Fun Freebie :: Self-Esteem Rubrics

Recently, I designed a bunch of social skills rubrics covering a variety of skills:  school success, problem-solving, friendship, feelings, communication, and self-esteem goals.

Well, if you'd like to try some of them out for free, you can download the self-esteem pack! These rubrics were designed to help counselors, teachers, social workers, or SLPs keep track of a student’s progress on self-esteem goals. The set includes 5 rubrics in both a teacher and student version (for a total of 10 rubrics) in PDF format.

This pack contains the following skills:
- Positive Self-Talk
- Goal Setting
- Understanding Strengths
- Dealing with Peer Pressure
- Dealing with Mistakes

If you'd like to save a little money, you can download the Complete Social Skills Rubric Pack for a discount! It includes 42 rubrics in both a teacher and student version (for a total of 84 rubrics + 2 blank ones to customize).

Enjoy :)

New Product :: Social Skills Rubrics

These rubrics were designed to help counselors, teachers, social workers, or SLPs keep track of a student’s progress on school success, problem-solving, friendship, feelings, communication, and self-esteem goals. Each individual set includes 7 rubrics in both a teacher and student version (for a total of 14 rubrics + 2 blank ones to customize).

Rubrics are presented in PDF and editable Microsoft Powerpoint Format, so the wording can be customized to fit your students’ ability levels and needs. Also, you can use Powerpoint’s printing settings to print multiple rubrics per page. Great for when you have multiple students working on the same goal!

If you'd like to save a little money, you can download the Complete Social Skills Rubric Pack for a discount! It includes 42 rubrics in both a teacher and student version (for a total of 84 rubrics + 2 blank ones to customize). The following skills are included:

Enjoy :)



School Success Skills
- Following Directions
- Work Completion
- Remaining On-Task
- Asking Questions
- Being Prepared
- Attendance
- Following School Rules

Problem-Solving Skills
- Debugging
- Tattling and Reporting
- Compromise
- Point of View
- Fact and Opinion
- Dealing with Disagreements
- Dealing with Gossip



Friendship Skills
- Choosing Friends
- Feeling Left Out
- Being a Good Sport
- Apologizing
- Taking Turns
- Giving a Compliment
- Accepting a Compliment



Feelings Skills
- Feelings Identification
- Reading Body Language
- Responding to Negative Emotions
- Feelings Demonstration
- Expressing Feelings
- Dealing with Anger or Frustration
- Dealing with Anxiety



Communication Skills
- Introducing
- Having a Conversation
- Talking on Topic
- Interrupting
- Conversation Body Language
- Personal Space
- Mental Filtering



Self-Esteem Skills - some skills offered as a freebie
- Positive Self-Talk
- Goal Setting
- Understanding Strengths
- Dealing with Peer Pressure
- Dealing with Mistakes
- Self-Reflection (Complete Pack only - not in freebie)
- Working in a Group (Complete Pack only - not in freebie)

Enjoy!!

New Product :: Positive Thinking Cards

I admit I've been a little slow rolling out new products recently. My husband and I are expecting our first child in a couple weeks, so time has been diverted to assembling furniture, washing miniature socks, finding miniature socks ones they get lost in the washer, etc!

However, I've been thinking about this product for awhile and have had a few people requesting it, so I really wanted to make sure to get it out before the baby gets here. So, here it is!

This deck was designed to help students learn how to change negative thoughts into positive ones. It’s helpful for students who struggle with depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, or other mental health issues. Many times, the root of these issues is in a student's difficulty looking at a situation objectively or in a positive light - everything is bad or reflects poorly on them in some way. Most times, students don't even know they're doing it, so if we can focus their attention on their own thoughts, we can help them move past the negative feelings they experience.

The download includes 2 separate decks – a version for older students and a version for younger students – as well as an ink-friendly version of each deck! Blank cards are also included so you can customize your own. I've made something similar that I use with my students and what I like to do is to laminate the blank cards and have students come up with their own negative and positive thoughts. They're really good at it!



