Mental health symptoms sorting activity : Mentally Healthy Schools

This simple activity for children encourages safe discussion of the meaning of mental health, with a sorting game to distinguish between mental and physical health symptoms.

The activity aims to show children that we need a variety of things in our lives to maintain our mental & physical health and to recognise that good mental health is as important as good physical health. There are clear definitions of mental health provided and this activity can be used as a launchpad for further discussion.

Using this resource

This resource is designed for:

use with children aged 7 to 11
use with small groups or individual children

Curriculum links

England - RSHE	Caring friendships Pupils should know: · that there is a normal range of emotions (e.g. happiness, sadness, anger, fear, surprise, nervousness) and scale of emotions that all humans experience in relation to different experiences and situations
Northern Ireland – Personal Development and Mutual Understanding	Personal Understanding and Health Pupils should be enabled to explore: · their management of a range of feelings and emotions and the feelings and emotions of others (KS2)
Scotland – Health and Wellbeing	Mental and Emotional Wellbeing · I know that we all experience a variety of thoughts and emotions that affect how we feel and behave, and I am learning ways of managing them.
Wales – Health and Wellbeing	Statement 2 - How we process and respond to our experiences affects our mental health and emotional well-being.