Activities to promote wellbeing from other schools

Be Incredible in P.E.!

Duration: 7 sessions (60 minutes per session)
Subjects: Physical Education
Well-being area: Physical

This gamified Physical Education programme uses a superhero narrative to engage students in cooperative strength-building challenges. Through bodyweight exercises, circuits and mission-based tasks, pupils work together to “recover powers” while developing muscular strength in a safe and age-appropriate way. By integrating points, badges and challenges, the activity increases motivation, teamwork and inclusion, promoting positive attitudes towards physical activity and supporting healthy lifestyle habits within the PE curriculum.

Bikeability

Duration: 4 sessions (7 hours in total)
Subjects: Physical Education
Well-being area: Physical

This Physical Education unit develops urban cycling competence, road safety awareness and healthy lifestyle habits through progressive practical training. Students begin with a theoretical introduction on the benefits of cycling, then practise technical skills in a safe school environment before applying them in real traffic conditions. In the final session, students take on a teaching role, guiding younger peers and consolidating their learning. The activity promotes responsibility, collaboration and confidence while strengthening physical activity habits and road safety awareness.

Colour the classroom with real world colours!

Duration: 15–30 minutes (with preparation the day before)
Subjects: English as a foreign language, arts
Well-being area: Physical, social

This activity connects language learning with real-life observation by encouraging pupils to notice colours in their surroundings while walking or cycling to school. The following day, students paint the colours they observed and collaboratively recall and name them in English, expanding vocabulary through shared discussion. By linking movement, creativity and communication, the activity promotes active commuting, emotional expression and inclusive participation, while strengthening collaboration and real-world language learning.

Decide rules together

Duration: 5–15 minutes
Subjects: All subjects
Well-being area: Social and mental

This activity engages students in collaboratively creating classroom rules through a structured and participatory process. Students begin with individual reflection, optionally move into pair discussions, and then present their suggestions to the group while ideas are recorded visibly. The class clarifies and interprets each proposal to ensure shared understanding, may evaluate feasibility and fairness to strengthen responsibility, and finally votes to agree on the final rules. By involving students directly in decision-making, the activity promotes ownership, respect and a supportive learning environment.

Formulate and decide questions together

Duration: 5–20 minutes
Subjects: All subjects
Well-being area: Mental and social

This activity invites students to co-create the guiding questions for a discussion or dialogue, strengthening ownership and critical thinking. Students first reflect individually, may briefly exchange ideas in pairs, and then share their suggested questions with the group while they are recorded visibly. The class engages in a joint clarification process to ensure shared understanding of each proposal before concluding with a structured vote to decide which questions will guide the discussion. By involving students in shaping the dialogue, the activity promotes participation, mutual respect and deeper engagement.

Foster active listening

Duration: Varies depending on lesson design
Subjects: All subjects
Well-being area: Social (and mental)

This activity strengthens active listening through structured dialogic practices that go beyond simply letting students speak. Students are encouraged to connect their contributions to previous speakers, paraphrase each other’s ideas and summarise key points from the discussion. By intentionally modelling and practising these strategies, the classroom becomes a more respectful and attentive space where students feel heard, valued and supported in their communication.

How large number can we reach together?

Duration: 10–30 minutes (with preparation the day before)
Subjects: Mathematics
Well-being area: Physical and social

This activity combines movement and mathematics by inviting pupils to collect numerical observations while walking or cycling to school, such as counting cars, animals or bikes. The following day, students share and analyse their numbers together, exploring mathematical concepts such as even and odd numbers, double and half, sums or averages, depending on their level. By contributing individual observations to create a larger collective total, pupils experience collaboration, inclusion and shared achievement, while linking real-life experiences to mathematical learning.

Paco, the boy who cycles and walks to school

Duration: Flexible (depending on lesson planning)
Subjects: Physical Education, Social Sciences
Well-being area: Physical

This activity is based on reading the book Paco, el niño que pedalea y anda al cole, which promotes active mobility and road safety awareness among young learners. The story can serve either as a starting point for practical activities related to cycling, walking and safe commuting, or as a complementary resource within broader projects on physical activity and citizenship education. By combining storytelling with real-life applications, the activity encourages healthy habits, responsibility and inclusive participation across age groups.

Rescuing the Superheroes!

Duration: 12 sessions (60 minutes per session)
Subjects: Physical Education
Well-being area: Physical

This gamified Physical Education unit uses a superhero narrative to engage students in cooperative strength-training missions designed for primary level. Through bodyweight exercises, adapted strength circuits and problem-solving challenges, pupils develop physical fitness while working collaboratively to achieve shared goals. Structured sessions combining storytelling, warm-up, cooperative tasks and reflection promote motivation, inclusion and positive interaction, while progressively building healthy habits and confidence in physical activity.

Starting point for pupil influence in well-being development

Duration: 15–30 minutes for the initial task, followed by long-term development work
Subjects: Language arts
Well-being area: Mental, social and physical

This activity gives pupils a structured opportunity to influence well-being development in school by reflecting on positive experiences and proposing concrete improvements. Students complete two guided sentences about when they felt good at school and how they would improve the learning environment, generating authentic insights into physical, social and emotional conditions. Teachers analyse the responses collaboratively, identify feasible actions and, where necessary, involve school leadership in organisational discussions. The results are then shared with pupils in a sensitive and collective way, leading to jointly prioritised improvement areas, shared responsibilities and a clear follow-up plan.

Talk about talk

Duration: 5–20 minutes
Subjects: All subjects
Well-being area: Social (and mental)

This meta-dialogue activity encourages students to reflect on how a discussion took place rather than on the topic itself. After any classroom dialogue, the group pauses to analyse the quality of interaction by considering questions such as whether everyone was heard, if agreed rules were followed, whether ideas were challenged constructively and what could be improved next time. By developing awareness of communication processes, students strengthen active listening, mutual respect and critical thinking, contributing to a more inclusive and supportive learning environment.

The Puzzle Drawing

Duration: 10–12 minutes
Subjects: Art, SEL, advisory
Well-being area: Mental well-being

In this activity, each student illustrates their personal interests on a puzzle-shaped piece of paper. Students then move around the classroom to find classmates with similar interests and connect their pieces together, gradually forming a larger shared puzzle. The activity encourages interaction, helps students discover common ground and builds a sense of belonging in a relaxed and playful way, supporting social connection and reducing social stress within the classroom.

4-7-8 Breathing

Duration: 3–5 minutes
Subjects: Any subject
Well-being area: Mental well-being

This short breathing exercise helps students calm their bodies and minds through a simple rhythm: inhale for four seconds, hold the breath for seven seconds and exhale slowly for eight seconds, repeating the cycle several times. The practice slows the heart rate and activates the body’s relaxation response, helping students manage stress, regulate emotions and refocus during the school day. It can be used at the beginning of a lesson, during transitions or whenever students need a moment to reset.

Awe Walks in the Hallways

Duration: 10–15 minutes (can be integrated into daily routines)
Subjects: Professional practice
Well-being area: Positive emotions, mindfulness, gratitude, stress reduction

This reflective practice invites teachers to take a mindful walk through the school environment with the intention of noticing positive moments of learning, collaboration and creativity. Instead of focusing on problems or rushing between tasks, teachers observe displays of student work, interactions among colleagues and students, or examples of authentic learning taking place. By intentionally looking for moments of awe and appreciation, the activity encourages gratitude, reduces stress and supports a more positive and mindful professional mindset.