Social Emotional Learning

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.

5 FREE Mindfulness Activities

June 17, 2019 by pathway2success 1 Comment

Mindfulness has been a growing trend with kids and young adults, and I have been a huge supporter from the beginning. About ten years ago, I started practicing yoga, which introduced me to the benefits of deep breathing, meditation, and mindfulness in my own life. Without a doubt, it has made a huge difference for me, so I love the idea of sharing some of those same strategies and practices with kids and young adults. Today, I have heard that many schools are getting on board with meditation rooms instead of detention and daily mindfulness practice during morning meetings. This just makes sense, so I wanted to share more about what mindfulness is and how you can practice it with your learners.

What is Mindfulness? Mindfulness is a practice that helps us to focus on the present, rather than the past or the present. Learning to be more present in the moment is a critical skill, especially in today’s fast-paced world. When we work on this practice, we can actually improve our focus, strengthen our emotional control, increase positive feelings, and bring calm to our everyday lives. It’s important to note that learning to be mindful doesn’t happen after one activity or lesson. The idea is that it is a “practice” because it is something we are always improving.

When Can We Practice Mindfulness? Mindfulness can really be practice anytime! Some of the best times to practice mindfulness include right before a big test, after a noisy lunch, before or after a transition from one activity to another, or just in the morning as a positive start to the day. The biggest benefits to mindfulness are seen when it becomes a regular practice. So, try to incorporate it either once a day or once a week – whatever works best for you and your learners! Feel free to read up more on 10 Best Times to Practice Mindfulness in the Classroom.

Remember, that you don’t need to be a mindfulness expert to start the practice with your students. Let them know you are learning and growing, too! If you notice that mindfulness is something you’re interested in practicing with your learners, but still need extra support, I’ve got you covered. You can use my set of Mindfulness Activities filled with lessons, task cards, breathe boards, and crafts centered around helping kids become more mindful.

Here are five FREE mindfulness activities to help get you started today:

#1 Mindfulness Breathe Boards. One of the most important components to mindfulness is learning to control our breathing. Sometimes this can be abstract for students, so these mindfulness breathe boards serve as concrete visuals to help. Just have students trace their finger around the visual while breathing in and out. This should be done multiple times. Best of all, these breathe boards can be placed on a student’s desk, in a binder, in a calm down area, or anywhere else a student might need them.

#2 Mindful Coloring. Drawing and coloring are often calming activities to begin with, of course. You can use these free coloring pages or just find any coloring books of your own. I often let my students choose from a huge pile of coloring books so they had more buy-in when practicing together. Start by explaining your students will be practicing mindfulness while coloring. It’s important to highlight that if students feel like they made a mistake, they should just breathe in and out and let it go. Mindfulness is about being present in the moment, making judgments about what is good or bad. Let students choose their coloring page and give them access to the coloring materials you choose. Encourage the students to color quietly on their own. You can dim the lights and play calming music while they color.

#3 Practice Guided Meditations. Guided meditations are a short script or video clip you can play that helps students relax their minds and bodies. There are many free guided meditation videos for kids on YouTube and other video platforms. Have students sit comfortably or lie down on a rug. Have them close their eyes and practice their deep breathing. Turn the lights off for an added calming effect! As they get comfortable, start the guided meditation and let it play through. Kids might feel silly at first, but with just a few minutes, they will notice the calming effect this meditation can bring!

#4 Positive Affirmations. There is not much else better than positive affirmations! Teaching kids to read positive affirmations aloud to themselves or just in their heads can bring a sense of calm while also increasing confidence. It’s a win-win! Use this free list of positive affirmations. Have students circle or highlight the positive affirmations they love the most. Have students read these to themselves or make index cards with their favorite sayings.

#5 Mindfulness 5-4-3-2-1. This is one of my favorite strategies for practicing mindfulness because it can be done anywhere and anytime. You don’t need any special props! Have students sit comfortably and just look around the room. Tell them to use their senses to observe the immediate environment. Slowly go through the list. Have them identify 5 things that they can see, 4 things they can touch, 3 things they can hear, 2 things they can small, and 1 thing they can taste. Take your time with each and remind students to absorb the feelings they experience.

Give one or two strategies a try! It might take some time, but it’s wonderful to see students really getting into their own mindfulness practices. Of course, mindfulness is always helpful for adults, too!

50+ FREE Rewards & Incentives for Kids

June 2, 2019 by pathway2success Leave a Comment

Rewards and incentives can be a critical component to classroom management success. They are also the perfect tool to help learners to go outside their comfort zones and learn new skills. Simply put, providing rewards and incentives encourage positive behaviors. Sometimes rewards are seen in a negative light when they are compared to bribes. This just isn’t the case! In real life, we all work for incentives and reward ourselves from time to time. After working on report card comments for a few hours, you might reward yourself with some downtime reading or watching television. You might also save a little extra money each month in order to go on a special vacation or trip, your incentive. These are adult real-life examples just to illustrate that rewards and incentives can be positive and encouraging. It is important to be mindful about how and when rewards and incentives are given, but they are a powerful tool!

When should I provide incentives? Incentives and rewards are extremely versatile. You might give a random whole-class reward when you are out sick and get a stellar report from the sub that day. This will highlight and reward the positive behaviors of the class as a whole, encouraging the same behaviors for the next time. You might also set up individual rewards with a student who is struggling with a specific behavior, such as completing homework or raising their hand in class. You could make a contract with that student and set up some rewards they will earn when they achieve their daily or weekly goal.

Why do I need a reward list? It’s important to always keep things fresh, fun, and interesting for kids. Sometimes the same old rewards and incentives can get stale or boring for students. That doesn’t mean you won’t be able to use them again in the future – you definitely can! It just means it’s often helpful to change things up. To help, I put together a list of over 50 reward ideas for kids. You can grab this free printable reward list and keep it in your teacher binder for reference when you need new ideas!

