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15+ Positive Affirmations Activities for Kids and Teens

September 20, 2020 by pathway2success Leave a Comment

Positive affirmations are the encouraging words we say to encourage and motivate ourselves along the way. These are phrases like, “I can do this,” and “Today will be a great day.” Seemingly simple words that have a big impact on our minds.

Just some of the benefits for using positive self-talk include:

It builds confidence. In order for kids and teens to feel proud and confident of their abilities, they have to remind themselves what those strengths are.
It increases motivation. Sometimes, starting a task or chore can be hard. Kids and teens can use positive words to propel themselves forward.
It serves as a coping strategy. We all experience emotional ups and downs. Using positive self-talk is a simple technique kids and teens can take with them anywhere to deal with emotions.
It promotes self-love. Caring about yourself is important. It’s always worth the time to teach kids and teens they are valuable, beautiful, and enough the way they are.

Before getting started practicing positive affirmations with kids and teens, teach learners what positive self-talk is and how it will help them. It’s worth mentioning that they might not be believers at first. That’s okay! Positive self-talk is a practice, meaning it is an activity we get better at every time we do it.

Here are ideas for practicing positive affirmations:

List Favorite Affirmations

Read through a list of positive affirmations. Then, have kids and teens choose their top 10 affirmations to say to themselves. What’s great about this activity is that everyone’s list will be different! Students can post their top 10 list in their lockers, on their desks, or keep in their binder to read when they need. Grab this free printable list or head over to read 101 positive affirmations for kids and teens.

Affirmation of the Day

Choose one positive affirmation for the day. Make it a point to focus on this positive thought in the morning and several times throughout the day. Once students understand the idea, you can have them choose the positive affirmation of the day too.

Morning Affirmation Ritual

Make positive affirmations a daily routine! Come up with a list of favorite affirmations and build time into the schedule to read them every morning. This can be done at home or first thing when students arrive at school each day. Use this free sample list or come up with your own!

Affirmation Circle

Stand in a circle. Have one child start by reading or saying a positive affirmation aloud. Have that student call on another student to have them read an affirmation aloud. Keep the affirmation circle going until all students have said at least one affirmation aloud. You can add movement by having students toss a ball to whoever gets to read next.

Sing It!

Sing each positive affirmation to the tune of a favorite song or just an instrumental background. Make this a challenge to see who can come up with the best song.

Fill in the Blank

Provide a sentence starter, such as “I am…” or “Today, I will…” and have learners fill in the blank. Kids and teens can do this in writing or out loud. Another thought is to write this sentence starter on the board. Then, have students come up and finish the statement. When all students are finished, the board will be filled with many different positive affirmations, such as: I am strong, I am beautiful, I am unique, and I am enough. You can even try these Positive Self-Talk Boom Cards to build on these skills in a digital way.

Around the Room

Write positive affirmations on popsicle sticks or slips of paper. Put them all together in a bag or box. Go around the room and have students randomly pick out a slip to read. This gives every learners a chance to read a random positive affirmation.

Beach Ball Affirmations

Use an inflatable beach ball and write different affirmations all over. Toss the ball around. When one student gets the ball, they need to read aloud the positive words that are where their pointer finger touches. Then, they can pass the ball to someone else and continue the process.

Positive Thoughts Breathing

Give positive thoughts breathing a try. In this technique, you might first want to teach about mindful breathing, a practice where we focus on our breath to help calm our bodies and minds. To give it a try, think of a positive thought as you slowly breathe in. Hold your breath for a few seconds and then breathe out.

Write a Poem

Have kids and teens write a poem using only positive affirmations. They can use a positive affirmations list to help them, or they can come up with encouraging words on their own. Give a chance to read poems aloud. As an extension, students can write out their poem on poster board or larger paper and then make designs around it.

Sticky Note Reminders

Have kids list out some different positive affirmations on sticky notes. Then, place them in spots where they might randomly remind them of the encouraging words. For example, kids might place inside their math book, in their homework binder, in their locker, or on their fridge at home. These can serve as mini-reminders to help kids do their best, think positively, and stay focused.

Positive Affirmation Collage

Have students create their own collage with a picture of themselves in the middle. All around their picture, they should add words and images focused on positive affirmations. This can be the most fun when students clip words out of magazines but you can also have them write the positive words on paper and paste them right on to their collage. Learn more about other ways to integrate social emotional learning into art.

Make an Affirmation Mini-book

Have kids and teens choose their top positive affirmations. For each page, list out that positive affirmation and draw a picture. Put the book together as something kids and teens can use when they are feeling overwhelmed or need a boost.

Design Affirmation Posters

Have students choose their favorite positive affirmation and design it into a poster. They can color and add pictures however they want. Once finished, students can hang on to their poster or you can post them around the room. You can even put them up as a bulletin board filled with words of encouragement.

Use Real-Life Scenarios

Give practice for using positive affirmations by using real-life scenarios. You might ask kids and teens, “Imagine you are about to take a test, but you feel overwhelmed. What would you say to yourself?” You can even do this activity using characters in a story or novel.

Highlight the Lyrics

Several popular songs include lyrics with positive affirmations. Some examples include “Roar” by Katy Perry, “Good Life” by One Republic, “Happy” by Pharrell Williams, and “Beautiful Life by Ace of Base. Print the lyrics out and have students read them. They can highlight the positive words, read, and even sing them.

I hope these activities are helpful techniques you can use to unleash the incredible power of positive thinking with kids and teens. Do you have a favorite? Share in the comments to let others know!

30+ Ways to Integrate SEL During Distance Learning

September 1, 2020 by pathway2success Leave a Comment

Over 30 fun and engaging ways to integrate social emotional learning skills for distance and virtual learning. This list includes lots of free digital resources, activities, ideas, and links to help teachers, educators, and parents build SEL skills while teaching remote or during homeschool. This list focuses on strengthening skills for building empathy, working through challenges, improving self-control, and much more! #pathway2success

Integrating social emotional learning skills is a critical element to any classroom. These are the skills that help learners understand their strengths and challenges, recognize emotions, become socially aware, develop empathy for others, build meaningful relationships, and make positive decisions. Truthfully, the skills listed are only a fraction of what social emotional learning encompasses, but it is enough to highlight how important these life skills really are.

In every classroom all over the world, integrating social emotional learning is a necessary method to helping kids and young adults become successful. Add distance learning into the equation and SEL takes on even more importance. Normally, in the classroom, learners are engaging with peers, starting conversations, working with partners, developing friendships, learning the social rules, resolving conflicts, problem-solving, and learning to make positive choices along the way.

This year, for many, is different. Learners won’t have access to all of those natural social-emotional situations in the classroom. And while it isn’t a perfect situation, it’s worth highlighting there are many ways to integrate social and emotional learning skills virtually.

Below is a list of over 30 strategies, ideas, links, and resources (many that are free) to build social emotional learning skills from a distance. This list is purposefully long to give lots of choices and options for educators. Instead of trying to do everything, choose a few strategies to implement and see where they take you.

Strategies for Integrating SEL Virtually:

1. Start the day with virtual greetings

Greetings are always a healthy way to start the morning with students. Teaching digitally is no exception to this! Before starting your lessons or activities, take a minute to do virtual greetings such as an air first bumps, heart hands, or an air high five. You can choose a daily greeting or let your students pick. Use this free visual with daily greetings to get started.

2. Develop a mindful morning practice.

The start to the morning can mean everything. Take 5 minutes and begin a mindful practice to help learners develop a sense of calm. You can do this with different activities, such as mindful breathing, practicing gratitude, and using positive affirmations. I developed a free mindful morning routine that incorporates these techniques and more.

3. Use break-out rooms for team-building.

Kids and teens need practice working together. This builds a number of social emotional skills, such as conversation skills, conflict resolution, problem-solving, perseverance, and teamwork just to name a few. Breakout rooms can be a great way to allow students this partner/group time. One important tip is to be explicit as to what you want students to accomplish during their group time. Have them come back and share their progress or provide you with the work to allow for accountability.

4. Start with morning meeting.

Morning meeting is a semi-structured time each day that gives students the chance to talk, share, and learn new skills. It’s intended to be fairly short but meaningful. So often, this can be one of the best times to integrate SEL skills. After greetings, discuss a social emotional skill and give kids practice with it. For example, if you are learning about self-awareness, have students reflect on waht makes them unique. Give them the chance to share some interesting things about themselves or words that describe who they are.

If you’re not familiar with morning meeting, read here about how you can get started in five easy steps.

