April 14, 2025 • 25 mins
Calm corners look great online – but in reality? Students can ignore them, misuse them, or turn them into a hangout spot. You’re left wondering if they’re even worth it in a busy secondary classroom where time, space, and structure are limited. You want to support emotional regulation, but not at the expense of learning.
I’ll take you through how I create calm spaces that actually support self-regulation – without turning your classroom into a free-for-all – and how I embed emotional literacy and co-regulation into my behaviour approach.
IN THIS EPISODE, I DISCUSS:
- Why calm corners often fail in secondary classrooms
- What needs to happen before you set one up
- My “pocket calm corner” and the tools students actually use
- How to embed regulation without disrupting the flow of your lesson
So, are calm corners worth the rage in secondary? Yes – but only if they’re adapted to work in our world. That means ditching the distractions and zeroing in on strategies that are teachable, transferable, and actually usable for our students.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Oh, hi there, teachers.
Welcome to the Unteachablespodcast.
I'm your host, claire English,and I am just a fellow teacher,
a toddler mama and a big oldbehavior nerd on a mission to
demystify and simplify thatlittle thing called classroom
management.
The way we've all been taughtto manage behavior and classroom
manage has left us playingcrowd control, which is not
(00:22):
something I subscribe to,because we're not dancers, we're
teachers.
So listen in as I walk youthrough the game, changing
strategies and I mean the thingsthat we can actually do and
action in our classrooms thatwill allow you to lean into your
beautiful values as acompassionate educator and feel
empowered to run your room witha little more calm and, dare I
(00:43):
say it, a lot less chaos.
I will see you in the episode.
Hello, lovely teachers, claireEnglish here, your host of the
Unteachables podcast, and it isso wonderful to have you back
here to join me.
Today I'm going to be talkingabout calm corners and, more
specifically, calm corners likeare they worth the rage, are
(01:05):
they worth actually puttingtogether?
And this is specifically forsecondary teachers, because
primary, yes, I get it right.
Like you're with your studentsall day, every day, you are
there with your students, youestablish a culture that you can
reinforce in every moment ofthe day.
When it comes to secondary,it's a little bit different.
(01:26):
It's a little bit harder whenit comes to things like calm
corners.
Number one because of thephysical space like it's pretty
hard when our classrooms are thesize of a shoebox I'm not
talking for every single teacher, but every single secondary
classroom that I've taught in atleast.
There's barely enough room forthe tables and the students to
go in.
So calm corners are a littlebit more of a pipe dream when it
(01:47):
comes to secondary classrooms.
But mainly I'm talking aboutthe fact that we have multiple
classes.
Oh my gosh, can you hear thelawn mowing outside?
I know the world can't stopbecause of my podcast, but it's
very annoying and I hope it'snot going to disrupt whatever
I'm saying in your ears.
I hope it's not too annoyingand you don't want to turn it
off.
What was I saying?
(02:07):
Yes, calm corners.
We have like hundreds ofstudents that we teach.
We have multiple classes everysingle day.
So establishing a culturearound calm corners is
incredibly difficult when wehave such a limited time with
them.
So in the settings that I'vetaught, I know that it's going
to be different globally.
(02:27):
But in the secondary settingsI've taught in I'm an English
teacher I might have everysingle class, I might have seven
classes and I might have myclasses three times a week for
75 minutes.
Establishing a culture aroundregulation and calm is a lot
harder.
I'm going to have to continuethis after that, uh,
whippersnippering or mowing stop, so I'll be back.
Okay, I'm back and I'm actuallysitting in a closet.
(02:49):
I decided to come into, uh, myclothes closet, so I've punched
myself up in here.
I looked at the window it'sactually a leaf blower and that
poor person just trying to dotheir job and I'm like shooting
them daggers up from myapartment window, anyway.
So I wanted to start thisepisode by just telling you
(03:11):
about the most beautiful calmcorner I've seen in a secondary
setting.
It was beautiful this teacherthat I went in to observe.
I walked in and it was justamazing.
She clearly cared so much abouther students and her classroom
was luckily a bit bigger thanmost in the school, because the
rooms were very tiny, and I'mtalking when I say a little bit
bigger, I mean they had like acorner, one space where a table
(03:34):
wasn't, so maybe not even like ameter squared, anyway.
So I was leading on teachingand learning and one of the
amazing things that I got to dowas do regular observations and,
don't worry, I made sure theywere very supportive and
worthwhile process.
I never had any complaintsabout the observations that I
did.
I think when you're a teacheryou get it.
So I loved doing observationsand my teachers actually were
(03:59):
welcoming them as well, so itwas a very good process.
I just wanted to make thatclear because I know people hear
the word observation and go oh,observations Anyway.
So she managed to make thisspace just look perfect.
You know cushions, like.
There were really awesomeposters about emotions, lots of
that emotional literacyhappening, a few books.
It was just really cute andcozy.
But then the lesson itselfstarted and this is the kind of
(04:21):
thing that I observed whenstudents came into the room and
they were dysregulated, theyweren't using that space.
It wasn't referenced, it wasn'tbeing used at all.
It was just a nothing to thestudents who actually could have
really benefited from thisspace.
A big group of students came inand they sat in the corner, in
the calm corner, and they justwere there and it was really
(04:45):
hard for the teacher to get themaway from that space.
She took ages to encourage themto get out of that space.
And then later in the lesson astudent came up, she grabbed a
pillow and started whacking herfriend with it across the head.
So it's safe to say that thatcalm corner actually caused way
more problems than solved them.
(05:05):
You know, like, what was thepurpose here?
It was causing far more issuesthan it was helping anybody.
It definitely wasn't helpingthe teacher.
So, uh, like, what's the pointof it, right?
