The Pobble blog

1 in 6 children aged 5 to 16 was identified as having a diagnosable mental health problem in July 2020. That’s five children in every classroom.

At a time when children's mental health issues are at an all-time high, it's essential as educators we're aware not only of our own mental well-being but encourage our students to adopt positive practices in mental health too. We can support children and young people to give them the best chance to stay mentally healthy.

Did you know that there are more than 200 studies that show the positive effect of writing on mental health? Writing down your feelings can not only support, but actually improve your mental well-being. As well as reducing anxiety, writing about mental health creates awareness, encourages opening up and helps us to reflect and be grateful.

These quick writing prompts will help open the discussion around mental health in your classroom, but also allow you to work on your pupil's writing skills! 

When writing about mental health, it's an idea to allow just a short space of time to complete the writing activity, 10 minutes works well. The aim is to encourage your class to write down whatever comes to mind and focus on completing the task rather than quality and accuracy. Quick writes encourage creative and critical thinking, allow your class to demonstrate understanding of key concepts and develop writing fluency.

Pobble's quick writes are created in our unique lesson builder, meaning they are easy to access, edit and share with your class, whether they are learning in school or at home. Many writers are unsure where to start and may struggle to find the right words to express their thoughts, so we've included a word bank with each activity that will reinforce key vocabulary and prompt their thoughts.

Mental health includes our emotional, social and physical well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. These writing prompts cover each of those aspects...

1. Gratitude: Showing gratitude can improve your mood, make you feel more optimistic and improve your mental health. This quick write will help your class be thankful and show appreciation for what they have.

 

2. Emotions: Talking about and being aware of your emotions is important for good mental health. After you talk about how you're feeling and release your emotions it can make you feel so much better. This quick write will help your class explore their emotions. 

 

3. Friendships: Being socially connected with others can ease stress and anxiety, provide comfort and joy, and prevent loneliness. Social relationships have a hugely positive impact on our mental health and happiness. In this quick write, your class will consider the importance of friendships and what it takes to be a good friend.

 

4. Exercise: Physical activity and exercise are a great way to keep your body healthy as well as your mind. With this quick write, your class will write about the benefits of physical activity and being more active on both their mind and body. 

Pobble's Quick Writes offer many opportunities for short, engaging, daily writing activities. As well as increasing their enjoyment of writing, they are ideal for improving children's writing stamina. If you've got a few minutes spare and want to work on your pupils writing skills, then Pobble's quick writes are ideal! There are lots to choose from and new themes added weekly! 💡