Not only does this build on critical social emotional learning skills, but it promotes a positive community too. Every classroom (in person or digital) can start with a morning meeting. You can design your own daily morning meeting times, or use these morning meeting activities I’ve developed (and this set for elementary kids too!).

5. Use discussion starters.

One of the simplest strategies for integrating SEL skills is just talking with kids and young adults. Ask them what words best describe them, what goals they have for the future, and to describe someone important in their lives. Not only do these questions build meaningful relationships among you and your learners, but they give you valuable insight to who students are and what they need. Use these free relationship-building questions to start building those relationships right away.

6. Host a weekly show-and-tell.

Kids and young adults need to share about their own lives! During distance learning, so much “down time” is taken away, from the quick chats before class to the lunch discussions with peers. Give students some of that time back with a scheduled weekly show-and-tell. Allow time for students to share something they’ve done, a new activity they’ve tried, something they’ve learned, or anything else.

What’s important is that this shouldn’t have to be connected with academics. Allow kids to show off their dirt bike, take a tour of their house, showcase a new trick they’ve taught their dog, or talk about how they beat a level in a videogame. This share time is essential to building confidence and a positive classroom climate.

7. Use journal writing.

Journaling is a healthy way to integrate social emotional skills into the academic classroom. There are multiple options for using a journal to support SEL skills. Start with a topic your students need, such as learning about feelings or making positive choices. Create daily prompts for kids to respond to. Then, give time to discuss as a group to allow for shared learning. Use this SEL Journal to target social emotional skills throughout the entire year or make your own!

8. Schedule weekly check-ins.

While whole class and small group meetings are important, individual check-ins with students can give a great deal of insight about how they are doing. Schedule short weekly check-ins with students to ask how they are doing, what’s going well, and what they need help with. In some cases, teachers may not have the time or flexibility to meet individually with all students (especially educators teaching large groups or caseloads in the upper grades). If that’s the case, meeting individually can at least be a targeted intervention for the students who need a little bit extra support along the way.

9. Give non-digital brain breaks.

During distance learning, not everything needs to be digital! Give non-virtual brain breaks to help break up the academic work. Assign activities like coloring, journaling, making a gratitude list, taking a walk outside, going on a scavenger hunt, and doing a chore at home. Use these free printable mindful coloring activities to start!

10. Play games.

Games are another brain break that can also serve as a way to teach SEL skills. Play BINGO to work on attention and listening skills. Use charades to work on social cues. Play Simon Says to practice attention, listening, and self-control.

11. Use read alouds.

One of my favorite ways to integrate social emotional learning is using read alouds and picture books. This can be done a few different ways. First, you can choose a book using this list of 100+ read alouds for SEL skills. The list is organized by SEL skill, making it easy to target a skill your students need.

The other option is just to choose any book you want. You can almost always integrate 1-2 SEL skills just by talking about the characters’ emotions, their perspectives, what problems they are working through, and how they persevere in the end. There are a number of YouTube videos with books already read aloud for you and your students, or you can read live during a meet.

12. Watch videos.

Videos and movie clips are a fun and engaging way to work on social emotional learning skills through distance learning (and in the classroom). Just like with literature, video clips give the chance to talk about emotions, empathy, perspective-taking, problem-solving, perseverance, and more.

13. Teach SEL skills explicitly.

Teaching social emotional skill explicitly is always worth the time it takes. In a perfect world, learners would come to class with skills for showing empathy, working well with others, and persevering through challenges. As educators, we know that’s not always the case. Teaching skills explicitly means talking about a skill, teaching what it means, why it is important, and giving meaningful practice so that students can build on that skill.

I recently created a digital social emotional learning workbook for students to learn about SEL skills like empathy, respect, organization, attention, teamwork, and more. When activities are more fun and interactive, students are more likely to engage and learn.

Spend time talking about one skill each day to help cover the SEL skills your learners need for success. Just one more important note: you don’t need to be an expert on SEL skills to teach them to your students! It’s better to start and learn together than never start at all.

14. Model flexibility and perseverance.

As educators, kids and teens are always looking at us as a role model. Even in difficult circumstances (and maybe especially in difficult circumstances), it’s important to model flexibility and perseverance. Be mindful of the words and tone you use when discussing distance learning. Even though a distance learning situation is far from perfect, the mindset you start with sets the stage for how students deal with the situation too.

15. Use digital tools to help kids share ideas.

There is an endless amount of digital tools for teachers and students to use during distance learning, from Zoom to Flipgrid to Seesaw and Screencastify. Choose a program or platform that can help students share ideas and collaborate, something that is essential for kids to build relationships, confidence, and problem-solving skills. With the help of some amazing educators, I’ve compiled a list of digital tools that help students share ideas and build relationships. Rather than getting overwhelmed with all the new technology, try to start with 1-2 ideas and start from there.

16. Practice and model coping strategies.

Managing emotions is always an important skill, but probably even more important for kids right now. Spend a few minutes each day (or week) practicing coping strategies together. These are activities like listening to music, practicing mindfulness, exercising, and coloring. It’s important to give learners a variety of skills to practice. As individuals, we all have different strategies that work best for us. By practicing coping strategies together, this can help students find the activities that work best for them.

You can even help students create their own coping strategies notebook. Choose a strategy, have them list out the steps, and they can add a picture of themselves doing that strategy. This is a teaching tool, and a support for later on. Students can return back to their coping strategies notebooks to remind them of calm down skills in the moment.

17. Use positive affirmations.

Positive affirmations are the positive words we say to ourselves. These words can provide assurance, encouragement, and support through tough times. Positive affirmations can be a healthy way to start the morning or even act as a coping strategy in stressful moments. By using positive thinking, students can build confidence, calm emotions, and refocus for the day. Use this free positive affirmations list to help students develop a positive voice and make their own lists.

18. Use brain breaks between tasks.

We all need breaks sometimes, especially after looking at a screen for hours. Make sure to integrate brain breaks in between tasks to give students a quick reset before moving on. During a break, you can play a game (like Simon Says or I Spy), play a quick video, exercise together, or just have an off-topic chat. Not only are these breaks essential to everyone’s social and emotional well-being, but they also provide another opportunity to build relationships at a distance.

19. Integrate SEL skills in academics.

Every teacher is a teacher of social emotional skills! When you are intentional, it can be much easier to integrate SEL skills into what you’re already doing. Before starting group work, take a few minutes to remind students what group work looks like and sounds like. Before taking a test, practice mindfulness to help kids clear their minds and start fresh. These are just a few simple and quick examples of how you can add SEL skills into your every day.

If you need ideas for what skills to focus on, use this free printable social emotional learning skills at a glance page to help. It covers several skills for every domain of social emotional learning from self-awareness to decision-making.

20. Assign art, crafts, and other non-digital activities.

Arts and crafts are an option educators can use to break up the monotony of screen time. So often, art can be an excellent way to work on SEL skills. Have students make their own self-collage to showcase their strengths and talents. This builds self-awareness and confidence. Learn more ideas about using art activities for social emotional learning.

If you’re looking for more activities to use right away, I’ve developed a set of activities to target social emotional learning with art.

21. Host special days.

Host special days to create a positive climate for your learners. Days like “pajama day” and “crazy hat day” shouldn’t be just for the classroom. You can choose to schedule these days or add them in an an incentive along the way.

22. Allow students to share work.

Kids and young adults need time to share their work with each other. This can be a positive way to build confidence, work on public speaking, and allow students to get outside their comfort zones. Using platforms like Zoom and Flipgrid can be a helpful solution to allow student discourse and sharing of work.

23. Respect boundaries and privacy.

It’s important to mention that when educators teach students from a distance, they are in the homes and personal lives of their students. Some students may not be comfortable showing their home or even their face through certain platforms. It’s critical to respect those boundaries and privacy in a difficult time. If needed, meet privately with students via online platforms or a phone call instead of requiring students to be on camera.

24. Send snail mail.

A quick and simple handwritten message to your students can mean a lot. Consider sending out snail mail to students with a positive message to provide encouragement and confidence through their distance learning journey.

25. Assign SEL activities as homework.

Sometimes, time doesn’t allow for all the social emotional skills to be taught during school time. When that happens, consider providing additional practice as homework for students. If you are teaching about kindness, assign students to complete 1 kind act and then write about what they did. If you are learning about decision-making, have students draw themselves making a positive choice.

Use this yearlong set of SEL choice boards to provide additional practice as you need. It includes over 300 unique learning activities in the form of engaging choice boards as students learn about skills that matter most. If you want to take a peek, you can even get started with this free set.

