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Search Results for: social skills

15+ Strategies to Help Build Self-Regulation Skills

November 5, 2018 by pathway2success 4 Comments

Strategies for kids and teens to help build self regulation skills, including fun and interactive games, books, mindfulness, calming strategies, and lessons. Teaching these skills for self-regulation and self-control can help students become more successful and gives them the tools they need. #selfregulation #selfcontrol #pathway2success

Self-regulation is a critical skill for people of all ages. It is the ability that helps us to control our behaviors to make good decisions for the long-term, rather than just doing what we want in the moment. It’s also the skill that allows us to manage our emotions when we’re feeling angry, disappointed, or worried. These can be difficult for adults, but are significantly more challenging for children and young adults, whose brains are still growing and developing.

There are huge benefits to helping kids and young adults improve their skills for self-regulation. These skills can help kids and young adults to complete their work and chores (even if they don’t want to), maintain lasting friendships, make safe choices when out with friends, stop themselves from breaking a rule, work through challenges when they feel like giving up, and so much more. Simply put, kids and young adults are more likely to lead happier and healthier lives when self-regulation skills are strengthened. Of course, working on self-regulation skills doesn’t just happen overnight. Especially for those who struggle with them, these abilities must be working on and improved over time. The good news is that kids and young adults can learn strategies and skills to improve their self-regulation.

Here are 15+ strategies and ideas to use with your learners:

1. Practice self-control with games. There are many different games that help students work on their self-control skills! Jenga, Freeze, and Simon Says are just a few of them. One of my favorites is Blurt, but you could really play with any trivia questions or content from your curriculum. You can play with a small group of full class. Just have two students stand together at a desk. Ask them a question (from Blurt or your own), and only those two students can shout out the answer to the question. Everyone else must use self-control and remain silent, even if they know the answer. The person who says the correct answer will move on to the next desk, while the other student will sit down at that desk. As the game continues, the goal is to try and make it all the way around the room. Another one of my favorites is Guard Duty. This one is fun because students actually pretend they are guards at a palace and have be serious, even when someone might try to distract them. Of course, this is a perfect game when walking in the hallway on the way to another class. Try this set of Executive Functioning Games & Play Activities if you want more!

Strategies for kids and teens to help build self regulation skills, including fun and interactive games, books, mindfulness, calming strategies, and lessons. Teaching these skills for self-regulation and self-control can help students become more successful and gives them the tools they need. #selfregulation #selfcontrol #pathway2success

2. Create a share journal. If your student likes to share a lot of extra information throughout a class lesson, give them a special journal. They can write down all of their questions, thoughts, and connections in the journal. Once or twice a day, make sure to sit down with the student to review the journal and hear what they wanted to tell you.

3. Explicitly teach self-regulation skills. Some learners who struggle significantly with self-regulation skills can most likely benefit from a small group that targets these skills head on! Put together a group of your own during morning meeting, lunch time, or any other time that works to teach these skills. If you do not have flexibility in your schedule for such a group, consider talking with the school counselor, school psychologist, special education teacher, or social worker to create a group with the student or students you have in mind. More than likely, many other students can benefit from these skills, too! I have created a Self-Control Bootcamp for older students, as well as a Self-Regulation Station (with a train theme!) for younger learners. Use these group times to highlight what self-regulation and self-control are, why they matter, and specific strategies for how students can make improvements.

Strategies for kids and teens to help build self regulation skills, including fun and interactive games, books, mindfulness, calming strategies, and lessons. Teaching these skills for self-regulation and self-control can help students become more successful and gives them the tools they need. #selfregulation #selfcontrol #pathway2success

4. Use literature. Picture books are a great way to introduce and discuss self-regulation skills at all levels. Even my middle schoolers loved when I got the picture books out for a read-aloud! Some great options to target self-regulation skills include: My Mouth is a Volcano by Julia Cook, I’m in Charge of Me! by David Parker, and What Were You Thinking? by Brian Smith. One of my absolute favorites is Super George and the Invisible Shield by Laurie Mendoza. In this story, George has to learn some strategies to help him stay in control and out of trouble. With whatever books you choose, make sure to highlight the self-regulation skills, discuss how each character uses the skills, and how it relates to your students’ lives.

Use read alouds to help teach coping strategies.

5. Use visuals as reminders. Visual supports can be extremely helpful reminders to students about routines and activities in the classroom. You can tailor your visuals for individual students. For example, if a student struggles with calling out during class lessons, add a visual on his or her desk that reminders about raising our hand first. If a student is having difficulty waiting in line, keep a visual showing reminders near the door.

Strategies for kids and teens to help build self regulation skills, including fun and interactive games, books, mindfulness, calming strategies, and lessons. Teaching these skills for self-regulation and self-control can help students become more successful and gives them the tools they need. #selfregulation #selfcontrol #pathway2success

6. Create a social scripts binder. Social scripts are short narratives about any situation. Create an individualized binder for your student with stories specific to their needs. For example, if a student struggles to self-regulate behaviors during transition times, add a story about transitions to their binder. If they continue having issues getting settled in the morning to start morning work, add a story about the morning routine. To start, have the student read through the social script prior to the activity to remind them what they should be doing before the task. Eventually, the goal is that the student will need the stories less and less, as they become more independent.

Strategies for kids and teens to help build self regulation skills, including fun and interactive games, books, mindfulness, calming strategies, and lessons. Teaching these skills for self-regulation and self-control can help students become more successful and gives them the tools they need. #selfregulation #selfcontrol #pathway2success

7. Give movement breaks. Kids and young adults who struggle with self-regulation often need extra physical activity built into their day. One simple strategy is to incorporate movement and break brains in between your instruction time. One year, I used our morning homeroom periods to play basketball in the gym. In another instance, I was able to schedule a student with an extra gym class throughout the week. It’s important to be creative because a little extra physical activity can often make a huge difference for these learners!

Strategies for kids and teens to help build self regulation skills, including fun and interactive games, books, mindfulness, calming strategies, and lessons. Teaching these skills for self-regulation and self-control can help students become more successful and gives them the tools they need. #selfregulation #selfcontrol #pathway2success

8. Practice mindfulness. So often, in our busy world, kids and young adults do not know how to “just be.” Mindfulness can be a perfect solution for that. While it’s not an instant fix, learning to be more mindful can help kids and young adult stay present in the moment, feel calmer, improve focus, and better manage emotions in the moment. There are many different strategies for practicing mindfulness. You can start with simple breathing exercising with these free mindfulness breathe boards. Another great activity is to practice mindful coloring, which involves just coloring and not talking to anyone else. I’ve developed a whole set of Mindfulness Activities to help learners improve these skills over time.

Strategies for kids and teens to help build self regulation skills, including fun and interactive games, books, mindfulness, calming strategies, and lessons. Teaching these skills for self-regulation and self-control can help students become more successful and gives them the tools they need. #selfregulation #selfcontrol #pathway2success

9. Develop routines for success. While many of these strategies are directed at the student, educators can also play a huge role in creating routines for success. Consider the specific areas where your student is struggling and identify routines and strategies you can implement. If a student seems to never remember to bring back their homework, set them up with a specialized homework binder to go home. If a student continually calls out during lessons, make a plan that you will call on them at least once during a lesson when their hand is up.

Strategies for kids and teens to help build self regulation skills, including fun and interactive games, books, mindfulness, calming strategies, and lessons. Teaching these skills for self-regulation and self-control can help students become more successful and gives them the tools they need. #selfregulation #selfcontrol #pathway2success

10. Discuss scenarios. Talk about real-life situations that encourage learners to stop and think about managing their behaviors. You might say, “Someone is kicking the back of your chair during a test and it’s really annoying you. What do you do?” Have students talk in small groups or partners and share about how they might handle those situations. While you can’t plan for every situation, using scenarios can help students train their brains for how to think through problems as they happen.

Strategies for kids and teens to help build self regulation skills, including fun and interactive games, books, mindfulness, calming strategies, and lessons. Teaching these skills for self-regulation and self-control can help students become more successful and gives them the tools they need. #selfregulation #selfcontrol #pathway2success

11. Use role-play. Using any of the topics you discuss as scenarios, act the situations out in small groups or partners. Not only is role-play a lot of fun for kids, but it makes it memorable. Note that it’s always most helpful to act out the socially appropriate way to handle situations. For this reason, it’s extremely helpful to partner students up with peer role models who can help kids brainstorm solutions for handling challenges.

Strategies for kids and teens to help build self regulation skills, including fun and interactive games, books, mindfulness, calming strategies, and lessons. Teaching these skills for self-regulation and self-control can help students become more successful and gives them the tools they need. #selfregulation #selfcontrol #pathway2success

12. Use guided meditation videos. A guided meditation is just a script that guides people through the practice of relaxing. Youtube is a great free resource for many guided meditation videos for kids and young adults. Another way to practice mindfulness and just being still, guided meditation helps kids learn to be in control of their bodies, thoughts, and emotions in the moment. Again, these would be a great activity to do before a test, after a transition, or just first thing in the morning.

