Elementary special educators are constantly exploring ways to enhance their students’ self-regulation and executive functioning skills. A key component of these skills is the ability to check in with oneself. This blog post provides a detailed lesson plan, including a “Free Elementary Executive Functioning Worksheet,” to help educators teach students the invaluable skill of self-monitoring and checking-in.

Lesson Plan Overview

Duration: 20-30 minutes

Materials: “How to Check-In With Yourself” worksheet (printable PDF)

Objective: To enable students to identify their emotions and thoughts, and respond appropriately to various situations.

Preparation Steps

1. Download and print the “How to Check-In With Yourself” worksheet for each student.
2. Familiarize yourself with the check-in steps and scenarios presented in the worksheet.

Lesson Execution

1. Introduction to Self-Check-In (5 minutes): Begin by explaining what it means to check in with oneself. Discuss how recognizing our feelings and thoughts can help us respond better in different situations.
2. Worksheet Activity (10-15 minutes): Distribute the worksheets. Guide students through matching different scenarios with appropriate check-in steps.
3. Group Discussion (5-10 minutes): Facilitate a discussion on the importance of self-monitoring and checking in with oneself and how it can be applied in their daily lives.

Conclusion

This lesson plan offers a simple yet effective way to teach self-monitoring to elementary students. The “How to Check-In With Yourself” worksheet is an engaging tool that helps students learn to recognize and manage their emotions and thoughts, fostering better self-regulation and executive functioning.

Sample Video

Students learn best from watching real students their own age model skills. Try out this sample video-modeling lesson below. We offer our entire Social-Emotional Learning platform free for 30 days here!

Related Blog Posts:

Teaching Direct and Indirect Language Skills to Elementary Students

Teaching Elementary Students to Understand and Manage Their Feelings

Free Elementary Perspective Taking Material