Reward Ideas for Kids:

Drawing time
Choose your seat
Teacher helper
Craft time
Reading time
Extra music time
Extra recess or gym time
Extra art time
Line leader
Half homework pass
No homework pass
10-minute break pass
10-minute talk with a friend pass
Choose your partner or group
First to share
Lunch with teacher
Lunch with a friend
Bonus points on test/quiz
Extra computer time
Sit in special seat
Borrow principal’s chair for the day
Choose the music
Positive phone call together
Visit another teacher
Positive principal visit
Listen to music while working
Positive note home
Show and tell with class
Choose the read aloud
Swap seats for a day
Tell jokes to the class
Choose from prize bin
Special snack
Pretend it’s your birthday
Work in the hallway
Write with special pen all day
Read the morning announcements
Get a mystery gift
Have teacher attend after school event
Pick out new game for class
Pick out new classroom materials
Choose a classroom job
Assign classroom jobs
Wear a hat for the day
Borrow a game for the weekend
Help design and put up bulletin board
Earn a certificate
Library pass
Help in the office
Help the custodians
Help in the library
Work anywhere in room
Help teach a lesson
Feed class pet
Read to younger students
Lesson of their choice
Read to the class
“Student of the Day”
Allow student to create a club
Invite parent for the day
Help make the quiz/test
Book fair certificate
Free answer coupon
Take a walk pass
Royalty for the day
Best seats at assembly

If you love this list, make sure to grab your free copy with reward ideas for elementary kids, older kids, and even whole-class rewards. What rewards would you add to the list?

12 Basic Social Skills Kids Need

May 1, 2019 by pathway2success 1 Comment

Social skills are a critical element to helping kids succeed socially, emotionally, personally, and even academically. These are the skills are the behaviors that help kids join in conversations, collaborate with peers, develop lasting friendships, self-advocate when they need help, and so much more. It would be ideal if all learners walked into classrooms equipped with strong social skills ready for success. The truth is, though, that kids are kids; they are still developing, learning, growing, and trying to make sense of the social world around them. As adults, the biggest impact we can have to help kids learn social skills is to teach them.

Quite often, I get asked, “But doesn’t everyone need social skills? Why do you target kids specifically?” To me, the answer is obvious. If we teach kids and young adults these social skills from an early age, they will have the foundations they need as adults. So, when kids need social skills, let’s teach them!

To help highlight how important these social skill are, I created a complete set of Social Skills Visuals. You can use them as a bulletin board, post them as reminders all around, or use the pages to highlight a few skills each week. And if you’re looking for even more ways to teach social skills, feel free to check out my social skills activities for elementary and social skills lessons for older kids.

Here are 12 basic social skills and strategies for teaching them:

Following Directions. This is having the ability to listen, understand expectations, and follow through in a timely manner. Learners need to learn how to follow directions to help them complete tasks, whether it is an assignment in class or instructions from a future boss.

Strategies to teach:

Play games for following directions, like Simon Says and Freeze.
Practice giving both verbal and visual directions.
Teach and practice how to read directions BEFORE starting an assignment.
Have learners highlight or underline directions on assignments before starting.
Have learners make a checklist for following directions for any task (like making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich) to help them see why directions should be clear and followed well.

Using Manners. Our manners are the courteous behaviors to we to show we are kind and respectful. All kids need to understand manners so they can be socially appropriate in a variety of settings, such as a restaurant, at the library, or even answering the phone.

Strategies to teach:

Post visuals of “manner words,” such as please, thank you, and you’re welcome as reminders.
Make it a habit to model and say these words with students and colleagues.
Explicitly teach about manners and discuss what manners we use in different settings.

Having a Positive Attitude. A positive attitude is the first step to having a growth mindset. By having a positive attitude, kids can learn to be more optimistic and see the bright side of things.

Strategies to teach:

Model having a positive attitude, even when things don’t go as planned (ex: “I was really looking forward to outdoor recess today, but now I am excited to play some chess instead!”).
Practice and discuss positive self-talk.
Read picture books about a positive attitude: Ish by Peter H. Reynolds and Because Amelia Smiled by David Ezra Stein.

Working with Others. All learners need skills to positively work with others by listening, collaborating, helping, and doing their fair share.

Strategies to teach:

Explicitly teach skills for working well with others.
Make a list of “group ground rules” for how to work successfully with others (listening to each other, staying with the group, staying positive, etc.).
Give lots of practice in partners and small groups.
Make sure students are frequently working with different people.
Sometimes give learners the chance to pick their partners, while assigning students at other times.
Keep a list of sentence starters kids can use in groups to collaborate such as, “I really like how you…” and “Can we try…”

Good Hygiene. Proper self-care means keeping yourself well-groomed and neat. This is an important skill because not only is it about being clean, but it helps everyone make a positive first impression.

Strategies to teach:

Talk about what good hygiene means, such as washing hands and showering/bathing daily.
Give reminders for hygiene, depending on age level.
Talk to the school counselor or social worker about coming in for a lesson on hygiene.

Using Polite Words. Using kind and polite words is just another way to spread kindness to others. Sometimes, I call this “using kind words only.”

Strategies to teach:

Teach about kindness and why it matters.
Discuss polite and kind words.
Teach about using a social filter, including thinking about how our words impact others.

Taking Turns. Learning to turn-take involves alternating between two or more people. This is an important skill to show courtesy and respect during conversations and other activities.

Strategies to teach:

Explain what it means to take turns and discuss scenarios, such as in sports, conversations, games, and more.
Practice turn-taking with board games.
Practice turn-taking with conversations (whole class and small groups).
Have students hold a special tangible (a ball or stuffed animal) when it is their turn to talk.

Greetings. Welcoming others and making them feel valued is an important social skill. By teaching kids and young adults how to properly greet others, it can help create a positive community for all. This is also an important lifelong social skill for the workplace and beyond..

Strategies to teach:

Model greetings each morning with each student as they walk in.
Teach different greeting and allow students to choose how to greet each other.
Start the day with a morning meeting and a greeting.

Waiting and Having Patience. Developing patience is a critical skill during times when we have to wait. Kid and young adults might have to wait in line at the pencil sharpener or wait for their turn to speak in a group, just to name a few. By having patience, they show that they are courteous and respectful to all.

Strategies to teach:

Teach strategies for what to do when waiting (doing something else, using positive self-talk, etc.).
Discuss scenarios when kids have to wait and discuss how they can handle it.
Read picture books about patience: Waiting by Kevin Henkes and Are We There Yet? by Dan Santat.
Use social scripts to help teach skills for how to wait in social situations.

Being a Good Sport. Learning to be a good sport can help kids and young adults be respectful when they engage in games and activities. It can also help them positively cope with losing by focusing on having fun instead of winning.

