Cool, Calm, Collected Facilitator Script

Session 1: Recognizing Emotions

Teacher: “Hello everyone! Welcome to our first small-group session of Cool, Calm, Collected. Today we’re going to learn how to spot and name our feelings. Can anyone name a feeling word?”

Teacher: “Great ideas! Now, let’s look at some faces. Please turn your eyes to the screen and find the slide titled ‘Session 1: Recognizing Emotions’ in our Session Slide Deck.”

(Show slide with emoji-style faces.)

Teacher: “These pictures show happy, sad, angry, surprised, and scared. I’ll point to each face one at a time. When I point, whisper the feeling you see.”

Teacher points; wait for whispered responses.

Teacher: “Wonderful! Next, we’re going to play Emotion Charades. I’m handing out cards from our Interactive Activity Sheets. When it’s your turn, silently act out the emotion on your card, and the rest of us will guess which one it is.”

(Distribute cards; students take turns.)

Teacher: “Awesome acting, everyone! Now let’s discuss—how does each of those feelings show up in our bodies? For example, when I feel angry, my face feels hot or my fists clench. What about you?”

Teacher: “Thank you for sharing. Lastly, I’m giving each of you a stress ball from our Tactile Coping Game Materials. We’ll practice a feeling check: take a deep breath, squeeze the ball, and quietly name your feeling.”

(Demo: breathe in, squeeze, say “calm.”)
Teacher: “Ready? Breathe…squeeze…and name.”

Teacher: “Fantastic work today! Next time, we will learn a new strategy called Stop–Think–Go to help us control our actions.”

Session 2: Impulse Control

Teacher: “Welcome back! Today we’re learning Stop–Think–Go to help us pause before we act. Has anyone ever acted too quickly and then wished they hadn’t?”

Teacher: “I’ve done that too! Let’s look at the slide ‘Session 2: Impulse Control’ in our Session Slide Deck.”

(Show slide.)

Teacher: “Stop means pause and breathe. Think means consider your options. Go means choose the best action. Let’s practice with this scenario: someone bumps into you in line. What could you do? Let’s say Stop–Think–Go out loud together.”

Class: “Stop…Think…Go.”

Teacher: “Excellent. Now I’ll give you scenario cards from our Facilitator Script and a spinner from Tactile Coping Game Materials. Work in pairs: read your scenario, spin, then use Stop–Think–Go to choose what you’ll do.”

(Students role-play.)

Teacher: “Who can share how Stop–Think–Go helped you?”

Teacher: “Great reflections! Remember, whenever you feel the urge to act, just Stop–Think–Go.”

Session 3: Problem-Solving Steps

Teacher: “Hi friends! Today we’ll learn a four-step plan: Identify, Brainstorm, Choose, Act. This helps us solve problems calmly.”

Teacher: “Open your eyes to ‘Session 3: Problem-Solving Steps’ in our Session Slide Deck.”

(Show slide with icons.)

Teacher: “Step 1, Identify the problem. Step 2, Brainstorm solutions. Step 3, Choose the best idea. Step 4, Act and reflect. Let’s read a classroom scenario together, then fill in each step on our Interactive Activity Sheets.”

(Students work in small groups.)

Teacher: “Time’s up! Let’s do a gallery walk—visit another group’s sheet and notice one idea you like.”

Teacher: “How did using your stress ball from Tactile Coping Game Materials help you stay calm while solving?”

Teacher: “Wonderful. Problem solving helps us stay cool and collected.”

Session 4: Building Tactile Coping Toolkits

Teacher: “Welcome! Today we’ll explore tools we can touch to help us calm down when we feel strong feelings.”

Teacher: “Please look at ‘Session 4: Building Tactile Coping Toolkits’ in our Session Slide Deck.”

(Show slide with photos.)

Teacher: “Here are stress balls, putty, textured fabric, fidget spinners. We’ll pass these around on our demo table. When you hold each one, think quietly: ‘How does this feel? When could I use it?’”

(Students rotate and explore.)

Teacher: “Now we’ll play Calm Collector. I’ll roll the die. Each time I roll, one of you names the tool we rolled, tells us when you’d use it, and earns a point.”

(Play game with Tactile Coping Game Materials.)

Teacher: “Who wants to share which tool felt best and why?”

Teacher: “Excellent choices! Keep these tools in your toolkit for next time.”