13. Create a calm down space. Design an area in the room for students to go who need a few minutes to themselves. Not all students will need to use this area, but the ones who do, will benefit greatly. It’s important to teach that the calm down area is a space to self-regulate and get in control of emotions so we can return back to our normal days. Most of all, it’s critical to show all learners that it’s normal and healthy to need a break once in a while. Taking five minutes in the calm down area to gather your emotions is a much better choice than pushing someone or saying mean words you will probably later regret.

Strategies for kids and teens to help build self regulation skills, including fun and interactive games, books, mindfulness, calming strategies, and lessons. Teaching these skills for self-regulation and self-control can help students become more successful and gives them the tools they need. #selfregulation #selfcontrol #pathway2success

14. Develop SMART goals. A huge component to improving self-regulation skills is being able to get past the “right now”. Students need to be able to see the future and what’s in it for them. Take time with your learner to develop individualized SMART goals on areas that are important for them. Perhaps your student needs to improve the number of class assignments they complete, raising their hand when they have a comment to share, or using appropriate language in the classroom. Any of those could be written out as a smart goal, with specific strategies for the student to work on over time.

15. Teach how to gauge emotions. I love to use an emotions scale that helps students gauge the level of their emotions. So often, kids who struggle with self-regulation skills are missing this internal meter that lets us know how intense our emotions are at the moment. This helps students learn to be more self-aware about their emotions and body, and once students are more self-aware, they can be more open to finding solutions for their struggles.

Strategies for kids and teens to help build self regulation skills, including fun and interactive games, books, mindfulness, calming strategies, and lessons. Teaching these skills for self-regulation and self-control can help students become more successful and gives them the tools they need. #selfregulation #selfcontrol #pathway2success

16. Incorporate self-reflection times. All kids and young adults can benefit from becoming more self-reflective. That involves assessing past behaviors and choices, as well as identifying next steps for improvement. This can be a tough skill for kids to learn at first, especially because it can be so personal to admit where you went wrong. I suggest creating a reflection binder that holds information about student SMART goals and areas that the student needs to improve. Each reflection binder really should be individualized because every student needs to work on different things. Some students of mine had data on grades, while others focused more on behavior or attendance. Meet weekly with the student as an intervention. Discuss the goals, progress made, challenges, and next steps for the future. Most of all, try to let the student take the lead! This can slowly help him or her develop the ability to self-reflect and self-regulate in the future.

Strategies for kids and teens to help build self regulation skills, including fun and interactive games, books, mindfulness, calming strategies, and lessons. Teaching these skills for self-regulation and self-control can help students become more successful and gives them the tools they need. #selfregulation #selfcontrol #pathway2success

17. Encourage positive habits. Having a healthy diet and sleep pattern can contribute to how self-regulated someone is. Talk with the student and family about making sure he or she is well-rested at night to achieve success the next day. If this is an area you are not comfortable addressing yourself, consider consulting with the school social worker or school counselor for extra support.

Strategies for kids and teens to help build self regulation skills, including fun and interactive games, books, mindfulness, calming strategies, and lessons. Teaching these skills for self-regulation and self-control can help students become more successful and gives them the tools they need. #selfregulation #selfcontrol #pathway2success

Filed Under: Autism, Behavior Management, Executive Functioning Skills, Social Emotional Learning, Special Education, Teaching

100+ Free Social Emotional Learning Resources

June 1, 2018 by pathway2success 5 Comments

100+ free social emotional learning activities, ideas, and resources to help kids improve confidence, build relationships, develop social skills, and improve responsible decision-making skills. #sel #socialemotionallearning #pathway2success

Social and emotional learning, often known as SEL, is the process that helps kids learn critical skills, attitudes, and mindsets for social and emotional success. These skills cover five major areas: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationships, and responsible decision-making. It’s actually difficult to describe in just one sentence because SEL covers everything from building confidence and managing emotions to making friends and understanding ethical decision-making skills. These are truly the foundational skills that help kids to be successful in and out of school.

It’s important to note that SEL isn’t just one activity. It’s a philosophy that educators, administrators, and entire schools must adopt in order to help all kids build mental and emotional strength. Simply put, incorporating social emotional learning into classrooms helps kids thrive. Many educators might at first feel there is not enough time to add one more thing into the school day. Again, that’s why it’s important to think of SEL as something we integrate into what we’re already doing rather than something that gets “added on”. I created this list to help educators and schools have a starting point for integrating free SEL strategies and resources into their already-busy days. If you aren’t sure where to start, just choose one or two things. Help your learners build their confidence, learn strategies to cope with tough emotions, discuss what true friendship is, identify strategies for solving real-life problems, and so on.

Here are free social emotional learning resources:

PRINTABLE RESOURCES:

Self-Awareness:

  • Social Emotional Learning Journal – Prompts focusing on understanding individual strengths and challenges.

Free social emotional learning journal and more to help kids and young adults with social emotional learning skills. #sel #socialemotionallearning #pathway2success #positivethinking #journaling

  • Positive Affirmations List – A list of 101 positive affirmations to build positive confidence and positive self-talk.

Free positive thoughts and affirmations list and more to help kids and young adults with social emotional learning skills. #sel #socialemotionallearning #pathway2success #positivethinking #affirmations

  • Gratitude Activities – Quick activities that help kids recognize what they are thankful for.

Free gratitude poster and more to help kids and young adults with social emotional learning skills. #sel #socialemotionallearning #pathway2success

  • The Power of Yet Posters – Encourage students to use a growth mindset with these positive posters.

Free growth mindset "the power of yet" posters and more to help kids and young adults with social emotional learning skills. #sel #socialemotionallearning #pathway2success

  • Growth Mindset Task Cards – Use these task cards to help students learn they can accomplish their goals with hard work and grit.

Free growth mindset task cards and more to help kids and young adults with social emotional learning skills. #sel #socialemotionallearning #pathway2success

Self-Management:

  • Coping Strategies Challenge – Have students learn 30 coping strategies in 30 days to teach about managing emotions.

Free coping strategies challenge and more to help kids and young adults with social emotional learning skills. #sel #socialemotionallearning #pathway2success

  • Coping Strategies Notebook – A tool that helps kids to practice and use their coping strategies when they need them.

Free coping strategies notebook and more to help kids and young adults with social emotional learning skills. #sel #socialemotionallearning #pathway2success

  • Anger Management Worksheets – An anger log to help kids track their triggers for anger.

Free anger management worksheets and more to help kids and young adults with social emotional learning skills. #sel #socialemotionallearning #pathway2success

  • Calming Posters – Simple calming posters for a calm down area that remind kids to relax and breathe.

Free positive posters and more to help kids and young adults with social emotional learning skills. #sel #socialemotionallearning #pathway2success

  • Motivation Workbook – Workbook to help students learn strategies for motivation and completing tasks.

Free motivation workbook and more to help kids and young adults with social emotional learning skills. #sel #socialemotionallearning #pathway2success

  • Homework Binder – Resource that helps students organize their binders and have a dedicated spot for homework.

Free homework binder and more to help kids and young adults with social emotional learning skills. #sel #socialemotionallearning #pathway2success

  • Coping Strategies List – List of 100 different coping strategies kids can use to manage emotions.

Free coping strategies list and more to help kids and young adults with social emotional learning skills. #sel #socialemotionallearning #pathway2success

  • Executive Functioning Workbook – Set of workbook pages that target skills like time management and organization.

Free executive functioning workbook and more to help kids and young adults with social emotional learning skills. #sel #socialemotionallearning #pathway2success

  • Mindfulness Coloring – Free coloring worksheets to help encourage mindfulness.

Free mindfulness coloring pages and more to help kids and young adults with social emotional learning skills. #sel #socialemotionallearning #pathway2success

  • Executive Functioning Poster – Visual reference to help kids and young adults remember critical executive functioning skills, including organization and planning.

Free Executive Functioning Poster and more to help kids and young adults with social emotional learning skills. #sel #socialemotionallearning #pathway2success

Social Awareness:

  • Kindness Activity – Quick lesson and kindness challenge to promote a positive climate.

Free Kindness Activity and more to help kids and young adults with social emotional learning skills. #sel #socialemotionallearning #pathway2success

  • Conversation Skills Lessons – Lessons for teaching and practicing conversation skills.

Free conversation skills lessons and more to help kids and young adults with social emotional learning skills. #sel #socialemotionallearning #pathway2success

  • Perspective-Taking Lessons – Lessons focusing on teaching how to perspective-take and develop empathy.

Free perspective taking lessons and more to help kids and young adults with social emotional learning skills. #sel #socialemotionallearning #pathway2success

  • Tolerance and Acceptance Pledge – Have students take a pledge to help them learn to accept others who are different from them.

Free tolerance and acceptance pledge coloring page and more to help kids and young adults with social emotional learning skills. #sel #socialemotionallearning #pathway2success

Relationships:

  • Getting to Know You Questions – Free list of over 30 questions to help kids get to know each other and build positive relationships.

Free get to know you printable and more to help kids and young adults with social emotional learning skills. #sel #socialemotionallearning #pathway2success

  • Conversation Starters – Over 20 printable cards to start meaningful discussions.

Free conversation starters task cards and more to help kids and young adults with social emotional learning skills. #sel #socialemotionallearning #pathway2success

  • Working with Others – Teach students explicitly how to effectively work with others in partners and groups.