So I got curious when I spoketo this teacher and I'm like you
know what was the purpose of it?
What's it being used for?
How is it being embedded?
And the teacher couldn't reallytell me.
She had these beautifulintentions for this beautiful,
(05:27):
perfect space and that is sohard to achieve in secondary and
had so much potential.
Yet the actual foundations ofthe space were missing.
And I want to just say, likeall of the props to her, because
if you can create a calm spacein secondary, that's amazing.
And if you have the courage todo it in secondary, with all of
(05:49):
those kind of factors that playagainst us, like the fact that
we've got a bunch of differentyou know classes and it's hard
to embed.
You know it's something thattakes a lot of courage and a lot
of consideration to do.
So I was so impressed by thespace that she'd created, but
the foundations were missing.
So let's talk about the purposeof a calm space.
(06:10):
If you want a calm space inyour secondary classroom, it
really is to empower students tolearn the skills of
self-regulation, to developemotional literacy, to
strengthen their socialemotional skills.
So when they have wobbles likewe all do, I definitely have
plenty of wobbles rather thantelling you to F off when
they're angry, they can tune in,recognize their own needs and
(06:31):
go and make a different choiceto regulate.
That doesn't automaticallyhappen because of a few
regulation strategies thatyou've put on a wall or, you
know, on a desk.
Just like putting a times tableposter on the wall is not going
to help your students learntheir times tables without
explicitly teaching and engagingand modeling those skills.
So, yes, we are building skills, we're building these beautiful
(06:55):
life skills, but it's not goingto happen just by being in
proxy of a calm corner.
Now let's think about thefunction of a calm corner.
They need to work in yourcontext.
They need to support studentswithout being a distraction or
detracting from the learning.
They need to be done in a waythat will allow you to continue
to teach as much as possiblewhile that self-regulation is
(07:18):
going on.
That's why you need to havespaces that are boundary and
used very explicitly andembedded into your classroom
management approach.
So let's talk about the purposeof them.
The students weren't beingtaught how to use these skills.
The space itself wasn't taughtin terms of like the function,
so it was a distraction and itwas detracting from the learning
(07:41):
.
A cushion might not have beenthe best choice for this teacher
.
You know, having a space withthings that would detracting
from the learning.
A cushion might not have beenthe best choice for this teacher
.
You know, having a space withthings that would detract or
distract, without boundariesaround, that probably wasn't the
best way to get the engagementwith the space or do the space
in a way that's going to beeffective.
So how I do this?
How do I create a space that'sboundaried and used explicitly
(08:01):
and embedded into my classroommanagement approach?
Read and used explicitly andembedded into my classroom
management approach.
First off, I explicitly teachone skill at a time to a class.
I might do this just bymodeling that I've had a tough
day.
So I'm going to take a sip ofwater or I'm going to take a
breath, or I might do this in amore in-depth way through
teaching one of my SEL lessons,like the one on when we flip our
lids.
(08:21):
So I'm going to be explicitlyteaching some skills around self
regulation, but I'm also goingto teach students why
self-regulation is important andthe times we can use these
strategies that we've got inthis calm corner.
That can take some time, or itcan also just be a two minute
chat at the start of the lesson.
Oh my gosh, the photocopier wasdown.
I am very stressed right now.
(08:42):
Yay, so I'm just going to takea sip of my water and then we're
going to start the lesson.
So it doesn't have to beanything.
I really am a firm believer thatSEL is not something that
necessarily happens in a lesson.
It's something that happensjust in the day-to-day modeling
and discussions that we have.
Of course, I do also teachlessons, but it's really
(09:02):
important for us to be modelingthat in the day-to-day as well.
Lessons, but it's reallyimportant for us to be modeling
that in the day-to-day as well.
The second thing is I will workthe strategies into explicit
discussions about behavior andmake a plan.
So just say that Sally had awobbly moment in the lesson and
she ripped her work up.
I might chat to Sally after.
I will use the resources inthat space to get her to unpack
(09:23):
her feelings.
I'll get her to unpack herfeelings, I'll get her to
identify strategies that mightwork for her the next time she's
feeling that way and then I'mgoing to make an explicit plan
on how to use these strategies.
So it's not a free-for-all.
So maybe it is in secondarythat that calm corner, that calm
space, is only to be gonetowards, like only to be to be
gone to by the students if theyhave an explicit strategy in
(09:46):
place that we have made togetheras just really strategic and
explicit plan.
Then the third thing, the thirdthing that I make sure I do when
it comes to my calm corner, mycalm space.
By the way, most of the time mycalm space and I'm putting like
little inverted commas herewith my hands my calm space
usually is just a pack of cardsin my bag, because I move from
(10:08):
class to class.
I don't have a set classroom alot of the time, so most of the
time I actually just have like apocket.
I call it my pocket calm cornerand it's just a bunch of cards
that I can use for students toum, to kind of come and have a
regular, you know a regulatingmoment.
But because I use these cards,I can also just print out the
ones that they've chosen astheir strategies and then they
can keep it on their person.
(10:29):
So, like, the way that weapproach calm corners in
secondary has to work for us.
So the third thing is I willonly use strategies and the
things I am comfortable havingin action in my classroom.
If I don't want a bunch ofcushions, if I know certain
things are going to cause chaos,if I don't want the option of
leaving the classroom as aregulation strategy, I just
won't work that into the space.
(10:49):
I won't have the cushion, Iwon't have certain fidgets
available just for anybody topick up and use.
I will only use the things thatwork for me and work for that
space.
Of course, if a student needs afidget toy, if they need like
something, then I will make surethey have access to that.
But it's not necessarily goingto be something that's in a box
(11:09):
there for anybody to grab,because you know my year nines
will just go there, grab it outand chuck it at their friends,
like it's not something that I'mgoing to have just regularly
available.
