Fight or Flight: The Science of Stress

What To Do

Note: Refer to the Fight or Flight- The Science of Stress Manual for detailed notes and discussion topics that accompany PowerPoint or SMART board presentation. 

Pre Activity Prep

• Set up the PowerPoint or SMARTBoard and the Pfizer Stress Lessons Toolkit video presentation.
  • Note: volunteers should watch the “Nine to Feel Fine” video prior to the activity. This is to become familiar with deep breathing exercises. In case time is limited at the end of the activity, volunteers can demonstrate how to do the exercises without having to show the video. 
• If you are not using a SMART Board, write out the following chart for Activity 3b: Heart Pumping Challenge:

  Name	Resting Heart Rate	Heart Pumping Challenge
  Student 1
  Student 2
  ...

   

• Fill up the cylinder with water and add a few drops of red food colouring (Activity 2: Introduction to Endocrine System). 
• Ask where it would be best to do a large group activity because participants will need to stand in a line (Activity 1: Nervous System Relay & Activity 2: Introduction to Endocrine System).

Introduction

• Discuss sources of stress in everyday life and methods of dealing with stress.
• Give one bookmark to each participant. Instruct them to write examples of what stresses them out on one side of the bookmark. (Note: they do not need to share their answers with the class).
• Play the “What is Stress” video from the Pfizer Stress Lessons Toolkit DVD.

Activity 1: Nervous System Relay

• Instruct participants to stand in a line shoulder to shoulder. 
• Give each participant a plastic cup and glass bead. 
• The person on the far right end of the line is the “eyes” and the person on the far left end of the line is the “brain”.
• Explain how each individual represents one nerve and the glass beads represent chemical messages that are passed from nerve to nerve.
• Each participant will hold the cup in their right hand and the glass bead in their left hand. 
• They should hold their left hand (the one with the glass bead) just above the cup held by the student to their left.
• Once you say go, the person designated as the “eyes” will drop their glass bead into the cup to the person on their left. 
• When that person hears the glass bead drop, they will drop their glass bead into the cup of the person on their left side, and so on down the line until it reaches the person designated as the “brain”. 
• Use a stopwatch to time the Nervous System Relay. 

Activity 2a: Hormones in the Blood Demonstration

• Show the cylinder filled with red water. Discuss what the red water represents (blood). 
• The little squeeze bottle of green food colouring represents a gland.
• Put a few drops of food colouring into the cylinder of red water. 
• Observe and discuss how hormones travel through the body.

Activity 2b: Endocrine System Relay

• Have participants stand in a line shoulder to shoulder.
• Give each person a plastic cup.
• The person on the far right end of the line is the “gland” and the person on the far left end of the line is the “stomach”.
• Instruct each participant to hold the cup in their right hand. 
• Hand one glass bead to the person designated as the “gland” (note: only one glass bead is used in this activity. All other participants should have empty cups).
• When ready, the person designated as the “gland” will drop their glass bead into the cup of the person to their left.
• When the person hears the glass bead drop, they will take the glass bead out of the cup and put it into the cup of the person to their left and so on down the line until they reach the “stomach”.
• Use a stopwatch to time the Endocrine System Relay.

Activity 3a: Pump Like a Heart

• Each participant should have a plate, cup and container with 50 plastic counters.
• Instruct each participant to pour the plastic counters onto the plate.
• Each plastic counter represents 1 litre of blood that is pumped by the heart.
• Set a timer for 30 seconds. 
• When ready, start the timer and have participants put as many of their plastic counters into the cup as they can. They can only move one counter at a time. 
• Count how many counters they were able to move in 30 seconds. Multiple by 2 to get the number of counters moved in a minute (i.e. the amount of blood being pumped by the heart).

Activity 3b: Heart Pumping Challenge 

• Demonstrate the different ways to check your pulse and how heart monitors work. 
• Participants will measure their resting heart rates. Ask a few participants to share their resting heart rates and add this data to the chart on the classroom board. 
• Break everyone into pairs, one person is to repeat Activity 3a: Pump Like a Heart while the other watches and makes sure that the other participant is only putting in one counter at a time. 
  • Have some of the participants doing the challenge wear heart monitors.
• They will check their pulse immediately after the timer stops. Record results in the chart.
• Have participants count the number of counters and record results.
• Repeat activity with the rest of the groups.
• Compare the resting heart rates to their heart rates after completing the challenge. 
• Find out who moved the highest number of counters in the first and second group. Award prizes of Let’s Talk Science stress brain balls to the two participants with the most counters. 
• Instruct them to finish the calculations and answer the questions at the bottom of the worksheet. 

Wrap-Up 

• Watch Lesson 3 video from the Pfizer Stress Lessons Toolkit DVD.
• Practice the “Nine to Feel Fine” deep breathing exercise shown on the DVD.
• Participants will discuss ways to “bust” stress. They will put their answers on the other side of the bookmark. (Note: they do not need to share their answers with the class). 
• After the workshop, give the teacher a Pfizer Stress Lessons Toolkit handout and a Let's Talk Science stress brain.