Strategies to teach:

Teach and discuss expectations for being a good sport.
Focus on having fun, playing, and learning rather than winning.
Give reminders about being a good sport before activities.
Use social scripts to remind about being a good sport before activities.
Practice being a good sport during games (anything from board games to outdoor sports during recess).
Practice and discuss having a growth mindset to help when students lose.

Listening to Others. Skills for listening are critical to building positive relationships with others. Kids and young adults should learn how to focus their attention to others, put away distractions, and really think about what someone else is saying.

Strategies to teach:

Start the day with a morning meeting and give time to share thoughts.
Teach the basics for listening: making eye contact, putting distractions away, thinking about what someone is saying.
Give discussion time in your content area subjects.
Practice listening with discussion times.
Teach students how to summarize what they heard: “So what I heard you say is that…”.

Understanding Personal Space. Having a good understanding of personal space helps everyone feel more comfortable in social situations. It also gives way to teaching that consent is needed to be in someone else’s personal space.

Strategies to teach:

Teach students that they have an invisible bubble around them called their personal space. Explain why having personal space is important.
Teach and discuss expected behaviors with personal space such as standing an arm’s length away while talking and keeping hands to self.
Act out what personal space looks like in different scenarios.
Teach students how to ask permission if they would like to give a friend a hug.
Read picture books about personal space: Personal Space Camp by Julia Cook.

If you have more suggestions or ideas for teaching these skills, feel free to share! I would love to add to the list. Be sure to also check out all of my social skills resources to get started teaching these important skills right away!

Interventions for Executive Functioning Challenges: Attention

April 15, 2019 by pathway2success 1 Comment

Challenges with focus and attention can become a huge roadblock to learning for kids and young adults. Simply put, attention is critical to learning. If students can’t focus on the lesson, they are going to struggle with understanding the new content. If students can’t focus on the directions, they are not going to know what to do. If learners are unable to switch their focus, they are unable to initiate new tasks. When students have difficulty with attention skills, it can be challenging for the educator, but also extremely frustrating for the learner.

It’s important to note that this article isn’t specifically written for kids with ADHD. That is because many kids (whether diagnosed with ADHD or not) have challenges with focus and attention. As always, it’s more important to focus on the interventions and supports than the label. With that said, if you feel your student or child does have symptoms of ADHD, it’s important to share those concerns with the school team or pediatrician.

What is attention? Attention is a fascinating multi-faceted skill. It is so much more than just being able to stay focused. Attention involves having self-awareness about your level of attention so that you can direct and re-direct your focus, as needed. It is being able to ignore distractions, like a cell phone or friends talking nearby. Even further, attention is being able switch your focus to more important information or a new task, such as when new directions are being given while working.

• Examples of Attention •

It’s important to note that attention is an academic skill, but it is also a life skill. It’s really a prerequisite to be able to learn new information. People need to pay attention while hearing new content, but also when having conversations with others. Here are some examples of what strong attention skills might look like:

Keeping eyes on the teacher and listening while learning about a new skill.
Quickly being able to switch focus from one task to another.
Making eye contact and listening to a peer during a conversation.
Listening and thinking about directions being given by a teacher or boss.
Being able to stop, focus, and listen when important information is being conveyed.

• Possible Signs of Challenges with Attention •

Challenges with attention can have big impacts for students. As previously stated, when learners aren’t able to focus on new material, this makes learning that content that much harder. Similarly, when learners aren’t focused during instructions, they won’t understand how to proceed with an activity. Simply put, attention challenges become a major roadblock to learning.

Possible signs of attention challenges might include:

A student constantly staring out the window or down the hallway instead of watching the teacher during a lesson.
A learner who frequently misses hearing important instructions for tasks and then isn’t sure what to do.
A student who constantly plays with objects (pencils, toys, etc) instead of working on assigned tasks.
A child who is unable to finish assignments due to various distractions.

• Interventions, Supports, and Strategies for Attention •

Here are some strategies, activities, and ideas to help learners with time management challenges in the classroom:

Teach about attention and other EF skills explicitly
Give clear, one-step directions
Teach how to stay organized
Highlight most important directions on assignments
Teach and use classroom call-and response
Use a chime before giving important information
Incorporate movement during lessons and activities
Use visuals as reminders and supports
Reduce distractions around the room (ex: too many posters or a fan nearby)
Use preferential seating (find where the student can focus the best, as this is different for every child)
Incorporate hands-on learning activities
Use a study carrel (you can buy one or build it out of cardboard!)
Add center activities to allow for more movement during tasks
Break longer tasks into smaller, more manageable ones
Provide fidgets (and explicitly teach how to use them as a tool)
Give break breaks between lessons and activities
Teach students how to check in with themselves
Set a timer for work sessions
Consider a white noise machine or playing classical music during work sessions
Assign a study buddy during work sessions
Play attention-boosting games and play activities (like Simon Says)
Use student interests in lessons
Provide extra time to complete assignments

• Strategies for Parents to Support Attention Skills at Home •

It’s important to note that parents and families can also implement strategies to help at home! Here are some strategies parents and families can use at home strengthen skills for attention:

Be clear with directions (and give fewer words)
Allow wind-down time after school
Build in routines and consistency
Develop a “homework space and time” (and stick with it)
Teach self-monitoring
Break longer tasks into smaller, more manageable ones
Keep an organized and tidy work space to reduce distractions
Give check-ins during longer work sessions (“Show me what you accomplished so far.”)
Reduce distractions (television, cell phone, computer)
Model focusing while the child is working (read while they do homework, for example)
Use a white-noise machine
Give breaks after work completion
Incorporate rewards for completing chores or assignments

If you notice that your learners need some extra support with their attention and other executive functioning skills, I have units to target executive functioning skills for middle and high school learners and executive functioning skills for younger learners. Get all your materials in one spot to make teaching these skills a breeze!

This is a blog series focused on interventions to support executive functioning skills. Make sure you read up on interventions for planning and supports for organization!

15+ Ways to Teach Executive Functioning Skills

April 2, 2019 by pathway2success 2 Comments

In many ways, strong executive functioning skills are the foundation for success. These are the mental processes that help learners plan through assignments, organize materials, initiate a task, manage time well, stay focused, try new strategies when stuck, and persevere until the completion of a goal. If you think about it, those skills are important for every single thing we do! They are also integrated into every content and curriculum area that we teach. If we want our students to be better planners, organizers, and flexible thinkers, we need to invest the time in teaching executive functioning skills.