The next thing is I will set upthe space in a way that I know
that I personally can manage andcontrol.
So, as I said before, havingcalm cards in a drawer at my
(11:32):
desk or having a routine aroundthat where students come up and
I hand them a strategy that's,you know, pre-planned or maybe
students have one in theirpocket or at their desks already
, or maybe I go around when Isee a student having a moment of
dysregulation and I choose astrategy or give them two cards
as choices.
So I'm really setting upregulation and self-regulation
(11:55):
in my classroom in a way that Iknow that I can manage.
I'm a stronger like.
I feel like I'm very strong atclassroom management now.
So I feel like, with mypresence and with my boundaries
and with the expectations that Iset, I'm quite confident in
having a space in my room thatmaybe another teacher might not
(12:15):
be comfortable with.
I feel like I can manage thatin most situations now, whereas
another teacher might not feelcomfortable with that.
So really do what works for youand your space.
So my calm corner if I'm goingall out.
Uh, in my secondary classroomwith a calm corner, this is what
it looks like.
This is how I set up my calmcorner, like.
(12:36):
So I'm just thinking back to mylast like full-time gig where I
had a full-time classroom.
My English classroom was mygo-to, that was my space, that
was my sanctuary.
This is what I do in my spacehave visuals up on the wall.
I am always embedding thatemotional literacy and making it
intentional so students willknow where to look when needed,
and I will always use this inthe discussion.
(12:58):
So if my class is having atough time, if I'm having a
behavior chat, I'll always referback to those visuals on the
wall, always be referring backto.
What are you feeling right now?
What was the feeling beneaththis?
How are we feeling when thathappened?
And really trying to embed thatemotional literacy in the
day-to-day rather than having it, as it's not just a poster up
(13:19):
on the wall.
It's a tool that we can use todiscuss.
So then when students aresitting there and they're
struggling, they can look up atthe wall and they'll know how to
use that, they'll know how toidentify things, they'll know
how to then do something that'sgoing to help them in that
moment, you know, deescalate.
And the next thing that is amust have in my classroom when
it comes to calm corner and Isaid this before it's just my
(13:39):
cards, my pocket calm cornercards.
I love these because it's justeasy.
You know they're just 25different strategies students
can use when they're feelingdysregulated.
So some examples of these Imight have.
I have 25 cards and they allhave a different strategy on
them in different categories.
So like, move it, feel it,think it.
(13:59):
I can't remember the last onenow, but here are a few examples
of those strategies.
So five, four, three, two, one,a grounding exercise where they
go through their um, like fivethings I can see, four things I
can hear Like, so they gothrough their senses and it's
just a grounding exercise to getthem in the moment I have an
option for standing and working.
(14:20):
If they need to get somemovements, I've got an option
for going and splashing somewater on their face and taking a
drink.
I've got options for stretching, tensing and releasing, which I
feel is a really good one forgetting energy moving and to get
that kind of energy out.
So they tense up their body andthey hold it for five seconds
and they release and theycontinue to do that for however
(14:41):
long you need to do that, forI've got breathing exercises,
like just little cards, andthey've got, like you know,
different exercises they canfollow, just really intentional
um.
I've got one for standingoutside the classroom and doing
some wall push-ups again if theyfeel like punching a wall, but
you know it's probably not bestfor them to do that, so I get
(15:01):
them to do something physicalthat's going to exert some of
that energy.
I've got options for journalingand brain dumping and remember,
if those don't fit, we justdon't have to have them as an
option.
If you don't want an option forthem to run out of the
classroom and go get a drink bythemselves, if that's not safe
for your setting, if that's notgoing to work for you, if you
don't have another staff memberto support you with that, you
(15:22):
just take it out of the deck.
You don't have to have astrategy that's not going to
work for you.
I just have the options thatwork for me, and the thing I
love about the strategies that Ihave in my calm corner is that
they're transferable into thereal world Our young people are
going to be driving, they'regoing to be getting jobs,
they're going to be inrelationships where they have to
, you know, like engage inintimate ways, you know the
(15:47):
discussions they're going to behaving, like they've got a lot
of responsibility for the peoplethey're going to be with and if
they can have regulationstrategies that will be able to
help them in social situations,in work situations, when they're
driving to work, when all ofthose things, I think it's going
to be like so much better thanus having a couple of you know
(16:10):
just things in a corner.
That's not necessarily going tomirror the real world for our
older students.
So, yeah, that's why I love it.
There are things that you can doright now sitting here, sitting
anywhere.
They can be in their bed athome.
They might be hearing theirparents have a fight and they
can do one of these strategiesto help them cope with the with
the real life things thatthey're going through in their
(16:30):
world.
So that's why I love thestrategies that I have in that
deck of cards.
I've given them to students totake home.
Multiple times I've said youknow you're struggling with
something.
Yeah, like that is the strategythat's working for you.
I want you to keep these threecards in your bag at all times
and when you're struggling, pullthose cards out and and use
them Like that's what they'rethere for.
(16:50):
So another thing that I have inmy calm corner are some
reflection templates and somescaffolds and just other
printables that they can take,take to their desk and use
without disruption so they canregulate, have a mindful moment,
and then I can continue toteach the class and I'll just
talk to them after.
So the kind of things that Ihave in my template kind of pack
(17:12):
.
I'll just have them in one ofthose, um, you know, the,
whatever they're called, thepaper holder, thingamajiggies.
So I just have them there on mytable or another table in the
corner or wherever they are, um,and they can just take one.
So the kind of things that Ihave in there.
I have a template that has, uh,what I can control and what I
(17:33):
can't control, it kind ofscaffolds.
They're thinking around that.