26. Use digital task cards.

Task cards are often a favorite in the classroom. During distance learning, they don’t need to be forgotten. You can use digital-friendly task cards to work on social emotional skills. Try these free social problem-solving task cards to get started. You can read them with your students, discuss, and have students add their own individual responses to show what they’ve learned.

27. Use digital calm down tools.

Virtual calm down activities such as apps, games, and animal live cams can be a tool to help students regulate emotions in the moment. I’ve added several free links to help you get started!

One of my favorites, though, is this mindfulness digital workbook filled with activities from A-Z that help kids and teens calm down.

28. Teach about adversity.

Going through a difficult situation requires perseverance and resilience. One of my favorite ways to teach about adversity is researching famous athletes, actors, and others who have persevered through challenging times. For example, Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team. Imagine what might have been if he had given up! This is such an important lesson for students as they are coping with challenging times of their own. You can also explicitly teach about overcoming adversity with this free workbook.

29. Practice mindful breathing.

Mindful breathing is one of my favorite techniques for managing emotions. It’s one of those skills that kids and teens (and yes, even adults) can practice anywhere and anytime. Use fun and engaging mindful breathing exercises like “Cool off the pizza” to help these techniques stick in the minds of young learners. Learn more about breathing exercises you can try with your students in person or virtually.

30. Give choice.

Students need choices to build independence. When working on academic work, provide options for how students can show you what they’ve learned. For example, allow students to write a journal entry or create a video. You can also give options for the topics kids are covering. If your goal is for them to write an essay, allow each student what they will be writing about. These are just small examples that can have a big impact.

31. Create a kindness challenge.

Kids and young adults love challenges. Create your own kindness challenge to help students practice compassion and empathy for others. You can get started by teaching kindness with a free activity.

32. Practice gratitude.

Practicing gratitude helps boost self-awareness and positive feelings. It’s a healthy technique to teach kids and young adults to start their days in a more positive place. You can even use this as a brain break. Have students take 5 minutes and list 5 things they are thankful for. These can be silly or small things, like feeling thankful for a certain candy they like. Gratitude statements can also take on a bigger meaning, such as feeling grateful for family, friends, or a comfortable bed to sleep in. Best of all, this is a practice you can do every day or once a week.

33. Discuss daily SEL topics.

Social emotional learning skills are so important that they should be talked about every single day. Spend 10 minutes each day discussing important topics, like empathy, confidence, self-control, integrity, friendships, and everything in between.

Simply put, there are enough SEL skills to cover an entire year. I know this because I developed this yearlong set of SEL prompts and discussion starters to highlight skills from self-awareness to decision-making. It is distance-learning friendly, but can be used on the whiteboard once you are back in the classroom too.

34. Take virtual field trips.

Even if real in-person field trips are off the table, virtual field trips can be a positive experience for learners. A number of museums, farms, zoos, and landmarks offer tours that can help students see the world without ever leaving their house. Good Housekeeping compiled this list of virtual field trips from Ellis Island to Mars.

Even though the actual field trips may not explicitly teach social emotional skills, these skills can be integrated right into the discussions as you learn together. Consider what the setting is, what the social expectations might be, how students might prepare for actually visiting that place, what interactions they might have, and more.

35. Schedule weekly reflections.

Take a few minutes at the end of the week to reflect on progress, growth, and plans for the incoming week. This gives students a chance to feel proud about what they did well, own their mistakes or mishaps, and make a goal for the future.

36. Stay in touch with parents.

Keep parents involved in a positive way. Give a friendly reminder what social emotional skills you are targeting this week. You can even suggest a few activities at home kids can do to practice those skills. Most importantly, though, check in with parents to see how your student is doing at home and what they might need. That relationship (like all relationships) is going to play a huge role in student success.

37. Use apps to build SEL skills.

There are a number of interactive apps and web-based games to work on social emotional skills from a distance. Use Conversation Planner to work on building conversation skills and Stop, Breathe, & Think to work on emotions and mindfulness. These are free, but there are also many paid apps to support SEL as well. Read more about different apps to support social emotional learning.

38. Practice and model self-care.

Self-care is important for everyone, including educators. Model self-care by spending the time you need on yourself. That most likely means setting up boundaries for when you will and will not be available to support students at home. It also means giving yourself time to take a walk, exercise, read, and spend time with family. If you need more reminders, grab this free printable self-care for educators poster. You matter.

39. Use digital lessons and activities.

While I’ve mentioned lots of free (and paid) virtual lessons in this post itself, I thought it was worth sharing that I’ve got a lot more! A huge goal of mine recently has been to add digital content into my social emotional learning resources to provide extra value to educators whether they are working in the classroom or at their computers. I recently wrote another article focusing on SEL activities for the virtual classroom (and yes, it includes 9 amazing freebies you can use right away!).

This list has taken on more strategies than I had originally planned, and I’m so happy to give many options to educators working through distance learning. If you have another suggestion I haven’t written about, feel free to reach out!

SEL Lessons and Activities for the Virtual Classroom

August 16, 2020 by pathway2success Leave a Comment

Social emotional learning is playing a huge role this school year. Of course, SEL is important all of the time, but right now kids and young adults are in special need of support. In order for kids and teens to succeed academically, they also need skills for understanding emotions, problem-solving, conflict resolution, and persevering through challenges. These are just a few small examples of social emotional skills that we use every day.

If you’re unsure about what SEL is, it might be helpful to read about social emotional learning and what the five core domains are!

With all of that said, it’s important for educators to have access to digital social emotional learning lessons and activities. I’ve put together this list with resources to help educators get started.

Besides some of my favorite and most popular paid digital SEL resources, I’ve listed free materials as well. As someone who taught 10 years in the classroom myself, I understand that resources are limited. Free materials are also a great way to test out an activity before making the purchase.

One more note that all materials include digital and print activities to allow you to meet the needs of your students and whatever the year brings you.

DIGITAL SEL RESOURCES

Social Emotional Learning Journal

This social emotional learning journal is a yearlong journal to target SEL skills from self-awareness to decision-making. The idea is simple: just assign one section per day to cover social emotional learning throughout the entire school year. It covers critical topics like friendships, empathy, values, self-control, and a lot more.

Social Emotional Learning Digital Workbook

This SEL digital workbook is a fun online tool to teach social emotional learning skills from A-Z. It includes 40 mini-lessons on various SEL topics, giving kids and teens practice with those skills in a digital way. The activities even use moveable pieces in Google Slides, making the lessons interactive and fun!

I get asked about this one a lot, so here’s a video!

Mindful Breathing Cards

Help kid and young adults learn skills for mindfulness with mindful breathing cards. Practicing mindfulness with deep breathing can be a simple, fun, and effective way to work on self-regulation skills. These breathing activities are also memorable and fun, which means students will be able to use them when they really need them most.

SEL Complete Curriculum

This complete social emotional learning curriculum has everything an educator needs to teach SEL for the entire year. It includes five units targeting the core domains of SEL: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationships, and decision-making. Updates were recently added to allow kids and teens access to a completely digital student workbook.

SEL Daily Prompts

One simple way to integrate social emotional learning is with SEL daily prompts. These questions give one meaningful prompt each day to help teach and practice social emotional skills. A student journal is included, allowing kids and teens a space to share their thoughts before moving on.

SEL Choice Boards

Make learning SEL a little bit more fun with social emotional learning choice boards. These boards cover important SEL topics in a fun and unique way. Each board includes 9 activities to target each SEL skill. You can choose to assign all 9 activities or let kids choose their favorite for the week. This can be a homework assignment or extra for early finishers.

Coping Strategies Menu

Help kids and young adults determine which coping skills are best for them with an interactive coping strategies menu. In order to effectively manage emotions, kids and young adults need to practice coping strategies before they are overwhelmed. This activity can help open the door to working on skills to help kids develop stronger self-regulation skills.

Mindfulness Journal

Help integrate mindfulness with a daily mindfulness journal. Another yearlong journal, this activity provides practice using senses, visualizations, gratitude, mindful puzzles, and more.

Social Emotional Learning Digital Workbook

This social emotional digital workbook is a helpful tool to teach SEL skills in a fun and interactive way. It includes step-by-step and guided practice on 25 unique social emotional learning topics from empathy to problem-solving. Digital moveable pieces are included to help make this activity more fun and engaging for younger learners.

