Emotional Regulation – Sample Lesson
“Defense Mechanisms”
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Sample Lesson Resources
Click on any of the links below to view or download the resources from this sample lesson on Emotional Regulation from the WhyTry Program Materials and Toolkit
Lesson Resources: Emotional Regulation
Defense Mechanisms
About this Lesson
This sample lesson on Defense Mechanisms comes from our Secondary Prebuilt Lessons, designed for middle school and high school students.
When students struggle to manage emotions, they may act impulsively, damage important relationships, and experience ongoing stress that impacts both academic performance and overall well-being. Without tools for recognizing and regulating emotions, small challenges can quickly escalate into larger behavioral or academic setbacks.
Why This Lesson Matters
The WhyTry Emotional Regulation unit strengthens the skills students need to stay in control during difficult moments. In this lesson, students build:
- Emotional awareness
- Stress-management techniques and coping strategies
- Self-control under pressure
- Mindfulness
- Healthier ways to respond to defense mechanisms
- Constructive conflict-resolution skills
Using powerful visual metaphors and hands-on activities, this unit helps students understand how emotions influence choices—and how those choices shape long-term outcomes.
Educators can use these tools to guide students toward healthier responses, build confidence in managing strong feelings, and develop resilience for everyday challenges.
What’s Included in This Sample Lesson
These resources are designed to make implementation easy and flexible for classroom or small-group use. You’ll receive:
- A video walk-through showing how to teach the visual metaphor (Defense Mechanisms) and key activity elements
- A complete printable lesson plan
- A story-based video clip to illustrate the concept during instruction
- Step-by-step activity instructions
- Printable Resilience Boosters for observation and reflection (including an option to assign as homework)
- A downloadable presentation deck
- Keynote (Mac)
- PowerPoint (PC)
- A Student Mechanisms Game Plan worksheet to help students process the metaphor independently
- A Facilitator Guide for using the worksheet in a one-on-one setting
- A parent companion resource to help families reinforce these skills at home
Video Demonstration
Facilitating the lesson and Processing The Visual Metaphor “Defense Mechanisms”
Want to See the Full WhyTry Program in Action?
Schedule a live demo with one of our Program Directors. We’ll answer your questions, walk you through implementation options for your school or district, and provide pricing details.
Looking for Elementary or Pre-K/Kinder resources? We’d be happy to show you how WhyTry supports younger learners as well.