So in the circles they can writedown what they can control in
the situation they're facing andin the situation that's really
they're struggling with, andthen they can write down what
they can't control and that justhelps them to ground and to,
you know, to find moreresolutions in what they're
going through.
I have principles that havethem able to identify their
(17:56):
feelings.
I have principles that helpthem to ground in their 5, 4, 3,
2, 1, their sensory stuff.
So you know five things, I cansee four things, I can hear
three things, I can feel.
You know all of those thingsand then I've got an SOS
reflection.
So in the SOS reflection theyhave to stop, they have to
(18:19):
observe what's happening intheir bodies, how they're
feeling, what's going on forthem, and then the third S is to
steer.
So it's stop, observe and thensteer.
And I've just got like a littlereflection template, like a
little scaffold for them to kindof write down those things.
I use other things like soothingscribbles and other drawing
activities just to help them toget mindful and get in the
(18:39):
moment and help them to focustheir energy on something else.
So I've just got a bunch ofdifferent scaffolds and
templates so you can useanything for this.
You can use some journalprompts, just things that they
can pick up and take back totheir desk with them, because
what we're doing here is we'recrafting a calm space for
students to develop their skillsin self-regulation.
Going back to the purpose of it, we're doing all of the things
(19:00):
that the space intends.
We're doing it in a way thatworks for us and our setting.
In a secondary classroom wherewe don't have a specific corner,
where we're not with thesestudents 24 7 to reinforce the
expectations, where we're onlywith students three times a week
or less than that, but stillbeing able to embed the
strategies that we know aregoing to really support us to
(19:23):
manage big behaviors in theclassroom, just adapting it to
our setting.
So what do I think about usingcalm corners in secondary?
I love it.
Clearly I've been talking aboutit for the last 20 minutes, how
much I love my calm cards andthe emotional literacy that
we're building in and just allof those things that will help
students to regulate and beempowered to manage their
(19:45):
behaviors.
And all of those things Right,but not if they're just an
awkward copy and paste fromprimary to secondary and there's
not the intention behind it andwe're not really thinking about
how to adapt it.
By the way, if you are primaryand you're listening right now,
all the things that I've spokenabout you can use too.
That's not stopping you.
I'm just talking about adaptingthings to a setting where we're
(20:05):
not with these students 24seven, where we might see them
once a week.
And then we're trying to embedthese strategies and we're
trying to set boundaries arounda space.
And it's hard, it's reallytough to do that.
Remember, it just needs to workfor you and your context.
You are the most importantperson because you're leading
that space and you need to becomfortable and confident in
(20:27):
being able to do that in a waythat's going to work with the
learning and with everythingyou're doing in the classroom,
not just tacking something onbecause you've been told that
students need to have a calmspace or you've been seeing it
all over the internet, all thesebeautiful calm spaces.
It just needs to work for youand it needs to be fit for
(20:48):
purpose and you can definitelydo a calm space that is fit for
purpose in secondary.
But honestly, the mostincredible thing that has come
into my life are those calmcorner cards.
They have been the biggest gamechanger for being able to
prioritize student regulation ina way that works for me.
I can use them out onplayground duty.
I can use them when I go onschool camps.
(21:08):
I can use them when I go toathletics carnivals.
I can use them when I'm in anassembly, every single situation
that I'm in.
I just have them in my bag orin my pocket and I can pull them
out whenever I need to, and Iknow my students well enough to
be able to know.
Okay, I think that's going towork for you.
If you are one of my fabulousbehavior clubbers, you can log
in and download those cardsinside of the resource hub along
(21:28):
with all of my other CalmCorner resources included in
this month's bundle.
There's, you know, over ahundred printable pages of Calm
Corner resources, from, like,beautiful posters, like with
emotional literacy embedded intothem, to all the printables
that I spoke about, to anemotional check-in station, like
.
There's so much there that youcan use to make your Calm Corner
(21:52):
really special but also do itin a way that's going to work
for you in your classroom.
So you can definitely go in anddownload those.
Those are in the resource pack.
If you're not a behaviorclubber, you can either join the
wait list for later in the year, because we are at capacity at
the moment, or you can get thecalm corner bundle separately.
I will pop all of those detailsin the show notes for you the
(22:14):
link to the calm corner bundleand the link to the Behavior
Club if you would like to jointhe wait list.
But remember you also don't haveto start with anything fancy.
All of those strategies that Ispoke about that I use on my
Calm Cards the 5, 4, 3, 2, 1,the stand and work, the
splashing water on the face,tensing and releasing breathing
exercises, just doing some wallpushups or chair pushups, brain
(22:37):
dumping, some journaling all ofthose things you can just write
on a piece of paper, like justfold your piece of paper into
four, write it on the piece ofpaper, laminate it and there are
your cards.
You don't have to do anythingfancy.
I'm such an advocate for youdoing it like, just doing it
scrappy, just doing it inwhatever way works for you.
We're busy.
It doesn't have to be bloodyperfect all the time, you know.
(23:01):
So, um, if you don't have thecapacity to invest in my calm
corner resources, that's okay.
Just do it in a way that worksfor you.
I just want you to be able to beempowered to do this in your
classroom in a way that worksand not be like the teacher that
I spoke about at the start, whopoured money and energy and so
much into the most incrediblespace that I've seen in
secondary, only for it not to befunctional and for it to work.
By the way, after me talking toher about that space, she made
(23:23):
a couple of tweaks and she itwas incredible, like the change
was day and night, because shewas able to model things and
teach them things.
So it wasn't a waste of hertime, but she just needed
someone to guide the way.
So I was so, so, so proud ofher.
She did such an amazing job.
Uh, okay, model regulation, keepit authentic.
(23:43):
Keep going back to the purpose.