Free working with others workbook and more to help kids and young adults with social emotional learning skills. #sel #socialemotionallearning #pathway2success

Decision-Making:

  • Social Problem-Solving Task Cards – Task cards that highlight real social problems for kids to discuss and identify ways to solve.

Free social problem solving task cards and more to help kids and young adults with social emotional learning skills. #sel #socialemotionallearning #pathway2success

  • Character Posters – Posters that remind students about integrity, kindness, and working hard.

Free social emotional learning activities, ideas, and resources to help kids improve confidence, build relationships, develop social skills, and improve responsible decision-making skills. #sel #socialemotionallearning #pathway2success

  • Student of the Month Awards – Awards that help build your classroom community by helping kids feel recognized.

Free social emotional learning activities, ideas, and resources to help kids improve confidence, build relationships, develop social skills, and improve responsible decision-making skills. #sel #socialemotionallearning #pathway2success

  • How Big is My Problem Task Cards – Activity cards and situations that help students identify problems and challenges.

Free social emotional learning activities, ideas, and resources to help kids improve confidence, build relationships, develop social skills, and improve responsible decision-making skills. #sel #socialemotionallearning #pathway2success

BLOG POSTS:

  • Teaching Social Emotional Skills with a Journal
  • 25 Ways to Integrate Social Emotional Learning
  • Art Activities for Social Emotional Learning
  • Helping Kids with Social Emotional Needs
  • How to Make a Coping Strategies Wheel
  • 13 Ways to Avoid Power Struggles
  • Why Positive Self-Talk is Worth It
  • Teaching Social Problem Solving with a Free Activity
  • 10 Mindfulness Activities You Can Try Today

APPS & WEBSITES FOR KIDS:

  • Everyday Speech Social Skills Games (social awareness, relationships, decision-making) – Interactive online games for social skills, including conversation skills, school behavior, problem solving, and more.
  • Breathe, Think, Do (self-management, decision-making) – Use with younger learners to help practice deep breathing and problem-solving skills.
  • Go Noodle (self-management) – Hundreds of videos to help kids take a brain break and practice mindfulness.
  • Headspace: Guided Meditation & Mindfulness (self-awareness, self-management) – This app provides meditation exercises with a coach that helps you learn as you go.
  • The Mindfulness App (self-awareness, self-management) – A mindfulness app that helps you become more present in your daily life with guided and silent meditation sessions.
  • Learn Social Skills (social awareness, relationships) – Use video lessons and readings to help kids learn skills.
  • Aware (self-awareness, self-management) – This app leads you through daily mindfulness meditation techniques, including energizing activities and breathing practice.
  • Stop Breathe & Think: Meditate (self-awareness, self-management) – Tailored to your specific emotions, this app helps you take a break and reduce stress through meditation.
  • Listening Skills (social awareness, relationships) – Strategies for becoming an active listener.
  • MyCalmBeat (self-awareness, self-management) – This app provides training and practice in slow, deep breathing for stress reduction.
  • Breathe (self-management) – An app that assists in controlling your breathing.
  • Gratitude Journal (self-awareness, self-management) – This app helps you focus on the positive by identifying what you are thankful for each day.
  • Kids Coping Skill Puzzle (self-management) – Build a puzzle while sorting between positive and negative coping skills.
  • Affirmation Reminder (self-awareness) – Select from a list of positive affirmations or make your own to add as reminders.
  • ColorMe (self-awareness, self-management) – Free coloring app to help reduce stress.

WEBSITES FOR EDUCATORS:

  • CASEL – Everything from basic information to detailed research surrounding SEL.
  • Edutopia – Several articles and ideas for integrating SEL into the classroom.
  • Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning – Tons of free resources to get you started.
  • Education Week Webinar – Detailed information about how teachers can build social-emotional learning skills.
  • Social and Emotional Learning Standards – Detailed information and links about which states have adopted SEL standards.
  • NoVo Foundation – Information and strategies for SEL.

VIDEOS:

  • Social Emotional Learning: What Is SEL and Why It Matters
  • Social Emotional Learning: Trish Shaffer Ted Talk
  • The Heart-Brain Connection: The Neuroscience of Social, Emotional, and Academic Learning
  • 5 Keys to Social and Emotional Learning Success
  • The Five Social and Emotional Competencies
  • An Introduction to Social and Emotional Learning
  • Social and Emotional Learning: A Schoolwide Approach
  • Social and Emotional Learning in Action

CLASSROOM STRATEGIES:

  • Hold a morning meeting. Use this time to check-in with students, review expectations, and start the day.
  • Do a check-in and check-out with specific students in need to monitor their social-emotional needs.
  • Build strong relationships from the start.
  • Model and discuss social skills, highlighting them throughout the day.
  • Use literature to highlight social and emotional skills.
  • Incorporate consequences that give back to the community instead of punishments.

READ ALOUDS:

Note that these books aren’t free, but it is always free to borrow from your local library, so I wanted to share them!

Self-Awareness:

  • How Do I Feel? by Norma Simon (ages 2 to 7)
  • Today I Feel Silly & Other Moods That Make My Day by Jamie Lee (ages 3 to 8)
  • Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman (ages 4 to 8)
  • Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon by Patty Lovell (ages 5 to 8)

Self-Management:

  • When I Feel Frustrated by Marcia Leonard (ages 2 to 6)
  • Super George and the Invisible Shield by Laurie P. Mendoza (ages 7 to 11)
  • Know and Follow Rule by Cheri Meiners (ages 3 to 6)
  • There Might Be Lobsters by Carolyn Crimi (ages 3 to 7)

Social Awareness:

  • When I Care About Others by Cornelia Maude Spelman (ages 5 to 7)
  • Can You Tell How Someone Feels by Nita Everly (ages 3 to 6)
  • Hugo and the Bully Frogs by Francesca Simon (ages 3 to 7)

Relationships:

  • Can You Be a Friend? by Nita Everly (ages 3 to 6)
  • We Are Best Friends by Aliki (ages 4 to 7)
  • You’re All My Favorites by Sam McBratney (ages 5 to 7)

Decision-Making:

  • I Did It, I’m Sorry by Caralyn Buehner (ages 5 to 8)
  • The Decisive Dolphin by Efrat Haddi (ages 3 to 8)
  • Someday by Eileen Spinelli (ages 4 to 8)

SOCIAL MEDIA:

Follow these boards, hashtags, and people for information on SEL:

Facebook:

  • Pathway 2 Success – FB is one of the first places I share new ideas!
  • School Psyched, Your School Psychologist – Great social and emotional ideas for all educators.
  • Social Emotional Learning – Public FB group focused on sharing SEL ideas.

Pinterest:

  • Pathway 2 Success – Many of my boards target SEL skills.
  • Books for Social Emotional Learning – A board focused on reading materials for SEL.
  • Social Emotional Learning – Entire board focused on emotions, social skills, and more.
  • Social Skills Group – A collaborative board with resources for social group ideas.
  • Social Emotional Resources for Elementary – Another collaborative board focused on elementary kids.

Instagram:

  • Pathway 2 Success – I love sharing ideas, resources, and freebies on IG!
  • #socialemotionallearning – Follow this hashtag for SEL ideas and more.

Twitter:

  • Pathway 2 Success – Twitter is a great professional network to share ideas.
  • Brain Mendler – Amazing educator and presenter who brings on thoughtful conversations.
  • #socialemotionallearning – Follow this hashtag for SEL ideas and strategies.
  • #sel – Another hashtag to follow.

Social emotional learning workbook just for Pathway 2 Success members!

If you love this list, make sure to share!

100+ free social emotional learning activities, ideas, and resources to help kids improve confidence, build relationships, develop social skills, and improve responsible decision-making skills. #sel #socialemotionallearning #pathway2success

Filed Under: Social Emotional Learning, Special Education, Study Skills, Teaching

25 Ways to Integrate Social Emotional Learning

March 15, 2018 by pathway2success 10 Comments

25 ways to integrate social emotional learning in the classroom. SEL activities include lessons, books, journaling, mindfulness, and other curriculum to help kids and teens learn the skills they need for success. Ideas can be applied at the preschool, elementary, middle, and high school levels!

Kids and young adults need social-emotional skills to be successful at school, home, and for the rest of their lives. These are the skills that help kids build confidence, understand their own strengths and weaknesses, collaborate with others, navigate social situations, develop strong relationships, and make better decisions. Without a doubt, these are critical skills for all learners.

In my years as a teacher, I know there is just not enough time for everything. So often, social and emotional learning gets put on the back burner to other important skills like reading, writing, math, history, and science. While these skills are certainly important, I would argue that it’s even more important that kids develop their emotional intelligence through social emotional learning activities. Simply put, if kids are mentally and emotionally healthy, they are better equipped to face the challenges life brings. We just have to make the time to teach, discuss, and practice these skills! Best of all, there are many ways to integrate social-emotional learning into what you are already teaching.

Below I share 25 strategies for integrating SEL instruction and activities into the day. Of course, if you’re looking for a solution that targets these skills more explicitly, I created a yearlong curriculum for elementary social emotional learning and middle school social emotional learning to help all kids learn these skills.

