Five minutes to read aloud
52 cards · CC BY-NC 4.0
Regulate under stress: 6 cards for a group of adults
Each opens in its adult wording. They are the cards behind Ten sessions for advocates.
- Four, seven, eight Opener, 3 min Present now
- Four sides of a breath Opener, 3 min Present now
- The full stop Opener, 5 min Present now
- Sit like a mountain Opener, 4 min Present now
- Befriending the flutter Opener, 4 min Present now
- Stress, reintroduced Opener, 4 min Present now
Establish connection: 6 cards for a group of adults
Each opens in its adult wording. They are the cards behind Ten sessions for advocates.
- One word for the road Closer, 4 min Present now
- One breath for you, one for them Opener, 4 min Present now
- Three quiet wishes Opener, 4 min Present now
- Giving and receiving Closer, 5 min Present now
- Good gossip Closer, 4 min Present now
- One quiet thank-you Closer, 3 min Present now
Understand self: 4 cards for a group of adults
Each opens in its adult wording. They are the cards behind Ten sessions for advocates.
- Arriving here Opener, 4 min Present now
- Inner weather report Opener, 4 min Present now
- For the sake of what Opener, 4 min Present now
- The bigger why Opener, 3 min Present now
How is the room today?
More ways to filter
Arriving here
Opener · 4 min
“Welcome back. Before we begin the new term, take a moment to arrive in this room. Sit in whatever way feels comfortable.”
Three good things
Closer · 5 min
“Before we pack up, bring to mind three small things that went well today. Ordinary moments count, and they do not need to matter to anyone else.”
Make it rain
Opener · 4 min
“Autumn is here, so let's make a rainstorm together. It gets loud: if that is hard today, rub your palms only or just watch. Follow my hands and rub your palms as the wind rises.”
Ninety seconds of nothing
Opener · 3 min
“For the next ninety seconds, there is nothing you need to produce and nothing you will be asked to show afterwards.”
What the trees are doing
Opener · 4 min
“At this time of year, many trees are letting go of leaves that have reached the end of their season.”
One word for the road
Closer · 4 min
“Before we go, I will invite each person to offer one word for how they are leaving the room. Any honest word is welcome, including ‘tired’ or ‘hungry’.”
Befriending the flutter
Opener · 4 min
“As the term gets busier, you may notice a tight or fluttery feeling somewhere in your body.”
The unopened phone
Opener · 3 min
“Wherever your phone is right now, leave it there. For one minute, notice any pull you feel to check it.”
The done list
Closer · 4 min
“A to-do list keeps our attention on what remains. Before we leave, let's notice some of what is already done.”
For the sake of what
Opener · 4 min
“Think quietly about one thing you are doing today that you care about getting right.”
One breath for you, one for them
Opener · 4 min
“Sit comfortably and take one slow breath for yourself, letting it carry whatever you need right now.”
Questions without answers
Opener · 5 min
“School gives us many reasons to look for answers. For the next two minutes, we will stay with questions instead.”
The term, looking back
Closer · 5 min
“This is our last practice of the term. Take a breath and think back to the first time you walked into this room thirteen weeks ago.”
Crossing the threshold
Opener · 4 min
“As a new term begins, feel your feet on the floor and let your hands rest somewhere comfortable.”
Four, seven, eight
Opener · 3 min
“On a busy morning, counting the breath gives your attention one place to rest. You can follow the pattern, shorten any count or breathe as you usually do.”
Sit like a mountain
Opener · 4 min
“The weather changes around a mountain through the year. For the next minute, we will borrow that image while we sit.”
The unchecked minute
Opener · 3 min
“Leave your phone wherever it is and spend one minute noticing what it is like not to check anything.”
The do-nothing minute
Opener · 3 min
“Winter can ask a lot of us, so for the next minute this class will ask nothing of you.”
One quiet thank-you
Closer · 3 min
“Before we go, think of someone in this room whose presence helped you today, through something they did or simply by being here.”
Inner weather report
Opener · 4 min
“For a midwinter check-in, imagine the way you feel right now is a kind of weather, and find one word for it.”