The best part about teaching these skills is that all learners can benefit from improved executive functioning skills. Students can always learn better strategies for planning, organizing, managing time, paying attention, and problem-solving to work through challenges. Of course, it shouldn’t go without saying that some students need these skills more critically than others. Whether you are teaching these skills as an extra support or a necessary intervention, it is always worth the time.

Here are over 15 ways you can teach executive functioning skills:

#1 Teach skills explicitly.

Plan an executive functioning and study skills block to teach skills explicitly. Depending on what time you have available, you can choose to teach these skills for 20 minutes per day or just once a week. As an educator, I know it’s challenging to find more time in the day. Some possibilities that might work include during a lunch group, resource room, morning meeting, advisory periods, or just once a week at the start of your class to start the week off strong. Even though finding the time can be difficult, it is always worth the investment. If you aren’t sure where to start, check out this yearlong executive functioning set of lessons and activities. By learning skills for planning, organization, time management, attention, and more, students will have more strategies necessary to succeed in school and beyond.

#2 Engage in class discussions.

As a group, openly talk about each of the skills and ask questions to get students really thinking. You can always come up with conversation starters on your own. One of my favorite ways to do this, though, is using these Executive Functioning Task Cards. They are already broken up into 10 executive functioning skills. You can just read the card and give time for students to discuss in small groups or as a full class. Some examples of questions might be: “Choose any class. If you had a test in that class, what 3 pages from your notebook would study from? (this focuses on organization)” or “You have a lot of homework and you have practice at 6pm. What can you do?” (this focuses on planning). The whole idea is to get learners thinking and activating their brains for each of the skills. And of course, kids often learn best from each other so discussion is always a great option!

#3 Play board games.

Games are a fun, interactive, and motivating way to practice executive functioning skills. The key is to be purposeful about highlight and teaching the skills as you play. For example, one of my favorite games is Pictionary. By playing, kids can work on a number of skills: They have to plan what they will draw, manage their time as the timer goes down, and be flexible and change their strategy when others aren’t guessing correctly. Read this blog post for more ideas about using games to strengthen executive functioning skills.

#4 Integrate it with curriculum.

Executive functioning skills are in everything we do. It only makes sense to teach and discuss them in everything, too. If you are starting a long-term project, take a little extra time to teach about planning. Help students understand that they should map out exactly what they want to accomplish before they start. During independent work time, discuss strategies for time management and using time well. Before a test or quiz, explain about metacognition and thinking about what you know in order to help learners study what they really need to. The opportunities for integrating EF skills into the curriculum are truly endless.

#5 Read literature and stories.

Literature can be used to discuss and highlight a number of skills. Again, the key is to be purposeful and directed about discussing and teaching those skills. You might ask how a character planned for a certain event, why they used self-control, or how they used perseverance to work through a challenge. There are so many wonderful short stories and picture books that help highlight some of these skills. I’ve also developed an entire set of Executive Functioning Stories that explicitly highlight the skills. Of course, you can highlight many of these skills is almost any story you choose!

#6 Highlight skills throughout the day.

Just like with academic content, students need to hear EF terms and phrases over and over again. One simple way to help kids learn about executive functioning skills is just to talk about them and highlight them on a regular basis. Remind them when they are using self-control to stop and think before answering a question. Encourage a student who organizes their binder during downtime in class. These small reminders can go a long way!

#7 Use an interactive notebook.

Interactive notebooks can be a great tool to teach skills in a fun and hands-on way. I developed a complete executive functioning interactive notebook to teach about all EF skills: everything from planning and organization to self-control and flexibility. If you haven’t used an interactive notebook before, the idea is really simple. Kids follow the directions to cut out items and put them in their notebooks. They have to read passages, answer questions, and complete tasks along the way. Kids learn critical skills in a hands-on way while creating a permanent notebook as evidence of their learning.

#8 Use crafts.

Using crafts can be highly motivating! For many learners, art can be a window into learning skills that are otherwise very challenging for them. One of my favorite crafts is making Executive Functioning Keys. The whole idea is to teach kids about the skills while they put together their own set of “keys to their success”. As you give each student a key to cut out and put on a ring, discuss the skill and explain why it is important. Best of all, learners can keep these keys as a reminder of the skills they’ve learned about.

#9 Watch videos.

There are many free videos for kids and young adults that teach about executive functioning skills. One set of videos called “Adventures of You” highlights EF skills in a very kid-friendly way. These would make for a fun advisory or morning meeting discussion!

#10 Develop and reflect on goals.

Developing goals with students can be extremely beneficial. This activity can be done during morning meeting, an advisory period, or an end-of-the-week reflection time. By creating goals and monitoring the progress on a regular basis, students can start to become more self-reflective. They should think about what worked, why they saw an improvement (or why they didn’t), and what strategies they can implement going forward.

#11 Play activities and other games.

It’s helpful to have a “toolbox” of quick activities for highlighting and practicing EF skills. Simple activities like Freeze, Simon Says, Musical Chairs, and Guard Duty are great when you have just a few minutes left of class and want to use it in a positive way. Head over to this blog post to read more about practicing executive functioning skills with play activities.

#12 Use role play.

Bring up real-life scenarios involving executive functioning skills and have students act out the situation with partners. For example, you might say: You were out sick for two days and you have no idea what the homework was. What might you do? Students act out solving the problem, such as going and asking the teacher, looking up assignments online, calling a friend, or asking a classmate face-to-face. Role-play is one of my favorite techniques because it’s fun for the kids and they will remember the skills they act out!

#13 Give mini-lessons on one skill per week (or month).

If you want to integrate EF skills into the day, plan to teach one skill per week or month. Do whichever works best for you. My favorite order of teaching these skills is: Planning, Organization, Time Management, Task Initiation, Working Memory, Metacognition, Self-Control, Attention, Flexibility, and Perseverance. Start by discussing the skill, explaining what it means and what it looks like, give reasons why it’s important, and strategies to help learners improve the skill. Then, continue to highlight and discuss that skill consistently throughout the week or month. Use this free executive functioning poster to help you discuss each skill.

#14 Use visual cues and reminders.

