Social Emotional Learning

Practicing Coping Strategies (with a craft!)

January 13, 2017 by pathway2success 7 Comments

Having a “toolbox” of coping strategies is critical for a child or young adult to deal with challenging emotions. Sometimes the emotions are due to anxiety, depression, anger, stress or other strong feelings. Regardless of the reason, it’s important to teach, practice, and choose coping strategies that work for each individual child.

Using a Coping Strategies Fortune Teller can help with all of those things in a fun, interactive, and hands-on way.

It’s best to have an example fortune teller already made for students to view and play with. Show your students how it works and explain that coping strategies are listed inside.

Next, share the list of coping strategies with your students. Discuss the strategies in small groups or partners. Have students identify their top 8 coping strategies. Remind them to choose activities that they think will help them personally. It’s okay that everyone has different coping strategies!

Hand out the Coping Strategies Fortune Teller. Have students fill it in with colors and their top 8 coping strategies. It’s fun to color the entire fortune teller, too.

Students will cut out their fortune tellers and then use the directions to fold their craft together. Let students practice their coping strategies by playing with their fortune tellers in partners or groups. Encourage students to read each others’ coping strategies and even practice them, when appropriate. This can be a great activity in small groups to discuss strategies and identify what works best for each individual student.

Best of all, kids can keep their Coping Strategies Fortune Teller for times when they need extra support. They can use it to help them pick a coping strategy when they are feeling anxious, stressed, sad, or angry.

Get your Coping Strategies Fortune Teller Craft to make with your students or clients. You can decide whether you want kids to make their own with individualized strategies or you can use the template already provided. It’s fun, easy, and will have lasting effects for kids and young adults who need support with coping strategies.

9 Tips for Motivating Unmotivated Kids

October 22, 2016 by pathway2success 1 Comment

Many kids and young adults struggle with motivation. These are the kids who are slow to start classwork, often don’t turn in homework, and may even refuse to attempt any assignment they view as a challenge. It can be extremely frustrating, especially because these students are often bright and capable in their own way. Here are some strategies you can use within your classrooms to help support their needs while still holding them accountable.

1. Keep your expectations high. Even when kids are struggling with finding motivation, you want to give the message that you expect greatness from them.

2. Give choices. Allowing a choice in an assignment or task gives kids power and helps them feel more in control of what they are accomplishing. Choice can mean choosing between two different worksheets, choosing their own lab group, or choosing whether to write or type an assignment. Consider finding a choice that fits a student’s individual strengths or interests. If a student isn’t motivated to write a research paper on a famous poet, allow them to present about their favorite musical artist. Instead of completing a lab report on cells, have your artistic student draw and label a diagram of a cell. It’s okay to think outside the box with this.

3. Allow accommodations when necessary. Simple accommodations, like a word bank, a calculator, or a word processor can help kids get in a better mindset for finishing a challenging task.

4. Talk to the student. Find out what is behind the lack of motivation to complete work in your class. Perhaps the student struggles with your content area, doesn’t understand the way you give directions, or is having some major issues at home. Talk privately and compassionately with the student and you can find out a lot.

5. Work out a plan. For students really struggling with getting tasks done in your class, try working out some incentives. Find out what the student would like to work towards – extra points on a quiz, a homework pass, or sitting in a special spot in your classroom. Then, make a plan so that your student can work towards earning that incentive. Maybe when he or she finishes homework for an entire week, they earn something special. Not only does this give the student something to work for, but it also helps build your relationship, too.

6. Work through motivation challenges together. Use this Motivation Workbook to teach about motivation, identify motivational challenges, and make a plan for success. Consider trying the Free Motivation Workbook Sampler which includes identifying what motivation is, understanding lack of motivation, strategies for improving motivation, and a motivation journal.

