To teach students how to manage their impulses I had students participate in a think,

pair, share activity where they had to identify a time when they acted without thinking and
M what was the outcome. Then students reflected on the same situation, thinking about if
they thought about what they were going to do before they did it, would it have the same
a outcome. Many students mentioned a time when they got into a verbal or physical

n confrontation and they got a negative consequence.

a
g
i
n
g
I Next students compared three

m videos, the first two where the

characters lost control of their
p emotions and acted without
thinking. The last, the character
u applied different strategies such

l as counting to ten or taking deep

breathes to calm down. The
s students had to write their
notices and wondering from each
e video and compare the

s differences in a discussion with

their peers.
 After discussing the
differences in the
M videos students

a worked together to
write how managing
n impulses and not

a
managing impulses
looks likes, feels like,
g and sounds like. As
a quick check for
i understanding

n students were asked

before a brain break
g to answer the
question why is it
important to think

I before you act.

m
p
u
l
s
e
s Above is a list the students created identifying what it looks like, sounds like, and
feels like to manage your impulses and not to manage your impulses.
M
a
n
a
g
i
n The lesson ended with a write, pair , share activity. Students each wrote down how they could practice managing their impulses
and habits that might help them remember to think before they act. Then students paired up with the others at their table to
g discuss what habits might work best for our class, we came together at the end of class and decided on our top five strategies for
calming down. This was made into a poster and hung by the reflection corner so students could reference it when needed.

I
m
p
u
l
s
e
s
 What does managing impulses mean?
S Instead of saying something to someone think first NW
t Not saying something without thinking JV
Thinking before you do something bad MA
u
d In the past month when was a time you managed your emotions?

e When I went to say something disrespectful to one of my friends, I stopped to think first and I did not say it- NW
I controlled my emotions and impulses by staying on task and calm myself by forgetting what was making me mad - JN
n When I get mad or upset I ask to take a break and go see the social worker SR
t Ignore others and not say things I am not supposed to say - JA
One time I got mad and I was going to hit someone but I thought about it so I didnt, because I knew I was going to get
trouble and - I know better then to hit someone BP
R When I was arguing with someone, the next day I thought about a way to say sorry, instead of being mean JV

e In the past month when was a time you did NOT manage your emotions?
s When I cussed at someone in front of my mom without thinking - JV
p

When I said something that I was not supposed to say BP
When I get annoyed I walk out of class, that is not managing my impulses EN
o
n

How can you continue to manage your impulses?
A few weeks after teaching students we revisited what it means to
s
Count to ten when you get mad - SR
manage impulses and if they were successful managing their emotions
Ask for help MA over the past month. Listed here are the student responses from the
e Ask to talk to someone or take a break EN discussion.

s Breathe - NW Many students shared examples of times they thought before acting and
times where they did not. Many students stated that sometimes they
would remember the steps, but they needed more practice. We also
revised what steps we can take to manage our impulses during the day.
T When a student would hear that someone is talking about them, their first reaction getting in their face and
yelling at them, which would usually end up in a fight. Since the implementation of the lessons and the green
e tickets, I noticed more students requesting to talk to the social worker or myself regarding social issues. During
a lunch, one student went up to another and said she heard that she was talking about her. The second student calmly
said she was not, came to find me and informed me of the situation. I make the space for these two girls to talk
c privately and they realized it was a misunderstanding. A few weeks earlier this would have turned into both students
arguing with each other and resulting in a fight. It is situations such as this that I can see the behavior of my students
h changing and their investment in this growing process.
e By using these strategies my practice was changed greatly. I found not only myself encouraging and
r modeling positive relationships more often but also students encouraging positive relationships as well. During
gym, students were participating in an activity where they must throw a football into a hoop to receive a point for
their team. One of the boys walked up to the line, threw the ball and just missed the hoop. Some of the students
R behind him got angry that he missed the shot and started to make comments that they are going to lose because of
e him. Two other girls from his team stood up and told him that he did a great job and even though he missed, he was
very close and that he will get it next time. They then proceeded by telling their teammates that it was not nice to
f make those types of comments when all they boy always encourages them. It is moments like this that showed me
l my students were applying these character strengths and skills they learned in the classroom to their daily life.

e I saw a change in some students actions and behaviors right away. It took multiple weeks of modeling
appropriate behavior and many discussions on decision making and the consequences of our actions to see a real
c change in the classroom. Behavior issues in the hall wall decrease from two to three incidents per day to only two
t per week. Also, before impending these strategies over half the class would be wondering the hallways and talking
to their friends instead of coming straight to class in the morning, now on average sixteen out of my eighteen
i students come straight to class in the morning and get started on their work. This change was also seen in the
o classroom. There was multiple emotional outbursts that interrupted learning daily, these distractions were decreased
to less than three a week. There will always be days that students emotions get the best of them, but I learned that
n taking the time to talk to those students one on one and giving them the space to let out their feelings also
contributed to the decreased behaviors inside the classroom.