FREE DIGITAL SEL RESOURCES

Mindfulness Morning Check-In

This mindfulness morning check-in is a free daily quick activity to encourage learners to start the day in a more mindful way. It includes 5 activities: taking deep breaths, using senses, practicing gratitude, using positive self-talk, and identifying something to look forward to.

Perspective-Taking Lessons

Use perspective-taking lessons to introduce the idea that we all think differently, and that’s perfectly okay.

SEL Journal

Grab a free week of this social emotional learning journal to help kids learn about their individual strengths and challenges. This is a helpful introduction to self-awareness while testing out this yearlong SEL Journal.

SEL Choice Board Activities

These SEL choice board activities teach about managing emotions, strengths and challenges, responsibility, and more. This free set includes a total of 36 activities targeting social emotional skills.

Positive Thinking Affirmation Activity

Start the day with positive thinking affirmations to boost confidence and morale. Students can make their own positive self-talk list using the statements to read when they are stressed, upset, or just to start the day in a positive way.

Social Problem-Solving Task Cards

This social problem-solving task cards set has been turned digital to help kids and young adults learn strategies for problem-solving in all elements of life.

Coping Strategies Challenge

Use a 30-day coping strategies challenge to help kid and teens learn a variety of coping skills they can use in their life. Let students choose activities or select them and complete together!

Read Aloud List for Social Emotional Learning

Use this SEL read aloud list to select books that teach critical SEL skills. It includes a list of various read alouds that target skills like confidence, empathy, growth mindset, goals, self-control, study habits, and more.

Coping Strategies Notebook

Use this free coping strategies notebook to help kids and teens create their own individualized list of coping skills that work for them.

I hope this list has been helpful to you. It truly is filled with lessons and activities I wish I had years ago.

I’m always in the process of adding new digital resources to support social emotional learning. If there is a lesson you’d like to see, let me know!

12 Reasons Why Every Class Needs Morning Meeting

August 10, 2020 by pathway2success Leave a Comment

Morning meeting is a daily time to meet with students and help frame the day for success. Sometimes it might be called a daily check-in or morning circle. Whatever you call it, the idea is pretty simple. Educators sit with their students, greet each other by name, talk about topics that matter, and give everyone a chance to share.

Morning meeting is also a technique that can be used across all age and grade levels. For elementary learners, morning meeting would most likely happen the first 10-20 minutes of the day in the regular classroom. For secondary learners, morning meeting could take place in homeroom or advisory. It’s always important to make sure the morning meetings work for you and your classroom.

If you are teaching online, it’s worth mentioning that morning meeting can be practiced virtually online, too. Just like your in-person morning meetings, start with greetings, discuss important topics, and give time to share.

Whether you are face-to-face with learners or virtual through an online program, morning meeting sets the tone.

Here are 12 reasons why all educators should implement a morning meeting:

#1 Morning meeting builds strong relationships. By meeting and talking about things that matter to kids each day, you are helping to build strong relationships and a climate of trust. Not only do educators get to know their students on a deeper level, but students will learn from other students, too. During this time, students will likely share their thoughts, feelings, problems, needs, and hopes for the future. You can use this free printable of 100+ relationship-building questions to ask during your morning meetings.

#2 Morning meeting is the perfect time to teach SEL skills. I developed an entire yearlong set of morning meeting cards that focus on social emotional learning skills. Grab them if you’re looking for a no-prep way to run your morning meetings and integrate these skills! Even if this set isn’t something you want to invest in yet, try integrating SEL skills into your morning meeting times right away. Spend a day talking about skills that matter, like empathy, friendships, coping skills, growth mindset, developing goals, responsible decisions, and more. Talking about these skills directly will make a big difference for your learners. Grab this free printable SEL poster to highlight different skills you can target during your time!

#3 Morning meeting can be an outlet for mental health supports. The goal is that with time and consistency, morning meeting can be a place where students will feel comfortable voicing their concerns, thoughts, and needs. This can create a safe space for all learners. Additionally, morning meetings provide the perfect setting to talk about strategies for managing stress and mental health, such as coping skills, healthy habits, and dealing with tough emotions.

Morning meeting or circle time is the ideal time to teach social emotional skills to your students while building community and strengthening relationships. Learn what is morning meeting, why it matters, and grab some activities to get started.

#4 Morning meeting can help learners build confidence. Morning meeting is daily group that gets together to talk about topics that matter, so how can this build confidence? Learners get to know each other so well that they start to feel comfortable stepping outside their comfort zone! They are better able to take risks, share their voice, and feel proud of who they are as individuals. Best of all, these skills don’t just show up in morning meeting. Students who feel more confident might be more likely to succeed in all areas of the curriculum, too.

#5 Morning meeting is a time when kids can just share what is on their mind. This point maybe isn’t obvious, but it’s important. So often, the school day is extremely busy. There aren’t always chances for kids to talk about a new artist they are interested in or the soccer game last weekend. It’s always important to dedicate part of morning meeting to just a share-out time when kids can share what is on their minds.

#6 Morning meeting helps students problem-solve. Let’s face it: kids and young adults deal with some challenging situations from day-to-day. Morning meeting can be a space where learners can ask for feedback or ideas about how to solve problems in their life, like someone being mean on the bus or how to handle a fight with a friend.

#7 Morning meeting is an emotional check-in. A daily morning meeting is a simple check-in time for each student to think about (and share) how they are feeling and what is on their mind. A daily check-in builds self-awareness and emotional intelligence. Most importantly, this can be a big deal for students who might need some extra support.

#8 Morning meeting builds community. This goes beyond just strong relationships with each other. Building a community means caring about each other, having empathy, working together, giving support, and always including others. When you start your day with your group and talk about issues that matter to your learners, it helps build the foundation for that community. Not only does this benefit your classroom by teaching skills for working together, but it also gives the feeling that we’re all in this together.

#9 Morning meeting can teach and discuss academic skills. Morning meeting can provide an outlet to teach skills like studying for a test, getting organized, paying attention in class, and time management. These self-management skills are foundational to academic and personal success. Sometimes, in the busy school schedule, there isn’t always a perfect time for them, which is why morning meeting can be a great solution.

#10 Morning meeting can reduce behavioral challenges. When students feel valued, supported, and listened to, it makes sense that there would be less behavioral challenges. A research study showed that greeting students each day reduced behavioral challenges. Now, just imagine taking 5-10 minutes each day with greetings and discussion. One major benefit to morning meeting is that this time can turn diminish behavior problems before they even start.

#11 Morning meeting teaches that all voices matter. One important aspect to morning meeting is that all students have a chance to share. When morning meeting becomes a daily practice, it teaches all students to respect and listen to one another. Not only is this an important skill for the classroom, but an important life skill, too. Help show that every voice matters by starting with a daily greeting. Download a free poster with daily greetings to build community to start.

#12 Morning meeting increases student engagement. A daily check-in and discussion time can be the perfect recipe to help wake up and engage young minds. Morning meeting focused on social emotional learning can help students become more focused, alert, and ready to go for the rest of the day.

Getting Started

Now that you understand the value and importance of morning meetings, give them a try! You can always start on your own just with greetings, sharing out, and daily activities.

Head over here to learn more about leading morning meetings, setting up your expectations, and how to get started.

If you’re looking for a bit more structure and focus on social emotional learning, I’ve developed a Morning Meeting for Social Emotional Learning for the entire year. If you work with older learners, you can check out this set of SEL morning meeting cards for older kids too!

I’ve added computer-friendly pages to each set to help educators teach virtual morning meetings from a distance. Just share your screen and discuss the questions to get started. Try it out and let me know how it works for you!

15+ Executive Functioning Strategies Every Teacher Can Use

October 13, 2019 by pathway2success 2 Comments

Over 15 strategies for executive functioning that all educators and teachers can use to help struggling students. Whether kids are having difficulty with attention, organization, self-control, or flexibility, these ideas and printable resources will help kids and teens find success in the classroom! #executivefunctioning #pathway2success

Many kids and young adults struggle with executive functioning challenges. Some are easy to spot, such as when a student can’t focus on a lesson or comes to class without their entire binder. Other EF challenges are less obvious, though. A learner might take two times as long on homework because they don’t understand strategies to help them complete it quicker. Another student might look like they are paying attention, but may not be absorbing the content. For more of an in-depth explanation on these skills, be sure to check out my post on executive functioning skills explained.

Kids and young adults only have so much mental energy they can use at one time (we all do, right?). For kids who struggle with basic EF skills, like organization, planning, and time management, we want to reduce any wasted mental energy. This can help our learners focus on the more important things, including learning the content and practicing the skills.

