Guiding Young Students to Develop Self-Regulation

Self-regulation is an important component of social and emotional learning (SEL) and cognitive and language development. Researchers Elena Bodrova and Deborah Leong, as well as curriculum models such as HighScope, have highlighted the deep connections between young students’ self-regulation skills and continued academic success. 

We know that consistency is the best way to teach self-regulation skills. Given the amount of responsibility and curriculum obligations that teachers have, they need simple yet effective ways to incorporate experiences into their daily schedules to encourage skill development.

In a recent study I conducted with eight lead teachers and teacher assistants, examining how preschool teachers incorporate self-regulation teaching into their curriculum, the majority of teachers mentioned that they needed methods and resources they could fit logically and easily into their day.

Early childhood classes typically read multiple stories per day, and ensuring that some stories each week have a self-regulation focus can be an effective way for teachers to feel like they’re hitting on skill building without becoming overwhelmed by adding “one more thing.” I’ve found the following four-step strategy to be effective in teaching self-regulation skills to preschool learners.

An Effective Strategy for Teaching SElf-Regulation

A first step in using themed books as a foundation to build self-regulation skills is to determine the focus of the books.

Here are some suggested titles, with the components of self-regulation they connect to:

• Dragons on the Inside, by Valerie Coulman, illustrated by Alexandra Colombo (emotional competence)
• I’m Happy-Sad Today, by Lory Britain, illustrated by Matthew Rivera (emotional competence)
• Yay! You Failed! by Shannon Anderson, illustrated by Steve Mark (perseverance)
• If I Built a House, by Chris Van Dusen (flexible thinking)
• I Choose to Make Good Decisions and I Choose to Try Again, both by Elizabeth Estrada (problem solving and perseverance)
• What Should Darla Do? by Ganit and Adir Levy, illustrated by Doro Kaiser (problem-solving and flexible thinking)
• Perseverance Makes Me Stronger, by Elizabeth Cole (perseverance)
• What Do You Do With a Problem? by Kobi Yamada, illustrated by Mae Besom (problem-solving and flexible thinking)
• The Most Magnificent Thing, by Ashley Spires (perseverance and problem-solving)

I also like these books by Cheri J. Meiners and illustrated by Meredith Johnson:

• Cool Down and Work Through Anger (emotional competence and problem-solving)
• Talk and Work It Out (problem-solving and flexible thinking)
• Try and Stick with It (perseverance)

The Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning has also been exceptionally reliable helping me find books.

The second step is to conduct read alouds with self-regulation themed books and prepare an age-appropriate discussion for the children. Use similar techniques as you would for any read aloud. However, to highlight the self-regulation concept, there are three reading techniques that really lend themselves well to pinpointing this topic and emphasizing it for young children.

Don’t shy away from longer books or ones with more words per page. You can chunk the book out into sections, revisiting previous reading content as you begin again. This will build memory and recall, two essential self-regulation elements.

Tip: Make lists of children’s ideas during your discussions that can serve as a great way to revisit previous ideas and bring in an additional literacy element into your discussion.

Incorporate personal stories of your own that connect to the book’s theme. For example, if the book is on perseverance, you can share a time you had to try and try again to accomplish something, talking about why it was important to you to complete the task and how you felt when you did. Or perhaps the goal changed along the way.

Sharing these types of stories brings the information in the book to life for children. This also primes them to be ready to discuss “What would I do if” scenarios related to classroom experiences. This can set them on the path for success as they head off to centers independently.

Provide opportunities for reflection. Looking back on something and thinking, “Did it work? Would I do anything different next time? How could I add to this?” is an extremely important part of building self-regulation. Children need to practice the art of looking back on something they did and determining their thoughts about it. This skill feeds into the ability to think creatively and flexibly, which will help them solve various types of problems, both social and academic.

The third step is creating center-based extensions that capitalize on the book themes. These extensions can vary and look different depending on the learning center—writing, math, art, etc. The main point is for them to flow naturally from the book theme and topic of discussion to your center’s materials. That way, children can see an obvious connection.

For example, if you read a book and discuss different types of emotions, you may want to create a center experience that encourages children to think about the types of emotions they have.

Providing collage materials that children can use to create a “When I try something new, I feel” collage or a “My favorite toy makes me feel” collage can help them start to recognize that different things or experiences make them feel differently—and that different things make others feel differently as well (a first step toward empathy). Encourage children to share their creations together, discuss their emotions, and explain how they decided to create their collages.

You can further extend this by taking their collages to the writing center. Here, you can build on using reflection techniques and ask students to tell you about their collages. Ask them to draw or write one page in their journal or in a classroom book with sections titled, “I have many feelings...,” “Something that makes me happy is…,” or “When I feel frustrated, I can….” You can swap out emotions as you like.

Play plans can be another way to help reinforce self-regulation skills. Children can set goals for their work and evaluate their plans. They can reflect on those plans and make changes for the next time they use those materials.

The final step is to find ways to encourage self-regulation behaviors throughout the day.  A “friendship chain board,” “problem-solving wall board ,” or “I worked hard board” can be very encouraging for young children as long as when items are added, they are acknowledged and briefly discussed so that children see the connection to the skill. Create challenges to see how long the chain can get or how many examples can be added to the board each day.

Concerted praise for the effort, thinking, and process of work, as opposed to product-related praise, such as “pretty” or “good job,” will encourage the skills of perseverance, emotional literacy, problem-solving, and flexible thinking.  

Just as you share stories during read alouds, look for scenarios that occur during children’s play. Point them out as they happen. At times, you may want to revisit those in a large group situation and debrief with the children. This way, all children can gain from hearing about a situation that applied in their classroom.

Teachers have a lot to plan for and implement. If they can use simple and effective ways to incorporate self-regulation learning into their day, it can cut down on the planning and execution pressure they feel and also ensure that children are exposed to valuable learning experiences that can impact their academic lives for years to come.