An overview of The Zones of Regulation Digital Curriculum, how it’s designed, the concepts and skills it covers, and best practices for implementation. 

Welcome, this guide walks you through the process of using the Digital Curriculum. In addition to this guide, there are four valuable and engaging Adult Learning Modules to help Zones Leaders develop the foundational understanding needed to teach The Zones with confidence, integrity, and fidelity. We highly recommend reviewing these modules before

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The concepts within the curriculum build upon each other, with later concepts expanding upon skills, lessons, and vocabulary taught in earlier ones. For example, learners need to name and explain the four Zones of Regulation (Concept 2) before they can check in in each of the four Zones (Concept 5). 

  • Concepts 1–6: Foster self-, social, and situational awareness. After defining regulation, the focus is on building emotional awareness by first exploring feelings and states in others and how they relate to The Zones, establishing that all our feelings and Zones are okay. Then we advance to self- exploration, including identifying interoceptive body sensations and signals that help learners recognize how they are feeling. Learning progresses to the Zones Check-In, teaching learners to be mindful in the moment of how they are feeling. Learning culminates with learners digging into situational awareness and its impact on their feelings/Zones. This includes exploring the triggers and sparks that affect their feelings and regulation. Understanding different perspectives is woven across concepts. 
  • Concepts 7–10: Explore and apply regulation and decision-making strategies. We begin the second half of the curriculum by introducing regulation tools and how they help to regulate each Zone. Learners explore various tools and strategies with the Tool of the Week and create a customized Zones Toolbox. Next, the focus shifts to supporting learners in decision-making around regulation, including using Stop, Opt & Go as a strategy to pause before we act, think through our options, and use our goals to help decide what option will work well. Learning culminates with The Zones of Regulation Pathway, which provides concrete steps to apply the concepts taught in real time, while deepening learners’ metacognitive regulation strategies and self-reflection abilities. 

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Individualized Progress: The focus of The Zones of Regulation is for all learners to build competencies in regulation within their own developmental continuum and make progress on their authentic goals. The Zones of Regulation is NOT a behavior management approach, rather a proactive teaching framework.

The instructional resources within The Zones of Regulation Digital Curriculum are a mix of digital and non-digital supports. Each concept includes the following parts: 

CONCEPT GUIDE

Provides leaders with detailed step-by-step instruction for teaching each concept, much like what one would see in a lesson plan. In addition to instructional and planning guidance, key parts include:

  • What and Why section offering essential background information for Zones leaders to build comfort and understanding around skills being taught 
  • Trauma-informed and Culturally Responsive practices 
  • Accessibility and Adaptations for more support 
  • Alternative Activities to supplement or replace select digital activities with real objects or “live” off-screen instruction 
  • Extend Learning, which includes Zones Climate ideas for integrating and extending key lesson concepts into the 
  • Teaching Tips for scaffolding, deepening, and extending key lesson concepts into the learner’s environment, as well as the More Zones Resources that include recommendations for optional ancillary Zones products that support, reinforce, or extend the concept being taught.

INTERACTIVE PRESENTATION

Learner-facing slides, activities, and videos designed to engage learners through instruction via Smartboard, screen, projector, computer, or tablet. Each Interactive Presentation includes the following: 

Learning Target icon

LEARNING TARGETS: Learner-facing objectives

KEY VOCABULARY: Essential terminology

HOOK: A brief activity that engages learners and “hooks” them on the lesson

CORE LESSON: Direct instruction on learning targets

GROUP ACTIVITY: A hands-on activity that helps learners meaningfully apply the Learning Targets 

GEARED ACTIVITIES: A menu of supplemental differentiated activities designed to apply, extend, or reinforce concepts being taught. These enrichment activities support learners across a developmental continuum of abilities. 

WRAP UP: Learners review the Learning Targets and key concept information, while also being prompted to consider ways to apply this new knowledge to their daily lives. 

CHECK FOR LEARNING

A quick formative assessment to assess learners’ progress toward the concept Learning Targets. 

BRIDGE

A summary of each concept to share with others who support learners, including caregivers and support team. Each Bridge includes pertinent concept information and visuals, as well as a fun activity to support generalization. 

