Using a Control Center: To teach your students to control themselves
A Control Center(CC) is a designated space where your students go to regain control. Control over themselves and their outcomes. To the degree your physical classroom allows separate the CC from the rest of the class. I like to provide a space that affords the user some visual separation and some comfort. For me this usually means using a low piece of furniture (like a low bookcase or divider) and a soft chair.
Essential Elements
- Be transparent and let your students know the CC is not a punishment, it’s a no harm – no foul chance for them to regain control. Make sure they know sending them to the office is never what you want to do. The CC will help limit those trips. You put teacher power in your pocket every time you resolve things in your classroom.
- Let them know you may offer the CC as a choice such as “You can stop aggravating your team or take 5 in the CC, reset yourself and return to your team” or direct them to the CC, “Please go to the CC, I’ll come and talk with you once I get math started.
- Challenge your students to ask to use the CC when they need a little space and time. Consider a visual timer, if you assign 5 minutes or your student requests 5 minutes make them responsible for keeping time. These things allow your student to build agency.
- Teach a protocol for what students are expected to do in the CC.
- Provide CC tools such as, coloring pages, mazes, fidgets, modeling clay.
- Provide insightful activities such as templates that allow your students to consider What they did, What they were thinking, What self-talk they were using, What were the outcomes of their actions, What they could have done, What they will do next time, What outcomes they are looking to achieve, What classroom Expectation they violated, What specific SEL Skill they could have used.