Just a note that these strategies were originally written for use in the classroom. While many of the techniques can be used during distance learning, I also recently wrote an article all about integrating social emotional learning during distance learning.

Here are 25 ways to integrate social emotional learning into your classroom:

1. Use Journal Writing. You can use daily journal prompts to help kids think about social-emotional skills in all areas. For example, you might ask kids, “When was a time you used self-control? What was outcome?” to focus on self-management skills. After writing, it’s helpful to have students share their responses with a partner and with the class as a whole. Kids will be practicing writing, partner work, group discussion, and SEL skills all at the same time. I love this yearlong Social Emotional Learning Journal for just a few minutes of writing and discussion every day.

2. Use Read Alouds. This is one of my favorite strategies for integrating SEL into everyday learning because it is something educators do so often already. While reading, spend time talking about how some of the characters might think and feel. Use this time to highlight that this is perspective-taking, a skill we use to understand others’ emotions and thoughts. Best of all, it can be done with any text you are already reading. Grab this free read aloud list for social emotional learning to get you started with some ideas.

3. Do Daily Greetings. Kids and young adults need connection! One positive and simple strategy is to start your morning with daily greetings. You can do this as kids walk through the door or during the first few minutes of class. If you are teaching online, greetings can even be virtual. Use this printable greetings poster to get started.

3. Hold Class Meetings. You can choose to hold a class meeting once a day as a “morning meeting” or just once a week. The purpose of a class meeting can be to boost each other up, to help solve problems, and plan class events together. Having this space for community can help promote a positive climate for all kids. Use this morning meeting set to get started.

4. Incorporate Art Activities. Art can be a powerful way to target social and emotional skills. Creating a self-collage can help kids develop better self-awareness about who they are. Painting and drawing can serve as positive coping strategies to manage stress. Having partners work together on a shared drawing can increase collaboration and relationship skills. There are lots of opportunities for learning with art!

Art can be the perfect tool to target social emotional skills with kids and young adults! Read up on this and more ways to integrate social emotional learning in the classroom. SEL activities and ideas can be applied at the preschool, elementary, middle, and high school levels.

6. Talk About Managing Emotions. No matter what age, all kids and young adults need practice managing their emotions. This is another skill that can be weaved into literature as you talk about character’s feelings and needs. You might say, “How did Theresa feel when her mom left? How did she manage her emotions? Do you think it was a healthy way to manage them?” Additionally, be open with kids about how to manage their own emotions and give strategies for what kids can do in your classroom. For example, “If you are feeling nervous about the test today, remember to use positive self-talk. Tell yourself that you’ve got this!”

Spend time talking about emotions with kids and young adults. Read up on this and more ways to integrate social emotional learning in the classroom. SEL activities and ideas can be applied at the preschool, elementary, middle, and high school levels.

7. Give Responsibilities. Giving kids responsibilities and jobs helps build their sense of self-worth and gives the message that we are all part of a larger community. It’s important that every student has some type of responsibility, whether it is a class librarian, lunch counter, or part of a “clean up crew”.

8. Practice Problem-Solving Skills. If students have an issue or challenge to overcome, avoid solving it for them right away. Encourage kids to think about how they could solve their problem and have a 10 minute policy – students can get your help but they need to think about the problem for at least 10 minutes first. Often, kids will figure out a solution on their own or with a friend during that time. You can use these free social problem solving task cards or grab the full set to get started! Again, this is another skill that can be strengthened through literature by discussing characters, problems, and making predictions about solutions.

Use real scenarios to teach social problem solving skills. Read up on this and more ways to integrate social emotional learning in the classroom. SEL activities and ideas can be applied at the preschool, elementary, middle, and high school levels.

9. Build Community with Teamwork. For class projects and assignments, have students work in larger teams to complete a task. Teach students to assign different jobs when working in a team, so that all students have important responsibilities.

10. Encourage Positive Self-Talk. Self-talk is voice in our minds that reassures and encourages us. It also helps us control our emotions so we can deal with problems appropriately. Today, kids hear a lot of negative, so teaching positive self-talk explicitly is really important. Model this and encourage this every day. Use this free positive thoughts and affirmations list to get started.

11. Celebrate Diversity. Spend time discussing and learning about people from diverse cultures, backgrounds, and ability levels. Kids need to hear, see, discuss, and understand that we are part of a larger community within our countries and world. Early discussions about diversity can help promote tolerance, acceptance, and inclusion for everyone.

12. Incorporate Hands-on Crafts. If your students need a craft break or activity before a holiday, use that time to promote social and emotional skills. The craft below is a Positive Self-Talk Flower Craft. Kids can add their own positive self-talk statements, color the craft, cut it out, and then keep it to help remind them how to use this helpful strategy. This is just one small example that can help to maximize your learning time by incorporating SEL into activities like crafts.

Incorporate hands on crafts as a way to teach critical skills like positive self-talk. Read up on this and more ways to integrate social emotional learning in the classroom. SEL activities and ideas can be applied at the preschool, elementary, middle, and high school levels!

13. Encourage Reflection. After students complete a task, assessment, project, or assignment, encourage them to reflect about their own progress. This is a critical SEL skill that can be used across all curriculum, such as math, reading, writing, science, history, and more.

14. Practice Mindfulness. Using mindfulness in the classroom can help teach kids how to calm down before a big test, manage their emotions when they are upset, and just feel happier in the moment. Sometimes, kids don’t really know how to calm down on their own. Teaching mindfulness can help kids learn breathing strategies, how to focus on just one thing at a time, and relaxing our bodies. You can use these Mindfulness Activities to teach kids these strategies right away.

15. Create a Calm Down Area. Not all kids will use this area, but there are some students who truly need it. Set up a small area in your classroom with a bean bag, a few books, a calm down jar, a few fidgets, and anything else you have that is calming. Students who need this space can sit, use coping strategies, and return back to class when they are calm again.

16. Promote a Growth Mindset. Embracing a growth mindset helps kids and young adults learn that we can accomplish our goals with hard work, good strategies, and persistence over time. Sometimes kids feel they are just as smart as they’ll ever be (i.e. “I’m just never good at math, so there’s no use in trying). This mindset can be detrimental to student growth, so it is worth investing time into teaching kids to embrace a growth mindset and instead say, “Math is tough but I’m going to study, work hard, and ask for help so I can accomplish what I want to.” Use these free Growth Mindset Task Cards to get yourself started!

Promoting a growth mindset is important when teaching social and emotional skills. Read up on this and more ways to integrate social emotional learning in the classroom. SEL activities and ideas can be applied at the preschool, elementary, middle, and high school levels!

17. Encourage Kindness. One of my favorite ways to promote kindness is encouraging random acts of kindness. Set up a bin where students can write and add a note when they notice someone else doing something kind or helpful. Once a month, draw from the bin to award a small reward. You can also post the random acts up on a bulletin board so that everyone can see.

18. Play Games. It’s helpful to have an assortment of games that focus on social-emotional skills, such as communication, empathy, and problem-solving. Read up more on how you can integrate social emotional learning through games. You can also read my blog post about games you can use to strengthen executive functioning skills, such as self-control, planning, attention, and more.

Teach critical social skills using board games! Read up on this and more ways to integrate social emotional learning in the classroom. SEL activities and ideas can be applied at the preschool, elementary, middle, and high school levels!

19. Provide a Daily Check-in. You can do this either through a morning meeting, or just a quick check-in for specific students in need. Have students identify how they are feeling and consider what they might need to improve their emotions in the moment.

20. Discuss Empathy. To me, empathy is one of the most critical skills for kids to develop. It is the foundation for considering about how others think and feel so that we can respond in socially appropriate and compassionate ways. You can practice empathy on its own or through literature by discussing characters and how they might feel in a variety of situations. I also love these social skills task cards to practice the skills when time allows.

21. Create SMART Goals. SMART goals are another way to help kids have control over what they want to accomplish in life. You can have students write SMART goals for an academic area that they need to improve or a social area that needs work. Make sure to check-in on these goals periodically so that students can identify if their strategies are working or not, and make decisions about how to change their approaches to make their goals a success.

22. Teach Coping Skills to Manage Stress. All kids and young adults experience stress even when we don’t see it. It is so important to teach them actual strategies they can use when they are feeling overwhelmed. It’s critical that kids practice these strategies when they are actually calm and don’t need them. That’s so they can effectively use those skills in the moment when they are struggling with emotions. I love this Coping Strategies Wheel to teach and practice some of these skills in a hands-on way.

Educators can use crafts to help kids learn SEL skils. Read up on this and more ways to integrate social emotional learning in the classroom. SEL activities and ideas can be applied at the preschool, elementary, middle, and high school levels!

23. Highlight Skills Throughout the Day. Just teaching or addressing some of these social-emotional skills isn’t enough. When you see them in action in the classroom, highlight and encourage the skill! For example, you might say privately to a student, “I noticed you were frustrated when you couldn’t work with the group you wanted and you did a great job using your self-control and flexibility to go with the flow and choose another group. Thank you.” You can highlight the skills to the whole class, too. You might say, “Before this test, I want everyone to just stop and use some positive self-talk. Give yourself a compliment.”