ZONES VISUALS

Bring The Zones to life in your setting with these visuals that reinforce and extend key Zones concepts. 

During the design of The Zones Digital Curriculum, we worked closely with CAST, a nonprofit education research and development organization leader in inclusive education that created the Universal Design for Learning framework and UDL Guidelines. Like CAST, we believe that all learners deserve access to high-quality, equitable educational resources that offer meaningful and challenging learning opportunities. We strive to ensure that learners from all backgrounds, economic statuses, or circumstances, as well as those with disabilities, can engage with all of our content and visuals and find their learning inclusive and engaging. 

UNIVERSAL DESIGN FOR LEARNING (UDL) GUIDELINES: 

The UDL Guidelines are a tool used in the implementation of Universal Design for Learning. These guidelines offer a set of concrete suggestions that can be applied to any discipline or domain to ensure that all learners can access and participate in meaningful, challenging learning opportunities. 

Teaching The Zones involves a lot more than putting up visuals and suggesting learners regulate with a tool. To teach The Zones of Regulation with fidelity, we recommend the following exposure for learners as a best practice: 

  • MINIMUM of 4 months devoted to teaching and reinforcing the concepts from The Zones Digital Curriculum 
  • MINIMUM 40 minutes of direct instruction per concept (can be spread out over a week or more) 
  • ONGOING exposure to the Essential Elements for a Zones Climate

Concepts within The Zones Digital Curriculum are designed to be taught during multiple sessions so learners have time to explore, practice, and apply what they are learning. Below, we suggest how a concept may be broken down into multiple sessions. Please note that pacing is flexible and should be guided by learners’ understanding. Ultimately you, as the leader, should determine what is best for your learners. Each concept can be paced differently, for example, by devoting more time to the Core Lesson or Group Activity. Use the Concept Planner to help you organize and track your instruction.

Recommendations for Concept Pacing 

Observe how learners apply the concepts and demonstrate knowledge in everyday situations, before moving on to a new concept that may include more complex/advanced skills and content and/ or prerequisite knowledge. For example, if learners are challenged by checking-in in Concept 5: The Zones Check-In, continue building self-awareness and revisit Concept 4: My Signals, My Zones to explore more signals associated with different Zone feelings.

You may find it useful to break down some concepts even fur– ther and teach them over several weeks. For example: 

  • With “Concept 2: Introducing The Zones of Regulation,” after teaching the Hook in one session, break the Core Lesson into four sessions, using each session to introduce one of the four Zones. 
  • Or, for “Concept 4: My Signals, My Zones,” after teaching the Hook in one session and the Core Lesson in one session, break apart the Group Activity into four mini-sessions, using each session to teach signals for one Zone. 

Use the suggestions in the Keep It Real! section of the Interactive Presentation, the Geared Activities, and the Zones Climate to help learners grasp the concept and meaningfully apply it to their lives.

We recommend that concepts be taught in order, as each concept builds upon skills acquired in the prior concepts. Teaching the 10 concepts, at a minimum, should span 4 months, spending roughly at least a week on each concept. It is not necessary to teach a new concept every week. Moving too fast through the curriculum can cause learners to shut down, feel unsuccessful, and oppose doing anything “Zones” related. We never want The Zones to become a trigger for learners, leading them to a dysregulated state. 

 

Spiraling is reinforcing previously learned concepts for learners. This leads to better long-term mastery of information, skills, and concepts. Spiraling helps learners make and keep connections over time, which creates more robust pathways for recalling information. 

Spiraling Within the Instructional Period 

Though we recommend you teach the Zones Concepts in order, we also recommend spiraling back to previously taught concepts to revisit skills throughout an instructional period (such as a school year). Spiraling Zones Concepts can look like any of the following examples: 

  • After teaching “Concept 4: My Signals, My Zones,” revisit “Concept 2: Introducing The Zones of Regulation,” to explore and expand emotional vocabulary within the four Zones. 
  • After teaching “Concept 5: The Zones Check-In,” revisit “Concept 4: My Signals, My Zones,” to identify new body signals. 
  • After teaching “Concept 8: Building My Zones Toolbox,” revisit “Concept 6: Situations that Trigger and Spark,” to identify new triggers and sparks. 
  • After teaching “Concept 10: The Zones of Regulation Pathway,” revisit “Concept 8: Building My Zones Toolbox,” to refine and expand the tools in your toolboxes. 
  • Updating visuals over the scope of instruction 

The Zones of Regulation is designed as a multi-grade curriculum, and it is expected that concepts will be revisited across grades. Given that The Zones of Regulation integrates a metacognitive system to think about regulation, this system must be refreshed in the learner’s memory. For example, every subsequent year, review “Concept 2: Introducing The Zones of Regulation” while also growing the number of emotions associated with each Zone in the new Zones Visuals you construct. 