Use posters or a bulletin board to visually remind learners about the skills. You can even have your students create class visuals with directions on what it means to pay attention, manage your time, and get organized! Refer back to the visuals to discuss and highlight these skills throughout the week. For students in need, you can even give them specialized visuals reminding about specific skills right on their binders or desks.

#15 Use escape rooms.

An escape room activity is a little bit of work to set up, but worth all the effort! I created a few sets of executive functioning escape rooms to target these skills in an interactive way. Students work together in teams to solve puzzles. Each puzzle requires them to learn about and use executive functioning skills. After completing all puzzles, students will get access to a secret phrase to “escape” the room. Try this free executive functioning escape room to get started or read up more about how to build escape rooms in your classroom!

#16 Use brainteasers and brain games.

Start the day with a brainteaser or riddle to get kids thinking! Not only are kids exercising their brains, but these are fun activities that help set a positive tone for the day. One thing I loved doing in my middle school classroom was sharing a riddle and not giving the answer until the end of the day to encourage kids to think on their own and develop perseverance! Brainteasers and brain games can be so much fun.

While all learners can benefit from learning about executive functioning skills, some students are going to need executive functioning interventions and supports a lot more than others. For more information, read up on my blog series about executive functioning interventions and supports.

Interventions for Executive Functioning Challenges: Time Management

February 18, 2019 by pathway2success 1 Comment

Time management skills are essentially life skills. Kids and young adults need this skills now and in the future. All educators and parents want our learners to be able to work independently, use time well, and complete tasks on time. In order to meet these expectations, students need to learn, understand, and continually practice skills for time management.

Kids and young adults can benefit greatly from just learning what time management is and why it matters. The whole idea is that we can work smarter instead of harder, helping us to complete our work more efficiently in a shorter time frame. To kids who struggle with time management, this idea that they can learn tips and tricks to use their time better can actually sound like magic! Best of all, these skills are so broad that they can be integrated into every single thing we do. From every content area to every chore at home, we use time management skills (and they really DO pay off).

What is time management? Time management is having an accurate understanding of time and making decisions to complete tasks in a timely way. As with most other executive functioning skills, time management isn’t just one isolated skill. It includes being able to estimate how long tasks will take, prioritizing, dividing time between tasks, pacing yourself, using time wisely, and working to meet deadlines.

• Examples of Time Management •

Here are some examples of what strong time management skills might look like on the spot:

Prioritizing which homework assignments to start before beginning a list of work.
Someone pacing themselves on a test to make sure they finish in the given time frame.
Writing out a daily schedule to keep track of times and events.
Chunking a project into sections to complete it by a specific deadline.

• Possible Signs of Challenges with Time Management •

It’s important to think of time management as a foundational skill for overall success. Imagine this: A student understands the content in a class well. They start working on a graded project to demonstrate their knowledge. The student is doing a fantastic job – truly their best work! The problem is that they realize the deadline for the project is tomorrow and there is no way they will be finished on time. Does the student turn in a half-completed project? Turn it in late? Rush and complete work that isn’t their best quality? Give up and turn in nothing at all? All of these outcomes demonstrate a clear issue with time management. Simply put, time management skills are a critical element to doing our best work.

Possible signs of time management challenges might include:

A learner spending too long on one problem or section of an assignment.
A student working on an assignment due next week (or not working on anything at all) when they have other work that is due next period.
A student consistently actively working but not finishing assessments or other assignments in a given time period.
A student who appears to always be in a rush at the last minute to finish work.

• Interventions, Supports, and Strategies for Time Management •

As with all executive functioning skills, time management abilities can be strengthened and improved over time. Here are some strategies, activities, and ideas to help learners with time management challenges in the classroom:

Teach time management and other EF skills explicitly
Discuss and practice prioritizing with multiple tasks (one way to do this is make a list of assignments and go back and order them by importance)
Teach how to make checklists for a set of steps or tasks
Practice estimating time for different takes (you can even make it a game! “How long do you think it would take you to clean your room?”)
Use a visual timer to visually show how much time is left for a task or session
Use chimes to warn 5 (or 10) minutes before transitions
Maintain a relatively consistent and predictable daily schedule
Keep the class schedule listed in the same spot every day
Teach, practice, and discuss routines frequently
Have students put their schedules on the front of their binders or desks
Identify and reduce distractors (you can even call them time-eaters!)
Discuss and practice strategies for moving on when stuck (skipping a problem, rereading, asking a friend, etc.)
Practice, model, and teach organization (since it is easier to use our time well when we are orderly and organized)
Practice planning out longer project together with mini-deadlines along the way
Provide work check-ins to students to make sure they are on the right track
Teach how to maximize downtime (ex: if you finish your work early in study hall, look over other work and start something else!)
Teach students how to check-in with themselves (“How am I doing? Am I on track?)
Play time-based games (add a timer to most any game like Pictionary or Scrabble to get kids managing their time!)
Discuss and practice what it means to “pace yourself”

• Strategies for Parents to Support Time Management at Home •

Here are some strategies parents and families can use at home strengthen skills for time management:

Model and practice estimating how long a task might take
Create a home calendar with important events listed
Discuss daily priorities and tasks at a common time (such as breakfast)
Develop a daily schedule with dedicated homework and chore times
Use strategies to stay organized and tidy
Reduce and give limits for social media and television time
Practice making to-do lists together and ordering items by importance
Identify, discuss, and reduce distractions (“time-eaters”)
Establish routines (for morning, after school, and bedtime)
Avoid over-scheduling (kids and young adults need downtime to learn how to use their free time, too!)
Consider digital calendars or apps
Model and discuss thinking ahead (such as putting clothes out for the next day)
Use a timer for working sessions
Use and discuss deadlines for tasks (“Your room needs to be organized by Thursday.”)
Provide rewards and incentives for completing tasks (“When all your homework is done, you can have 30 minutes of video game time.”)

If you notice that your learners need some extra support with their time management and other executive functioning skills, I have units to target executive functioning skills for middle and high school learners and executive functioning skills for younger learners. Get all your materials in one spot to make teaching these skills a breeze!

This is a blog series focused on interventions to support executive functioning skills. Make sure you read up on interventions for planning and supports for organization!