24. Teach Active Listening Skills. All kids need to learn strong active listening skills for success at school, with friends, and at their future jobs. Kids will use them in your classroom when you are teaching, when they are working with a partner on an assignment, and when they are just chatting with a friend.

Teaching kids and young adults active listening skills is an important social emotional learning skill. Read up on this and more ways to integrate social emotional learning in the classroom. SEL activities and ideas can be applied at the preschool, elementary, middle, and high school levels!

25. Teach Group Ground Rules. Group work is an important part of learning in the classroom, but it is not a strength for all learners. Have your kids develop “Group Ground Rules” for what is important when working in a group. Some examples might be: Do your fair share of the work, stay with the group, and give everyone a chance to speak up. Continually remind students of these rules when working in groups or partners.

26. Practice Respectfully Disagreeing. People are going to disagree sometimes, so learning how to disagree respectfully is a critical skill (especially in our digital world). Have students discuss and debate topics, making sure that they actively listen to the other person and respect that opinion even when they don’t agree. You can use these Free Communication Skills Lessons to practice!

Help kids learn to respectfully disagree! This and more ways to integrate social emotional learning in the classroom. SEL activities and ideas can be applied at the preschool, elementary, middle, and high school levels!

Remember that a social-emotional learning isn’t just one thing. It’s an approach that brings all of these aspects into your classroom and supporting your learners every day. I also have developed a yearlong curriculum for elementary social emotional learning and middle school social emotional learning to help all kids learn these skills. Kids deserve to have them!

25 ways to ingrate social emotional learning

These are just some ways you can incorporate social-emotional learning into your already-busy classroom. If you have more ideas about SEL, please share!

25 ways to integrate social emotional learning in the classroom. SEL activities include lessons, books, journaling, mindfulness, and other curriculum to help kids and teens learn the skills they need for success. Ideas can be applied at the preschool, elementary, middle, and high school levels!

Filed Under: Social Emotional Learning, Special Education, Teaching, Tips for Teachers

Teaching Social Problem-Solving with a Free Activity

February 3, 2018 by pathway2success 5 Comments

How to Teach Social Problem Solving with a Free Activity Solving

Kids and young adults need to be able to problem-solve on their own. Every day, kids are faced with a huge number of social situations and challenges. Whether they are just having a conversation with a peer, working with a group on a project, or dealing with an ethical dilemma, kids must use their social skills and knowledge to help them navigate tough situations. Ideally, we want kids to make positive choices entirely on their own. Of course, we know that kids don’t start off that way. They need to learn how to collaborate, communicate, cooperate, negotiate, and self-advocate.

Social problem solving skills are critical skills to learn for kids with autism, ADHD, and other social challenges. Of course, all kids and young adults benefit from these skills. They fit perfectly into a morning meeting discussion or advisory periods for older kids. Not only are these skills that kids will use in your classroom, but throughout their entire lives. They are well worth the time to teach!

Here are 5 steps to help kids learn social problem solving skills:

1. Teach kids to communicate their feelings. Being able to openly and respectfully share emotions is a foundational element to social problem solving. Teaching I statements can be a simple and effective way to kids to share their feelings. With an I statement, kids will state, “I feel ______ when _____.” The whole idea is that this type of statement allows someone to share how their feeling without targeting or blaming anyone else. Helping kids to communicate their emotions can solve many social problems from the start and encourages positive self-expression.

2. Discuss and model empathy. In order for kids to really grasp problem-solving, they need to learn how to think about the feelings of others. Literature is a great way teach and practice empathy! Talk about the feelings of characters within texts you are reading, really highlighting how they might feel in situations and why. Ask questions like, “How might they feel? Why do you think they felt that way? Would you feel the same in that situation? Why or why not?” to help teach emerging empathy skills. You can also make up your own situations and have kids share responses, too.

Developing Empathy

3. Model problem-solving skills. When a problem arises, discuss it and share some solutions how you might go forward to fix it. For example, you might say, “I was really expecting to give the class this math assignment today but I just found out we have an assembly. This wasn’t in my plans. I could try to give part of it now or I could hold off and give the assignment tomorrow instead. It’s not perfect, but I think I’ll wait that way we can go at the pace we need to.” This type of think-aloud models the type of thinking that kids should be using when a problem comes up.

4. Use social scenarios to practice. Give a scenario and have kids consider how that person might feel in that situation. Discuss options for what that person might do to solve the problem, possible consequences for their choices, and what the best decision might be. Kids can consider themselves social detectives by using the clues and what they know about social rules to help them figure out the solution. These are especially fun in small groups to have kids discuss collaboratively. Use these free social problem solving cards to start your kids off practicing!

Social Problem Solving Task Cards

5. Allow kids to figure it out. Don’t come to the rescue when a child or young adult has a problem. As long as it’s not a serious issue, give them time to think about it and use their problem-solving skills on their own. Of course, it’s much easier to have an adult solve all the problems but that doesn’t teach the necessary skills. When a child comes to you asking for your help with a social problem, encourage them to think about it for five minutes before coming back to you. By that point, they might have already figured out possible solutions and ideas and might not even need you anymore.

If you are interested in helping your kids learn social problem solving skills right away, consider trying out these Social Problem Solving Task Cards. They highlight real social scenarios and situations that kids can discuss. The scenarios include a variety of locations, such as in classrooms, with family, with friends, at recess, and at lunch. This set is targeted for elementary-age learners.

Social Scenario Problem Solving Task Cards

Of course, older kids need social problem solving skills, too! If you work with older kids, you will love these Social Problem Solving Task Cards for Middle and High School Kids. These situations target age-appropriate issues that come up in classes, with friends, with family, in the hallway, in the cafeteria, and with online and texting.

Social Problem Solving Task Cards for Middle and High School

Remember that teaching social problem skills does take a little bit of planning and effort, but it will be well worth the time! Kids will use these skills to help them make social decisions in their everyday lives now and in the future!

 

Social Problem Solving with a Free Activity

 

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Art Activities for Social Emotional Learning

November 14, 2017 by pathway2success 1 Comment

Art Activities for Social Emotional Learning

Art is such a powerful tool to help shape the minds of kids and young adults. Simply put, there are many benefits to using art as a way to teach new skills. Art is often non-threatening to kids and young adults. It is seen as a fun and hands-on activity, rather than hard work. Because it is not perceived as a challenge, art activities can often draw in kids and young adults who may be resistant to other types of teaching strategies. Art also helps build confidence, encourages empathy and acceptance of differences, allows for free expression, encourages creativity, and builds problem-solving skills.

The good news is that you can and should incorporate critical learning into art activities! You do not need to be an art teacher or even consider yourself an artist at all to incorporate some of these ideas into your work with kids and young adults. If you want to just get started right away, consider checking out these Art Activities for Social Emotional Learning with ready-to-teach lessons and activities to help build self-awareness, increase confidence, strengthen relationships, manage emotions, build collaboration, and improve problem-solving skills.

Here are some ways to teach social emotional skills using art:

Have students make a collage about themselves. Use old magazines and newspapers to have students find and cut out elements of who they are. Kids can use a variety of words, pictures, or their own drawing to highlight who they are. This can be a great activity for students to get to know each other while building confidence in themselves.

Art Therapy Activities Collage

Make a selfie portrait. Have students print their favorite selfie of themselves. Around the selfie, have students make up hashtags of their best qualities to illustrate who they are. Some hashtags might include #hardworking, #intelligent, or #kind. This is a fun activity to help students build more confidence in themselves and develop self-love.

Art Therapy Activities Collage

Explore emotions with different colors. Discuss different emotions including sadness, anger, worry, and happiness. Have students find and paint with colors that go along with each emotion. For an extension, kids can even color with different shades of each emotion. For example, feeling irritated might be a light orange shade while feeling enraged might be a dark red. Using colors to explore emotions in this way makes it concrete for kids and young adults to discuss and identify feelings.

Art therapy activities - Explore emotions using different colors. Use shades and tones to help express the intensity of those feelings.

Make a gratitude box. A gratitude practice helps us consider and appreciate the things we have. It’s important to be grateful for the big things in life, like family and friends. Of course, we also need to remember to be thankful for small and simple things too! For example, kids might be grateful for their favorite song or the feeling of warm clothes straight out of the dryer. Paint a gratitude box with students. Have them write on slips of paper some things they are grateful for and add them in.

Give new opportunities with different materials. Art is an ideal way to teach kids to step outside their comfort zones. Many students might be comfortable with markers and colored pencils already. Instead, have students make images with finger paints or chalk pastels. You really can have them make anything you (or they) want. Afterwards, have students discuss what it was like to try something new. Relate this back to their own lives.

Art therapy strategies and ideas - How to encourage kids to step outside their comfort zone!

Teach art as a coping strategy. Many kids and young adults need positive outlets to manage their emotions. Art can be the ideal tool to help students calm themselves when they are stressed. Mindful coloring can be a simple and easy way to teach this. You can find kids or adults coloring books at any store for fairly cheap. Let students choose a page on their own and spend time coloring quietly while letting their minds rest. Discuss how students feel before, during, and after coloring to help them recognize that they feel calmer after taking time to themselves.

