Soda Pop Head: Taming Tempers {A FREEBIE!}

I think we've all had students who needed strategies for calming down when they get upset. One of my tested and true ways to address social skills with my students is in our morning meeting. No matter what kind of mood we all arrive in, we leave our meeting with a smile. It is the perfect way to start our day. On Mondays when our regular schedule is off-track due to an early library visit,  I extend our meeting with a read-aloud or an activity.

One of my favorite ways to "extend" our time together is with one of Julia Cook's books. Today, I'm joining Laura Candler at Corkboard Connections to share a few ways I've been able to use Julia's books in our morning meetings.

Click for more ideas!

So far this year, we've used My Mouth is a Volcano, The Worst Day of My Life Ever, and my new, all-time Julia Cook favorite...

This year, I have not 1, not 2, but THREE kiddos who get a bit explosive animated when they get angry. After about 2 weeks of talking about being proactive until I was blue in the face, I started looking for books and activities that addressed ways to help kids cope with their anger. Because here's the thing:

Everybody gets angry. Our kids are going to be angry. And it's OK. We have to let them know it's how they deal with their anger that makes all the difference.

I'm not saying this book cured all of our anger issues - that would be totally unreasonable. :) But, it did open the door in a comfortable way for us to talk about dealing with anger at school. And I DID see some lightbulbs "click" when I read through it. Soda Pop Head has also made it's way into several book totes so far this year.

I can't leave you without letting you know about the activities I "fancied up" before sharing them with you as a FREEBIE! Click on the picture below to grab your copy!

My kids love using story sorts in our morning meetings. They create such good discussions, and I wrote these based on a few common "complaints" I've heard and seen over the last couple of months. :) I've also included a couple of writing responses your kids can use to think a little more about how they can handle their anger in the future.

I hope this finds you looking forward to your Thanksgiving break! Make sure you click through to the links below to check out all of the other ways my blogger buddies are using Julia Cook's incredible books!