Year 3 PSHE: Spring 2 worksheet

“Helpful or Holding Me Back?” is free to print, with no account. It is the first sheet in the Year 3 PSHE unit “PSHE: Spring 2”, for children aged 7 to 8, and takes about 20 minutes.

Print it on A4. The child's pages come first; the answers, and what each wrong answer tells you, are on the grown-up page that follows. Weeks 19 to 24 of the year, 6 sheets in the unit.

Free sample · answers on the last page

Helpful or Holding Me Back?

Name: ____________ · Date: ____________
Year 3 · PSHE · about 20 minutes
Answers are on the grown-up page

Today I can tell helpful worry from unhelpful worry, and name a trusted adult who can help.

A Look back3 min

1.
Which word goes in the empty box of the cycle? Circle your answer.
THINKCHATSHOUT
2.
Which card fits the gap in the calm-down chain? Circle one.
Breathe slowlyShout loudlyRun out of the room
3.
The weather scale goes from sunny to stormy. Which end shows a calm feeling? Circle one.
sunny endstormy end

B Watch me, then you4 min

Leo has a school play on Friday. His tummy feels fluttery, so he practises his lines more and more each day.

Watch me

Leo's worry makes him practise and focus.

The worry pushes him forward, so it is helpful.

That is helpful anxiety.

Now you

1.
Mia feels too scared to go into school each morning, so she wants to stay at home. What kind of worry is this? Circle one.
helpful anxietyunhelpful anxiety

C Your turn8 min

Read each situation. Work out what the worry is doing for the child.

An empty school hall stage with a red curtain and rows of folding chairs

1.
Noah feels butterflies before a play. He practises his lines again and feels ready. Circle one.
helpful anxietyunhelpful anxiety
2.
Your body has an alarm that gets it ready for danger. Which card fits the gap in the chain? Circle your answer.
Adrenaline releasedEyes closeSleep begins
3.
Which card fits the last gap in the calming chain? Circle one.
Tell a trusted adultKeep it secretHide the feeling
4.
Sort these four worries into the two columns. Write each one in the right column.
Nerves that help me focus at a testButterflies that make me practiseWorry that stops me going to the parkFear that stops me sleeping at night
Helpful anxiety Unhelpful anxiety

Say it out loud: What does the worry do in each case: push forward, or hold back? Which words told you?

D Spot the mistake3 min

A quiet park with a bench beside a path and a row of trees

Lou says: “All worry is bad, so I should always stay away from anything that makes me nervous.”

1.
Explain why Lou is wrong.

E Think deeper3 min

1.
Make up a short story about one child with helpful worry and one with unhelpful worry. Name a trusted adult in your story. Tell it to your grown-up.

How did it feel?

I can do it Nearly Not yet

For the grown-up

Helpful or Holding Me Back? · 2 minutes to read

Answers, and what a wrong one tells you

A

1. THINK your child may have missed the middle step. Ask: what do we do before we act? Point to the cycle and say the three words in order.

2. Breathe slowly your child may have picked a card that makes the body more worked up. Ask which card helps the body slow down, then read the chain aloud.

3. sunny end your child may have chosen the stormy end because it sounds bigger. Ask which end looks like a calm day outside.

B

1. unhelpful anxiety your child may think any worry is helpful. Ask: does this worry make Mia do the thing she needs to do, or stop her?

C

1. helpful anxiety your child may have looked at the word butterflies and thought it was bad. Ask: did Noah's worry make him practise more, or stop him?

2. Adrenaline released your child may have chosen a card that is not part of the body's alarm. Ask what chemical gets the body ready, then read the chain from the start.

3. Tell a trusted adult your child may have chosen a card that leaves the worry alone. Remind them that a trusted adult can help, and they will never be in trouble for telling.

4. Helpful anxiety: Nerves that help me focus at a test, Butterflies that make me practise · Unhelpful anxiety: Worry that stops me going to the park, Fear that stops me sleeping at night

D

1. Look for: Some worry helps us focus or try harder, and avoiding everything stops learning or trying new things. your child may agree with Lou. Ask: think of nerves before a school play. Do those nerves help the actor or stop them? Then ask what happens if you never try anything new.

E

1. Look for: A story that shows one helpful worry, one unhelpful worry, and a trusted adult who helps the child.

Words to use

Say“What did the worry do for you: help you move forward, or hold you back? Who could you tell if it grew too big?”

Instead of“Don't worry about it, it's nothing.”

After the sheet

Together, draw a simple body outline on paper. Write one thing the body does when worried, one helpful worry, one unhelpful worry, and one trusted adult. If a worry grows too big, the NSPCC helpline is 0808 800 5000 for grown-ups, and Childline is 0800 1111 for children.

Tick what your child got right in StudyDen. Anything missed comes back in a later Look back box, so there's no need to redo the sheet.

The rest of this unit

5 more sheets come with a StudyDen plan, in teaching order:

My Wellbeing Week Plan(with a plan)
Yet: Growing Your Mindset(with a plan)
Where Money Comes From(with a plan)
Needs, wants and trade-offs(with a plan)
Planning a Class Budget(with a plan)

Every Year 3 PSHE worksheet

The worksheets plan opens a printable sheet for every lesson in Years 1 to 6, each with its answers on a separate page for you. It costs £6.99 a month or £59 a year for the whole family, with no free trial.

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