7. Talk to other adults who work with that student. Look for trends. Find out where the students does well and find out how you can replicate that in your class. For example, I worked with a student who did considerably better in his history class than his science class. With some investigating, I was able to notice that the science class lacked the same structure that his history class had. It was a simple thing to replicate once the teachers were made aware. Another important consideration is the time of day that the student is struggling. Is it in the morning when he or she didn’t get enough sleep? Or maybe around lunch time is challenging after being in a less structured social setting? These are just some examples of what you can consider.

8. Talk to parents. When you find yourself not making enough progress with your student, talk to his or her parents. Share what you have tried and see if there is anything at home the child can work for and if parents could talk to the child, too.

9. Keep your cool. It’s easy to get frustrated at kids who lack motivation but remember that they are just kids. There is often a reason why students won’t initiate tasks, even if we don’t know that reason at the moment. Take your time working with the student and show you are proud when you see progress – even just a little means baby steps in the right direction.

10 Ways to Promote a Growth Mindset

September 10, 2016 by pathway2success Leave a Comment

Having a growth mindset means understanding that you can develop your own strengths and weaknesses through hard work, dedication, and grit. By teaching students to have a growth mindset, kids and young adults can better learn to work through challenges and overcome adversity in their lives.

The opposite of a growth mindset is a fixed mindset. With a fixed mindset, people believe that you are who you are, and that doesn’t change. It’s the difference between the student who says, “I’m just bad at math” (fixed mindset) and the student who says, “This is going to be challenging, but I’ll work through it and learn it as I go” (growth mindset). By promoting and encouraging a growth mindset, adults can help kids and young adults to step outside their comfort zones, push themselves to their limits, learn from difficulties, and ultimately find success.

Having a fixed mindset often leads to giving up on tasks, feeling poorly about oneself, and avoiding challenges. On the other hand, having a growth mindset encourages students to try new things, embrace challenges, and develop strong confidence.

Here are some ways you can promote a growth mindset with kids and young adults:

1. Teach the difference between a fixed and growth mindset. Give explicit instruction to kids about growth and fixed mindsets, explaining the positives associated with adopting a growth mindset. Focus on teaching how having a growth mindset can really help kids feel better, do better, and succeed.

2. Highlight examples of growth mindset in your classroom. Specifically praise kids when they do something with a growth mindset. You might say, “Last week I heard you say you were not a good artist, but you really worked hard on your collage and it came out very artistically”, or “I saw you sitting with your head down during morning work time for the first minute. I love that you pushed forward and finished your work even though it was challenging for you to get started.” Positive feedback goes a long way when it is specific.

Use these task cards to help kids and young adults learn about growth mindset.

3. Give time for kids to talk about having a growth mindset. Use practice examples, whether they are made up or real life examples from each student’s life. Use Growth Mindset Task Cards to practice a growth mindset in all areas of life: at home, school, during activities, with friends, and within our own belief systems.

4. Encourage risks and highlight that mistakes are learning experiences instead of failures. When a child or young adult does make a mistake, avoid making him or her feel bad about the mistake. Instead, encourage personal growth by asking them to identify what they’ve learned from the challenge.

5. Help kids set short term goals. Find out what goals kids want to accomplish in the next few months or within the year. Focus on one main area, whether it is academic, social, or personal. Help kids set a realistic SMART goal and help them come up with specific strategies for how they can accomplish that goal.

6. Conference with students about their goals and progress. Take time every two weeks to “check in” with kids and their goals. Make it a time to assess how much progress has been made and what the student has learned. You can look at what didn’t work but really focus on what DID work. Use that positive momentum to keep the progress going. Also, recognize that it’s okay if students tweak their goals as they go. Setting regular times to check in with goals really helps kids stay on track and learn that achieving that goal is possible.

7. Discuss people and celebrities who achieved success with a growth mindset. There truly are so many examples in all different areas of life. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team but his mother talked him into not giving up, so he continued to practice and get better. The Beatles were turned down by several record companies because some just didn’t like their sound. Oprah had a boss who told her she wasn’t fit for television. The list goes on and on! You could even use this as a research project in your classroom so that each student can report back about someone who overcame adversity and used a growth mindset to succeed.