Keep going back to that.
Why not?
To have the most Pinterestperfect classroom in the school,
although my resources willdefinitely make it look like
that.
I'm so happy with a lot ofteachers have sent me photos and
it's just amazing, but itreally is to simply have
strategies that best support ouryoung people and help us get
(24:04):
back to teaching in theclassroom in the best way
possible.
Okay, lovely teachers, that isall for this week.
I will see you next time anduntil then, take care.
Bye for now.
Oh, hi there, teachers.
Welcome to the Unteachablespodcast.
I'm your host, claire English,and I am just a fellow teacher,
a toddler mama and a big oldbehavior nerd on a mission to
demystify and simplify thatlittle thing called classroom
management.
The way we've all been taughtto manage behavior and classroom
manage has left us playingcrowd control, which is not
(00:22):
something I subscribe to,because we're not dancers, we're
teachers.
So listen in as I walk youthrough the game, changing
strategies and I mean the thingsthat we can actually do and
action in our classrooms thatwill allow you to lean into your
beautiful values as acompassionate educator and feel
empowered to run your room witha little more calm and, dare I
(00:43):
say it, a lot less chaos.
I will see you in the episode.
Hello, lovely teachers, claireEnglish here, your host of the
Unteachables podcast, and it isso wonderful to have you back
here to join me.
Today I'm going to be talkingabout calm corners and, more
specifically, calm corners likeare they worth the rage, are
(01:05):
they worth actually puttingtogether?
And this is specifically forsecondary teachers, because
primary, yes, I get it right.
Like you're with your studentsall day, every day, you are
there with your students, youestablish a culture that you can
reinforce in every moment ofthe day.
When it comes to secondary,it's a little bit different.
(01:26):
It's a little bit harder whenit comes to things like calm
corners.
Number one because of thephysical space like it's pretty
hard when our classrooms are thesize of a shoebox I'm not
talking for every single teacher, but every single secondary
classroom that I've taught in atleast.
There's barely enough room forthe tables and the students to
go in.
So calm corners are a littlebit more of a pipe dream when it
(01:47):
comes to secondary classrooms.
But mainly I'm talking aboutthe fact that we have multiple
classes.
Oh my gosh, can you hear thelawn mowing outside?
I know the world can't stopbecause of my podcast, but it's
very annoying and I hope it'snot going to disrupt whatever
I'm saying in your ears.
I hope it's not too annoyingand you don't want to turn it
off.
What was I saying?
(02:07):
Yes, calm corners.
We have like hundreds ofstudents that we teach.
We have multiple classes everysingle day.
So establishing a culturearound calm corners is
incredibly difficult when wehave such a limited time with
them.
So in the settings that I'vetaught, I know that it's going
to be different globally.
(02:27):
But in the secondary settingsI've taught in I'm an English
teacher I might have everysingle class, I might have seven
classes and I might have myclasses three times a week for
75 minutes.
Establishing a culture aroundregulation and calm is a lot
harder.
I'm going to have to continuethis after that, uh,
whippersnippering or mowing stop, so I'll be back.
Okay, I'm back and I'm actuallysitting in a closet.
(02:49):
I decided to come into, uh, myclothes closet, so I've punched
myself up in here.
I looked at the window it'sactually a leaf blower and that
poor person just trying to dotheir job and I'm like shooting
them daggers up from myapartment window, anyway.
So I wanted to start thisepisode by just telling you
(03:11):
about the most beautiful calmcorner I've seen in a secondary
setting.
It was beautiful this teacherthat I went in to observe.
I walked in and it was justamazing.
She clearly cared so much abouther students and her classroom
was luckily a bit bigger thanmost in the school, because the
rooms were very tiny, and I'mtalking when I say a little bit
bigger, I mean they had like acorner, one space where a table
(03:34):
wasn't, so maybe not even like ameter squared, anyway.
So I was leading on teachingand learning and one of the
amazing things that I got to dowas do regular observations and,
don't worry, I made sure theywere very supportive and
worthwhile process.
I never had any complaintsabout the observations that I
did.
I think when you're a teacheryou get it.
So I loved doing observationsand my teachers actually were
(03:59):
welcoming them as well, so itwas a very good process.
I just wanted to make thatclear because I know people hear
the word observation and go oh,observations Anyway.
So she managed to make thisspace just look perfect.
You know cushions, like.
There were really awesomeposters about emotions, lots of
that emotional literacyhappening, a few books.
It was just really cute andcozy.
But then the lesson itselfstarted and this is the kind of
(04:21):
thing that I observed whenstudents came into the room and
they were dysregulated, theyweren't using that space.
It wasn't referenced, it wasn'tbeing used at all.
It was just a nothing to thestudents who actually could have
really benefited from thisspace.
A big group of students came inand they sat in the corner, in
the calm corner, and they justwere there and it was really
(04:45):
hard for the teacher to get themaway from that space.
She took ages to encourage themto get out of that space.
And then later in the lesson astudent came up, she grabbed a
pillow and started whacking herfriend with it across the head.
So it's safe to say that thatcalm corner actually caused way
more problems than solved them.
(05:05):
You know, like, what was thepurpose here?
It was causing far more issuesthan it was helping anybody.
It definitely wasn't helpingthe teacher.
So, uh, like, what's the pointof it, right?
So I got curious when I spoketo this teacher and I'm like you
know what was the purpose of it?
What's it being used for?
How is it being embedded?
And the teacher couldn't reallytell me.
She had these beautifulintentions for this beautiful,
(05:27):
perfect space and that is sohard to achieve in secondary and
had so much potential.
Yet the actual foundations ofthe space were missing.
And I want to just say, likeall of the props to her, because
if you can create a calm spacein secondary, that's amazing.