Interventions for Executive Functioning Challenges: Task Initiation

February 4, 2019 by pathway2success 4 Comments

Strategies and supports for executive functioning challenges can make all the difference, especially for students who struggle with task initiation. This is such an important skill, since it’s like the motor in allowing us to get started on all tasks and assignments. When someone is struggling to initiate, tasks take longer and require more effort. This can be extremely frustrating for both educators and the students themselves. Sometimes, a lack of task initiation skills can be misinterpreted for behavioral problems and defiance. This is because it looks like the child is avoiding what they should be doing, when in reality, the child might not have the skills to get themselves going in a positive way. This can be difficult to discern at first glance and often takes a little bit of investigating. It is helpful to observe the child, talk with them, and even try some of the interventions listed below to see how they help.

The ultimate goal is helping kids and young adults learn strategies to independently get themselves going so they can be successful. Best of all, these are skills that every single person can benefit from, since we could all improve our ability to get started right away on what we need to.

What is task initiation? Task initiation is the ability to start a task. It includes overcoming procrastination and getting started on tasks even if you don’t want to do them. Obviously, this is a critical life skill, since there are many chores and tasks we must complete even when we don’t feel like doing them at the moment.

• Examples of Task Initiation •

Skills for task initiation can be difficult to spot, because it just appears like someone doing what they are “supposed” to do! Just a few examples of what task initiation looks like includes:

Starting an assignment in class right away after directions are given.
Cleaning your room when it needs to be done, without reminders or prompts.
Beginning a tough test or quiz, even if you aren’t 100% confident on the assignment.

• Possible Signs of Challenges with Task Initiation •

Learners who struggle with task initiation are frequently getting in trouble for not doing their work. While at first glance this can appear as intentional avoidance behavior, kids and young adults who struggle with task initiation really lack the skills to get themselves going. Again, this can be extremely frustrating for learners, since they often want to do their work but just don’t know how to start or get themselves in action. Being able to notice possible signs can be helpful to target these students early on.

Possible signs of challenges with task initiation include:

A student putting their head down when it is time to begin work independently.
Someone who finds other things to do when it’s time to work, such as sharpening pencil multiple times or getting a drink.
A student who says, “I don’t know what to do,” even if directions were just given.
A learner who just doodles on their paper instead of completing the task.
A child or young adult who is frustrated when trying to start their work.

• Interventions, Supports, and Strategies for Task Initiation •

Task initiation skills can certainly be improved with practice. Here are some activities, tasks, and ideas to help with task initiation needs in the classroom:

Teach task initiation and other EF skills explicitly
Practice brain breaks between tasks
Give choice for how to complete the task or demonstrate knowledge
Be explicit with directions and provide them orally and in writing
Incorporate areas of interest into the content and curriculum (i.e. the price of skateboards in math)
Train a peer mentor to help the student in need get started on tasks
Practice the rocket ship countdown (Say: 5-4-3-2-1 blast off… on “blast off”, get up and get going!)
Allow the student to work with a partner
Use a timer to countdown time to get to work
Have the student answer the questions before starting: What am I doing? What do I need? How can I start?
Make getting started like a race with a countdown
Pretend a set of assignments is like an escape room
Show a model of expected work prior to starting
Keep a reminder card on the student’s desk – “What should I be doing right now?”
Provide visuals with step-by-step directions for getting started
Identify which content areas are most challenging and reduce the difficulty to give momentum
Develop a work contract that highlights what the student should do during work time
Incorporate incentives and rewards for completing difficult tasks (use this free reward list to get some ideas)
Practice problem-solving skills (i.e. “What could you do if you don’t know the answer to a problem?”)
Take turns writing out sentences or problems to get started together
Set up a clean and organized workspace without clutter
Reduce or eliminate distractions
Allow the student to complete every other problem or choose a certain number of problems

• Strategies for Parents to Support Task Initiation at Home •

Here are some activities parents and families can do to at home strengthen skills for task initiation:

Create a schedule for chores and homework time (and make it a routine)
Exercise or play a sport with your child before work time
Create a daily chore checklist
Use a timer to countdown time to get to work
Work in short bursts and then give breaks
Provide incentives after a set of tasks is completed (use this free reward list to get some ideas)
Practice the rocket ship countdown (Say: 5-4-3-2-1 blast off… on “blast off”, get up and get going!)
Do challenging tasks together (i.e. cleaning a bedroom or starting homework)

If you are looking for ways to help your learners strengthen their executive functioning skills, I have units to target executive functioning skills for middle and high school learners and executive functioning skills for younger learners. Spending a little extra time early on can make a world of a difference!

This is a blog series focused on interventions to support executive functioning skills. Make sure you read up on interventions for planning and supports for organization!

15+ Benefits of Social Emotional Learning in the Classroom

January 15, 2019 by pathway2success 1 Comment

Social emotional learning isn’t just a fancy buzzword in education. It’s an approach that integrates critical life skills into the school curriculum to help learners reach their individual potentials. There are huge benefits to teaching social-emotional skills and incorporating them into what educators are already doing.

The research indicates that implementing a social-emotional approach in schools can make a real difference. A meta-analysis of research indicated that students involved in SEL programs made gains socially, emotionally, behaviorally, and academically (Durlak et al., 2011). While more research is needed, one thing is clear: Teaching social and emotional skills pays off.

If you want to teach social emotional learning in your classroom but aren’t sure how, I have created an entire yearlong SEL curriculum. It is composed of five core units, each with several lessons and activities to teach the skills kids and young adults need. There are a number of significant benefits to integrating SEL into the classroom. It’s very much worth the time and effort. Kids do best when they know how, so let’s teach them the skills to get there.

Here are just a few benefits to social emotional learning in the classroom:

Improves school and class climate. Kids and young adults need to feel safe, respected, and supported in order to do their best. Incorporating SEL into your classroom encourages all of those things and more, helping to create a more positive learning community for all.

Increases student motivation. Kids and young adults want to do better when kids feel good about themselves, their teachers, and school. Integrating skills for social emotional learning can help encourage learners to be themselves, feel more accepted, work towards goals, be willing to take risks, and just love learning. More motivation is always a good thing.

Teaches problem-solving skills. Learners need strong problem-solving skills in all areas of life. A huge benefit to social emotional learning is that much of it focuses on managing situations and problems in everyday life. If you get stuck on a math problem, what can you do? If you get in a fight with a friend, how might you handle it? If someone asks you to do something you don’t want to do, what could you say? All of these questions are discussions that might be taking place when SEL is integrated into the classroom.