A minute of sky
Opener · 3 min
“Before we start, look towards a window, or if you cannot see one, towards the furthest point in the room.”
Three quiet wishes
Opener · 4 min
“Place your hands on the desk or somewhere else that feels comfortable, and take a moment to arrive.”
Who helped it happen
Closer · 4 min
“Before you pack up, think of one thing that got finished recently, however small, such as a piece of work handed in or a hard week that is now behind you.”
Leave with a question
Closer · 3 min
“We are going to close with a question. Think back over the day and notice one thing you are still curious about.”
The gratitude round
Closer · 5 min
“In these last few minutes, bring to mind three things from this week you feel grateful for. Try to include one that involved another person.”
Rings of the term
Closer · 5 min
“As the term ends, picture it as one of the rings inside a tree, holding a record of the season that has passed.”
Crossing the threshold
Opener · 4 min
“Welcome back. As we begin a new term together, settle into your seat and let your shoulders drop.”
Rainstorm
Opener · 4 min
“Let's make the sound of a rainstorm together. It gets loud: if that is hard today, rub your palms only or just watch. Follow my hands and rub your palms as the wind rises.”
Four sides of a breath
Opener · 3 min
“A new term can bring a lot at once, so for the next minute we will give our attention to the four sides of a breath.”
One sign of spring
Opener · 3 min
“Outside this room the season is changing. Buds are opening and the light lasts a little longer.”
Where the scroll left you
Opener · 3 min
“You do not need your phone for this. Think back to the last time you scrolled, this morning or on the way to school.”
Befriending the wobble
Opener · 4 min
“Take a quiet moment to notice whether there is a wobble somewhere in your body, perhaps nerves about something coming up.”
Softening half a turn
Closer · 3 min
“Before you pack up, we will take a minute to let go of some of the grip the day has put into your body. You can keep your eyes open.”
A question with no answer
Opener · 4 min
“Here is a question that does not have one correct answer: what is something many people believe that might not be true?”
The bigger why
Opener · 3 min
“Before we start, think about how today's lesson might connect with something beyond this room.”
The done list
Closer · 3 min
“To-do lists hold our attention on what remains, so for one minute we will notice what is already done today.”
Giving and receiving
Closer · 5 min
“Before we go, we will practise giving an appreciation and receiving one without brushing it away.”
Hardwiring the good
Opener · 3 min
“Our attention can stay with what went wrong while a good moment slips past, so this practice gives one good moment a little more time.”
The river of this term
Closer · 5 min
“In the last five minutes of the term, picture the past thirteen weeks as a river you have travelled.”
Crossing the threshold
Opener · 4 min
“Welcome to the summer term. Before it gathers pace, settle into your seat and allow your shoulders to rest.”
The full stop
Opener · 5 min
“Exam season can make everything feel faster, so today we will practise a short pause called STOPP that you can use anywhere.”
This week's weather
Opener · 4 min
“Sit as upright as feels natural and imagine your body as a mountain, its base held by the chair and its summit reaching up.”
Stress, reintroduced
Opener · 4 min
“Take a quiet body check and notice whether this term is showing up as a faster heartbeat, a busy stomach or something else.”
Slower than feels normal
Closer · 3 min
“Before the bell, we will take two minutes to let the pace of the day come down a little.”
The phone across the room
Opener · 4 min
“Without checking, notice whether you know where your phone is right now, and how quickly the answer came.”
Good gossip
Closer · 4 min
“Before we go, turn to the person beside you for a short round of what we might call good gossip.”
Stretch and skill
Opener · 4 min
“Think of one task you have today, in this lesson or later, and picture it in front of you.”
A note to later you
Closer · 4 min
“Before we finish, think about the next time you will sit down to work on something, perhaps tomorrow evening or later this week.”
Let it land
Opener · 4 min
“Our attention can stay with a hard moment while a good one slips past, so today we will give one good moment a little more time.”
What you saw them do
Opener · 4 min
“Before we start, think back over the last few days to something useful someone did that nobody thanked them for.”
No card matches all of those choices.
Take the collection into your classroom
Download the complete set of cards, lessons and educator notes in one file, or choose individual resources from their own pages.