And if you have the courage todo it in secondary, with all of
(05:49):
those kind of factors that playagainst us, like the fact that
we've got a bunch of differentyou know classes and it's hard
to embed.
You know it's something thattakes a lot of courage and a lot
of consideration to do.
So I was so impressed by thespace that she'd created, but
the foundations were missing.
So let's talk about the purposeof a calm space.
(06:10):
If you want a calm space inyour secondary classroom, it
really is to empower students tolearn the skills of
self-regulation, to developemotional literacy, to
strengthen their socialemotional skills.
So when they have wobbles likewe all do, I definitely have
plenty of wobbles rather thantelling you to F off when
they're angry, they can tune in,recognize their own needs and
(06:31):
go and make a different choiceto regulate.
That doesn't automaticallyhappen because of a few
regulation strategies thatyou've put on a wall or, you
know, on a desk.
Just like putting a times tableposter on the wall is not going
to help your students learntheir times tables without
explicitly teaching and engagingand modeling those skills.
So, yes, we are building skills, we're building these beautiful
(06:55):
life skills, but it's not goingto happen just by being in
proxy of a calm corner.
Now let's think about thefunction of a calm corner.
They need to work in yourcontext.
They need to support studentswithout being a distraction or
detracting from the learning.
They need to be done in a waythat will allow you to continue
to teach as much as possiblewhile that self-regulation is
(07:18):
going on.
That's why you need to havespaces that are boundary and
used very explicitly andembedded into your classroom
management approach.
So let's talk about the purposeof them.
The students weren't beingtaught how to use these skills.
The space itself wasn't taughtin terms of like the function,
so it was a distraction and itwas detracting from the learning
(07:41):
.
A cushion might not have beenthe best choice for this teacher
.
You know, having a space withthings that would detracting
from the learning.
A cushion might not have beenthe best choice for this teacher
.
You know, having a space withthings that would detract or
distract, without boundariesaround, that probably wasn't the
best way to get the engagementwith the space or do the space
in a way that's going to beeffective.
So how I do this?
How do I create a space that'sboundaried and used explicitly
(08:01):
and embedded into my classroommanagement approach?
Read and used explicitly andembedded into my classroom
management approach.
First off, I explicitly teachone skill at a time to a class.
I might do this just bymodeling that I've had a tough
day.
So I'm going to take a sip ofwater or I'm going to take a
breath, or I might do this in amore in-depth way through
teaching one of my SEL lessons,like the one on when we flip our
lids.
(08:21):
So I'm going to be explicitlyteaching some skills around self
regulation, but I'm also goingto teach students why
self-regulation is important andthe times we can use these
strategies that we've got inthis calm corner.
That can take some time, or itcan also just be a two minute
chat at the start of the lesson.
Oh my gosh, the photocopier wasdown.
I am very stressed right now.
(08:42):
Yay, so I'm just going to takea sip of my water and then we're
going to start the lesson.
So it doesn't have to beanything.
I really am a firm believer thatSEL is not something that
necessarily happens in a lesson.
It's something that happensjust in the day-to-day modeling
and discussions that we have.
Of course, I do also teachlessons, but it's really
(09:02):
important for us to be modelingthat in the day-to-day as well.
Lessons, but it's reallyimportant for us to be modeling
that in the day-to-day as well.
The second thing is I will workthe strategies into explicit
discussions about behavior andmake a plan.
So just say that Sally had awobbly moment in the lesson and
she ripped her work up.
I might chat to Sally after.
I will use the resources inthat space to get her to unpack
(09:23):
her feelings.
I'll get her to unpack herfeelings, I'll get her to
identify strategies that mightwork for her the next time she's
feeling that way and then I'mgoing to make an explicit plan
on how to use these strategies.
So it's not a free-for-all.
So maybe it is in secondarythat that calm corner, that calm
space, is only to be gonetowards, like only to be to be
gone to by the students if theyhave an explicit strategy in
(09:46):
place that we have made togetheras just really strategic and
explicit plan.
Then the third thing, the thirdthing that I make sure I do when
it comes to my calm corner, mycalm space.
By the way, most of the time mycalm space and I'm putting like
little inverted commas herewith my hands my calm space
usually is just a pack of cardsin my bag, because I move from
(10:08):
class to class.
I don't have a set classroom alot of the time, so most of the
time I actually just have like apocket.
I call it my pocket calm cornerand it's just a bunch of cards
that I can use for students toum, to kind of come and have a
regular, you know a regulatingmoment.
But because I use these cards,I can also just print out the
ones that they've chosen astheir strategies and then they
can keep it on their person.
(10:29):
So, like, the way that weapproach calm corners in
secondary has to work for us.
So the third thing is I willonly use strategies and the
things I am comfortable havingin action in my classroom.
If I don't want a bunch ofcushions, if I know certain
things are going to cause chaos,if I don't want the option of
leaving the classroom as aregulation strategy, I just
won't work that into the space.
(10:49):
I won't have the cushion, Iwon't have certain fidgets
available just for anybody topick up and use.
I will only use the things thatwork for me and work for that
space.
Of course, if a student needs afidget toy, if they need like
something, then I will make surethey have access to that.
But it's not necessarily goingto be something that's in a box
(11:09):
there for anybody to grab,because you know my year nines
will just go there, grab it outand chuck it at their friends,
like it's not something that I'mgoing to have just regularly
available.
The next thing is I will set upthe space in a way that I know
that I personally can manage andcontrol.
So, as I said before, havingcalm cards in a drawer at my
(11:32):
desk or having a routine aroundthat where students come up and
I hand them a strategy that's,you know, pre-planned or maybe
students have one in theirpocket or at their desks already
, or maybe I go around when Isee a student having a moment of
dysregulation and I choose astrategy or give them two cards
as choices.