Enjoy!

New Product :: Social Emotional "I Can Cards"

Even though social workers and counselors aren't required by most schools to use common core in their individual and group counseling sessions, there has been a huge push in the educational community for states to adopt Social Emotional Learning standards instead.

According to the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), SEL has been shown to promote students' academic success, health, and well-being, while also preventing problems such as alcohol and drug use, violence, truancy, and bullying. It also reduces emotional distress and conduct problems.

So far, Illinois is the only state to officially comprehensive, free-standing standards , but many other states such as Washington, Idaho, Nebraska, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, New York, and Vermont are in the process of creating their own or using variations on the Illinois standards, while all others have some goals or benchmarks integrated into state academic standards. For more information, check out the CASEL website!



This download includes 339 4 x 6 cards from the warm set, cool set, and printer-friendly set depicting “I can” statements for the following Illinois social-emotional learning standards. However, they are presented in Microsoft Word format so the text can be easily changed to fit other states' standards or to adjust the wording for your students.



They are designed to be used to help students know exactly what types of skills and knowledge they are expected to learn, or can be used as a reference for you as you develop social-emotional IEP goals or intervention plans.

There is 1 card listing each goal (3 total per set):



1 card listing each standard (9 total per set):



and several (101 per set) for each performance indicator under each standard (early elementary, late elementary, middle/jr. high, early high school, and late high school). Skills are presented in age-appropriate language depending on the performance indicator level.


Enjoy!

New Product :: Fall Social-Emotional Activity Pack

I'm really excited to announce the arrival of my new Fall Social-Emotional Activity Pack! I already have  Holiday and Spring Social-Emotional Packs in my store, so I knew I wanted to add a Fall pack too. This one was specifically designed with kindergarten through second grade students in mind, but may be appropriate for older students too who are working at a lower level.

It contains several social skills, anger management, and social emotional activities that are sure to get your students excited about the cooler weather! It contains the following:

- 24 Fall-Themed Conversation Cards*
- 24 Friendship Scenario Cards*
- Angry Monster Coping Skills Activity

- “Banish the Boos” Positive Thinking Activity (and answer key)

- “Debug” Problem-Solving Activity

- Halloween Behavior Punch Cards (2, 4, 6, 9, or 16 per page)

- Listening Poster (4 different genders/races used)

- Pumpkin Emotion Cards for matching, role-playing, or other games

- Pumpkin Friendship Glyph*
- Thankfulness Turkey Activity

- Thanksgiving Behavior Punch Cards (2, 4, 6, 9, or 16 per page)
- Trick or Treat Behavior Sort Activity

Enjoy!

Tips & Tricks :: Depression

This summer, I've been writing a blog series focusing on several different disorders that affect children at school: ADHD, Autism, Bipolar Disorder, Depression, Anxiety Disorder, and ODD. Each entry describes the disorder, gives practical strategies for improving success at school, and also provides a few social-emotional goals and accommodations that might be appropriate for students with special education services!

Next up is Depression. Unfortunately or fortunately, Major Depression is one of the most common mental disorders and continues to become more and more common in school settings. However, even though it is becoming more and more common, many school staff still have a difficult time knowing what to do in order to help students with Depression. Major depression severely affects a person's relationships, work or school life, sleeping and eating habits, as well as general health. It is characterized by episodes of all-encompassing low mood as well as low self-esteem and reduced interest in normally enjoyable activities. If left untreated, severe Depression can also lead to suicidal thoughts or actions.

Symptoms:

The following symptoms are generally experienced for several weeks or months. If they are experienced following a major life change, death, or serious illness, doctors may diagnose Adjustment Disorder instead.

