Teaching Students to Stay Calm and Solve Problems Effectively
Introduction
When students face problems or conflicts, it’s common for them to feel upset and frustrated. However, reacting emotionally can turn small issues into bigger ones, affecting their relationships with peers. In this blog post, we’ll discuss an easy-to-implement activity that helps students learn to stay calm and think about effective ways to solve problems. This approach is rooted in the principles of Social-Emotional Learning, focusing on building self-awareness and problem-solving skills.
No-Prep Activity: The Frisbee vs. Tag Dilemma
In this activity, you’ll help your students understand how to stay calm and think about problem-solving in a fun and engaging way. The scenario involves a group of students who want to play different games during recess. This activity requires no preparation or materials from the educator.
- Divide your students into small groups.
- Present the following scenario to the groups: Some students want to play frisbee, while others want to play tag. Chris, who loves frisbee, gets upset when the group decides to play tag instead.
- Ask each group to discuss how Chris could have handled the situation better by staying calm and thinking about a solution.
- After a few minutes, have each group share their ideas and discuss the different approaches to solving the problem.
- As a class, decide on the best solution for the scenario and discuss why it’s important to stay calm in such situations.
Discussion Questions
- How do you think Chris’s reaction affected the rest of the group? How did it make them feel?
- What are some ways Chris could have stayed calm in this situation?
- Why is it important to consider other people’s feelings when solving problems?
- Can you think of a time when you got upset over a small problem? How did you handle it, and what could you have done differently?
- How can staying calm help us make better decisions and solve problems more effectively?
Related Skills
Teaching students to stay calm and solve problems effectively is just one aspect of Social-Emotional Learning. Other related skills that can help students thrive in their personal and academic lives include:
- Active listening
- Empathy
- Conflict resolution
- Resilience
- Effective communication
Next Steps
If you’re interested in exploring more activities and resources to help your students develop valuable Social-Emotional Learning skills, we encourage you to sign up for free samples of the discussed skill and others at Everyday Speech. Our comprehensive library of materials can help you create a supportive and engaging learning environment for your students.