So I'm really setting upregulation and self-regulation
(11:55):
in my classroom in a way that Iknow that I can manage.
I'm a stronger like.
I feel like I'm very strong atclassroom management now.
So I feel like, with mypresence and with my boundaries
and with the expectations that Iset, I'm quite confident in
having a space in my room thatmaybe another teacher might not
(12:15):
be comfortable with.
I feel like I can manage thatin most situations now, whereas
another teacher might not feelcomfortable with that.
So really do what works for youand your space.
So my calm corner if I'm goingall out.
Uh, in my secondary classroomwith a calm corner, this is what
it looks like.
This is how I set up my calmcorner, like.
(12:36):
So I'm just thinking back to mylast like full-time gig where I
had a full-time classroom.
My English classroom was mygo-to, that was my space, that
was my sanctuary.
This is what I do in my spacehave visuals up on the wall.
I am always embedding thatemotional literacy and making it
intentional so students willknow where to look when needed,
and I will always use this inthe discussion.
(12:58):
So if my class is having atough time, if I'm having a
behavior chat, I'll always referback to those visuals on the
wall, always be referring backto.
What are you feeling right now?
What was the feeling beneaththis?
How are we feeling when thathappened?
And really trying to embed thatemotional literacy in the
day-to-day rather than having it, as it's not just a poster up
(13:19):
on the wall.
It's a tool that we can use todiscuss.
So then when students aresitting there and they're
struggling, they can look up atthe wall and they'll know how to
use that, they'll know how toidentify things, they'll know
how to then do something that'sgoing to help them in that
moment, you know, deescalate.
And the next thing that is amust have in my classroom when
it comes to calm corner and Isaid this before it's just my
(13:39):
cards, my pocket calm cornercards.
I love these because it's justeasy.
You know they're just 25different strategies students
can use when they're feelingdysregulated.
So some examples of these Imight have.
I have 25 cards and they allhave a different strategy on
them in different categories.
So like, move it, feel it,think it.
(13:59):
I can't remember the last onenow, but here are a few examples
of those strategies.
So five, four, three, two, one,a grounding exercise where they
go through their um, like fivethings I can see, four things I
can hear Like, so they gothrough their senses and it's
just a grounding exercise to getthem in the moment I have an
option for standing and working.
(14:20):
If they need to get somemovements, I've got an option
for going and splashing somewater on their face and taking a
drink.
I've got options for stretching, tensing and releasing, which I
feel is a really good one forgetting energy moving and to get
that kind of energy out.
So they tense up their body andthey hold it for five seconds
and they release and theycontinue to do that for however
(14:41):
long you need to do that, forI've got breathing exercises,
like just little cards, andthey've got, like you know,
different exercises they canfollow, just really intentional
um.
I've got one for standingoutside the classroom and doing
some wall push-ups again if theyfeel like punching a wall, but
you know it's probably not bestfor them to do that, so I get
(15:01):
them to do something physicalthat's going to exert some of
that energy.
I've got options for journalingand brain dumping and remember,
if those don't fit, we justdon't have to have them as an
option.
If you don't want an option forthem to run out of the
classroom and go get a drink bythemselves, if that's not safe
for your setting, if that's notgoing to work for you, if you
don't have another staff memberto support you with that, you
(15:22):
just take it out of the deck.
You don't have to have astrategy that's not going to
work for you.
I just have the options thatwork for me, and the thing I
love about the strategies that Ihave in my calm corner is that
they're transferable into thereal world Our young people are
going to be driving, they'regoing to be getting jobs,
they're going to be inrelationships where they have to
, you know, like engage inintimate ways, you know the
(15:47):
discussions they're going to behaving, like they've got a lot
of responsibility for the peoplethey're going to be with and if
they can have regulationstrategies that will be able to
help them in social situations,in work situations, when they're
driving to work, when all ofthose things, I think it's going
to be like so much better thanus having a couple of you know
(16:10):
just things in a corner.
That's not necessarily going tomirror the real world for our
older students.
So, yeah, that's why I love it.
There are things that you can doright now sitting here, sitting
anywhere.
They can be in their bed athome.
They might be hearing theirparents have a fight and they
can do one of these strategiesto help them cope with the with
the real life things thatthey're going through in their
(16:30):
world.
So that's why I love thestrategies that I have in that
deck of cards.
I've given them to students totake home.
Multiple times I've said youknow you're struggling with
something.
Yeah, like that is the strategythat's working for you.
I want you to keep these threecards in your bag at all times
and when you're struggling, pullthose cards out and and use
them Like that's what they'rethere for.
(16:50):
So another thing that I have inmy calm corner are some
reflection templates and somescaffolds and just other
printables that they can take,take to their desk and use
without disruption so they canregulate, have a mindful moment,
and then I can continue toteach the class and I'll just
talk to them after.
So the kind of things that Ihave in my template kind of pack
(17:12):
.
I'll just have them in one ofthose, um, you know, the,
whatever they're called, thepaper holder, thingamajiggies.
So I just have them there on mytable or another table in the
corner or wherever they are, um,and they can just take one.
So the kind of things that Ihave in there.
I have a template that has, uh,what I can control and what I
(17:33):
can't control, it kind ofscaffolds.
They're thinking around that.
So in the circles they can writedown what they can control in
the situation they're facing andin the situation that's really
they're struggling with, andthen they can write down what
they can't control and that justhelps them to ground and to,
you know, to find moreresolutions in what they're
going through.
I have principles that havethem able to identify their
(17:56):
feelings.
I have principles that helpthem to ground in their 5, 4, 3,
2, 1, their sensory stuff.
So you know five things, I cansee four things, I can hear
three things, I can feel.
