this activity, students examine when their screen use feels automatic or unhelpful, then create small, realistic strategies to pause or replace those habits in support of their well-being.

Active Listening

Activity

This activity focuses on the importance of active listening, especially when someone shares a mental health struggle.

Supporting Others

Activity

In this activity, students explore what stops people from asking for help with their mental health and introduces the importance of offering support and connecting to help.

Self-care

Activity

In this activity, students discuss the concept of self-care and explore coping strategies they can implement in their lives.

Teacher Guides

Guides

Talking about mental health can sometimes be difficult for young people — especially those who are struggling or have experienced a difficult situation. In accordance with multiple academic and school boards’ best practices, we have taken measures to ensure that our messages are well evaluated, safe, and as non-triggering as possible.

Teacher Guides

Guides

Teaching mental health is no small feat. Brush up on your mental health fundamentals with our Mental Health 101 Guide, designed to make sure you have the information you need to answer student questions with confidence.

Teacher Guides

Guides

The words we choose are important. Build a healthier conversation with our notes on choosing language that supports the mental health of your students.

Teacher Guides

Guides

Trauma is “both the experience of, and a response to, an overwhelmingly negative event or series of events, such as interpersonal violence, personal loss, war or natural disaster. In the context of violence, trauma can be acute (resulting from a single event) or complex (resulting from repeated experiences of interpersonal and/or systemic violence)”.