Here are some simple steps that every educator can take to help all learners develop executive functioning success in the classroom:

#1 Develop, teach, and practice routines. Consistency is a huge key to student success. That’s true for all learners, but especially kids and young adults with EF deficits. Make everything a routine. Turning in homework each morning? Routine. Writing homework down at the end of class? Routine. Cleaning out notebooks for a new unit? Routine! It’s important to note that just coming up with a routine for these tasks isn’t really enough. The routines need to be practice and re-practiced throughout the year.

#2 Keep a daily schedule posted. Not only does a daily plan for the day keep educators on track, but it keeps students organized, too. A daily schedule or plan doesn’t need to be “perfect.” It’s okay if it is a rough outline of what you plan to do during the class. A daily schedule or plan keeps students more organized and gives a sneak peak of what is to come. This can help everyone mentally prepare for class and preview expectations.

#3 Write homework in the same spot. Having a designated homework spot means kids and young adults use less mental energy figuring out where their assignment is listed each day. It’s a small step that can make a big difference.

#4 Embed executive functioning instruction in your content. One of the easiest ways to teach EF skills is by discussing them through your content and curriculum. For example, when working on a long-term project, you might talk about organization and time management. Before working on a challenging test, you might highlight strategies to help all learners use flexibility and perseverance. There are so many opportunities. Every teacher can and should be a teacher of executive functioning skills.

#5 Give organization time at the end of class. Kids and young adults with executive functioning challenges are notoriously disorganized. They can certainly learn skills to improve, but they need the time to get there. Dedicate the last few minutes of each class to tidying up, putting papers in the right spots, and making sure homework is written down. While not all kids will need this time, many really do.

#6 Teach skills explicitly. When kids struggle with math or reading, we teach them. The same should be true for skills like organization, self-control, and time management. You don’t need to be an executive function expert to talk about and teach these skills. I have developed a number of EF materials for educators, including executive functioning task cards and an executive functioning workbook. If you’re looking for even more, grab the whole yearlong executive functioning set to get started right away. Even if you are just discussing one skill each week or so, you are moving kids in the right direction.

#7 Give mini-deadlines on long-term projects. Any educator knows that long-term projects can be a major challenge for some students. Mini-deadlines are a simple solution to the problem. If a report is due in two weeks, work to break up the project into sections. Make a date for students to find their sources, create an outline, and write a first draft. Over time, you can train students to create their own mini-deadlines to build independence.

#8 Reduce distractions. It’s important to note that reducing distractions will look different in every classroom. Still, it’s important to be reflective. Art projects hanging from the ceiling might look beautiful, but they may actually be doing more harm than good if they are distracting your learners. Take time to re-assess the visuals and materials in your classroom and reduce any distractions that might be about.

#9 Give time checks. Kids and young adults who struggle with time management often don’t have a strong understanding of time itself. During working sessions, use a chime or just your voice to give time checks for how much longer is left. For example, you might say, “This is a time check. You have about 10 more minutes before we need to clean up the lab stations.” This simple no-prep support is helpful to all kids, but especially to kids with EF challenges.

#10 Keep extra papers stored in a bin. Of course, we want all students to stay organized and keep all of their papers where they need to be. However, kids with EF challenges are likely to lose papers. Give them a way to find an extra paper without having to ask an adult every single time by setting up a bin with extra pages.

#11 Explicitly state when important information is being shared. It would be great if every student perfectly paid attention during all lectures and lessons, but we all know that’s not exactly the case. With this, it’s critical to be very explicit when sharing information that matters the most. You might say, “I’m about to say something really important. Pencils down and eyes on me,” as a cue.

#12 Give breaks. No one can be 100% all of the time. This is especially true for our learners with executive functioning challenges. Their brains are working extra hard to pay attention, stay organized, manage their time, problem-solve, and work through challenges. It’s important to give brain breaks during class, when needed. Individual students may also benefit from breaks, such as getting a drink at the water fountain or having them deliver something to another classroom for you.

#13 Preview changes. For kids and young adults who struggle with flexibility, change can be a huge obstacle. If there is a change of schedule coming up, give students a heads up. Explain what the change is and how the day will proceed. This doesn’t need to take much time, but can help take some of the stress away from the changes coming up.

#14 Stock a classroom office. For some kids, organization comes easy! For others, it is a lifelong struggle. While working on these skills, give the kids the tools they need to be successful in the classroom. Stock a classroom office with pencils, pens, extra paper, and other supplies for kids who need them. It’s important to see this as an intervention and a support, not a way to enable kids. Of course, the goal is to have learners bring their own pencils and come prepared each day. However, an executive functioning deficit shouldn’t impact a child’s ability to learn the math or reading content for the day. While working on EF skills, stock a classroom office so all kids have the tools they need.

#15 Let kids work through challenges. Kids and young adults need the experiences of doing tasks on their own, whether it is struggling through a math problem or learning how to cut out a craft. It’s okay if things aren’t perfect. It’s much more important that kids and young adults develop the confidence that they can do things independently. This also allows for problem-solving, flexibility, and perseverance. Sometimes, they will need help, and it’s important to give that support! But it’s also okay to let them learn through their struggles so they can persevere and succeed.

#16 Play executive functioning skills games during downtime. Sometimes, it is difficult to integrate EF skills into the day with all the content and curriculum that needs to be covered. This is when downtime can be extremely valuable. Use the last few minutes of class to play fun games that actually strengthen EF skills, like Simon Says and Freeze. Some games, like Guard Duty, can even be played while your students are in line on the way to another class. The idea is to have them act like a guard to the palace and use self-control to not react to anything. Read up on more ways you can use play activities to practice executive functioning skills.

#17 Allow for movement in the classroom. Many kids and young adults learn best when they are moving. This can be especially true for kids who struggle with attention and focus. Use center work, stations, and even movement games to allow for extra movement throughout the day while kids are learning the content you need them to.

#18 Be concise. Say what matters the most and keep it short! Kids and young adults who struggle with attention and focus will get lost when directions or information is too wordy. It may also help to have both visual and verbal reminds for the directions for those who need.

If you are interested in teaching executive functioning skills explicitly, I have developed an entire yearlong set of activities for executive functioning skills. It includes everything from workbooks to lessons and crafts to task cards. It is ideal for advisory or the resource room, but I’ve even had general education teachers use it in the first few minutes of class to help teach the skills kids need most.

Also, here are a few more blog posts you might be interested in:

Tips for Teaching Study Skills

July 22, 2019 by pathway2success 1 Comment

20+ strategies, ideas, and some free resources you can use to teach kids and young adults study strategies for academic success! Students at the middle and high school level need good study habits to do their best, including writing homework down, studying for tests, and staying organized. All teachers can give these a try! #studyskills #pathway2success

Good study habits and techniques are critical to help students learn more efficiently, feel more academically confident, persevere through challenges, and ultimately do their best. Sometimes, it’s easy to assume that learners already have these skills intact. The truth is that they sometimes don’t; many learners might not actually know how to study for tests or how to keep their binders organized. While these skills can be a challenge for many students, they are skills that can be improved over time.

If you notice some of your students are struggling with basic study skills and habits, make time to address and teach the skills. You can choose to dedicate time during morning meeting, resource room, or even a separate study skills class. Whatever you choose, make a schedule and stick with it. Teaching these skills early on is important for help all learners do their best. I’ve put together a list of ideas and resources, but check out this yearlong Executive Functioning and Study Skills activities set if you want to get started on teaching these skills right away.

Here are some simple tips, tricks, and strategies you can use to help students develop study skills in your classroom:

Build relationships first. Simply put, learning new study strategies can be tough for kids and young adults. It’s always worth spending extra time early on to develop strong relationships. Not only will this help you to get to know your students, but it will help them to persevere and succeed in your class. Use these strategies to focus on building relationships with your learners.

Know your learners. Before getting started on teaching study skills, assess what your students know first. One helpful place to start is using this free Study Skills Checklist. It can be a great tool to help students develop self-awareness about their skills, while also giving you critical data on what you need to teach.

Teach how to study for tests and quizzes. Spend time teaching a variety of different study strategies for success: taking notes, quizzing yourself, making flashcards, having a partner quiz you, re-doing problems, and more. Different strategies are going to work for different learners, so it’s important that all students are exposed to several activities.

Practice studying just to learn. Sometimes students think that studying is only important when a test or quiz is coming up. Instead, help kids embrace the idea that studying is part of the learning process. Studying just to learn can help reduce the amount of time students will have to study when a test or quiz comes up, and it helps them to learn the material better in the first place.

