Helping Students Explore How They ACT

Making choices that are helpful for one’s own well-being is an advanced skill that is vital for students to thrive both personally and academically. If we are able to encourage students to make positive choices throughout the school day, they are more likely to be able to apply this skill to their own lives when they face challenges. There are a few strategies that you can use to help students practice the skill of making helpful choices across the school year (beyond running the Open Parachute lessons, which also teach this skill). You may use some of these tools already, and some might give you new ideas to explore.

For example, when you are introducing a challenging assignment, give students an explicit option of how they can come to you for help. You can also openly speak about how helpful it is to find people we can turn to for support when we are facing personal challenges and remind students about pathways for support in the school (e.g., school counselor or outside support service).

For example, if two students are in an argument and unkind words are said between them, you can encourage them to make a positive choice by prompting them to consider: “What helpful action could you each take here to help this situation?”

For example, if your students are experiencing stress about upcoming assignments or workload, let them know about the tools you use to help yourself when you face stressors (e.g., self-soothing, taking time for yourself, talking to a trusted friend, etc.).

For more suggestions on how to scaffold the learning from Open Parachute lessons across the school year, see our Help Article Scaffolding Opportunities.

We also offer training on Creating Resilient Classrooms, which provides an overview of the Being Well Model (Feel, Pause, Think, and Act) and how it can be embedded into every classroom.