Zones of regulation is a concept used in schools nationwide, that we use at LPES, to help students identify feelings and foster self-regulation and emotional control. Providing students with this tool to identify emotions, allows them to get to know themselves better and understand the what, when, why, and how of their feelings; WHAT their feelings are, WHEN and WHY they feel that way, and HOW to handle those emotions. With using this feelings identification method, our goal is for students to be able to name their emotions and gain self-regulation skills needed to tame their emotions and help get them back to green. Feel free to continue using this language to help address your students' feelings and help them to identify some healthy ways they cope with uncomfortable emotions.
GREEN ZONE: calm, happy, positive, proud, thankful, content, ready to learn
YELLOW ZONE: excited, silly, distracted, antsy, unfocused, worried, embarrassed, confused, nervous, unsafe
RED ZONE: mad, upset, angry, aggressive, terrified, out of control
BLUE ZONE: bored, sad, tired, sick, hungry, depress, shy, disappointed
Some Coping Tools Used for
Self-Regulation
-Draw/ Color
- Belly Breathing
- Read a book
- Stretch or Do Yoga
- Listen to music
- Journal or write a letter
- Build something or do a puzzle
- Look around the room and look for an item that starts with the each letter of the alphabet
- Ask permission to exercise quietly for 1-2 minutes
- Ask for help from an adult
