Social workers play a vital role in supporting the holistic development and mental health of students. From helping students navigate emotional challenges to fostering self-regulation and conflict resolution, social workers address a wide range of needs that impact students’ academic and personal growth.
This work often spans across Tiers 1–3, providing trauma-informed resources and support to meet students where they are and help them thrive.
We understand how demanding it can be to prepare resources, plan sessions, and track student progress. That’s why Everyday Speech provides a no-prep social skills curriculum designed to simplify this critical work.
With a curriculum tailored to meet the specific challenges social workers face, we help build skills in key areas:
- Emotional recognition
- Self-regulation
- Problem-solving
Everyday Speech’s curriculum also includes features like Session Planning, Student and Group Profiles, and Mark as Seen. These tools help social workers save time on day-to-day tasks by making it easy to prepare materials for sessions, track what each student or group has reviewed, and pick up right where you left off. With just a few clicks, social workers can stay organized and focus on supporting their students’ growth.
“Honestly, with the students I provide virtual and in-person sessions for, I use Everyday Speech almost exclusively when providing services, because it encompasses SO much of the skills I work on with students. This hands-down is the most important resource I use with my students, and I’m truly grateful for you and Everyday Speech!!”
Dr. Chrisonia Busch, Social Worker
Dorchester School District 2, South Carolina
Below, we outline specific goals and example lessons designed to help social workers create meaningful and measurable outcomes for their students
Want to get started with Everyday Speech?
Emotional Recognition
Emotional recognition is the ability to identify and understand one’s own emotions as well as the emotions of others. This foundational skill is essential for navigating social situations, building empathy, and regulating emotional responses. By strengthening emotional recognition, students develop the tools to interpret social cues, manage challenging feelings, and create more positive, meaningful interactions with others.
Example Emotional Recognition Goals in Everyday Speech
Identifying Feelings: Helps learners identify and label their own emotions and recognize the emotions of others. By fine-tuning their ability to interpret facial expressions, students learn to read the “Big Three” clues—eyes, eyebrows, and mouth—to better understand how someone feels.
Changing the Channel on Feelings: Focuses on self-monitoring and regulating overwhelming emotions such as jealousy, frustration, or embarrassment. Learners practice coping strategies like using positive self-talk and “changing the channel” on tough emotions to handle difficult situations effectively.
Keeping an Open Mind: Encourages learners to develop flexibility in their thinking and actions when faced with unexpected changes or challenges. Students practice skills to tolerate disruptions, manage transitions calmly, and adapt to new situations, building resilience and a proactive mindset.
Thinking Positive: Teaches students how to recognize negative feelings and use positive self-talk to shift toward a more optimistic outlook. Learners practice identifying when negative thoughts arise and reframing them with constructive self-talk to break the cycle of negativity and build confidence.
Emotional Recognition Resources for Social Workers
To support emotional recognition skill-building, Everyday Speech offers practical resources designed to make these concepts actionable for students. Below are a few examples of curriculum materials in Everyday Speech that support these goals:
Video Lesson: We All Have Feelings Introduction
- Goal: Identifying Feelings
- Grade: Elementary School
Students will learn that they can use the clues on the outside to tell how someone feels on the inside.
Download the companion worksheet →
Interactive Game: Build-a-Moji
- Goal: Identifying Feelings
- Grade: Pre-K & K, Elementary School
Build-a-Moji targets emotional recognition by asking students to build their own emojis. Play a guessing game or open play. Students can print out their emojis at the end!
Play it online with your students here!
Video Lesson: Feeling Good About Ourselves
- Goal: Thinking Positive
- Grade: Pre-K & K
Students will learn that they can use the clues on the outside to tell how someone feels on the inside.
Download the companion worksheet →
Self-Regulation
Self-regulation is the foundation of emotional and behavioral control. It enables students to recognize their emotions, behaviors, and impulses and equips them with strategies to navigate challenging situations with confidence. By mastering these skills, students can manage their reactions, maintain focus, and succeed in academic and social environments.
Example Self-Regulation Goals in Everyday Speech
Managing Stress: Empowers learners to identify stress triggers and apply calming strategies. Students practice recognizing stressful situations, exploring practical techniques for self-regulation, and developing the ability to stay calm and focused, even under pressure.
Using Your Self-Controller: Develops self-awareness of thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations. Students learn strategies to manage impulses early, fostering the ability to remain calm, composed, and in control across various situations.
