A Complete Mental Health Curriculum for Grades 5-8 

Balancing Acts isn’t just another SEL program or activities set. It’s a structured and research-informed framework designed to empower students and support the educators who guide them.

What You’ll Receive

Multi-year scope & sequence

Ready-to-use digital slide decks

Step-by-step lesson plans

In-person or virtual teacher training

Balancing Acts is a mental health curriculum that is dynamic enough to meet the diverse learning and mental health needs of today’s kids. It helps early adolescents understand themselves, support one another, and practice resilience before challenges escalate. Each unit promotes students’ understanding of themselves and others, while giving teachers the confidence and resources to bring these conversations to life.

Onboard the Balancing Acts Curriculum

Curriculum Overview

The Balancing Acts school mental health curriculum is a vertically-aligned scope and sequence, designed to function across the course of multiple consecutive years. The program launches with a foundational framework, guiding students through the development of basic mental health literacy. In subsequent units, students explore themes centered on:

  • Mindfulness

  • The impact of grief

  • Social wellness

  • Para-social relationships

  • Stressors

  • Coping mechanisms

  • Grit and resilience

  • The nervous system

—and more.

How Implementation Works

Time is a precious resource in schools. That’s why Balancing Acts is designed to be flexible, intuitive, and proactive. Our program includes tools and supports to help educators teach mental wellness strategies in ways that are developmentally-appropriate and culturally responsive for early-to-middle school learners.

Fits Any Setting
Lessons can be integrated into advisory, health classes, SEL blocks, or homeroom time.

Flexible Pacing
Modules can be used as short “mini-lessons” or as extended units across several weeks.

Turnkey Materials
Each lesson comes with a teacher guide, student workbook, and digital slide decks.

Aligned with Practice
Lessons emphasize active participation—students don’t just learn about mental health, they practice real strategies through group work, collaboration, and hands-on learning..

Request a Sample Lesson

Teacher Training and Support

We don’t believe in handing over materials and walking away. Balancing Acts includes professional development supports that equip teachers to deliver our curriculum with confidence.

Introductory Training: Whether it’s in-person or virtually, foundational sessions walk through the philosophies and strategies of the program. 

Ongoing Support: Access to implementation tips, troubleshooting guides, and information about program updates ensures lessons run smoothly. 

Tools for Educators: Classroom discussion guides, reflection prompts, and optional activity extensions are designed to make implementation easier.

Parent Seminars: A platform extension to help families reinforce mental health skills and language at home. 

Community of Practice (Optional Add-on): Opportunities for educators to share their successes and ideas with peers across school systems.

Why Teachers Love Balancing Acts

  • “This program has the ability to transform the landscape of adolescent mental health at a time when students need it most. Balancing Acts directly and positively impacts learners and teachers in ways that other programs do not.”

    Dr. Ryan Bird, LEP

  • “Balancing Acts has turned meaningful conversations about mental health into something every student can access. My 8th graders now have the tools and language to care for themselves—and to recognize when their peers need support. The lessons are thoughtfully designed to spark engagement and expression across the classroom.”

    Meredith
    8th Grade Health Teacher

Ready to Get Started? Book a Demo

  • Each lesson is designed to run 45-60 minutes, making it easy to integrate into advisory, health class, or SEL blocks. Teachers can also choose to extend lessons into longer activities by utilizing optional discussion prompts and extension materials.

  • No advanced training is required! Every teacher receives introductory training (virtual or in-person) to get acquainted and comfortable with the approach. Most teachers find they can begin teaching units right away after the initial training session. Plus, our ongoing support resources boost confidence for teachers throughout the curriculum sequence.

  • Balancing Acts provides ready-to-use lesson plans, digital slide decks, and student workbooks. Digital materials are accessible through our online portal and student workbooks and instructional manuals will be delivered to your school prior to classroom use.

  • The program is created and built specifically for students in upper elementary and middle school (grades 5-8). Our lessons are developmentally-aligned and age-appropriate so that children in each grade level can easily adopt tools and engage with the material.

  • Yes! Not just another SEL offering, Balancing Acts is pedagogically aligned and grounded in mental health research. It has been developed in a unique partnership of educators and licensed mental health providers. The result? A mental health curriculum

    that is dynamic enough to meet the diverse learning and mental health needs of today’s kids. It provides content that goes beyond awareness and reflects best practices in social-emotional learning and trauma-informed teaching.

  • Given all that schools are contending with on a day-to-day basis, we designed Balancing Acts specifically to be flexible. Its dynamic, adaptable structure saves administrators time, while providing teachers with turnkey tools that seamlessly integrate into their classroom flow. Schools can adopt the mental health curriculum as an academically-integrated year-long program, or teachers can select to use modules individually to address specific classroom needs (such as stress management during testing season).

  • In addition to our virtual or in-person introductory training, schools receive:

    • Ongoing training and support, facilitation updates, and implementation tips

    • Access to support guides for sensitive topics

    • Parent education seminars to equip families with strategies to reinforce mental health at home

    • Optional Community of Practice sessions for collaboration on strategies and successes

  • We’re thrilled you’re ready to bring Balancing Acts to your school. Getting started is simple:

    1. Request a sample lesson to see how it works.

    2. Schedule a demo call or informative conversation with one of our experts to get answers to your questions and discuss implementation for your school.

FAQs

Get Answers to Frequently Asked Questions