SEL Art Lessons & Activities

If you love these ideas and want to get started right away, consider these Art Activities for Social Emotional Learning. They include ready-to-teach lessons and activities to help build self-awareness, increase confidence, strengthen relationships, manage emotions, build collaboration, and improve problem-solving skills.

Art Activities for Social Emotional Learning
Art Activities for Social Emotional Learning

Filed Under: Social Emotional Learning

Games to Improve Executive Functioning Skills

October 1, 2017 by pathway2success 13 Comments

Games to improve executive functioning skills: How simple games and activities can help teach executive functioning strategies to kids and young adults. Perfect activities for elementary, middle, or high school students.

Kids and young adults need extensive practice in strengthening their executive functioning skills. Executive functions are the processes in our brains that help us accomplish all tasks from beginning to end. We use them when we plan our day, organize our materials, begin a chore, focus on important information, use our time wisely, and work through challenges until we accomplish a goal. The specific skills include: planning, organization, time management, task initiation, working memory, self-control, metacognition, attention, flexibility, and perseverance. While all kids could use extra practice with executive functioning skills, the ones who need it the most are often disorganized, struggle to finish assignments, lose items, have difficulty paying attention over periods of time, and give up on tasks that are difficult. These are the kids who could benefit the most from executive functioning skills instruction and practice.

If you’re looking for an executive functioning review game you can download and use right away, check out this Executive Functioning Challenge! It can be played as a board game with partners and small groups, or as a whole-class challenge. The game includes over 200 executive functioning cards so you can play again and again!

Games to improve executive functioning skills: How simple games and activities can help teach executive functioning strategies to kids and young adults. Perfect activities for elementary, middle, or high school students.

Simply put, executive functions are often critical to the success of kids and young adults. So, it makes sense to make practicing them fun and engaging! Games are a great way to weave executive functioning practice into your routine. You can choose to play a game on a Friday afternoon, after a big test, or as a class reward.

Here are ten games for practicing executive functioning skills:

#1 – BLURT

Skills: self-control, metacognition

How to Play: In this game, the teacher reads a definition of a word and kids have to figure out the word itself. For example, a question might be, “What is a partially dried grape?” When the student answers “raisin”, they win that turn. I like to play “around the world” style. All students will sit at desks or chairs around the room. Select two kids to play against each other and have them stand next to one another. Read the card and whoever “blurts” the answer first, wins and gets to move on to the next person. The idea is that only the kids playing can blurt out, and everyone else must have self-control, even if they know the answer. This game can also be played with your own content area questions too, which is great for a review before a test!

#2 – SCRABBLE

Skills: planning, organization

How to Play: In scrabble, kids use random letters to build words and keep score as they go. You can have students play in small groups and even partner kids together who may need extra support with spelling or language. Planning and organization is required because kids need to build off of each others’ words as the game progresses. As an extension, have kids look up definitions to the words they create or use the word in a sentence before points are scored.

#3 – PICTIONARY

Skills: flexibility, time management

How to Play: This game has students drawing phrases on paper or a whiteboard that others must guess correctly. Kids need to use time management to best draw their phrase before the time is up. This is such a fun game! I even love taking pictures of some of the drawings that are both hilarious and amazing.

Games to improve executive functioning skills: How simple games and activities can help teach executive functioning strategies to kids and young adults. Perfect activities for elementary, middle, or high school students.

#4 – DISTRACTION

Skills: working memory, attention

How to Play: In this card game, kids work on remembering numbers given to them while encountering distractions, including questions they have to answer. It is a great activity to teach about distractions that can throw us off!

#5 – 5 SECOND RULE

Skills: time management, task initiation

How to Play: Kids must name 3 things that fit a given topic. For example, kids might need to name 3 professional basketball teams or 3 pieces of jewelry. The categories differ greatly so kids have to be on their toes. As an accommodation, I sometimes play as a “10 second rule” to give kids enough time to process the question.

#6 – FREEZE

Skills: self-control, attention

How to Play: Freeze is a game where you play music and allow kids to be silly and dance. Then, at any moment, say “Freeze!” and kids need to stand completely still. It takes a lot of self-control to stop dancing to a song you’re into! This can be fun to let kids take the role to freeze the class, too.

#7 – JENGA

Skills: self-control, flexibility, planning

How to Play: In this game, kids pull blocks from a tower carefully. They must plan and be careful so they are not the one who causes the tower to fall over. This is a fun game because everyone likes to see towers get knocked down sometimes!

Games to improve executive functioning skills: How simple games and activities can help teach executive functioning strategies to kids and young adults. Perfect activities for elementary, middle, or high school students.

#8 – BRAINTEASERS

Skills: perseverance, flexibility

How to Play: Brainteasers are drawings and words that have a special meaning that kids must figure out. For example, when “man” is written on top of “board”, it means “man overboard”. These type of brainteasers are a great feat in perseverance and flexibility to figure out. They are great for a morning meeting or “do now” when kids walk in the door to start their brains off strong.

#9 – CHESS

Skills: planning, flexibility, working memory

How to Play: Chess requires kids to learn specific rules for different pieces and then use those skills to take out their opponent. This game requires a tremendous amount of planning, flexibility, and working memory to think through your moves ahead of time. It is also a great option when you need a quiet game.

#10 – SODUKU

Skills: perseverance, working memory

How to Play: Sodoku is a math puzzle game that allows kids to use critical thinking skills. Each grid has the numbers 1-9. Each row and column must add up to 9 separately, so the numbers need to be arranged correctly. Incorporate this activity for kids to work on in small groups or just for a fun challenge.

Games to improve executive functioning skills: How simple games and activities can help teach executive functioning strategies to kids and young adults. Perfect activities for elementary, middle, or high school students.

I have always loved using games to teach and support critical skills in the classroom, so I put together some games for social emotional learning skills! This set consists of five games focusing on executive functioning skills, social problem solving skills, empathy, social language, and more. You can really maximize learning time in your classroom by making “break time” skill-focused, too!

Games and activities to improve executive functioning skills: How simple games and materials can help teach executive functioning strategies to kids and young adults. Perfect activities for elementary, middle, or high school students.If you find yourself needing lessons and materials for direct instruction of executive functioning skills, consider this Executive Functioning Bundle. It teaches all ten executive functioning skills, study strategies, and SMART goals with enough materials for the entire year. You really cannot teach or practice EF skills enough!

Games to improve executive functioning skills: How simple games and activities can help teach executive functioning strategies to kids and young adults. Perfect activities for elementary, middle, or high school students.

Filed Under: Executive Functioning Skills, Social Emotional Learning, Special Education, Study Skills, Teaching

Using Task Cards to Teach Social Problem Solving

February 9, 2017 by pathway2success 3 Comments

Using Task Cards to Teach Social Problem Solving

Social problem solving is the process of figuring out how to deal with social situations and challenges. It involves understanding the situation, identifying a problem, considering solutions, and choosing the best way to handle that specific situation. While many kids and young adults figure out how to maneuver through these social challenges on their own, others often needs lots of help. These are the kids who get into arguments with others, can’t deal with disappointments, become upset easily, or have difficulty making (or keeping) friends. The good news is that social problem solving skills can be learned and developed over time.

The best way to learn social problem solving skills is to practice over and over through multiple situations. This allows kids and young adults to go through the process and develop their social thinking skills. Task cards are a great way to practice a variety of scenarios for social problem solving.

Here are some strategies for using task cards for teaching social problem solving:

1. Put together a variety of social situations on task cards. You can make your own with index cards or use a pre-made set, like the Social Scenario Problem Solving Task Cards. Remember to include lots of different situations, such as times with friends, at recess, in the classroom, with family, at lunch, and any other scenarios that may be important for that child. They key is having many different social scenarios that involve dilemmas or challenges, so that kids can think through each problem in a new way.

Social Scenario Problem Solving Task Cards

2. Put the cards on a ring. You can choose to just keep one set for yourself or give sets to partners and groups. Flip through them in a small group, during morning meetings, or during partners and group practice.

Social Problem Solving Task Cards

3. Give time for group discussions. Kids learn best from other kids! Allow time for lots of talk on each task card. Discuss things like “What would you do?”, “Why would you do that?”, and “What are some other options you could consider?”. Kids and young adults will disagree sometimes, and that’s okay. Allow for kids to explain their thoughts and really think through their social reasoning. This gives opportunity for social and emotional growth while learning from others.

Social Problem Solving Task Cards

4. Set up cards at centers. Have a center for each different type of scenario. Have kids work through each center in small groups. Then, after a certain amount of time (10 minutes or so), have each group move to the next center. It’s a fun way to practice social problem solving while allowing some movement, too.

Social Scenario Problem Solving Task Cards

5. Remember to include older kids, too! Middle and high school kids can also greatly benefit from learning social problem solving skills. Make sure to tailor the situations to your age group. For older kids, it’s helpful to focus on friends, relationships, online and texting, in classes, and during less structured time like lunch and in the hallways. Older kids will have just as much fun practicing social situation task cards as long as they are age-appropriate.

Social Scenario Problem Solving Task Cards

Get Started!

