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“Self Control” Leaders’ Guide to Student Work Sheet
(5^th grade class)

Caution!

Some students have more natural ability to control themselves than others. They’re not necessarily displaying more kindness and respect, but simply possess greater powers of self-control.

Reasons some students have more control:

• Self-control develops over the years, with some developing faster than others.
• Students with special challenges, such as ADHD (perhaps 10% of your students), tend to have problems with the executive function of their brains. Practically, this means that where most students operate with the advantages of internal clocks, the ability to shift easily from one task to another, and the ability to resist blurting out their thoughts at inappropriate moments, other students seem to have little or no control over these functions. Thus, in many cases, students lacking self-control may be more “disabled” than “bad” when they fail in these areas.  As teachers, we may need to find appropriate class adaptations to help control these weaknesses. 

Idea

Some students act out because they imagine that their fellow students enjoy listening to them act out. If they realized that many students are turned off by their acting out, they wouldn’t do it. To capitalize on this observation, do an anonymous survey a day or more prior to having students do their worksheets. Ask them,

1) Do you usually enjoy it or hate it when students disrupt class?

2) What bothers you the most that other students do to disrupt class?

3) If you were the teacher, what would you do to keep students from disrupting class?

After students complete the following worksheet and discuss it, read to them some of the results from the anonymous survey. Many will be shocked to find out how many students hate disruptions and may respond by cutting down on causing disruptions.

Student Worksheet

Step One: Hand out student worksheet. (See separate file.)

Step Two: Pique their interest by walking them through the first two questions:

"First, how would you define self-control?  Don’t write it yet, just give me a few ideas out loud. (After discussing it, have them write their own definition after question #1.)

Now for a second, related question. Think about something you’d like to get really good at. It could be a sport like basketball or football; a musical instrument like a guitar or drums; a school subject like reading or math.  Can several of you share something you’d like to get good at? (Allow them to share. This gives new ideas to the ones who might otherwise have trouble coming up with anything.)

               So go ahead, write one or more things to answer your second question.

Finally (pay attention to me!), read through the remaining questions and then come back and begin answering them. Understood?"

1. How would you define “self control”?

2. What’s one or more things you’d like to get good at?

3. To get good at them, how will it be necessary to have self control?

4. On a scale of one to ten, how good are you at self-control? (circle one)

No Self Control At All – 1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10 - Totally Self Controlled

5. What’s one area where you have a hard time controlling yourself, especially at school?

6. How could you improve at controlling yourself in this difficult area?

7. Why is class less fun when students are out of control?

8. How can students show better control in class?

9. Draw a picture of your teacher when she’s out of control.

10. Draw a picture of each person in your class when the class is out of control.