• Very low mood thoughout all areas of live (children may experience moodiness or irritability instead)


• Decreased interest in previously enjoyed activities


• Thoughts and feelings of worthlessness, inappropriate guilt or regret


• Feelings of hopelessness, or that life keeps getting worse and worse


• In severe cases, symptoms of psychosis such as delusions or hallucinations


• Poor concentration and memory


• Withdrawal from social situations and activities


• Thoughts of death or suicide


• Physical complains such as stomachache or headache (very common in children)


• Changes in eating or sleeping habits

Suggestions:

• Contact the child's doctor if medication is to be given at school to make sure you have up-to-date dosage and administration instructions. However, don't tell a parent "your child needs to be on medication." You can encourage them to talk about concerns they may have with their child's doctor, but put your school in a vulnerable position if you start doling out medical advice!


• Encourage the student to get involved in extra curricular or sports activities in order to boost their confidence and self-esteem


• Acknowledge a child's view of things as being true for them. Don't tell them they'll "get over it" or minimize their feelings and experiences as being "no big deal." It's a big deal to them!


• Teach students what different emotions "feel like" to their body to help them identify when they may be feeling depressed


• Help students to understand that emotions range from mild to intense and improve students' vocabulary of various emotion words to express their feelings to others


• If parents approve, teach older students facts about what Depression is as well as statistics about the disorder to help normalize their experiences and help them feel less "weird" or "different."


• Provide group or individual counseling-type services to help students combat several types of irrational thinking seen during times of depression. If you need materials, check out this Positive Thinking Pack.


• Take any threats or discussion of suicide seriously. If in doubt, contact your local suicide help line and be sure to contact the students' parents.


• Attempt to meet students' physical needs at school as much as possible (providing school supplies if their family cannot afford them, giving a quiet place to recollect themselves if they are having a rough day, etc.)


• Teach appropriate coping strategies by role playing appropriate ways to handle stress or anxiety

Sample Goals

• Given a real life or story scenario, Joey will increase his ability to recognize and label emotions in himself from correctly identifying happy, sad, mad, scared to correctly labeling embarrassed, overwhelmed, anxious, and frustrated.


• Given relaxation training, Max will improve his emotional regulation skills from yelling and becoming physically aggressive when upset to taking deep breaths, relaxing tense muscles, and moving to a quiet place when upset with no more than 1 adult prompt.


• Given instruction regarding Depression, Sarah will increase her knowledge of Depression from not knowing any information about it to listing facts regarding prevalence, symptoms, and treatment independently.

Sample Accommodations:

• Provide a private, quiet place for calming down when irritated or upset


• Allow students to use cue cards or other visual tools to express their feelings if they struggle with verbal expression


• Give breaks or extended time if you can tell the student is having a particularly difficult day

If you're looking for activities for your students, check out my Anger and Coping Skills Card Deck, Positive Thinking Pack,  and Social Skills Cards: Feelings Pack Freebie! You can also check out my Pinterest Boards for Feelings, Self Esteem, and Mental Health for even more ideas!

Thanks to Wikipedia for contributing to this article!

Tips & Tricks :: Bipolar Disorder

This summer, I've writing a blog series focusing on several different disorders that affect children at school: ADHD, Autism, Bipolar Disorder, Depression, Anxiety Disorder, and ODD. Each entry will describe the disorder, give practical strategies for improving success at school, and also a few social-emotional goals and accommodations that might be appropriate for students with special education services!

Next up is Bipolar Disorder. Although mostly diagnosed in teens or adults, many more children are now receiving diagnoses of Bipolar Disorder, so it is becoming more and more common in school settings. In bipolar disorder, people experience abnormally elevated (manic or hypomanic) mood states which interfere with the functions of ordinary life. Many people with bipolar disorder also experience periods of depressed mood, but not always. Diagnosing bipolar disorder is often difficult, even for mental health professionals. In particular, it can be difficult to distinguish depression caused by bipolar disorder from pure unipolar depression or other disorders. I've even had kids that actually really had Autism be given an ADHD/Bipolar Disorder combo before being correctly identified!

