Classroom Lesson Data

Kindergarten Problem Solving

How Attitude, Self-Talk, and Changing Our Thinking Helps Us Solve Problems

A series of 5 guidance lessons on the power of our thoughts, attitude, social skills, and problem solving was provided to York 3rd graders over the last few months.  Each lesson taught the importance of changing our thinking to solve problems. The lessons taught skills and strategies to calm down from strong feelings, and how to discern between thoughts that are helpful and thoughts that are not helpful. The lessons also provided a fun way for students to label the challenge they were facing in order to understand how best to overcome it.  After these lessons 93% of York third graders indicated they could tell someone how to change their thinking to help them solve a problem.

Bullying Lesson: Data from 2nd Grade (October 2015)

97% of second graders who were surveyed shared that a recent classroom guidance lesson on bullying helped them understand where bullies get their power from.

These same 97% also indicated that they could take power away from a bully by themselves or with friends.

Recent data from a 3rd grade lesson on noticing when your thinking is causing a problem for you shows that kids have learned, retained and are using helpful information.

Before a recent lesson in first grade only 9% of several classes had an effective plan to use if another student was bothering them.  After the guidance lesson 87% of the students were able to verbally repeat 5 effective steps to take when someone is bothering them. 

In 3rd grade we recently completed a whole series of lessons on managing anger.  We learned about the importance of having an effective plan in place to manage anger.  It is harder to think when you are angry, so having a set plan of practiced strategies to use ahead of time can be very effective.
An effective plan would include: the ability to recognize anger signals as they begin in your body, a proven strategy to calm down cognitively, an effective way to calm down physically, a verbal phrase you could use, and at least one or two other active strategies (power up's) that would make it easier to make a good choice in that moment.

In a random sampling of students before the guidance lessons:

42% of students had no plan to calm down if someone made them angry

50% had some part of a effective plan to calm down if someone made them angry

1% Had an effective plan to deal with anger

After guidance lessons

100% of the students individually identified all the components of an effective plan to manage anger that they could personally use.

96% of the students indicated they could actually make these strategies work.