Reduces behavior problems. So often, behavior problems are the result of skill deficits. In the words of Ross Greene, kids do well when they can. Once we teach skills for problem-solving, working with others, and managing emotions, we are likely to see student behavior improve.

Helps students set and meet goals. A big part of self-management is creating specific and measurable goals for the future. Goal setting is important in all areas of life, whether someone is making a goal to improve their math grade or identifying steps to get their dream job.

Gives a space to talk about mental health. Mental health is extremely important and often not talked about enough. Talking about social emotional learning gives kids and young adults the venue to talk about their feelings, thoughts, and needs. It should be healthy to talk about mental health.

Teaches study skills and habits. Time management, organization, and planning are important skills that need to be developed over time. It’s easy to assume that all learners have these skills automatically, but it’s often not the case. Best of all, these are skills that can be easily taught in harmony with academic curriculum, whether it is math, reading, music, science, or anything else.

Encourages empathy. Empathy is one of the most foundational social skills, and sometimes it is overlooked. Quite often, kids and young adults need to be explicitly taught how to think about the feelings and thoughts of others. Once they can do this, students are much more effective at maintaining relationships, resolving conflicts with peers, and showing kindness to others.

Teaches teamwork and collaboration. In order to be success now and in the future, kids need to learn how to work well with others. Social emotional learning skills help students learn how to work collaboratively with partners and small groups. That includes working with people who aren’t your friends, problem-solving through disagreements, being a good team player, and more. Of course, these are all skills that are critical to success in the classroom, too.

Improves academic performance. Sometimes educators think of SEL skills as completely separated from academics, but that’s actually not true. A number of social-emotional skills actually encourage and allow students to perform better academically. Just a few of those skills include goal setting, planning, staying organized, managing time, problem-solving, cooperating, working in groups, and much more.

Improves self-regulation skills. Being able to managing our own thoughts, feelings, words, and actions is paramount to social and personal success. SEL can help learners understand self-regulation so they can learn to manage their own behaviors in positive ways.

Teaches responsible decision-making. Without a doubt, decision-making is a critical life skill. Learners need to know how to understand choices, think about consequences, consider how choices impact them and others, and ultimately make a positive choice they are proud of. These skills don’t come easily, though! So often, learners have to make tough decisions without “easy” solutions or answers for them. This is why practice in this area is so important, and can truly pay off in the end.

Teaches disagreeing respectfully. Kids and young adults need to learn how to disagree respectfully as a critical social skill. This is an ability they will use in the classroom when working with peers, with friends outside the school walls, online, and more.

Increases personal self-awareness. It is important for learners to have a strong understanding of their own individual strengths and challenges. Self-awareness is having a clear and accurate view of oneself. When students understand themselves, they are better equipped to have a clear vision for the future and make better choices to reach those dreams.

Encourages perseverance and resilience. While these skills are similar, they are different enough to highlight and discuss. Perseverance is the ability to push through challenges, while resilience is being able to get back up after a failure or defeat. Both skills are critical for student success in and outside the classroom.

Improves confidence. All kids should feel good about themselves and who they are as individuals. In many ways, helping kids and young adults to feel more confident can help them become the best versions of themselves.

Improves relationship skills. We all want our learners to have better relationship skills. That includes understanding healthy vs. unhealthy relationships, developing skills to be a good friend, maintaining relationships, conflict resolution, repairing relationships, and more. Not only does it benefit the students in your classroom to get along with each other, but these are also life skills for the future.

Improves attendance. Some research has indicated that kids and young adults in SEL programs actually have improved attendance. This just makes sense; If kids feel more positive about school and have the skills to succeed, they are more likely to be prepared to come each day.

Teaches coping skills. All kids and young adults experience emotional distress from time to time. Managing emotions can be tough, especially if learners don’t have the tools to do it effectively. An important component in social emotional learning programs is teaching kids and young adults how to managing those feelings and cope with them in the best ways.

Creates a feeling of community. A positive school community is critical to help all learners succeed. By building relationships and talking about topics that really matter to kids, they are more likely to bond with each other and educators in the room. This creates a strong sense of community, acceptance, and support.

If you want more strategies for integrating social emotional learning in the classroom, check out this list of over 100 free SEL resources and ideas!

Helping Kids with Feelings of Anxiety & Worry

January 5, 2019 by pathway2success Leave a Comment

All educators, at one time or another, are likely to work with kids and young adults who struggle with anxiety. Sometimes we know about those challenges, and other times, we don’t. As a special educator, I have spent countless hours helping students work through their worries about homework, family situations, fights with friends, high-stakes testing, body issues, long-term projects, the changing of a schedule, getting to school, and so much more. Sometimes the worries can be small and easy to manage, and other times they can be pervasive and impact a student’s entire life.

Worrying itself is a normal emotion. We all worry sometimes. However, when those worries grow or don’t go away, it can be a real issue for kids and young adults. According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), over 4 million children aged 3-17 have been diagnosed with anxiety. Many more are likely struggling with anxiety that aren’t diagnosed. Quite often, anxiety can be an invisible disability, meaning we don’t “see” it at first glance. The same is true for kids struggling with severe worries who may not meet the clinical criteria for anxiety.

The fact is that all educators, at one time or another, will be working with learners struggling with worries and challenging emotions. As educators, we have to be prepared to help these learners cope with their worries so they can be successful in and out of the classroom. Here are a few ways to help those students:

Recognize worries don’t always look like worrying. In order to help our learners struggling with feelings of anxiety and worry, we have to understand them more. Anxiety and worries don’t always even appear as worries. This is a common misconception about anxiety that can be confusing. Sometimes, learners might exhibit defiant behavior, aggression, a lack of focus or stomachaches and pains. Other times, students might try to control situations or have extremely high expectations for themselves with their school work. When challenging behaviors occur, it’s helpful to consider what emotions are actually behind them. Note that the visual below isn’t intended to diagnose anyone, just to show that feelings of worry and anxiety can manifest themselves in many different ways.