Symptoms:

Mania Episodes - 

• Elevated or irritable mood or euphoria


• Increased energy or decreased need for sleep


• Distractibility


• Fast speech


• Thoughts appear to be "racing"


• Impaired judgement sometimes leading to risky or impulsive behavior


• Breaks with reality (sometimes)

Hypomania Episodes - 

• Mild to moderate states of mania


• Increased energy and activity levels


• Often feels good to the person experiencing it


• Less interference with functioning, compared to manic episodes


• Symptoms generally last a few weeks to a few months (but can be shorter or longer)

Depressive Episodes -

• Persistant feelings of sadness, anxiety, guilt, isolation, or hopelessness


• Changes in sleeping patterns


• Changes in appetite


• Loss of interest in previously-enjoyed activities


• Difficulty concentrating


• Suicidal thoughts or actions


• Symptoms usually last several weeks to months if left untreated

Suggestions:

• Contact the child's doctor if medication is to be given at school to make sure you have up-to-date dosage and administration instructions. However, don't tell a parent "your child needs to be on medication." You can encourage them to talk about concerns they may have with their child's doctor, but put your school in a vulnerable position if you start doling out medical advice!


• Encourage the student to get involved in extra curricular or sports activities in order to boost their confidence and self-esteem


• Keep routines and schedules structured and predictable so the student will know what to expect


• Teach students what different emotions "feel like" to their body to help them identify when they may be entering periods of (hypo)mania or depression


• Improve students' vocabulary of various emotion words to express their feelings to others


• Provide visual reminders of behavioral expectations such as pictures of rules posted on their desk, behavioral charts, etc., or have students act out rules.


• Teach relaxation strategies or other calming techniques for students to use during times of (hypo)mania or when upset or angry.


• Provide a "cool down" or break area with stress balls or other activities, as well as visual reminders of learned relaxation and calming skills.


• If parents approve, teach older students facts about what Bipolar Disorder is as well as statistics about the disorder to help normalize their experiences and help them feel less "weird" or "different."


• Provide group or individual counseling-type services to help students combat several types of irrational thinking seen during times of depression. If you need materials, check out this Positive Thinking Pack.

Sample Goals

• Given small group practice, Mallory will improve her classroom performance from requiring frequent redirection to independently remaining in her seat and following directions with no adult prompting.


• 
  
   Given behavior training, James will improve his behavior in the hallway from running and bumping into others to keeping his hands to himself, maintaining appropriate personal space, and following verbal directions with minimal adult prompting.


• 
  
   Given relaxation training, Max will improve his emotional regulation skills from yelling and becoming physically aggressive when upset to taking deep breaths, relaxing tense muscles, and moving to a quiet place when upset with no more than 1 adult prompt.


• Given instruction regarding Bipolar Disorder, Sarah will increase her knowledge of Bipolar Disorder from not knowing any information about it to listing facts regarding prevalence, symptoms, and treatment independently.

Sample Accommodations:

• Provide a private, quiet place for calming down when irritated or over-excited


• Allow students to use cue cards or other visual tools to express their feelings if they struggle with verbal expression


• Give breaks or extended time if you can tell the student is struggling to focus

If you're looking for activities for your students, check out my Dealing with Anger Activity Pack, Anger and Coping Skills Bingo, and Social Skills Cards: Feelings Pack Freebie! You can also check out my Pinterest Boards for Feelings, Anger Management, and Mental Health for even more ideas!

Thanks to Wikipedia for contributing to this article!

Fun Freebie :: You're a Smart Kid: Multiple Intelligence Posters for Kids

I don't know about you, but I find myself talking to kids all the time who feel like failures because they don't think they're as "smart" as their classmates or siblings. In these times, I often talk about how some kids are really good at some things and other kids are really good at others, but I always wish I had some sort of visual or other "proof" that I'm not just making something up to help them feel better!

Then I recently came across this awesome freebie on Pinterest. It was created by Susan Morrow and is available in her TpT store. It includes 9 posters based on Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligences. Here's what Susan says about them:

"Every child is smart in a number of ways, but they often only think of kids who excel in academics as smart. Refer to the posters often in the classroom when doing different types of activities. It’s fun when you are studying biographies of famous people to talk about the different types of intelligence they demonstrate.
I hope you enjoy these posters as much as I enjoyed making them. Keep 'em Thinking!"

