SUMMARY:

Teaching students self-regulation and problem-solving skills is crucial for their growth and development.

One solution-focused approach is to use a weather chart to help students scale their problems. This chart allows students to rate their current emotional state on a scale from 1 to 7, helping them identify the size of the problem they're facing.

Using this easy-to-use tool, students can better regulate their emotions and become their own problem solvers. As they learn that big emotions come and go, they can make choices that will help them return to sunnier weather. Incorporating this weather chart into your teaching is a great way to support your students' emotional growth.

Here are some guiding questions you can ask your students as you move through this tool:

IF YOU ARE BETWEEN A 1-3:

• Yay! Things are going great! What is helping you be here?

• What can you do more of to stay here?

• What does being at this number tell you what you need?

IF YOU ARE BETWEEN A 4-7:

• What would move you down a number or two? Is there a coping skill that would help?

• When things are going better, what will you notice is different?

• What does being at this number tell you that you need?