Being Mindful: Teaches learners to focus on the present moment by becoming more aware of their thoughts, feelings, and surroundings. Through mindfulness practice, students build skills to manage stress, improve concentration, and respond thoughtfully to challenges.
Executive Functioning: Focuses on planning, organizing, and self-monitoring skills. Students strengthen their ability to manage time, complete tasks efficiently, and stay focused on long-term goals, enhancing both academic performance and personal growth.
“Everyday Speech has been a phenomenal tool in my social-emotional teaching toolbelt. This has every resource imaginable to support a diverse range of student needs. My students LOVE coming to this highly-cherished part of our day, and their teachers and parents are noticing huge changes in just a few short weeks! Everyday Speech contains relevant videos and engaging, interactive opportunities for students to dive into the content in meaningful ways. I cannot recommend Everyday Speech highly enough”’
Stephanie Higgs, Social Worker
Williamson County Schools, Tennessee
Self-Regulation Resources for Social Workers
To bring self-regulation skills to life, Everyday Speech offers engaging resources that provide actionable tools and real-world practice opportunities. Below are a few examples of how these resources support students.
Video Lesson: Choosing Calm
- Goal: Managing Stress
- Grade: Middle & High School
This video lesson reviews the concept of “thinking before you act” to help learners use responsible decision-making skills, even when emotions run high.
Download the companion worksheet →
Video Lesson: Brain Break
- Goal: Being Mindful
- Grade: Elementary School
This Everyday Speech mindfulness lesson helps students explore the difference between energizing brain breaks and breaks for relaxation. Students get hands-on practice exploring new strategies for the classroom.
Download the companion worksheet →
Interactive Game: Operation Pizza
- Goal: Executive Functioning
- Grade: Elementary School, Middle & High School
Through the creation and delivery of pizzas, students will race against the clock and work together to apply their executive functioning skills and knowledge.
Play it online with your students here!
Problem-Solving
Problem-solving is the capacity to identify challenges, evaluate options, and implement effective solutions. These skills foster independence and critical thinking, enabling students to navigate both academic and social contexts with confidence. By strengthening problem-solving abilities, students gain tools to approach challenges thoughtfully and collaboratively, building resilience and fostering positive outcomes.
Example Problem-Solving Goals in Everyday Speech
Solving a Problem: Combines essential cognitive skills to guide students through effective decision-making. Learners follow a structured process to analyze a problem, assess whether they need assistance, generate logical solutions, and apply critical thinking to select the best course of action. Practicing these steps helps students build new thinking pathways and enhances their ability to tackle challenges independently.
Compromising: Helps students understand the value of finding a middle ground in disagreements. Through this skill, learners practice balancing their needs with others’, resolving conflicts fairly, and strengthening relationships by working toward shared solutions.
Handling Conflicts: Focuses on equipping students with perspective-taking, self-regulation, and problem-solving strategies to address disagreements effectively. Using a step-by-step approach, learners calm their emotions and focus on thoughtful decisions that consider the feelings of others, fostering stronger, more empathetic connections.
Problem-Solving Resources for Social Workers
Everyday Speech provides resources designed to translate these essential problem-solving skills into engaging, practical learning experiences. Here are two examples of curriculum materials in Everyday Speech to support these goals:
Video Lesson: Solving a Problem
- Goal: Handling Conflicts
- Grade: Elementary School
Hone your older students’ problem-solving skills with this video in which students will hear what each problem-solving step sounds like from a peer.
Download the companion worksheet →
Interactive Game: Problem-Solving Quiz Show
Goal: Problem-Solving
In this all-time classic, players play a Jeopardy-style game in which they answer questions to get more points! The questions are focused on problem-solving to help students practice this skill.
Play it online with your students here!
Social Workers & Everyday Speech
Social workers face unique challenges in supporting students’ emotional well-being, self-regulation, and social skills development. Everyday Speech provides a comprehensive social skills curriculum that equips social workers with targeted tools and lessons to create meaningful change.
“It was one of the first resources I came upon. I swear, it reduced my level of anxiety so much because when I look at your full curriculum, and all the skills you have listed, it’s everything I do every day.”
Amber Kuykendall, Social Worker
Desoto Unified School District, Kansas
With resources tailored to the needs of social workers, we simplify their workflows and empower them to focus on what matters most: helping students thrive.
To get started, you can:
- Sign up for a free 30-day trial.
- Have your team join you in a free 8-week pilot – sign up here!
- Schedule a live demo with our team.