If you want to get started practicing social problem solving skills with elementary-age kids right away, try using Social Scenario Problem Solving Task Cards for Elementary. The cards are organized into five different sets that target different situations: With friends, with family, in the classroom, at recess, and at lunch.

 

If you need to practice this skill with older kids, try using Social Scenario Problem Solving Task Cards for Middle and High School. The social situation cards are organized into five different sets specific for older kids. Those situations include: With friends, with family, in classes, in the hallway and cafeteria, and online and texting.

Filed Under: Autism, Social Emotional Learning, Special Education

Using Social Scripts for Autism

August 14, 2016 by pathway2success 4 Comments

Using Social Scripts for Autism

Social scripts, also known as stories, are one of the most effective and simple ways to provide support to kids with autism. A social script is a short narrative written in first person that discusses one problem situation. So, they come in especially handy for really any situation that comes up. Sometimes a teacher might use a social script to prepare a child for a scenario or situation, such as: riding the bus, beginning morning work, washing hands after using the bathroom, or working with partners. They can also be implemented when a specific problem situation arises, such as a student who acts out when confused on work or a student who struggles to initiate playing with peers during recess.

Social scripts are an exceptional intervention for kids with autism because they provide structure and routine to situations that may seem scary and overwhelming for the child. They really play on the strengths for kids on the spectrum, while supporting their weaknesses. It should be noted, though, that these scripts can be used with any kids in need. I have used them with kids struggling with Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD), ADHD, and Intellectual Disabilities (ID).

You can either write your own social script for your student or find pre-made social script. One benefit to making your own social scripts is that you can individualize the script for your student. This can be quite time consuming for busy teachers, though, so pre-made scripts are also a plus.

Once you have at least one social script ready to use, here is how you can easily implement them in your class:

1. Make a special binder just for that child. Put the stories in sheet protectors and then place them in the binder.

2. Show the student his or her binder. Find a special place for it in the room. Then, allow the student to decorate the cover. The idea is that this binder is specially for the student. It’s important that he or she develops a connection with the binder (because it will be an important intervention in times of distress).

3. First introduce one social script at a time. Introduce that script by reading it with your student at a time when the child is calm. In other words, don’t introduce a “Feeling Angry” social script when your student is upset. Similarly, it won’t help to introduce a “Staying in My Seat” script when the student is getting out of his or her seat during a lesson. It should be first introduced long before at a time when the child isn’t in crisis or struggling. The intervention needs to be started before the child actually “needs” it, or it won’t have the same effect.

4. The following day, re-introduce the same social script and have the student read it aloud. Ask questions and discuss the social script. Use this as both an intervention and teaching time. Continue with this for a few days until the student becomes more comfortable with the script. Let the student know that you will ask him or her to read the script sometimes. Explain that it will help when he or she is having a difficult time.

5. Finally, when the student is in need (i.e. feeling angry, going on a field trip, etc.), direct him or her to their binder and have the student read the story again. You can follow up with questions such as, “What should you do?” or “What does the story tell you?”

6. Go ahead and implement other scripts this same way. Simple!

More Tips for Using Social Scripts

Give lots of praise and positive reinforcement after the student reads the story or script. Be specific, such as, “Great job reading your story when you were feeling angry! I bet that helped you figure out how to feel better.” This will build on the understanding that the social scripts are a positive way for the student to help him or herself. Some prompting, encouragement, and rewards may be necessary in the beginning. If the student refuses to read the story, you may need to incorporate incentives. Set up a plan that include, “When you read your story when told, you will get to ______” (their preferred activity, such as coloring or music).

The goal is that the child will read the story completely on his or her own when needed. Ultimately, you will be able to phase out any prompts and the student will use this intervention as a tool on their own.

If you want to try out this intervention right away, I have worked on creating specific scripts for kids with autism. The first Social Scripts for Autism – Emotions is focused solely on emotions, including feeling angry, confused, bored, nervous, and more. Other sets include social scripts for Friendships, School, and Life Skills.

 

If you love them all, consider buying the bundle. Keep in mind that while these scripts are an ideal intervention for kids with autism, any child with needs can benefit from them.

Give social scripts and try and see what they can do for the students in your classroom!

Filed Under: Autism, Behavior Management, Special Education

Executive Functioning Skills Explained

August 1, 2016 by pathway2success 2 Comments

Executive Functioning Strategies for the Classroom Blog Post

Executive functioning skills are getting a lot of attention right now in education. Honestly, it’s not even the amount of attention that they deserve, though. Executive functions are essentially the building blocks for completing all tasks in life (in school and beyond).

If you think of executive functioning, you might just think of a student who has organizational issues: his binder is a mess, he can’t find papers he needs, and forgets homework at home. It’s true that organization is one executive functioning skill, but there are actually many more. Neuropsychologists and educational researchers continue to try and identify the specific executive functioning skills in separate categories so that they can be better understood. In turn, this allows us to teach these skills to young adults while setting up strategies for success in our classrooms. The main executive functioning skills include: planning, organization, time management, task initiation, working memory, metacognition, self-control, sustained attention, flexibility, and perseverance.

What’s even more interesting is how all the skills actually work together to complete tasks. You almost never use an executive functioning skill in isolation. Instead, the skills are woven together to allow tasks to be completed in a complete and coherent way. For example, when you go grocery shopping, you have to plan out which stores you’ll go to and organize with coupons or a sales flyer. Then, you will finally set out for the store (task initiation). You have to think about what items you already have and what you will need (metacognition). You have to use time management to get there at a time that works for you and gives you enough time to shop. While shopping, you will probably use your working memory to figure out prices and best deals, while also using self-control to avoid indulging in foods on the no-list. You may even have to adapt your list when the store doesn’t have a certain item you expected (flexibility). You will most likely keep focused while shopping, so you can get home on time (attention). Finally, even if you are tired of shopping and the lines are horrendously long, you will stick to the task to finish and get the groceries home (perseverance). That is just one small task of how executive functioning skills are used in an everyday life experience.

Now, imagine what it is like for kids and young adults juggling all of these mental skills while: learning new math skills, writing a research paper, getting to classes on time, completing homework assignments, working in small groups, completing science labs, participating in gym class sports, and so much more.

Here is a short summary of each of the executive functioning skills:

  • Planning is the ability to put together a strategy for attaining a goal. It includes analyzing what you need and what steps you should take to complete task.
  • Organization is the ability to develop and maintain a system to keep materials and plans orderly. That includes a system for homework, keeping track of assignments/papers, and being organized at home, too.
  • Time Management means having an accurate understanding of how long it will take to complete tasks and being able to use time effectively to actually finish those tasks on schedule.
  • Task Initiation is the ability to independently start tasks when needed. It means being able to start something even when you really don’t want to.
  • Working Memory is the mental process that allows us to hold information in our minds while we are working with it. Examples include computing math problems mentally and remembering information for short periods of time during research or note-taking.
  • Metacognition means knowing what you know and what you don’t know. It’s a critical skill for assessing your progress on tasks and changing your methods as you go. Metacognition is also the skill that allows you to stop yourself when you are stuck before going ahead too far.
  • Self-control is the ability regulate yourself, including your thoughts, actions, and emotions. This means being able to manage your anger and wait your turn to share. Not only is this skill critical for academic success, but social success, too.
  • Sustained Attention is being able to focus on a person or task for a period of time. It includes being able to avoid distractions and shifting your focus when needed.
  • Flexibility means being able to adapt to new situations and dealing with change. Changes that cause difficulty might include a schedule change or when a plan doesn’t come together for a project.
  • Perseverance is sticking to a task and not giving up, even when it becomes challenging. Further, it’s being able to use strategies to get through a task, regardless of the roadblocks that pop up along the way.

Any educator can help to teach and support these critical skills, whether a special education teacher, classroom teacher, school counselor, psychologist, or paraprofessional. Parents can benefit from learning about these skills too, especially when it comes to helping manage homework and projects at home. If you’re getting started and are looking for some basic materials, consider my Executive Functioning Lessons and Activities. The ultimate goal is to teach and foster stronger executive functioning skills, so that kids and young adults can do more independently.

If you are looking for the next step up, consider the Executive Functioning Advanced Workbook. It has over 100 student workbook pages that teach and provide practice around the same skills. Best of all, there is no prep for the teacher.

If you’re interested, here are some other executive functioning topics I’ve written about:

  • Executive functioning strategies for the classroom
  • Using games to strengthen executive functioning skills
  • Practicing executive functioning skills with play activities

If you want a reminder about these skills, be sure to grab this FREE Executive Functioning Poster!

Executive functioning skills explained for educators, parents, and more. Skills like attention, organization, planning, time management, self-control, and more are critical to the success for kids and young adults!

 

Executive Functioning Skills

Filed Under: Executive Functioning Skills, Special Education, Study Skills

Strategies to Focus on SEL Through Distance Learning

April 7, 2020 by pathway2success 4 Comments

9+ strategies and ideas to focus on social emotional learning during distance learning. This post includes free ideas, printables, and even digital resources to help teachers and support staff get started. #pathway2success

In the midst of a challenging situation, it’s critical to make time and space for social emotional supports for learners. Simply put, social emotional skills are the foundation for overall well-being. Kids and teens need to feel safe, respected, loved, and valued. They need to have strong coping skills to work their emotional challenges and they need to improve cognitive flexibility to deal with the changes that are happening, so many outside of their control.