8. Give challenging tasks. Brainteasers, riddles, and math problems are an excellent way to push kids to try challenging problems without giving up. When kids want to know the answer, don’t give it right away! Allow for plenty of time to go back and think about the problem. This encourages the idea that sometimes you don’t get all the answers, and you must work through challenges on your own to find out.

9. Use literature that shows examples of perseverance. You can use them within your language arts instruction or just as a read aloud for fun. From short children’s books to longer chapter books, you can find many different texts that promote a growth mindset. Some shorter books include: Ish by Peter H. Reynolds, The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires, and Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett. One longer selection is Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan. Biographies also work great to teach growth mindset, as they highlight people who have persevered through serious challenges.

10. Use the word “yet”. When someone says, “I don’t know how to do this”, just add the word “yet”. Constantly reminding this encourages the idea that most things are possible with hard work, persistence, and time.

Helping kids and young adults to develop a growth mindset takes time, but it’s worth it in the end. You can see kid’s perceptions about themselves slowly begin to change from, “I can’t do this” to “How CAN I do this?” and then eventually, “I know I can do this”.

Social Skills for Middle and High School Kids

September 4, 2016 by pathway2success 4 Comments

Most middle and high school teachers like to hope that students come to them already pre-programmed with strong social skills and abilities. It would definitely make classes easier, but we know that it is not true in many cases. Sometimes, problems with lacking social skills actually manifest themselves as behavioral challenges. For example, the student who is always interrupting in class may not know or understand the social rule that he should wait his turn. The student who constantly gets in trouble during group work might not know the group ground rules and how to work with others. Lastly, the student who gets involved in lots of drama and arguments with peers in your class might struggle with peer relationship skills. All of these behavioral challenges that cause such distress in our classrooms can be aligned with a lack of strong social skills.

Once your recognize that a student or group of students need some social skills support, the next step is providing the instruction that will teach them the social skills. If they do not have good social skills by middle or high school level, they will likely need a lot of direct instruction, practice, and support to make good progress. Kids CAN learn social skills though, regardless of their age.

What makes social skills instruction so challenging at the middle and high school level is that there usually is not any time in the day to focus on these skills. In elementary school, there might be a morning meeting time, small groups, and recess – all great times that teachers, school counselors, and social workers can target teaching social skills. At the middle and high school levels, though, the level of academic rigor is increased significantly, leaving minimal time for social teaching. Still, there are ways to weave social skills instruction into your classes.

Use literature to discuss social behavior. While reading a passage or book, use the characters to highlight social skills and behavior. Ask questions like, “Why do you think he did that?” and “How did his actions impact the others?”. Even more, highlight and discuss specific skills that some of your students might have challenges with. This is a great way to incorporate teaching social skills because it makes it less personal for kids.
Use small group work to review social skills. This goes for any group or partner work, such as science labs, partner reads, think-pair-shares, and more. Prior to starting group or partner work, review how your students should work with others. Explain and show what it means to keep eye contact with your partner, to listen to your group members, and to do your fair share of the work. These are essential social skills when working with groups or partners. You can find more direct instruction with the Working with Others – Groups and Partners workbook.
Allot a short period of time to social skills each week. This can be done during resource room, study hall, or an advisory period. Focus on explicitly teaching and practicing the social skills your kids need. Consider running a social skills group once a week for 20 minutes. Adding peer role models will help significantly.
Train peer role models to support social needs. Kids just learn better from other kids. This is especially true when it comes to social skills. Spend time training some peer role models to give cues and reminders to their “buddies”. Training them is simple – just privately meet with the student and direct them: “When you see Jimmy _____, just remind him to ______”. For example, in a science lab, “When you see Jimmy out of his seat during group time, just remind him to stay with his group”. The peer reminder will go farther than one from an adult.
Talk with the school counselor and social worker. The other support staff in your building may have other ideas and strategies for how to support kids inside and outside of your classroom. Find out if they are running any social skills groups and give names of kids who you think could benefit.

