Intrapersonal skills help kids manage their emotions. The Minnesota National Guard for Youth Services recommends the Name Game to enhance a child's skills. To play, give each child a sheet of paper with two oblong circles. Each student should write his first and last name in the first oblong. Then ask children to come up with a word that expresses one of their positive traits for each letter of their first and last names. In the second shape, tell children to write the first and last name of someone who has influenced them and come up with words for each letter that express how that person has influenced the child's life.
Interpersonal activities provide children with the opportunity to learn more about their social responsibilities and how to develop successful relationships. To practice skills in the classroom, engage students in High Five team building. Hand out large sheets of colored construction paper. Have students assist one another with taping the paper to their backs. Then students should move around the room and write at least one positive comment on each person's paper. After students have finished circulating, have each student remove the paper and read the comments aloud.
Teaching stress management helps students develop the ability to tolerate stress and control impulses. To facilitate children's ability to effectively manage stress, encourage creativity through art activities and read stories that help children understand stress. Nemours Children Health System recommends reading "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day" by Judith Viorst; "Tear Soup" by Pat Schweibert, Chuck DeKlyen, and Taylor Bills; and "Dinosaurs Divorce" by Marc Brown and Laurene Krasny Brown to help young kids identify with characters in stressful situations and learn how they cope. After reading the stories, parents or teachers should discuss the coping skills that were demonstrated by the characters in the book.
Adaptability requires that children learn to be flexible and realistic, and to solve problems as they arise. I-Statements is a classroom activity that helps children identify problem-solving strategies and teaches them stress-management mechanisms. The teacher must create an I-Statements worksheet -- an example is available on the University of Yale website -- and hand them out to students. I-statements are a way to express how you feel, why you feel that way, and what you want from a person in a nonaccusatory manner. The teacher will start by asking questions, such as What are life-changing events? and How does a person cope with life changing events? Discuss examples, then ask the children to brainstorm their own scenarios and I-statements.