Primary Resources
Body Scan Meditation
Age level: Upper Primary / High School
Type: Meditation
Topic: Body Scan
Useful for: Relaxation
Time: 15 minutes
​
This guided meditation is suited to upper primary students who have had some experience meditating or high school students. It is useful for helping students to relax their body and focus on each part which can give them better insight into themselves and their feelings. It can be great to de-stress, refocus and connect with self.
Age level: All
Type: App
Topic: Meditation
Useful for: Meditation Program
Time: 1 minute to 45 minutes
​
Smiling mind have created mindfulness programs for a range of ages and purposes. There are different age brackets and categories to choose from so that the meditations are easy to follow and allow you to progress the more that you practise. Whether practising personally, in the workplace or at school, it is a simple way to follow guided meditations to bring a sense of calm and peace into your life and your student's lives.
To be able to access the programs, you must create an account with Smiling Mind, but once you have done this, you are free to progress through at your own pace.
Age level: All
Type: Website / App
Topic: Meditation
Useful for: All Meditation
​
This app is useful for personal guidance with meditation and provides multiple meditation programs for different purposes. Some features are available for free, however to unlock the whole Headspace library, you must pay for a subscription to their app, which has a monthly fee between $12.50 and $19.99 (AUD). They offer programs for all aspects of life, including daily practise, personal growth and sleep.
Age level: All
Type: Application
Topic: Meditation
Useful for: All Meditation
​
Insight timer is an app that allows you to be entirely in control of your meditation practice. This app has multiple functions and ways to meditate. As well as having guided meditations, this app allows you to set timers for meditation along with background music to create a peaceful atmosphere. You can also connect to the community of people who are meditating along with you. There are courses on the app that have a fee for access. However, many other features will keep you meditating and are available for free.
Mindful Breathing Meditation by Stop, Breathe and Think
Age level: Middle Primary and above
Type: Video
Topic: Mindful Breathing
Useful for: Meditation Break
Time: 5.22 minutes
​
This video is a quick and straightforward guided meditation that can be done to help take some time to focus on your breath. It is a powerful tool for relaxation and re-focusing. It can be used as a brain break or as a meditation break between lessons or during some free time.
Breathing Superpower Compilation: Kids Mindfulness by Stop, Breathe and Think
Age level: Year 2-5
Type: Video
Topic: Breathing Techniques
Useful for: Self-regulation
Time: 12.12
​
This compilation of breathing techniques is a clear way to illustrate how to carry out breathing techniques for younger students. The cartoons help to keep students engaged in the activities and provide them with visual representations of the feeling of their breath.
Three main breathing techniques included are:
-
Breathing Anchor – This runs from 0.00 to 5.18
-
Square Breathing – 5.18 – 7.38
-
Counting breaths – 7.38-9.52
-
Cooling out-breath – 9.52 – 12.12
It can be used in the classroom to teach students different strategies to self-regulate as paying attention to our breathing can often be a way to bring a great sense of calm into our bodies.
The Power of Mindfulness: What You Practice Grows Stronger TED Talk by Shauna Shapiro
Age level: Upper Primary and above
Type: Video
Topic: Mindfulness
Useful for: Learning about Mindfulness and its uses
Time: 13.46
​
Shauna Sapiro encourages us to understand that Mindfulness can be used to change and transform. She illustrates the difficulty of meditation and covers what Mindfulness is. Throughout the talk Sauna gives simple examples of Mindfulness that can be used by all.
She shares some critical data about meditation and Mindfulness and mentions that attention, learning and compassion are stronger in those who meditate.
Shauna discusses that Mindfulness is about how we pay attention and that we are always practising and growing something moment by moment. She encourages us to question “Whom do you want to be? and What do you want to foster in your life?” Through this, she mentions that Mindfulness is not just about attention but kind attention and discusses how Mindfulness and meditation can be helpful for those with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. She highlights that we can choose to change and covers the importance of self-love and growing better habits. Transformation is possible for all of us.
Mindful Minute: Quick Mindfulness Meditation Exercise for Kids by Go Zen!
Age level: All
Type: Video
Topic: Mindfulness
Useful for: Mindfulness Break
Time: 1.17 minutes
​
The video starts with writing on the screen so, for JP students, a teacher may need to assist with reading it off the screen for them as it gives some simple instructions quickly.
This exercise is a quick and easy one that can be implemented in any classroom and eventually students can carry out this activity without the video. It is a simple, one-minute exercise that allows students to slow down and listen to the sound while slowing their breathing for one minute.