If you find yourself needing to practice social skills in your middle and high school classroom, try these Social Skills Task Cards for Middle and High School. It is a pack of 100 task cards specifically designed for middle and high schoolers. The cards are organized into five different sets that target different skills: Basic Interactions, Conversations, Empathy, Friendships & Relationships, and Conflict Resolution Skills. You can use them during a lunch group, study hall, resource room, advisory period, or anytime you have a few minutes left over in you class period to review.

Practice social skills with these task cards for middle & high school kids

Take the time to teach social skills and it will pay off – not only for your students but for your classroom management, too!

Getting Kids Talking

June 2, 2016 by pathway2success Leave a Comment

As a special education teacher, I also often wear the hat of being a counselor and therapist, too. I think that is true for most educators today. While we are teaching fractions, how to write a narrative, and identifying the difference between a state and a country, we are also working on building positive social skills and help kids work through their own problems. So, when you notice a child is having a conflict, how can you help him or her open up to start talking about it? The first goal is to help kids and young adults see us as an adult they can trust. Someone they can come to for help and be okay with opening up more than usual.

Here are some effective strategies for helping kids open up and share:

Drawing a picture can help kids share thoughts and emotions.

1. Ask them to draw a picture. Drawing a picture can be very telling and therapeutic at the same time. Ask kids to draw how they feel or how they see a certain situation happening. This can be especially helpful for children with limited or weak communication skills. Once the drawing is completed, follow up by asking several clarifying questions, like, “I see that you drew yourself in red, what do you think that means?”. You will be surprised with the responses you get. Drawing can be a great outlet.

2. Ask them to tell a story. You can even use this in the hypothetical-sense. For example, you might ask, “Tell me a story about what might happen at recess today”. There is something about telling a story that is more innocent and open than sharing details about a conflict for kids.

3. Have them write in a journal on their own. Ask the student to write independently for a period of time while you model doing the same. Tell him or her that they can write about anything but they have to keep writing until the timer goes off. Then, when time is up, share what you are comfortable sharing in your journal and ask the child to do the same. Not only can this be great to get a discussion going, but it teaches the value skill of journal writing to share thoughts, too.

4. Weave questions into gameplay. Don’t ask the challenging questions head on. Instead, begin playing a game (really could be anything) and intermittently ask questions throughout the game. This will allow kids to open up and share more without feeling the pressure of just a face-to-face conversation.

Counseling Conversation Starters

5. Use conversation starter questions. Pre-made task card questions are best for this. You can ask the questions yourself or allow students to take turns asking the questions while playing a game. It’s helpful to also mix up the type of questions asked on cards, with some about interests, family, school, and more.

Helping Kids Suffering from Depression

October 1, 2015 by pathway2success 1 Comment

As a middle school teacher, I often see kids exhibiting a variety of different moods and mood swings. Seeing kids suffer from depression is something different, though. Depression is a pervasive sense of unhappiness and sadness that often significantly impacts a child or young adult’s ability to function to their potential.

Recognizing symptoms of depression is important so that adults can find help and provide support for children and young adults. It’s important to know that no two people will exhibit all of the same symptoms or signs with depression. Some signs of depression in kids and adolescents are:

Exhibiting general mood of sadness for over several weeks
Losing interest in activities, especially ones he/she once enjoyed
Exhibiting low self-esteem
Difficulty completing tasks or making decisions on own
Seeming to “not care” about anything, including consequences
Difficulty focusing and remembering things
Pervasive negative view of the world, others, or self
Blaming him/herself for things that may not be his/her fault

At the middle and high school level, it’s particularly important that teachers their share concerns about students by talking with others in their building. Since secondary teachers only see that student for a short period each school day, it may be difficult to tell if the young adult exhibits those symptoms only in their class or across the board in all classes. Teachers with concerns about a student should talk with the guidance counselor, social worker, and other teachers who have that student.