Session 5: Navigating Peer Conflicts

Teacher: “Good to see you! We’re going to use our four-step problem-solving plan to handle real peer conflicts.”

Teacher: “Open ‘Session 5: Navigating Peer Conflicts’ in our Session Slide Deck.”

(Show slide.)

Teacher: “First, we’ll do a quick review of Identify, Brainstorm, Choose, Act. Everyone say them together.”

Class: “Identify, Brainstorm, Choose, Act.”

Teacher: “Great. Now, I’ll pair you up and give each pair a scenario card. Act out each step, and if you feel upset, use a tactile tool to calm down.”

(Students role-play using Facilitator Script scenarios and Tactile Coping Game Materials.)

Teacher: “When you finish, use these guided prompts from Guided Discussion Prompts to give each other feedback: What worked? What could you try next?”

(Students share.)

Teacher: “Fantastic problem-solving and tool use today!”

Session 6: Stress Identification & Management

Teacher: “Hello! Today we’ll identify common school stressors and learn breathing and tactile strategies to manage them.”

Teacher: “Let’s view ‘Session 6: Stress Identification & Management’ in our Session Slide Deck.”

(Show slide with stressor list.)

Teacher: “Here are stressors: tests, noise, transitions, peer pressure. I’ll hand you scenario cards from Interactive Activity Sheets. Sort them into High Stress or Low Stress piles.”

(Students sort cards.)

Teacher: “Now, we’ll practice two breathing techniques. First, Balloon Breath: pretend to blow up a balloon as you inhale, then release it as you exhale. Let’s do three together.”

(Guide breathing.)

Teacher: “Next, Square Breathing: trace four sides of a square with your finger—inhale on side one, hold on two, exhale on three, hold on four. Let’s try it.”

(Students practice with stress balls from Tactile Coping Game Materials.)

Teacher: “Finally, set a SMART stress-management goal: I will ______ by ______.”

Teacher: “Who will share their goal?”

Teacher: “Great goals! Let’s keep practicing these strategies.”

Session 7: Skills Integration Stations

Teacher: “We’re almost done! Today we’ll rotate through four stations to practice all our skills.”

Teacher: “Take a look at ‘Session 7: Skills Integration Stations’ in our Session Slide Deck.”

(Show slide.)

Teacher: “Station 1: Emotion Charades. Station 2: Stop–Think–Go challenge. Station 3: Mini conflict solve. Station 4: Fidget exploration. You’ll spend 7 minutes at each station. Use your reflection sheet to write one key takeaway.”

(Start timer; rotate groups.)

(After rotations.)

Teacher: “Let’s share one insight from your reflection sheets.”

Teacher: “Wonderful integration of everything we’ve learned!”

Session 8: Review & Reflection

Teacher: “Congratulations—you’ve completed our series! Today we’ll celebrate and plan next steps.”

Teacher: “Open ‘Session 8: Review & Reflection’ in our Session Slide Deck.”

(Show slide.)

Teacher: “First, let’s revisit our core strategies: Recognizing Emotions, Stop–Think–Go, Problem Solving, and Coping Tools.”

Teacher: “Now complete the self-assessment checklist on your table.”

Teacher: “Great work. Who wants to share what improved for you and what you’ll keep practicing?”

Teacher: “Finally, I have certificates for each of you to celebrate your progress. Well done, everyone!”

End of Script

Interactive Activity Sheets

Session 1: Emotion Charades Cards

Cut out the cards below. Fold them so others can’t see the emotion word. When it’s your turn, act out the feeling on your card.

• Happy
• Sad
• Angry
• Surprised
• Scared
• Embarrassed
• Excited
• Nervous

Session 3: Problem-Solving Worksheet

Use the four-step model to work through each peer-conflict scenario.

Peer Conflict Scenario: ____________________________________________

1. Identify the problem:
   
   
   
   

2. Brainstorm possible solutions:
   
   
   
   
   
   

3. Choose the best solution and explain why:
   
   
   
   

4. Act it out and reflect:

   • What happened? ____________________________________________
   • How did you feel? ____________________________________________
     
     

Session 6: Stress Sorting Sheet

Read each scenario. Write its number in the column that shows if it causes High Stress or Low Stress.

