The resources shared are intended for you to use as you think through your instructional planning and are not intended to be used directly with students. Always check your district policies prior to sharing resources with your students.
While emotional regulation is managing feelings in the moment, two of the executive function skills that are needed to be able to do that include thinking before acting and cognitive flexibility.
To build these skills, consider an If, Then Plan.
Have a discussion on events, times, etc. that may trigger strong emotions ("If" scenarios).
Discuss how to respond appropriately ("Then").
Role-play frustrating scenarios (losing a game, waiting for a turn, not getting what they want) and practice choosing a strategy.
Often, the explicit "If, then" language when used repeatedly can support a structure/routine for students.
Another strategy is to turn "breaks" into games that would have students practice (and effectively build) executive functioning skills. For example,
“Mission Impossible” Fidget Grab: Agent [Student’s Name], your mission is to tiptoe to the fidget station without making a sound! Can you do it in 10 slow breaths?
This redirects frustration into movement and play while building the EF skills of Cognitive Flexibility & Self-Monitoring.
Animal Mode Breaks: "Walk like a slow turtle to the break area” or “Stretch like a cat before getting your fidget." This adds body awareness and grounding through movement while building the EF skills of Impulse Control & Working Memory.
Color-Coded Choice Board: Instead of just taking a break, let them pick a break style from a color-coded chart:
Red = Active Breaks (Jump 5 times, stretch like a star)
Blue = Quiet Breaks (Trace a spiral, deep breaths)
Green = Sensory Fidgets (Squeeze a stress ball, hold a soft object)
This gives them control while ensuring the break is structured, not avoidant and builds the EF Skills of Decision Making & Flexible Thinking.
**If you are a K or 1st-grade teacher and do not yet have a login, please reach out to Holly for support.**
Check out this article on how "Would You Rather" questions can help support higher-order thinking.
Check out this list of books that teach students about RESPECT. There are some fun supplemental learning activities that are paired with some of the books as well.
Clear expectations and routines will help your students later in the year. Check out the resources below to help support your beginning of year expectations and routines.
Let's start off the year strong!
Emotional Awareness
Effective emotional regulation skills help individuals manage any negative emotions that arise, allowing them to stay focused, motivated and engaged. Explore these slides as an activity to support emotional awareness and regulation while practicing categorization.
Student Focus Cards
Here is a tool that you can use to help students self-assess and build self-awareness. We created the student focus cards to include PHOTOS so they are visual cues for our youngest learners. It is a word document so please feel free to make a copy and edit anything you'd like.
Books to Support EF!
Check out the list here.
Student Self-Assessment
Use this tool to help you plan for Student Self-Assessment.
Primary Grade How-To Sheets
How-to sheets provide students with direct instruction regarding targeted skill development. Here are some primary versions ready to go!
Goal-Setting
When goal setting with your students. we encourage you to use this Great Learner Rubric. It allows students to make logical and realistic progressions while self-assessing their abilities.
Great Learner Rubric Primary (grades K-2) Great Learner Rubric Elementary (grades 3-5)
Student Goal Card & Editable Link HERE
If you are looking for additional resources to support your goal-setting process, feel free to use the two resources below.
R1550_executivefunction_cr (2).pdfR1656_goalsetting_powerstandards_cr.pdfYouTube Channel for EVERYTHING!
Social Stories
Feel free to use any of the social stories we created below for students in your class. Social stories explain social situations to children and help them learn ways of behaving in these situations. These stories are sometimes called social scripts, social narratives, or story-based interventions.
Books That Foster Executive Function Looking to swap out some of your whole group read-aloud for stories that teach about executive function. This YouTube channel has a great selection. Could you play some of these as a calming down time after specials/transitions? Could you upload some of these stories into SeeSaw for kiddos to listen to during their center work?
Reflection Check-Ins Here is the mindful chime extension that you can add on to support random check-ins throughout the day.
Personal Space Books Morning meetings, or whole class read-aloud are an incredible time to teach behaviors/expectations. I generated a list of books that focus on personal space and respecting others. I don't know if you have a book budget, or if the grade level could get a set but here are some suggestions. I tried to find free read-aloud versions for them.
Harrison Spader, Personal Space Invader Read-Aloud HERE
SORRY, I Forgot To Ask Read-Aloud HERE
Body Boundaries Make Me Stronger Read-Aloud HERE
My Invisible Bubble (couldn't find read-aloud)
The Circles Around Us Read-Aloud HERE
Meltdowns? Not Able to Regulate? We have a lot of resources that are NOT from our company but can still help support your learners.
Therapist Aid has free interactive resources to help with feeling/emotional regulation. (you have to register, but it is free!) The Worry Bug activity could be great for the little ones on a device. There are a LOT of levels to this activity, they can record how they feel, look through coping strategies and warning signs, identify what worries them, and more! There are a lot of really great options on there. This could be something you tie into your centers, a calm down strategy, or even make it a choice time option.
Inhibitory Control The EF skills under inhibitory control are: Attending to a person or activity, Focusing, Concentrating, Thinking before acting, Initiating a task, Persisting in a task, and Maintaining social appropriateness. Some resources that can help are:
Try these videos that have kids practice attending to a task/person. The "IF YOU ARE A KID..." videos have them pay close attention to the rules/directions. Great for a brain break.
Directed Draw- Looking to add an art center in your choice time or throughout the school day? Try some of these directed draw videos. Kids WILL get frustrated, but this practice is great for them to teach themselves how to regulate and work through tough times.
Ready to have students schedule their own choice time? Check out this schedule template that you can use. We tried to make it so it would fit in their art/pencil boxes.
Anything else you need feel free to reach out! =)
Executive Function Resources
Check out the following website to see our EF resources categorized by subject area!
