The Tikkun Project
Lesson
1
Defining Health and Well-being
Concept
Well-being is a balance of our physical, mental, and emotional needs.
Focus Question
What does it mean to feel well and regulated? How do our bodies, brains, and hearts feel in different situations? Why do different people feel different ways about the exact same thing?
Knowledge & Understanding Goals
Kindergarten Program (2016), Self-Regulation and Well-Being frame, Overall Expectation 6: Demonstrate an awareness of their own health and well-being.
Kindergarten Program (2016), Self-Regulation and Well-Being frame, Overall Expectation 2: Demonstrate independence, self-regulation, and a willingness to take responsibility in learning and other endeavours.
Thinking & Learning Skills
Communication Skills: Expressing feelings and using specific vocabulary to describe internal physical and emotional states.
Learner Profile Connection (Balanced): Students begin to understand that being healthy isn't just about not being sick (the body); it also involves our thoughts (the brain) and our feelings (the heart).
Context
This is the foundational lesson for the unit. Before students can act as helpers who choose strategies to help others feel well, they must first establish the baseline criteria for what "feeling well" actually means for themselves.
Lesson Outline
LEARNING THE FOUR ZONES
Place four large coloured posters (Blue, Green, Yellow, Red) in different corners of the room. Introduce the energy rules for each zone on the carpet:
Blue Zone -- lowest energy or alertness, the zone before falling asleep; includes sad, bored, lonely feelings. Body signs: moving slowly, foggy brain, tired, sick.
Green Zone -- neutral feelings, energy, and alertness; calm, happy, proud. Body signs: relaxed muscles, alert, regular temperature. Ideal for learning, listening, thinking, or processing.
Yellow Zone -- higher energy, stronger emotion; excited, fidgety, anxious, or frustrated. Body signs: wiggly, moving faster, warmer, thinking faster.
Red Zone -- highest energy, most intense feelings; elation, anger, fear. Body signs: fast heartbeat, very warm/sweaty, tense muscles.
CHECKING OUR THREE GAUGES
Explain that feeling well is like checking three gauges: our bodies feel good; our brains feel calm; our hearts feel happy and full. Ask students to listen to three internal clues, then quietly walk to the corner poster matching their current feelings. Invite a few students to share. Record responses in a three-column chart (Body, Brain, Heart).
TESTING OUR ZONES AGAINST SCENARIOS
Present a series of scenarios and ask students to walk to the colour corner showing how they'd feel. Whenever students land in different corners for the same scenario, freeze the game and ask them to explain their reasoning -- this is the moment that teaches the lesson's central idea explicitly.
NAMING THAT THERE'S NO "BAD" ZONE
Ask students to consider where everyone is standing and suggest something that might help themselves or someone else feel better.
INTRODUCING THE CORE TEXT
Tell students: "We are going to become experts in caring for ourselves and others." Introduce Ve'ahavta L'reyacha Kamocha with gestures: "Love" (hands on heart), "your neighbour" (point to a friend), "like yourself" (hug self).
STARTING OUR TOOLKIT
Explain that to make a great plan, we need to know what helps people feel well. Send home the "My Wellbeing Tool Kit" sheet for students to complete with family.
Notes for Teaching and Evaluation
The four-zone framework is adapted from Leah Kuypers' "Zones of Regulation" -- a widely used, real self-regulation curriculum, not an invented metaphor.
The "freeze the game and ask them to explain" moment is the single most important teaching moment in the lesson.
Explicitly stating there's no "bad" zone matters pedagogically: without that framing, young children easily moralize the Red/Yellow zones as "wrong" feelings to suppress.