Practice study skills with current curriculum. Sometimes, students feel like learning study skills is a waste of time for them. They would rather be getting homework done or chatting with friends on their downtime One way to make the study skills meaningful for kids and young adults is to help them apply them right away with current classwork. If you are learning how to make flashcards, use current vocabulary terms. When teaching about time management, practice with a project kids are actually working on. Using current curriculum along with teaching the skills can make it more meaningful and memorable.

Teach about the power of habits and routines. Students can benefit greatly from understanding how important our habits are. Spend time discussing and highlighting some current habits students already have (brushing their teeth in the morning or cleaning up their trays after lunch). These tasks are much easier when they just become part of our everyday routines. This can eventually encourage students to develop habits for writing homework down, organizing their binders, and studying for tests.

Teach executive functioning skills. Study skills are inherently linked with executive functioning skills. Students can benefit greatly from improving skills with planning, organization, self-control, attention, flexibility, perseverance, and more. Most importantly, teach students that they can often improve these skills over time with practice and hard work. If you could use more background knowledge on these skills, catch up on a basic understanding of executive functioning skills in this blog post.

Teach time management. Understanding how to manage time well is a powerful skill. Teach about understanding time by having students estimate how long a task will take (such as doing 10 jumping jacks or walking to get a drink and back). Then, have students actually perform the task and check how close their estimate was. You can easily relate this back to having students consider how long tasks will take by thinking about what they have to do and then reflecting on their progress along the way. Read more about strategies and interventions for time management skills.

Discuss what it means to prioritize. Prioritizing is the ability to determine which order tasks should be completed in. This is a critical skill, but can be challenging, especially when students are juggling many different responsibilities. Talk through some examples and discuss: You have a test tomorrow and a big project due in two weeks. What should you do? Having students problem-solve these types of scenarios can help them understand how to prioritize in the future.

Practice making test and quizzes. Have students get into the mind of a teacher by creating their own test and quizzes for class content. This can help them consider what material might be on an actual test or quiz, making them better at studying and knowing what is important.

Teach organization. One of the most important study skills is learning how to be organized. Spend time explicitly teaching learners how to organize materials, schedules, and projects. If you are interested specifically in organization, use this Organization Boot Camp to help get kids’ organization skills in shape. You can also start with this free organization activity to get going right away.

Revisit organization on a weekly basis. Even after teaching the basic skills for organization, it is important for students to make organization a weekly practice. Choose one time a week (such as Friday afternoon or whenever time you have available) and dedicate that time to re-organizing materials.

Set up a homework binder (or folder). One helpful strategy for many learners is setting up a homework folder or binder that goes everywhere with them. This folder contains all current homework that needs to be done or needs to be turned in. Simply label a folder “Done” and “To Do” on each side. This is an especially helpful tip for students who lose or misplace assignments. Use this free homework binder to get your students started.

Teach how to write homework down. I know this example sounds silly, but many learners don’t know how to write homework down in an organized and consistent way. Practice what it means to write homework down accurately and explain why it is important. Doing daily or weekly homework log checks are helpful, too.

Find study buddies. No matter the age, all students should have one or two classmates to reach out to for support with homework and studying. This is a critical skill that helps build independence. When a student isn’t sure what page the homework was or didn’t understand the math lesson, it can be a good option to reach out to a classmate instead of always depending on the adults.

Teach goal-setting. All students should learn how to create action-oriented plans to reach their individual goals. This is a study skill, but also a life skill! Help students brainstorm and come up with one or two SMART goals that they want to accomplish in a short time-frame. Then, revisit those goals on a regular basis to make sure progress is being made.

Play games. Learning and improving study skills can be tough for learners. With this, games are always a helpful strategy to sneak in more learning opportunities. You can actually play any game while practicing study strategies. Just put questions for an upcoming test or quiz on flashcards. Each time a student takes a turn, they need to pick up a card and answer! If you’re looking for something more, I developed an Executive Functioning Challenge Game that students can play again and again to practice their skills.

Chunk projects and long-term assignments. Long-term assignments can be particularly overwhelming for kids and young adults. Teach students how to break them apart into smaller and more manageable chunks. Giving mini-deadlines along the way also helps students stay on track.

Teach stress management. Simply put, school is stressful for kids and young adults. It’s critical to help students learn coping strategies to help them deal with their feelings in more healthy ways. Spend some time discussing how to exercise, journal, read, practice mindfulness, and more. Grab this free list with 100 coping strategies to give you even more ideas.

Help students develop a study space. Every student should have a designated study space at home and at school to help them accomplish homework and assignments. While these study spaces might look different for every learner, having this area can help keep students organized and consistent.

Have a daily check-in and check-out. Spend just 5-10 minutes at the beginning of each day to help students get organized, check to see if they have what they need, and make a plan for the day. Do the same in the afternoon to make sure students have a plan for homework and studying after school. The goal is for students to check-in with themselves on their own, but this needs to be taught and practiced to make that happen

Practice taking brain breaks. All students need a mental break from time to time. Encourage students to check-in with themselves and notice when they need one of themselves. Practice different types of brain breaks, from exercising to practicing mindfulness. Use these free mindfulness coloring pages to have a brain break that is ready to go.

Engage in class discussions. Part of learning how to study well is problem-solving when challenges come up. Encourage students to talk through issues and brainstorm solutions together. For example, ask students what they might do when they have a lot of homework but also have basketball practice at 6:00 pm. Ask students what they might do if they have a big homework assignment due tomorrow but they can’t remember the page. Start by just asking the question and letting your students guide their way through. These executive functioning task cards are perfect to guide discussions on a variety of topics or you can come up with your own questions on the fly!

Practice the art of memorization. Sometimes studying involves memorizing certain dates or vocabulary words. These are skills that can be taught, practiced, and strengthened over time. Have fun teaching this skill by memorizing lists, lyrics, numbers, and more.

If you find yourself in need for lessons and activities to teach study skills, check out my yearlong Executive Functioning and Study Skills set. It includes everything you need to teach the skills kids need for success from how to study, get organized, develop SMART goals, and much more.

Top Websites Every Special Educator Should Know

July 7, 2019 by pathway2success 2 Comments

Special educators need a pretty large toolbox of strategies and resources to support our learners. So often, our students can have significantly diverse needs and levels. On any given day, special education teachers might need to take student reading data, modify a math assessment, teach science with hands-on experiments, collaborate with regular educators, meet with parents in an IEP meeting, and so much more. While it’s true that special educators are basically superheroes, even superheroes could use a few extra tools here and there!

Here are several helpful websites that special educators, and even regular educators, can use to help provide extra supports for their learners in need.

Intervention Central

A huge assortment of response to intervention (RTI) tools that focus on both academic and behavioral supports.

Favorite Links:

Easy CBM

A free and simple way to measure data for reading and math. While the LITE version is free and simple to start up with right away. My favorite links are the reading fluency assessments and the student charts. You have to log in to see both but can use them for free!

ADDitude

A magazine and website focused on strategies and information about ADHD. I love this site because it has great information for both educators and parents. Often a misunderstood disability, ADDitude gives the tools to support the needs of kids with ADHD, including strategies for best practices and even free printables to use with other educators.

Favorite Links:

Understood

A site with lots of information on various needs, including dyslexia, executive functioning skills, dyscalculia, ADHD, and more. This source is loaded with information, whether you need to know the difference between IEPs and 504 plans or train regular educators about a day in the life of a teen with dyslexia. Spend a few minutes on this site and you will get lost in a wealth of information!

Favorite Links:

Pathway 2 Success

Blog posts, free resources, strategies, and more put together by a special educator turned curriculum specialist (yes, that’s me!).

Favorite Links:

Wrightslaw

Legal information in the special education realm for educators, parents, advocates, and administrators.

Favorite Links:

NewsELA

Articles, activities, and assessments that can be modified for various grade-levels. Helpful site for reading comprehension activities aligned with current events, science, social studies, and more.

Favorite Links:

Reading Rockets

A website filled with researched-based strategies for educators, parents, and more. It includes everything from basic background knowledge and education about teaching reading to activities you can start in your classroom tomorrow.

Favorite Links:

Teachers Pay Teachers

A huge assortment of materials made for educators by educators. Since I have a TpT store, I’ve listed some of my favorite links below, but you can use for much more. Just search any topic to find free and paid resources for topics you need.

Favorite Links:

BrainPOP

A website filled with lots of informational kids on tons of different topics. Kids love the fun and silly videos while they are learning content that matters. I’ve used these videos to align with grade-level topics, like plate tectonics or elections. I just noticed that they recently added SEL topics, as well!

