Managing Self-Regulation
Recommended for grades 4-8
Ask students to evaluate themselves, on a scale from 1-5, on how good they think they are at:
1. Planning
2. Sticking with the plan
3. Being able to change the plan
4. Reflecting on what works/doesn’t work (4 things)
Discuss some strategies with the class. Read the example below of a student challenge to the class:
EXAMPLE
Sarah lacks energy and spends too much money on energy drinks and cookies (her daily lunch). She falls asleep every afternoon in Algebra and doesn’t feel well in general. She wants to eat healthier. She decides to change her diet to low sugar, minimally processed food and shift to eating more protein, fruits, and vegetables. She gives away all energy drinks and writes out a menu of what to eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. She discusses the plan with her family and asks her mom to stop buying cookies. She then records her food intake using the My Fitness Pal app. She gets off track at a weekend party but gets back on track the next day. She decides to keep healthy granola bars and dried fruit in her car so she doesn’t snack on chips and cookies at parties anymore. Each day she reflects on whether she ate enough protein and kept her carbohydrates low. Periodically, she thinks about what worked and what didn’t and revises her plan. She now has much more energy, stays awake in Algebra, and feels healthier.
1. Planning
2. Sticking with the plan
3. Being able to change the plan
4. Reflecting on what works/doesn’t work (4 things)
Discuss some strategies with the class. Read the example below of a student challenge to the class:
EXAMPLE
Sarah lacks energy and spends too much money on energy drinks and cookies (her daily lunch). She falls asleep every afternoon in Algebra and doesn’t feel well in general. She wants to eat healthier. She decides to change her diet to low sugar, minimally processed food and shift to eating more protein, fruits, and vegetables. She gives away all energy drinks and writes out a menu of what to eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. She discusses the plan with her family and asks her mom to stop buying cookies. She then records her food intake using the My Fitness Pal app. She gets off track at a weekend party but gets back on track the next day. She decides to keep healthy granola bars and dried fruit in her car so she doesn’t snack on chips and cookies at parties anymore. Each day she reflects on whether she ate enough protein and kept her carbohydrates low. Periodically, she thinks about what worked and what didn’t and revises her plan. She now has much more energy, stays awake in Algebra, and feels healthier.
Ask students to come up a goal for themselves (not a plan yet). This goal must be important, meaningful, and realistic.