Teaching Emotional Control Using the Zones of Regulation

Goal:• To help students successfully self-

regulate emotions in various situations

• To help students visually and verbally self identify how they are functioning

What is self regulation?• 1. Regulating sensory needs

• 2. Emotions

• 3. Impulses

• 4. Reaching one’s goals

• 5. Behaving in a socially appropriate way

Sensory processing- How you take in and make sense of the information taken in by your sensory receptors ( hearing, seeing, smelling, touching, tasting)

Executive functioning- Cognitive process which involves the conscious control of thoughts and actions ( planning, organizing, inhibition etc)

Emotional regulation- Controlling your emotional reaction in order to reach your goal. This includes monitoring, evaluating, and modifying the intensity and timing of your emotional response

****All 3 of these components depend on one another and MUST EXIST in order to successfully self-regulate!!!! When one area is diminished it will affect a person’s functioning in a negative way!

“Children Do Well If They Can”

( The Explosive Child, Ross Greene, 2005 )

Common misperception:

Children do not behave because they are not motivated.

Reality:

Children often do not behave because they do not know HOW to.

Solution:

Teach kids strategies and tools to decrease their maladaptive behaviors and increase their positive interactions.

Help is on the way………………

Introducing the “Zones of Regulation”

A curriculum designed to foster self-regulation using a cognitive behavioral approach

Students learn to consciously regulate their actions which leads to increased control and problem solving abilities

What are the Zones?4 different colored feelings zones which help students identify their mood or emotions. The zones can be compared to traffic colors:

Blue Zone - Moving slowly, tired, sad, sick or bored ( rest area)

Green Zone - Ready to learn, focused, happy , calm, feeling okay ( green light means go!)

Yellow Zone - Nervous, frustrated, losing control, worried, excited, silly/wiggly ( caution, slow down!)

Red Zone - Mad/Angry, Terrified, yelling, hitting, elated, out of control ( Stop!!!!)

How to Use the Zones

Learn what each color stands for

Learn tools or strategies to use for various zones

Put posters up in classrooms and in common areas of school with written tools for each zone as a visual

When a student has an issue or is upset:

Identify which zone the student is in

Suggest a tool or ask student what they need to return to “Green Zone”

Use strategy/tool until student calms down

Tools/Strategies for ZonesTools can be:

Sensory supports ( exercise, food, fidget toy, ball seat, ear phones etc.)

Cognitive strategies ( size of the problem, inner coach vs. inner critic, Superflex vs. Rock brain)

Calming techniques ( Lazy 8 or 6 sided breathing, deep breaths,yoga, rest, count to 10, walk away etc.)

Results:Calming or Alerting so the student returns to the Green Zone

Better self awareness and self-confidence

More self control and the ability to pay attention to academics!

Generalizing and Integrating the Zones

•Use the language on a daily basis to get students familiar with it

•Remind students that all the zones are neutral; there are no “bad” zones!

•Gives students opportunities to guess zones of others ( characters in a

book, classmates, siblings, etc.

•Check in about how we affect each other’s zones

•Talk about triggers, what makes us have certain feelings

•What thoughts are comfortable and what thoughts are uncomfortable?

•How does our behavior affect others?

•Comment on students in the Green Zone!