You know all of those thingsand then I've got an SOS
reflection.
So in the SOS reflection theyhave to stop, they have to
(18:19):
observe what's happening intheir bodies, how they're
feeling, what's going on forthem, and then the third S is to
steer.
So it's stop, observe and thensteer.
And I've just got like a littlereflection template, like a
little scaffold for them to kindof write down those things.
I use other things like soothingscribbles and other drawing
activities just to help them toget mindful and get in the
(18:39):
moment and help them to focustheir energy on something else.
So I've just got a bunch ofdifferent scaffolds and
templates so you can useanything for this.
You can use some journalprompts, just things that they
can pick up and take back totheir desk with them, because
what we're doing here is we'recrafting a calm space for
students to develop their skillsin self-regulation.
Going back to the purpose of it, we're doing all of the things
(19:00):
that the space intends.
We're doing it in a way thatworks for us and our setting.
In a secondary classroom wherewe don't have a specific corner,
where we're not with thesestudents 24 7 to reinforce the
expectations, where we're onlywith students three times a week
or less than that, but stillbeing able to embed the
strategies that we know aregoing to really support us to
(19:23):
manage big behaviors in theclassroom, just adapting it to
our setting.
So what do I think about usingcalm corners in secondary?
I love it.
Clearly I've been talking aboutit for the last 20 minutes, how
much I love my calm cards andthe emotional literacy that
we're building in and just allof those things that will help
students to regulate and beempowered to manage their
(19:45):
behaviors.
And all of those things Right,but not if they're just an
awkward copy and paste fromprimary to secondary and there's
not the intention behind it andwe're not really thinking about
how to adapt it.
By the way, if you are primaryand you're listening right now,
all the things that I've spokenabout you can use too.
That's not stopping you.
I'm just talking about adaptingthings to a setting where we're
(20:05):
not with these students 24seven, where we might see them
once a week.
And then we're trying to embedthese strategies and we're
trying to set boundaries arounda space.
And it's hard, it's reallytough to do that.
Remember, it just needs to workfor you and your context.
You are the most importantperson because you're leading
that space and you need to becomfortable and confident in
(20:27):
being able to do that in a waythat's going to work with the
learning and with everythingyou're doing in the classroom,
not just tacking something onbecause you've been told that
students need to have a calmspace or you've been seeing it
all over the internet, all thesebeautiful calm spaces.
It just needs to work for youand it needs to be fit for
(20:48):
purpose and you can definitelydo a calm space that is fit for
purpose in secondary.
But honestly, the mostincredible thing that has come
into my life are those calmcorner cards.
They have been the biggest gamechanger for being able to
prioritize student regulation ina way that works for me.
I can use them out onplayground duty.
I can use them when I go onschool camps.
(21:08):
I can use them when I go toathletics carnivals.
I can use them when I'm in anassembly, every single situation
that I'm in.
I just have them in my bag orin my pocket and I can pull them
out whenever I need to, and Iknow my students well enough to
be able to know.
Okay, I think that's going towork for you.
If you are one of my fabulousbehavior clubbers, you can log
in and download those cardsinside of the resource hub along
(21:28):
with all of my other CalmCorner resources included in
this month's bundle.
There's, you know, over ahundred printable pages of Calm
Corner resources, from, like,beautiful posters, like with
emotional literacy embedded intothem, to all the printables
that I spoke about, to anemotional check-in station, like
.
There's so much there that youcan use to make your Calm Corner
(21:52):
really special but also do itin a way that's going to work
for you in your classroom.
So you can definitely go in anddownload those.
Those are in the resource pack.
If you're not a behaviorclubber, you can either join the
wait list for later in the year, because we are at capacity at
the moment, or you can get thecalm corner bundle separately.
I will pop all of those detailsin the show notes for you the
(22:14):
link to the calm corner bundleand the link to the Behavior
Club if you would like to jointhe wait list.
But remember you also don't haveto start with anything fancy.
All of those strategies that Ispoke about that I use on my
Calm Cards the 5, 4, 3, 2, 1,the stand and work, the
splashing water on the face,tensing and releasing breathing
exercises, just doing some wallpushups or chair pushups, brain
(22:37):
dumping, some journaling all ofthose things you can just write
on a piece of paper, like justfold your piece of paper into
four, write it on the piece ofpaper, laminate it and there are
your cards.
You don't have to do anythingfancy.
I'm such an advocate for youdoing it like, just doing it
scrappy, just doing it inwhatever way works for you.
We're busy.
It doesn't have to be bloodyperfect all the time, you know.
(23:01):
So, um, if you don't have thecapacity to invest in my calm
corner resources, that's okay.
Just do it in a way that worksfor you.
I just want you to be able to beempowered to do this in your
classroom in a way that worksand not be like the teacher that
I spoke about at the start, whopoured money and energy and so
much into the most incrediblespace that I've seen in
secondary, only for it not to befunctional and for it to work.
By the way, after me talking toher about that space, she made
(23:23):
a couple of tweaks and she itwas incredible, like the change
was day and night, because shewas able to model things and
teach them things.
So it wasn't a waste of hertime, but she just needed
someone to guide the way.
So I was so, so, so proud ofher.
She did such an amazing job.
Uh, okay, model regulation, keepit authentic.
(23:43):
Keep going back to the purpose.
Keep going back to that.
Why not?
To have the most Pinterestperfect classroom in the school,
although my resources willdefinitely make it look like
that.
I'm so happy with a lot ofteachers have sent me photos and
it's just amazing, but itreally is to simply have
strategies that best support ouryoung people and help us get
(24:04):
back to teaching in theclassroom in the best way
possible.
Okay, lovely teachers, that isall for this week.
I will see you next time anduntil then, take care.
Bye for now.
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