Do 2 Learn

Access to several free pages, activities, and videos for academic and social support.

Favorite Links:

RAZ Kids

An award-winning website with hundreds of leveled books for students to read online. This site is a paid service (a little over $100/yr for your whole classroom), but you can get free samples or start a free trial to check it out.

Khan Academy

A free website filled with courses on a variety of topics from 1st-grade level math to AP Chemistry.

TED Ed

Many free video lessons on a variety of topics. Some videos are even separated into themes. Great for visual learners, provide additional interventions, or just to supplement your curriculum.

ReadWriteThink

Classroom resources and lesson plans for language arts instruction from the primary to high school grades.

Kahoot

Make your own trivia games to play in the classroom. Kids will love to learn and play at the same time.

Do you have a favorite website? Let me know! I’d love to add them to the list!

12 Reasons Why Special Educators are Really Superheroes

March 3, 2019 by pathway2success 2 Comments

As special educators, we might not be able to read minds or fly, but we certainly are superheroes in action. Whether we are teaching a lesson or running an IEP meeting, special education teachers go above and beyond to help those in need and do what is right. Here are 12 reasons why special educators are really superheroes in disguise:

We always have a mission. As special education teachers, we are always goal-oriented and focused on a positive end-result. Sometimes we might do silly things, like tell a story about our dog or wear a silly hat to get a laugh, but we always have a reason and a purpose. We always have a mission, so trust us!

We always see the good. Special educators are masters of seeing the positive. We see the ability instead of the disability. We see the strength instead of just the challenges. This is imperative when working with kids and young adults who struggle academically, socially, and emotionally.

We have secret special powers. Every special educator has special abilities. Whether it is building strong relationships with our students or using tricks to teach a complicated math lesson, we have the skills and we know how to use them!

We come to the rescue. When our learners are struggling academically, socially, or emotionally, we are there at a moment’s notice. Special education teachers are always ready and prepared to put out fires right away before they turn into an inferno. It’s just another one of our special abilities.

We have special sidekicks. Of course, I’m talking about amazing paraeducators. Where would we be without them!? Paraeducators are the backbone to special education programs all over the world. When we work together with our amazing paraeducators, anything is possible.

We stand up for what is right. Advocating for our learners is a critical part of our job. Sometimes this means explaining to a teacher why a student needs a particular accommodation or modification. Other times it might mean talking to a parent about why some supports aren’t actually necessary for their child. And quite often, it means reminding our learners what their own responsibilities are. We stand up for what is right. Sometimes it’s not easy, but it has to be done!

We always help those in need. Special educators are compassionate. We love helping kids and young adults, whether they are on our caseload or not. Helping learners is just what we do.

We encourage and inspire others. One of our biggest jobs is inspiring our learners to be the very best they can be. To help students think about goals so they can achieve their dreams.

We have strength like no one else. Special educators do it all. Between planning, teaching lessons, testing, writing reports, running IEP meetings, and contacting parents (just to name a few responsibilities), special education teachers are always going. It’s important to note that even though we have this super strength, all educators need time to focus on self-care! This is critical to reduce burnout and continue doing our best for our learners.

We fix problems before anyone else knows they are there. Special educators go above and beyond. Sometimes, no one sees this, but we know what we do! Whether it’s modifying a math test at the last minute or reminding a teacher to fill out the report before an IEP meeting, special education teachers are problem-solvers across the board.

We can become invisible. Ultimately, the goal is for our learners to be completely independent. After teaching skills, giving practice, and providing accommodations, we are working on helping our students do the work on their own! Slowly, we fade those supports and start to become invisible so that our students succeed independently.

We never give up. Special educators are masters of perseverance and resilience. If something isn’t working with a student, we re-assess and try something new. We never give up, because we know that progress can always be made.

If you want to boost morale and encourage special educators in your building, get these in a fun set of posters to hang up in the staff room, teacher’s lounge, resource room, or anywhere else!

Special educators need all the love they can get so let’s remind them that they are truly superheroes! Share with a special educator you love!

Interventions for Executive Functioning Challenges: Planning

December 2, 2018 by pathway2success Leave a Comment

Planning is a critical executive functioning skill that helps kids and young adults achieve success in and outside of the classroom. Executive functioning skills are the complex mental processes that work together to help us accomplish tasks and goals. When learners struggle with these skills, daily life activities can become particularly challenging. While all executive functioning skills are important in their own way, this post targets interventions specifically for kids who struggle with the ability to plan.

What is planning? Planning is the ability to think about an end-goal and create a roadmap to help you get there. Someone who plans well is more likely to achieve their goals effectively and efficiently, since making a plan allows us to think through what we want to ultimate accomplish. I like to think of planning as one of the more foundational executive functioning skills, as it sets the stage for success. It’s always best to figure out a thorough plan before starting a task.

• Examples of Planning •

It’s important to note that planning can impact all areas of someone’s life, including academically, socially, and personally. Here are several examples of planning in real life:

Filling out a graphic organizer before writing an essay.
Taking a few extra minutes to think about what needs to be done today.
Writing down homework in an agenda before class is over.
Planning out times for events so activities do not overlap.
Figuring out which college to attend to enter into a specific career.

• Possible Signs of Challenges with Planning •

Identifying possible challenging with executive functioning skills can make the difference between success and struggle for a student. All kids have bad days once in a while, but if some of these behaviors occur on a regular basis, it should be an indicator to provide interventions and supports.

Possible signs of challenges with planning include:

Having difficulty starting or completing long-term assignments.
Forgetting to bring home necessary books, binders, or materials.
Writing papers, essays, or stories that are difficult to follow.
Just start tasks without considering the best strategies to completing the task.
Make impulsive decisions without considering consequences.
Have to frequently re-do assignments because they didn’t follow the guidelines.

• Interventions, Supports, and Strategies for Planning •

Work can always be done to help kids and young adults strengthen their executive functioning skills. Here are some activities, tasks, and ideas to help with planning needs:

Teach planning explicitly by explaining the skill, real life examples, and why it matters.
Discuss the plans of the day during morning meeting.
Use graphic organizers for writing assignments.
Set students up with a homework binder and daily homework agenda (use this free homework binder to get started).
Have students make a to-do list before starting longer assignments.
Provide a rubric for larger assignments.
Show models and visuals of what finished assignments should look like.
Use apps for planning, like Trello and Evernote.
Use a calendar regularly.
Have students place their daily schedules on their binders.
Post the daily objectives and schedule in view.
Keep important dates listed in sight on a regular basis.
Practice developing SMART goals and steps to follow through with them.
Use behavior reflection pages to help consider possible choices.
Use an end-of-the-day reminder sheet to help students think about what materials they need (try this free checklist).
Highlight positive examples of planning in the classroom.

• Strategies for Parents to Support Planning at Home •

Parents can play a huge role in supporting and encouraging executive functioning skills in the home environment. Since EF skills impact all areas on a person’s life, it’s extremely helpful for learners to practice these skills in different environments. Here are some activities parents and families can do to strengthen skills for planning:

Practice making to-do lists together for various tasks.
Create a structured homework time and space at home.
Choose a recipe together and plan out how to cook the meal.
Make a household grocery list together.
Help list out materials, steps, and due dates for long-term projects together.
Use a calendar to plan weekly and monthly family events.
Discuss the day’s plans at morning breakfast or on the ride to school.
Plan a vacation or short weekend trip together.
Develop and write down weekly goals for school work, cleaning, or other tasks.
Have kids list three steps for an activity before they can start it (i.e. going out to the movies or having a friend over the house).
Encourage kids and young adults to gather school materials and clothes for the next day the night before.
Discuss examples of planning at jobs in real life.

If you notice this is an area your learners struggle with, get started by teaching executive functioning skills explicitly today. I have created units to target executive functioning skills for middle and high school learners and for younger learners. Targeting these skills will take a little bit extra time, but will be worth the effort!

This post is part of a blog series focused just on interventions for executive functioning skills! You can also read up on interventions to help with organization.

