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Lesson plan · Grades K-2 · 30 minutes

Calm Corner

I can notice how my body feels and use a calm-down tool to help it feel calmer.

▶ Open the tool Download the tool
Standard
CASEL.Self-Management CASEL
Shape
Teach, then practice
Grouping
Whole class on the carpet, with room to stand.
You need
The tool on the big screen. Room for children to stand and stretch. Optional: paper and crayons for a calm card.
Tool
curioclass.org/tools/calm-corner/
  1. Hook5 min
  2. Teach7 min
  3. Practice10 min
  4. Apply5 min
  5. Exit check3 min

Before class

  • Teach this on a calm day, not right after a hard moment. A strategy learned on a good day is ready on a hard one.
  • Open the tool to All tools. Turn on Calm music if you like.
  • Decide where your classroom calm corner is, so you can point to it.

Hook 5 min

  1. "Show me with your body how you look when you're super excited." (Wiggles.) "Now show me sleepy." (Slumped.)
  2. "Our bodies tell us how we feel. Today Shelly the turtle teaches us tricks to help our bodies feel calm."

Teach 7 min

  1. Open How do I feel? and tap Before. Talk about the four faces: very upset, wiggly, okay and calm. "What does your body do when you feel very upset?" (Hot face, tight fists, fast breathing.)
  2. Children point to the face that matches their body now. Tap the one most of the class picks.
  3. Say the rule: "When my body feels upset, I can stop, notice, and pick a calm tool."

Practice 10 min

  1. Balloon breathing: hands on bellies, breathe in while the balloon grows and out while it shrinks. Five breaths on Slow.
  2. Star breathing: trace the star in the air with one finger, breathing in on the way up and out on the way down.
  3. Stretch with Shelly: everyone stands for the five stretches. Name the turtle tuck: "That's when we pull in like Shelly to feel safe."
  4. Back to How do I feel? and tap After. "Did your body change? How can you tell?"

Apply 5 min

  1. Act out a moment: "Your block tower falls down and you feel mad. What could you do?" Children show the tool with their body (belly breaths, star finger, turtle tuck).
  2. Try one more: "It's too loud and your body feels wiggly." Take two or three ideas.
  3. Point to the calm corner: "This is where you can go to use a tool."

Exit check 3 min

Children hold up fingers for their favorite tool: one for balloon breathing, two for star breathing, three for stretching. Then each whispers to a neighbor when they might use it. Listen for a real moment ("when my brother takes my toy").

Support and stretch

  • Support: keep a picture of the balloon and the star in the calm corner, so children can do the tool without the screen.
  • Support: for children who find movement distracting, turn Motion off. The timing stays the same.
  • Stretch: try Five senses and Slow counting another day, then ask which tool works best for which feeling.
  • Stretch: children draw a calm card showing their favorite tool, to keep in the calm corner.

Short on time

  • Do the Before check, five rounds of Balloon breathing, then the After check (10 min).
  • End by pointing to the calm corner and naming the tool (2 min).

How each button works is in the teacher notes. From Curio Class, free under CC BY 4.0: change it, print it, share it.