Working Through Grief and Loss with Origami is a free, printable classroom resource designed for teachers, counselors, and educators working with students navigating grief, bereavement, and difficult emotions. Grounded in the illustrated art book Grief Is an Origami Swan by Michèle Saint-Michel, this resource uses origami as a hands-on, reflective practice to support emotional processing, mindfulness, and creative expression in educational settings.

The guide includes a complete lesson plan suitable for middle school, high school, and college classrooms, along with printable handouts, reflective writing prompts, grief mapping exercises, and step-by-step instructions for folding an origami swan. Students are invited to explore grief not as a linear process, but as a lived, evolving experience that can be acknowledged through making, reflection, and shared discussion.

Educators will find structured activities that support social-emotional learning, trauma-informed teaching, and arts-based approaches to mental health. The resource emphasizes emotional validation, patience, and self-expression while remaining adaptable to a range of classroom contexts, including art, literature, wellness, and counseling programs.

This free teacher resource is intended to offer a gentle, accessible way to introduce conversations around grief and loss, using the quiet ritual of origami as a grounding tool for students and educators alike.