5 Daily Struggles for Kids with Executive Functioning Challenges

September 4, 2018 by pathway2success 3 Comments

A number of kids struggle with executive functioning skills on a daily basis. Sometimes these struggles are obvious, like having a messy binder or forgetting to turn homework in, but other times they are more hidden. This is a critical topic because all educators have these kids in our classrooms every single day. Here are five daily struggles for kids with executive functioning challenges and what you can do to help:

STAYING ORGANIZED. To me, this is one of the biggest challenges I’ve seen after teaching middle school especially. In school, kids are expected to juggle and organize so many different papers, binders, journals, and books. So often, students don’t know the right place to put materials or organize in the first place. Other times, even when students do understand how to organize, there is often just not enough time. The bell rings and it’s time to transition to the next class, so what does the student do? Shove all their papers into the closest folder and heads out right away. Finally, for many kids, disorganization has been the only way they’ve ever known! Some of these kids don’t realize how much easier and orderly life would be if they just learned a few extra skills and tricks.

What you can do:

Explicitly teach organization. Always spend time teaching organization. No matter the age, your learners are going to need to learn your system of organization. That takes time and practice! I developed an Organization Boot Camp specifically for kids and young adults who struggle and need a more in-depth set of activities to teach these skills.
Set up a homework binder. Helping kids set up a specific spot for homework only can make a huge difference for organization. This should be the dedicated spot where all current homework goes. It helps kids differentiate what work needs to be done tonight and what work needs to be filed away in another spot. You can use this free homework binder template to start your students off.
Give time to organize. I would say this is one of the easiest things you can do that is often forgotten about! When you ask students to change from one binder to another, give your struggling organizers sufficient time to do it. Moving on too fast only reinforces kids who shove papers away in a messy manner. These kids are going to take more time putting materials away in the right spot, and they deserve that time to do it.
Use visuals. Take a picture of a model desk to show how it should be organized. Tape the photo on the wall or on a certain student’s desk to help remind them.

TRANSITIONS. Many kids with EF challenges struggle when it’s time to stop something and move on to something else. This task switching really takes a lot of brain power! You have to have self-control to stop what you are already engaged in, use organizational skills to put things away in their correct places, initiate the switch, and be mentally flexible to move on to something new. This can be especially difficult when adults are expecting a learner to transition to a new task or class within just a few minutes. While many students have have routines and strategies to help them during transition times, there is a large portion of kids who just never put those puzzle pieces together. This can often leave them even more disorganized, confused, and behind schedule.

What you can do:

Create routines. Practice your transitions several times with students so they become second nature. Kids who are inflexible and struggle with changing from one activity to another will do considerably better when the transition is practiced and more comfortable.
Give countdowns. Let students know how much time they have left to work on their research papers or during break time. This at least gives a concrete warning. For kids who struggle with time management, setting a backwards timer can be helpful, too.
Use a chime. Using a calming sound like a chime when it’s time for transitions can help prime kids and young adults for the change. It will gain their attention and help serve as a memorable indicator that it’s time to change what we’re doing.
Use visuals. Make a list of steps for transitions that are particularly difficult and keep them posted. This will serve as a visual reminder when it is time to move from one activity to another or switch classes.
Use social scripts. Previewing the steps of a transition can be extremely helpful for kids. A social script is a short narrative a child or young adult can read to themselves prior to the transition to remind them of the expectations and plan. You can create your own or use these social scripts to help kids who need this extra support.

HOMEWORK. The whole idea of homework is that it should be extended practice kids and young adults can do independently. When a learner has a difficulty with executive functioning skills, that is often not the case at first. So often, kids with EF challenges don’t ever stop to write the homework down in class in the first place, or stop to make sure they have all their materials before they head home. This is the first thing that sets them back. Further, starting homework independently takes a good amount of task initiation skills mixed with self-control. For kids with already-weak inhibition skills, playing videogames, chatting with friends, or playing outside seems a lot more enticing than opening up a math book. Finally, when learners do finally start the homework, it can be challenging and, let’s be honest, boring. Sticking with it, or perseverance, is a skill that many students don’t always have on their own. If they come to a task that’s perceived as challenging, it’s often easier to abort the mission than to seek out solutions and work though.

What you can do:

Be consistent. Keep homework written in the exact same spot in your classroom every day. Teach students that this is the one homework spot and keep it consistent throughout the year. This makes a huge difference for kids who struggle with EF skills, since it can become a lot of mental energy and work to figure out where the homework is before even starting the process of writing it down.
Give prompts. Take time to prompt students to write homework down, especially the ones you know struggle to do it. Instead of just telling them to write it down, encourage them to think on their own by saying, “What should you be doing down right now?” or “Look around and notice what others are writing down.”
Make an end of the day checklist. Help kids come up with a list detailing what they need when they walk out the door. This can help students review their homework planners, make sure they know what assignments to work on, and bring home the necessary materials. Use this free end of the day checklist to get started.
Talk to families. Help set up more positive supports at home for kids who struggle with getting their work done. Talk to families about a dedicated workspace for homework and strategies for when the child gets stuck on assignments.

FOCUSING IN CLASS. Attention is a fascinating skill. It’s not something we just keep on permanently. Instead, it’s a skill we learn to focus and re-adjust constantly when we find ourselves starting to zone out. Kids with weak executive functioning often don’t know this secret, though. In a class, these are the students who are frequently looking out the window, playing with something in their desk, or just daydreaming to themselves. It’s not that they mean to not pay attention. It’s often that they don’t know how and when to refocus themselves in the right way. This becomes especially challenging in long classes with lots of lecture and talking. Of course, a child or young adult can also become extremely frustrated when they can’t focus, as it causes them to feel confused and not know what is going on. Sometimes, this can unfortunately snowball into a child who gives up easily and doesn’t try. Again, it’s not that they want to be unfocused, but they are severely lacking the skills to get there.

What you can do:

Incorporate movement. Learning doesn’t have to be stationary! Kids learn better when they are moving. Have students working while standing up at the board during math time, or moving from center to center when completing writing prompt questions. If you have a specific student who needs even more movement, give them specific jobs to deliver messages to another teacher or the office just to get their legs moving throughout the day.
Practice mindfulness. Mindfulness is a great strategy to help kids improve their focus while also learning skills for managing emotions and feeling calm. You can use mindfulness activities just before a test, after a transition, or any other time to calm kids feel more focused and in control. Note that mindfulness is a long-term practice and not a quick fix, but can really help kids over time!
Give time for brain breaks. Brain breaks are another great option to get kids moving. They are quick activities that help break up the learning and let the brain recharge for a short period of time. You can do anything from having kids do 10 jumping jacks to practicing a few yoga postures. These activities can be done anytime between transitions to help keep kids alert. I love these executive functioning games and play activities, mainly because they provide a fun brain break while still working on the skills kids need!
Teach attention skills. Explicitly teach what it means to focus in class, what behaviors students can engage in to help them stay focused, and how to refocus when attention wanes.

SOCIAL INTERACTIONS. Sometimes when we think of executive functioning, we only think of academics. That’s actually not always the case! Kids and young adults who struggle with EF skills also can experience big challenges when it comes to social skills and dealing with others. Lots of social situations require us to understand social rules, use self-control, plan our responses, have flexibility when things don’t go our way, and use coping skills to manage our emotions when we are upset. For kids who lack these skills, social interactions can be especially difficult.

What you can do:

Openly express social expectations. If you are having group work, make sure you go over what it means to be a good partners ahead of time. I love using visuals for this because they are something you can keep up to remind students, as needed. Just a simple list for what you do when you are playing games with others or a visual to show group work expectations can go a long way.
Explicitly teach social skills. All kids can benefit from social skill instruction, though some need it more explicitly than others. You can use social skills lessons for younger students or social skills lessons for older kids to teach the skills they need. These lessons and activities can be taught in morning meeting, during a lunch group, or advisory periods.
Use social scripts. Some students really benefit from previewing social expectations right before a situation occurs. You can have social scripts for before recess, lunch, group work, and other social times to help remind students what will happen and what they can do. You can develop your own or use these pre-made social scripts to help support students’ needs.
Give opportunities for positive social interactions. Kids need practice in applying social skills! You can always integrate your content into games and group activities to give students this time with their peers. I also love these games and play activities for executive functioning skills as a way to specifically target the EF skills these kids need.

EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING RESOURCES & IDEAS. If you are seeking more information about executive functioning skills and how you can support your learners, consider the following blog posts and resources:

Blog Posts:

Resources to Teach EF Skills:

Top Websites Every Special Educator Should Know

Intervention Central

Easy CBM

ADDitude

Understood

Pathway 2 Success

Wrightslaw

NewsELA

Reading Rockets

Teachers Pay Teachers

BrainPOP

Do 2 Learn

RAZ Kids

Khan Academy

TED Ed

ReadWriteThink

Kahoot

12 Reasons Why Special Educators are Really Superheroes

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