Recharge: Sleep, Screens and Stress

You need: battery outline sheet · coloured pencils · an envelope to keep it private

1. Draw a big battery and shade how charged you feel right now.
2. Around the outside, write three drains from this week (things that used up energy or made you feel flat).
3. Write three chargers (things that gave you energy or calm).
4. Mark each one: is it about sleep, screens, people, movement, food or worries?
5. Circle one drain you could shrink and one charger you could do more of. Seal it in your envelope for week 5.

How you'll know: You can name real drains and chargers from your own life and see which parts of life they come from. There are no right answers, and your battery stays private.

Go further: Find one thing that is a drain and a charger at the same time (such as sport or gaming), and work out what makes the difference.

You need: a 30 cm or metre ruler · a partner · sleep and reaction log · pencil

1. Your partner holds the ruler at the top so the zero mark sits between your open thumb and finger, not touching.
2. Without warning, your partner lets go. Catch it as fast as you can and read the number where your fingers are.
3. Do three drops and write down the middle result (the median). A smaller number means a faster reaction.
4. Do the test at the same time each school day for a week, and write down how long you slept the night before.
5. At the end of the week, put your nights in order from shortest to longest. Do your reactions change?

How you'll know: You have a week of honest results, used the same method every day, and can say whether your data shows a link, no link, or that you need more data.

Safety: Drop the ruler straight down, never towards a face. If you often feel exhausted, talk to a trusted adult or the school nurse.

Go further: Pool anonymous class results and draw a scatter plot of hours slept against reaction distance. Is there a pattern for the whole class?

You need: feature cards (autoplay, streaks, endless scroll, notifications, red badges, rewards, likes) · large paper · notification tally sheet

1. In groups, choose three features from the cards and describe one app or game you know that uses each.
2. For each feature, answer: what does it make me want to do? How would I feel if I stopped? Who earns money when I keep going?
3. Rate each feature from 'hard to put down' to 'easy to put down'.
4. For one day, keep a tally of notifications on a device you use (or, with permission, a whānau member's) and when they arrive.
5. Choose one setting to change for the week, such as turning off one type of notification, and predict what will happen.

How you'll know: Your group can explain at least three design features in your own words and suggest a realistic change that puts you back in charge.

Go further: Compare notification times with the class (anonymously). How many arrive after 9 pm? What might that do to sleep?

You need: myth and fact cards · the reading 'Vaping, alcohol and energy drinks: the facts' · sticky notes

1. In pairs, sort the cards into 'myth', 'fact' and 'not sure' (examples: 'Vapes are just flavoured water', 'Most young people vape', 'Nicotine can change how a young brain develops', 'Energy drinks are fine for kids').
2. Check each 'not sure' card against the reading or a trusted source listed in this world.
3. For each myth, write the true version in one sentence.
4. Talk about why the myth might spread: advertising, flavours and bright colours, videos online, older friends.
5. Choose the one fact you most want younger students to know, and explain why.

How you'll know: You can correct at least three myths using a trusted source, and explain why the real facts matter for young people in particular.

Go further: Find out what New Zealand law says about selling vapes and alcohol to under-18s, and why the law is set at that age.

You need: scenario cards · refusal moves card · groups of three

1. Learn the refusal moves: a clear 'no thanks', a reason, a different idea ('let's go get chips instead'), the broken record (saying the same thing again calmly), and walking away.
2. In threes, take roles: the asker, the refuser and the observer.
3. Play a scenario card (for example, an older cousin offering a vape at a family party, or a friend daring you to try a drink). The asker keeps it realistic but respectful.
4. The observer gives one thing that worked: voice, body language, the words chosen.
5. Swap until everyone has refused once, then write down the line you would really use.

How you'll know: You have practised saying no out loud at least once, and you can name a line and a move that feel natural to you.

Safety: Role-plays never include real devices, drinks or substances. Anyone can choose to script their response instead of acting. Keep scenarios made-up, not about real people.

Go further: Create a scenario where the person pressuring you is your best friend, and plan a response that keeps both you and the friendship safe.

You need: a timer · a body outline sheet · a quiet space

1. Find your pulse on your wrist or neck. Count the beats for 30 seconds and double it. Write it down.
2. Your teacher announces a surprise challenge (then cancels it). Count your pulse again straight away. Notice your breathing, shoulders and stomach.
3. Breathe in through your nose for a count of four and out slowly through your mouth for a count of six, for two minutes.
4. Count your pulse a third time.
5. Label your body outline with the signs you noticed, using accurate words: heart rate, breathing rate, muscle tension, 'butterflies'.

How you'll know: You can describe at least three physical signs of the stress response in your own body and say whether slow breathing changed your pulse.

Safety: This is opt-in. If you have a heart condition, asthma or anxiety that makes this uncomfortable, sit out or just observe. Stop if you feel dizzy.

Go further: Repeat the lab after a quick jog on the spot. Is the pulse increase from exercise the same as from stress? How are they different?

You need: three-ring circle sheet · pencils · a change you are facing or can imagine

1. Write a change in the middle, such as starting college, moving house or a new family member. You can use an imaginary one.
2. In the inner ring, list what you can control (how you pack your bag, who you sit with on day one, your wind-down routine).
3. In the middle ring, list what you can influence (asking a teacher for help, joining a club).
4. In the outer ring, list what is out of your hands (the timetable, the move date).
5. Choose two things from the inner ring to plan now, and one person you could talk to.

How you'll know: Your plan focuses your energy on things you can actually do, and names a real person who can support you.

Go further: Interview someone who has been through a big change (a new migrant, a grandparent who moved from the islands, a cousin who started college) about what helped them.

You need: experiment plan card · sleep and reaction log · a timer or clock

1. Choose one recharger: phone charged outside the bedroom, lights dimmed an hour before bed, one notification switched off, slow breathing in bed, or 20 minutes outside after school.
2. Write your prediction: 'If I…, then I think… because…'.
3. Keep everything else as normal as you can, and each morning record sleep time, a 1 to 5 'charged' rating and your ruler-drop result.
4. At the end, compare with your week 1 log using medians.
5. Decide: keep, change or stop, and write one sentence of advice for the Recharge Kit.

How you'll know: You have five days of honest data, including missed days, and can explain what it shows and what else might have caused a change.

Go further: Graph both weeks side by side and mark any unusual nights (tournament, sleepover). Would you trust the result? What would make it fairer?