Teach coping strategies. Coping strategies, or coping skills, are the abilities and activities we use to help us manage our tough emotions on the spot. Simply put, everyone needs these strategies. If you find that a student doesn’t cope well with their emotions, spend time practicing and teaching these skills explicitly. It’s important to note that all people are different; some students will calm down best by coloring or drawing, while others might need to get up and take a walk. It’s helpful to try many different strategies when the student is already calm so that they can actually use the skills when they are emotionally overwhelmed. If you aren’t sure how to teach coping skills, I’ve created this Coping Strategies Lessons & Activities set to help you get started.

Educate yourself. It’s healthy to admit you don’t know everything about a topic. If you’re unsure what anxiety is, take some time to research. It’s important to know the facts and see anxiety as a real mental health issue. There are many websites that give overviews and explanations, including the Child Mind Institute and the Anxiety and Depression Association of America.

Practice mindfulness. Mindfulness activities are something that benefit all kids and young adults (they even benefit adults, too). Spend some time practicing mindfulness with your learners before times that are high-stress, such as before a big test, after lunch, or just in the morning to start of the day in a calm way. Here are 10 mindfulness activities you can try today.

Use distraction. Sometimes, as educators, we have to do what works in the moment. That was actually a motto we used in my classroom: Do what works. When a student is struggling with worries in the moment, sometimes distraction can get them through. Talk about your student’s favorite game, sport, animal, or anything else. I was known for talking about my dog and sharing a silly story about him. Of course, this doesn’t fix the problem behind the worry, but it can be enough to help your student move past their immediate negative feelings in the moment.

Teach breathing techniques. Sometimes these seem silly at first, but they can make a big difference. By teaching kids and young adults to focus on their breathing, they can calm themselves down more quickly when overwhelmed. When you are focusing only on your breathing, you are also no longer thinking about the worry. I love this free breathe board you can tape to a student’s desk or put in their binder. It’s a great reminder to “just breathe!”

Encourage progress, not perfection. Kids and young adults are constantly under a lot of pressure to be perfect, both in and out of school. The truth that we know is that perfect doesn’t exist. Encourage learners to see their progress and feel proud when they try their best, even if things don’t always come out “perfect.”

Teach positive self-talk. Self-talk is the inner voice we use to reassure and encourage ourselves to accomplish tasks. A positive voice can make a huge difference in helping kids and young adults feel more confident in themselves. You can start by having students choose positive self-talk statements to say to themselves or write out using this free list. Read up more about how to teach positive self-talk and why positive self-talk is so important.

Prepare instead of avoiding. By completely avoiding activities that make kids feel worried, we can make it harder for them over time. Kids and young adults need to face their worries in a structured and supportive way. If a learner feels extremely worried during tests, it won’t fix the problem to avoid tests all together. Instead, discuss the child’s feelings, validate their concerns, help them develop strategies, and prepare them for the tests ahead of time. The same is true for kids who are school-avoidant. Rather than keeping them out of school for longer, help them develop skills and come up with strategies to easier their concerns about school so they can be successful. Start small if you need to and work towards the ultimate goal of the student feeling comfortable on their own.

Allow calm down time. Kids and young adults can feel overwhelmed with emotions in the moment. Allow students the time and space to use their coping strategies when needed. Consider creating a calm down area in your classroom where learners can use strategies to help them regain their calm.

Encouraging journaling. Writing our thoughts out can be an extremely helpful way to make sense of things. For kids and young adults with lots of worries, sometimes their brains have too many thoughts going on at once. By writing these thoughts out, learners sometimes can recognize the true issues and identify steps for what they can do to help. Journaling about other topics can be helpful, too. Have students write about their favorite activities, 5 things they love, what they are grateful for, or a pet they love.

Collaborate with support professionals. It’s always best when all team members are working on the same skills in a cohesive way. Talk with the school counselor, school psychologist, and/or social worker and discuss best strategies for your learner in the classroom to help them manage their worries. These are definitely the experts in this realm and their knowledge is extremely valuable! If your student is seeing an outside therapist, consider getting consent from parents to talk with them, as well. A team approach always is the best option, especially for kids struggling with worries that can impact all areas of their life.

Listen. Whether or not the worries or fears are a big deal for us as adults, they are very real to our learners. With that, it’s extremely important we hear our students out when they are worried. Listen and try to understand first. Sometimes we have to know the whole story before we can even start the problem-solving practice. Once you hear your student out, you might say something like, “I can tell you’re worried about that. I’m here for you. We’re going to come up with some strategies and we’ll get through it.”

Talk it out. Help students make sense of their feelings by talking situations out with them. Sometimes, worries are just based on wrong information or assumptions that don’t make sense. Talking the worries out can help your learner recognize those inconsistencies.

Identify problem-solving actions. Worrying is the worst when you feel you have no control over the situation. With this, it’s helpful to give the student something they CAN do. For example, if a student is worried about an upcoming schedule change, help them identify what they could do going forward. Perhaps they can have a new schedule printed or talk with the new teacher they are going to have before they go in the class. Ask questions like, “So what might your next steps be?” and “What strategies can you use to help you deal with that?” With time, this can help turn your student into a problem-solver, skills they can assuredly use on their own throughout their entire life.

Be structured, but flexible. All kids need rules and expectations, of course. Still, there may be times when it’s important to give a little to help your learner move in the right direction. Be open-minded about solutions to help students make progress.

Take baby steps. If a student is really worried about something, it’s often helpful to start small and get the momentum going. Making some progress is always better than none. If a learner has extreme fear about presenting in front of the class, consider if they could start by presenting in front of just a teacher. If that goes okay, consider doing a small group next time. Starting small can help work towards success.

Teach problem-solving skills. Being able to solve problem is a life skill that can help learners cope with all sorts of challenges. During break time or morning meeting, spend time teaching these skills. One way you can start is introducing problem-solving scenarios. Have students discuss the scenario and consider what they could do to solve the problem. For example, you might say: “You get to school and realized you forgot your project. What could you do?” Students can discuss and develop skills to help them problem-solve and deal with the dilemma, rather than just feeling anxious and worried. I love this set of problem-solving task cards for younger students and this problem-solving set for older kids.

Have learners reflect on progress. At the end of a day, have your student identify what went well, what strategies they used, and what they are proud of themselves for. Allow students to reflect and build on the positive to help them recognize they can overcome their challenges.

Remember that change takes time. Just like with any challenges, kids struggling to manage their worries need time. Keep believing in them, supporting them, and guiding them. With time and effort, you will see your learners grow.

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