This year I had a student who was showing a lot of anger due to a parent divorce. Because the behavior had a negative effect on many students (and parents), I kept trying to find different ways in which I can support this student in the classroom.
My school went through a couple of Love and Logic trainings (which was really wonderful and I highly recommend it). One suggestion that was made was to create a place in the classroom where students can go cool off. I took this suggestion and created my take a break table and it was a hit! I told my students that if they ever get angry, sad, etc. they can always ask me to go "take a break." I was secretly hoping that this was exactly what my angry student needed, and he was the first one to try it out (yes!)! I was very happy that I added this to my classroom! This was also a perfect area for other students that were sent to my room for behavior issues from other teachers.
I purchased Teaching in Progress's TPT product
As a part of that packet there were signs where the students can see different emotions and see which one they are feeling, as well as steps on what they can do to calm down. Also in this packet was calming cards and one of the suggestions on the cards was to hug a stuffed animal, so I put a few on the table. There was also a sheet for the students to draw how they were feeling, so I printed and lamented a few sheets for the students to draw on.
This was a very successful area in my classroom that I would like to continue to have and I hope that this is something that could also be useful for you!
No comments