Why should I do it?
- Students can get overwhelmed easily
- Many students want to be successful but haven’t yet developed all the skills, which can lead to anxiety/frustration
- Everyone needs a break every once in a while
- Provides students a way to manage their own feelings and emotions
- Increases instructional time when students can calm themselves and utilize coping skills, like relaxation
- Improves student focus and attention
- Helps refocus and refresh students
- Has positive physiological benefits, like improved blood flow, oxygen levels, and endorphin levels, as well as decreased Cortisol or “stress hormone” levels
When should I do it?
- When you see a student becoming frustrated (banging things, groaning, crying, refusing to do work, etc)
- When a student is involved in a mild confrontation with another student
- When student has a lot of work to do
- When a student appears, tense, uptight, anxious
- When a student is having a “bad day”
- When a student appears uncomfortable
- When a student has become unfocused and off task
How do I do it:
- Take time to speak with the individual student alone or teach the entire class the relaxation techniques they will use in class
- Assure student that everyone gets stressed/frustrated/worried/ overwhelmed
- Teach the student to know when they are stressed, frustrated, worried, overwhelmed, etc (some common answers are: clench fists, breathe heavily, cry, sweat)
- Teach student when they feel stressed, frustrated, upset, etc, to ask to go relax
- Practice the first time with the student or class
- Establish where, when, and how students will initiate and carry out a break to relax (establish where in or out of the room students will do it, if there will be one or more choices of relaxation techniques to choose from, how they ask to take a relaxation break, how long they are, how may and which students may do them, etc)
- Practical relaxation techniques for students:
- Deep Breathing
- Count to 10
- Write in a journal
- Draw
- Color
- Scribble
- Read
- Visualization
- Listen to music or nature sounds
- Take a break
Resources:
- 10 Ways to Improve Your Interpersonal Skills
- 50 Tips On How To Make Friends
- 6 Friendship Rules To Live By
- A Social Skills Lesson: What Is A Friend
- Assign a buddy or partner
- Caring Lesson Older Students
- Caring Lesson Younger Students
- Draw a picture or write in a journal
- Empathy 101: 1o Commandments Of Human Relationships
- Encourage interaction with a more self confident student
- Engage student
- Fact Sheet About Dating Violenc.pdf
- Fairness Lesson Younger Students Activity
- Fairness/Justice Lesson Older Students Activity
- Friendship Lesson
- Getting Along With Parents Lesson
- Honesty Lesson
- How To Build Friendships With Good Listening Skills
- How To Make Friends And Get S Social Life
- How To Make Friends At School: Helping Your Pre-teen Overcome Shyness
- How to Socialize, Be Funny and Make Friends
- Integrity Lesson
- Interpersonal Skills
- Kid’s Health: Friendship
- Kid’s Health: Making Friends
- Kid’s Health: Peer Group Pressure
- Kid’s Health: Peer Groups
- Kid’s Health: Prejudice
- Kid’s Health: Problems With The Teacher
- Kid’s Health: Teasing Others And How To Stop
- Kid’s Health: What Is Diversity?
- Model appropriate language
- Natural consequences
- Preventing Conflicts & Violence Lesson
- Reassurance
- Reflection sheet
- Respect Lesson Older Students Activity
- Respect Lesson Younger Students Activity
- Respecting Others Lesson
- Social Skills Lesson Plan: Initiating Interaction With Peers
- Speak with student in hallway
- Speaking Of Sex Lesson
- Talk one on one with student
- Teach conflict resolution skills
- Teach coping skills
- Teach social skills
- Teaching empathy: Evidence-based tips for fostering empathy in children
- Trustworthiness Lesson Older Students Activity
- Trustworthiness Lesson Younger Students Activity
- Using Empathy Effectively
- Social Skills Stories, Games, Materials, & Resources
- Play dates & Groups
- Social Skills For Middle School Students
- Great Social Skills Training & Tips Geared Toward Adults But Easily Adapted And Applied Toward Children & Adolescents:
- Activities People Do When They Hang Around Each Other
- Anxious Traits That Can Hinder Your Social Success
- At Times It’s Socially Practical To Know Things Other People Care About
- Being Honest With Yourself About Your Social Problems
- Being Too Negative Can Hinder Your Social Success
- Benefits Of Improving Your Social Skills, Even If You Don’t Care About Them
- Coping With Nervousness
- Dealing With Regrets Caused By Your Poor People Skills
- Examples: Starting Conversations, Inviting People Out, and More
- Getting Along With New Groups
- How Being Less Naturally Social Can Affect Your Interpersonal Success
- How To Be More Friendly And Social
- How To Be More Fun
- How To Meet People
- How To Talk To Shyer and/or Less Social People
- How Your Interests Can Affect Your Social Success
- Insecure Traits And Behaviors That Hinder Your Social Success
- Is Bitterness Holding You Back Socially?
- Is It Okay To Hang Out With Another Guy One On One?
- Is Thinking You’re Better Than Other People Holding You Back Socially?
- Learning To Make More Eye Contact With People
- Little Social Annoyances That Will Never Go Away
- Loosen Up To Be More Socially Successful
- Making Plans With People
- Mistakes Lonely People Often Make
- My Experience With Becoming More Self-Confident
- Other People Often Aren’t As Shallow As They Seem
- Reasons People Can Mistakenly Think They Don’t Like Something
- Reflections on Being Defensive and Secretive
- Reflections On Getting Over Low Self-Esteem
- Some Interpersonal Pitfalls More Intellectual Types Can Fall Into
- Some Thoughts On The Point Of Small Talk
- Some Tips On How To Be Less Quiet In Conversations
- Some Ways People Are Mentally Lazy About Judging Others
- The Importance of Getting Your Appearance In Order
- The Importance Of Simplicity And The Basics In Social Interactions…
- Thoughts On ‘Connecting’ With People
- Thoughts On How To Be Funny
- Thoughts On How to Be More Interesting
- Thoughts On How To Make A Conversation
- Thoughts on Seeming Less Weird
- Traits That Help You Hang Out With Other People
- Ways People Can Unintentionally Leave Friends Out Of Social Events
- When People Say “How’s It Going?”, “What’s Up?” or “What’s New?”
- When You Feel Like Your Friends Suck
- When You Want To Do Better With People… But Not Really
- When Your Friends Tease You A Lot