Scenarios:

1. Math test tomorrow
2. Loud cafeteria noise
3. Playing with friends at recess
4. Lost library book
5. Class presentation next week
6. Quiet reading time

1. ____ | 3. ____
2. ____ | 6. ____
3. ____ |
4. ____ |

Session 7: Skills Reflection Sheet

After each station, write one key takeaway in the box.

(Use these sheets along with Cool Calm Collected LP and Session Slide Deck during your sessions.)

Tactile Coping Game Materials

This set of games helps students practice impulse control and explore tactile coping tools in a fun, interactive way. Use these games during Sessions 2 and 4 (and as reinforcement throughout the series).

Materials Needed

• A variety of tactile tools: stress balls, putty, textured fabric swatches, fidget spinners
• One standard six-sided die or point cube
• One spinner divided into six sections (see Spinner Labels below) mounted on cardstock or a digital spinner
• Scenario cards from our Facilitator Script or teacher-created peer-conflict prompts
• Optional: small tokens or “calm points” counters

Game 1: Calm Collector (Session 4)

Students learn tool names and when to use them by collecting points.

1. Arrange all tactile tools in the center of the group.
2. Assign each tool a number (1 to 6) based on the die. For example:
   • 1 – Stress Ball
   • 2 – Putty
   • 3 – Fidget Spinner
   • 4 – Textured Fabric
   • 5 – Squishy Toy
   • 6 – Any other tool
3. Players take turns rolling the die.
4. When you roll, pick up the corresponding tool, name it, and describe one situation you’d use it to help you stay calm. (“I would use the stress ball when I feel frustrated during classwork.”)
5. If you give a clear tool name and usage, you earn 1 calm point (use a token or tally mark).
6. First player to collect 5 calm points (or highest points in 10 rounds) wins!

Extensions:

• Encourage full sentences: “I choose the putty to knead when my hands feel restless.”
• Swap roles: have peers ask follow-up questions about when and why.

Game 2: Impulse-Control Spin & Act (Session 2)

Students practice the Stop–Think–Go strategy while responding to real-life scenarios.

Spinner Labels

Divide your spinner into six equal slices and label each with one of the following prompts:

1. STOP & Deep Breath
2. THINK of 2 Options
3. GO: Act It Out
4. USE a Coping Tool
5. NAME Your Feeling
6. SPIN Again

Instructions

1. Shuffle and place scenario cards face down. Each card describes a simple peer conflict or classroom challenge (e.g., “Someone bumps into you in line and says nothing.”).
2. Student A draws the top scenario card and reads it aloud.
3. Student B spins the spinner once.
4. Student B uses the spinner prompt plus the Stop–Think–Go steps to demonstrate a calm response. For example, if they spin “THINK of 2 Options,” they must pause, consider two possible reactions, then decide which is best.
5. Group discussion:
   • Ask: “Which part of Stop–Think–Go did the spinner help you practice?”
   • Offer supportive feedback: “I liked how you took a deep breath before speaking.”
6. Rotate roles so everyone practices drawing a scenario and spinning.

Variations:

• Add a timer: give 30 seconds to complete the spin prompt and Stop–Think–Go response.
• Keep a class tally of particularly creative or effective responses and celebrate at the end of the week.

Use these game materials alongside our Session Slide Deck, Interactive Activity Sheets, and Facilitator Script to reinforce self-regulation, impulse control, and tactile coping strategies across your small‐group sessions.

Guided Discussion Prompts

Use these prompts to guide reflection and peer feedback after role-plays, games, and activities.

Role-Play & Peer Feedback

• What worked well in your role-play?



• Which Stop–Think–Go step felt easiest? Which felt hardest?



• How did pausing and taking a breath help you?



• What could you try next time to make your response even calmer?

Coping Tool Reflections

• Which tactile tool helped you the most? Why?



• How did the texture or movement of the tool change how you felt?



• When else could you use this tool in class or at home?

Problem-Solving Debrief

• Which problem-solving step (Identify, Brainstorm, Choose, Act) was most helpful?



• Was there an idea you brainstormed that surprised you?



• How could you improve your plan if this conflict happens again?

Stress Management Check-In

• Which breathing technique felt best: Balloon Breath or Square Breathing?



• Where and when would you use this breathing strategy at school?



• What is your personal stress-management goal for this week?

Tips for Teachers: Encourage students to speak in full sentences. Pause between prompts to give thinking time, then offer space for sharing in pairs or small groups.