It’s also critical to recognize that depression is not a choice. While it seems silly to even have to explain that, some adults may see a child or teen exhibiting possible symptoms of depression and make the judgement that he or she “just doesn’t want to do the work”. In most cases, it would be easier for the child or young adult if they were able to do the work.

Here are some considerations for interventions for students suffering from depression:

1. Begin by building and maintaining a positive relationship with the child. Show that you care and believe in that student, even when he/she doesn’t believe in him or herself. It’s something that may take several weeks or months to develop, but you can make a difference just by being a consistent and positive role model in the child’s life.

2. Maintain high expectations while providing supports. Instead of exempting the child from assignments or allowing them to get zeros on homework, help them through the work. Offer extra help during the last ten minutes of class when others are working in groups, or ask if he or she can come before or after school some days to work on lessons. Remember to not make this punitive. It’s important to show that the goal isn’t just “doing work”, but learning, because you truly care about the child.

3. Allow accommodations with work. If a child demonstrates low self-esteem over completing work on their own, find simple ways to help him or her do it with other supports. Start by providing a calculator or multiplication chart if the math work is a challenge. Give the student a graphic organizer for their essay and help him or her fill it out. Similarly, it’s okay to reduce the work at times. You want to allow the child to be successful at the task and build confidence, so it’s okay if you lower that bar at first so he or she can feel that success.

4. Use the child’s interests. Find out what the student likes to do and what he or she is good at. Even children and young adults suffering from depression often have positive outlets, whether it is art, sports, music, or another activity. Incorporate that positive outlet into the classroom when you can. Be creative! Can the child take an extra session of music or gym? Could you keep an extra guitar or keyboard in your classroom for break time that the student could use? Even consider allowing drawing time after a test or quiz to alleviate stress and allow for a positive sense of accomplishment after completing a task.

5. Talk to his or her parents. It’s important to find out what is going on at home for the child so the school can be a stronger support, when needed. If the home situation is challenging, direct the parents or guardians to appropriate supports inside and outside of school.

6. Seek help from guidance counselors, social workers, and administration. As general education teachers (and even special education teachers), we are not mental health professionals. Talk to the appropriate staff in your building with your concerns. Most of all, if you ever feel a child is an imminent risk to him or herself, get help right away.

For more information about depression in children, consider these sites:

The Power of Positive

February 13, 2015 by pathway2success Leave a Comment

Psychologists have researched for years to try and find a perfect ratio of number of positive to negative comments. These researchers have investigated the power of positive comments at work places, in marriages, and at schools. It was interesting to find that many researchers agree on a ratio of around 5 positive comments to every 1 negative comment. With more negative comments, people tend to feel discouraged and undervalued. I find this so interesting because I would say that this ratio needs to be even higher for children and young adults in schools. That means that teachers should be giving at least 5 positive and kind words of encouragement for every 1 negative thing they say. Below are some simple tips for incorporating more positive into your classroom:

1. Be specific. “You did a great job on that” doesn’t really tell the student anything. Instead, you can say something like, “I really like the way you took the last 5 minutes to reread your response and edit it. That was a great use of time”. You help that student feel good about themselves while shaping positive learning behaviors.

2. Give oral and written positive feedback. Oral feedback is great but sometimes I need time to think about how to give the best feedback. I love giving written feedback on assessments, math journals, and reading/writing journals. Then, when I hand back assignments, I make sure to give students time to “review my comments”.

3. Use your positive words to help drive positive classroom management. “I really like the way that Alex took out her reading book and read silently when she finished her quiz”. A comment like that and you’ll be amazed at how many students follow suit. It helps make one student a model, as well. Some students need to visually see what the should be doing, and this is a great opportunity for that.

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