Meditation in the Classroom

Lynn Tran
Teachers
April 19, 2019
Presentation Objectives
● By the end of the presentation, you will be able to:
○ Understand what meditation is
○ Know the benefits of meditation for students
○ Engage in active discussions of meditation with
students
○ Know how to implement meditation in the classroom
Standards Covered
● National Board for Professional Teaching Standards
(NBPTS)
○ Proposition 5: Teachers are Members of Professional
Communities
● Teacher Leader Model Standards (TLMS)
○ Domain 3: Promotes Professional Learning for
Continuous Improvement
Why is This Presentation Important?
● Students are stressed
● Students carry their home life problems to school
● Students do not know how to release their stress

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● We can help with that
● Active practice of meditation can solve many classroom
problems
● We just need to know how
What is Meditation?
● Meditation is both a skill and an experience: a formal exercise to
cultivate awareness and compassion
● Types of meditation:
○ Zen meditation: aim is to foster a sense of presence and alertness
○ Mantra meditation: focus on a mantra where the subtle vibrations
associated with the repeated mantra can encourage positive
change
○ Transcendental meditation: the aim is to transcend thought itself
and experience a state of total awareness in which you are
present, but not focusing on a particular object of thought.
Which Type of Meditation Will Help YOU?
● Discuss with your table group which type of meditation will
be helpful for YOUR grade level or classroom
● Why did you choose this type of meditation?
Classroom Meditation
● Body Scan Meditation
○ Technique is designed to sync
body and mind by performing a
mental scan, from the top of the
head to the end of your toes
○ Best to use when our body is
doing one thing while our mind is
elsewhere
○ In the classroom: when students
are distracted and need to
refocus, take a few minutes to
practice Body Scan Meditation to
regroup students
Let’s Try It!
● Let’s get crazy first….Turn to your neighbor and tell them your dream
vacation
○ (The purpose of this is to get your focus somewhere else)
● Now, let’s refocus.
○ Close your eyes
○ Channel your senses
■ Smell: What does the room smell like?
■ Hear: What sounds do you hear?
■ Feel: What textures do you feel around you?
○ What else are you sensing around you?
○ Allow your brain to focus on those factors
How Did You Feel?
● Turn to you partner and share how you felt during the last
few minutes
● How do you think students will feel after practicing
meditation?
● How will it help them refocus after something chaotic
(coming back from recess, an assembly, PE, etc)
Benefits of Meditation
● Relieves stress and anxiety (Yes! Young children experience stress)
● More tolerant of children’s behavior and better able to handle it;
● Students become less worried
● When they organize how they feel, they are organized overall
● Students have more purpose in their actions
● Students become more refreshed and energized;
● Students are in more control of their emotions and responses;
● Students have a more positive in outlook
● Students are able to deal with problems calmly.
Let Science Prove It
How to Teach Your Students about Meditation
● Practicing is one thing
● Having your students UNDERSTAND why is another
● Teach several lessons on meditation before practicing
● Expose them to the different types and how to practice it
● Make students aware of their feelings before having them
understand what they are doing with it
Music During Meditation

Example of music
to play during
meditation
How to Implement Meditation in the Classroom

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How Will This Benefit YOUR Classroom?
● Discuss in your teams how this will benefit the students in
YOUR classroom?
● What difficulties have you faced this year that meditation
might help with?
● How will implementing meditation at the beginning of the
year be impactful?