Thanks for an awesome product, Susan. I've already printed them all out and can't wait to laminate and hang them in my room!

Fun Freebie :: Encouraging Class Poster Set

Lately, I've seen a lot of really colorful posters on Pinterest! Unfortunately, a lot of them are more "teacher-focused," and not so counselor-y social worker-y psychologist-y special ed-y, so I made my own. Click the images above and pick them up for free!

Enjoy!

Pinterest Find :: Free Movie Clips

Ever been in that moment when you've got a super visually-oriented or antsy group? (I know....NEVER, right?) I don't know about you, but I just don't have the time or memory to scale youtube or my own personal movie stash looking for a clip to demonstrate what I'm teaching.

Which is why I was very excited when I came across this movie clips website recently on Pinterest! You can sort by traditional movie topics such as editor, genre, actor, or my personal favorite....THEME!

From there, they have topics such as:

- Character- Aggression
- Grief
- Betrayal
- Compromise
- Distrust
- Equality
- Listening

and TONS more.

Now, I do have a disclaimer: not all clips are appropriate for all ages (obviously - this is Hollywood, people!), so make sure to preview anything you play for your students and/or obtain appropriate parent permission if necessary.

I've already used tons of clips and my students have loved them!

Hopefully this will help put a little spark in your lessons :)

Pinterest Find :: Free Guided Journal Pages

Oh man...it's not often I come across something I am THIS excited about! Christie Zimmer from Grace is Overrated made these amazing guided journal pages complete with hand-drawn borders and doodles, thought-provoking prompts, and inspirational quotes. She also has a ton of cute note cards, pocket-sized journal pages, and an Etsy Shop as well!

Pages are available in black and white, color, and with and without borders! And the best part?  You can download them for free here!



I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

Happy Tuesday :)

Fun Freebie :: "Be Yourself" Classroom Collage

Awhile back, I saw a really cool blog post. She had created an awesome self-esteem decoration that I immediately wanted to borrow and use for the walls outside my hallway. So, I typed a whole bunch of different adjectives to describe students, cut them out, backed them with card stock, and laminated them with the awesome new laminator my husband got me for Christmas :)

I'm really happy with how it turned out. I've already received tons of compliments on it!



So, I just went and posted all the words I used to make my collage. Just click any of the images in this post to pick them up!



 

Enjoy!

New Product :: Problem Solving Lesson Pack

I don't know about you, but many of my students have NO idea how to be assertive. They either receive discipline referrals for screaming, swearing, punching, or throwing things, or are constantly victims of bullying and have a hard time standing up for themselves.

Students that receive frequent discipline referrals or are involved in constant conflict with their peers often use aggressive communication styles – they are confrontational, accusatory, and hostile. However, while teaching problem-solving skills to these students, we have to be careful not focus solely on passive strategies like ignoring or walking away, but also include assertiveness skills like “talking friendly” or “talking firmly.” Teaching these skills are also crucial for students that are frequent victims of bullying, who tend to be more passive communicators.

Because I was frustrated at the cost or unapproachability of activities out there to teach assertiveness skills, I made my own :) This pack contains several posters to help students learn the 4 main communication styles: passive, passive-aggressive, aggressive, and assertive. It also has activities to help them evaluate their own communication style and learn healthier, more assertive ways of interacting with others and solving problems. It contains:

- Teaching Communication Styles 2-page teacher guide
- Description Posters (Assertive Passive, Passive-Aggressive and Aggressive)




- Visual Poster (images of each type)


- “What Does It Look Like?” 4-box graphic organizer


- Voice Tone Chart
- Name the Style Question Cards (36 cards and decorative card backs)


- Act out the Style Scenario Cards (24 cards and decorative card backs)


- My Communication Style Reflection Sheet