For these reasons, it’s important that social emotional skills take the front seat when it comes to distance learning. While these skills are important all of the time, it’s easy to argue that learners need them now more than ever.

Whether you are a classroom teacher, school counselor, social worker, paraeducator, or parent, this list includes specific strategies and ideas to help support all learners during this distance learning experience.

SEL Distance Learning Strategy: Read Stories

It’s easy to say that literature is a great way to integrate SEL into the day. Pretty much any book or short story targets a variety of social emotional skills like kindness, empathy, perspective-taking, and more. It’s important to note that picture books aren’t just for little kids. Many older kids love a good read aloud, too!

Record a video of you reading a text (making sure the author gives permission for this first) and send to your students. You could even do a live read aloud with some videochat tools, like Zoom or Screencastify.

Use this free digital and printable list with ideas for SEL read alouds.

If technology isn’t an option, you can always recommend students and families read books as use. Use this free printable that highlights picture books for every area of social emotional learning.

SEL Distance Learning Strategy: Virtual Morning Meeting

Morning meeting is the semi-structured time of day when students and educators greet each other, check-in, and learn some important skills before starting the day. While it’s certainly preferable to lead a morning meeting in a face-to-face way, it’s also important to note that virtual morning meetings can work, too!

One of my favorite ways is to use a video conversation app, like Flipgrid, to start the conversation on a daily SEL topic. Topics you could choose might be positive self-talk, staying organized, or showing kindness. The specific topic is really up to you. After choosing the topic, record a video of you briefly explaining the skill.

Then, ask a question you want kids to respond to. If you are focusing on kindness, you might ask them to share a kind act they’ve done in the past week. If you are highlighting strengths and abilities, you might ask kids to talk about something they are great at doing. The best part is that with a video conversation app like Flipgrid, kids get to connect with you and each other.

Another option is to schedule a weekly or daily time with your learners to meet online using the software or programs your school is encouraging. That might be Zoom or any other program, depending on your school or student needs.

If you need some extra ideas for morning meeting topics to discuss, I’ve created this set of morning meeting cards for older learners and this set of morning meeting cards for elementary students. They specifically target one SEL skill every day, making it easy to go over all the skills kids need in every domain of social emotional learning.

SEL Distance Learning Strategy: Virtual Emotions Check-Ins

This is a stressful time for everyone, kids and teens included. Spend 1:1 time with individual students and check-in with how they are doing. Use this virtual conference time to ask students how they are feeling, what strategies they are using to focus on wellness, and techniques for managing stress.

Virtual check-ins can be simple messages through emails or Remind, or they can be in the form of videos using Google Hangout or other video programs.

Use this free digital and printable activity as a mindful morning check-in.

I also created this free digital and printable mindful morning activity to help learners start off the day in the right way.

SEL Distance Learning Strategy: Digital Task Cards

As an educator, I have always loved task cards. They are a simple activity to teach skills in a way that feels so different from a worksheet. Of course, in times of distance learning, it might not be as practical to send sets of task cards to each of your students. That’s where digital task cards come in.

For many of my favorite social emotional task cards I’ve already created, I have added a digital component. This makes it easy for kids and teens to still get the social practice they need, while responding to the cards right on the digital Google Drive page.

While there are many distance learning activities to choose from, these social problem-solving task cards are a free set to get learners started.

Use these free digital task cards to help learners work on social skills.

SEL Distance Learning Strategy: Video Instruction

Using videos can be a valuable tool in teaching a variety of skills. Some educators are using pre-recorded YouTube videos to share with their learners, while others are recording their very own personalized videos to send to their students.

If you aren’t quite sure how to get started, try recording yourself on your phone while teaching a mini-lesson to your students. For example, you might record a lesson teaching about using coping strategies, using positive self-talk, or practicing mindfulness (all skills that are extremely important right now).

Make a quick video just to practice and get started. Then, send it to your learners. Not only will you be sending valuable skills, but your students will love seeing you teach again.

SEL Distance Learning Strategy: Digital Lessons and Workbooks

One of the best ways to provide lessons through digital learning is Google Classroom. Using Google Drive digital-friendly resources, students can respond right on the workbooks and activities. Not only does this make things much easier for the student and families at home, but your students can then send their completed assignments straight back to you for review.

Browse a complete collection of digital resources for kids and teens.

I have added digital versions to a number of social emotional resources already. The reason why I’m adding digital version to pre-existing materials is simple. If you have already purchased a social emotional activity from me, you get the update for free. You deserve to have both options so that you can use digital materials now, but always have the choice to using print/paper copies in the future. Browse through the complete collection of digital resources to get started. Many resources are paid, but some are free, too!

SEL Distance Learning Strategy: Using Apps and Websites

There are a number of websites and apps that students can use to practice social emotional skills. Some are free all of the time, while others have offered free membership for a period of time. Some possible apps and sites to try out include:

  • Breathe, Think, Do
  • Emotional ABCs
  • Smiling Mind
  • GoNoodle
  • Calm

SEL Distance Learning Strategy: Daily Journal

More than ever, now is a great time to get kids journaling on a daily basis. Not only is writing in a journal a calming and mindful activity, but it’s also a great way to help kids share thoughts and feelings. Even more, you can use journaling as a specific way to target social emotional skills.

Each day, assign a journal topic for kids to write about. For example, you might have them list out some positive thoughts and then writing in a journal about how positive thoughts can be helpful.

Another simple strategy is to encourage kids to journal about their thoughts and feelings each day. Not only will this help them in the moment, but we are living through historic times, so it will be meaningful to them later on.

If you are looking for a simple solution, there are many pre-made digital journals to choose from. You might have students fill out a daily mindfulness journal, for example.

Use a daily journal to target social emotional skills.

My favorite journal, though, is a daily SEL Journal, with every week targeting a different social emotional skill. I created this SEL Journal for elementary students and this SEL Journal for older learners.

SEL Distance Learning Strategy: Family Check-Ins

With all that is going on, it’s also important to check in with families. If we want kids and teens to do well, we need to also support the families they live with. Provide a weekly check-in with families just to briefly ask how things are going and if they need any support.

With a weekly check-in, educators can also suggest a couple of simple activities for families to help build SEL skills at home, such as reading literature, playing board games, having conversations, or even watching a movie together and talking about how characters feel. It’s important to note that there are numerous strategies to work on SEL at home, but we have to give families the tools to get there.

SEL Distance Learning Strategy: Assign Mindful Activities

Whether learners have technology or not, educators can always encourage mindful activities at home. Assign 10 minutes of mindful time each day. You can ask students to complete a specific activity or have them choose from some ideas below:

  • Drawing or coloring
  • Free journal writing
  • Spending time outside
  • Reading
  • Go on a mindful scavenger hunt
  • Practicing deep breathing
  • Listening to music

Use digital mindful breathing cards to help focus on self-regulation skills.

One of my favorite mindful activities is mindful breathing because it’s a strategy kids can use anytime. I recently added a digital version to these mindful breathing cards, making it easy for kids and teens to carry them along with them wherever they go.

If you’re still looking for ideas, know that I have several free digital resources you can download and send home to students and families right away.

Side note: I’ve recently gotten some questions about how to properly send materials to students/families, so I’ll share here, too. All of my resources, free and paid, can be sent to families and students through e-mail or any other password-protected means, like Google Classroom or an app. Just please don’t post openly on a website, since these can be found from a Google search.

As always, if you have any questions or feedback, please reach out. Thank you for all you do.

9+ strategies and ideas to focus on social emotional learning during distance learning. This post includes free ideas, printables, and even digital resources to help teachers and support staff get started. #pathway2success

Filed Under: Social Emotional Learning, Special Education, Teaching, Tips for Teachers

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⭐ Kristina Scully
💖 SEL & Executive Functioning
💻 Blogger at www.thepathway2success.com
👩‍🏫 Curriculum Specialist
🏫 10 Year Special Ed Teacher

Pathway 2 Success
Every teacher is a teacher of social emotional lea Every teacher is a teacher of social emotional learning. That's because we use these skills in everything we do! What are some of your favorite ways to work on SEL skills?
I never knew the name for this cool relaxation too I never knew the name for this cool relaxation tool, but it's as liquid timer. It's so soothing, even for me as an adult! What are some of your favorite calm down tools?
❤ This post is filled with over 10 freebies to m ❤ This post is filled with over 10 freebies to make your distance learning teaching life a little bit easier, because I have all the respect in the world for every single teacher out there doing their best.⁣
💗 YOU ARE AMAZING. Thank you for all you do.⁣
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https://www.thepathway2success.com/30-ways-to-integrate-sel-during-distance-learning/
I love adding new resources in my free resource li I love adding new resources in my free resource library! It's a small way to say thank you to those of you who follow me on my website. I truly appreciate you! If you are interested in joining, I'll add the link, but feel free to ask questions here too!⁣
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This list does not cover every reason why kids and This list does not cover every reason why kids and teens show challenging behaviors, but it's a reminder that there are often many reasons. Would you add anything?
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