The following concepts are essential to review annually, in order to re-establish the Zones Climate, update learner supports (such as Me and My Zones Booklet and Zones Toolbox), and apply learning developed over time: 

  • “Concept 2: Introducing The Zones of Regulation,” adding further emotional vocabulary 
  • “Concept 4: My Signals, My Zones,” adding new body signals associated with emotions 
  • “Concept 5: The Zones Check-In,” finding deeper awareness of feelings and signals
  • “Concept 6: Situations that Trigger and Spark,” expanding awareness as learners develop
  • “Concept 8: Building My Zones Toolbox,” exploring new tools as learners develop and environments change 
  • “Concept 10: The Zones of Regulation Pathway,” deepening application of the pathway to life experiences 

You may opt to teach more concepts than those listed above. The flexibility built into each concept’s Geared Activities allows you to revisit content, while offering new activities and ways to explore skills. 

Within each concept, the leader has choices in how to best revisit the content. For example, in the figure below, leaders in lower grades review a concept’s Interactive Presentation with learners, and then select varied Geared Activities to explore the same learning targets with a different level of support and depth, supporting learners to apply skills over time as they grow. In the upper grades, only the video and Pair & Share are used from the Interactive Presentation. Spiraling through The Zones will also re-establish the Zones Climate in your setting each year.

Sample Grade-Level Alignment Chart: If aligning Zones instruction over multiple years and grade levels, consider creating a detailed plan that identifies activities to use with various developmental levels. See example below in the Geared Activities section. 

The Zones of Regulation curriculum can easily be adapted and woven together with other social emotional learning (SEL) curriculum and practices, such as comprehensive SEL curricula, restorative practices, and programs that address sensory integration, mindfulness, yoga, character building/growth mindset, and conflict resolution skills. For example, when learning about yoga poses, present them as regulation tools and have learners sort them into the Zones they help regulate; or when learning about growth mindset, connect The Zones to the various thinking patterns explored. When implementing The Zones, you create a common language and healthy climate while building a metacognitive approach to regulation that can serve as a strong foundation to use with a wide range of other SEL resources. When implementing other programs consider the following steps: 

  • Map out strengths, overlaps, and unique characteristics of each program. 
  • Develop an implementation plan detailing pacing for layered instruction. 
  • Teach the four Signature Practices and utilize Essential Elements of a Zones Climate as a foundation. Adult Learning Modules 3 and 4. 

For additional information on how The Zones of Regulation Digital Curriculum aligns with the CASEL Core Competencies, see the attached PDF. 

How to use The Zones Digital Curriculum, including the instructional resources, differentiation and adaptation, and extending learning beyond teaching time. 

We know that instruction is most meaningful and impactful when learners are actively engaged in the learning process. Therefore, we’ve designed a digital Interactive Presentation that integrates several features to engage learners with the content: 

  • Games and interactives 
  • Pair & Share prompts 
  • Videos 
  • Engaging images and animation 
  • Movement activities 

We recommend that you don’t just read the slide content and have learners passively observe, but rather follow suggestions in the Concept Guide to encourage learner participation in different ways with specific slides. 

Recommendations for Engaging Learners Throughout an Interactive Presentation 
  • Have volunteer learners take turns reading slide content aloud. 
  • Pause to have learners make connections to the content. Encourage different non-verbal signals to volunteer information, such as giving a thumbs-up or down, shaking/nodding head, standing up, etc., to indicate if they agree or dis- agree with the content. 
  • For interactive slide activities, learners can take turns making choices directly on the digital device or board (if using a Smartboard). 
  • Learners chorally say responses aloud at the same time (best used for one-word or very short answers). 
  • Embed movement into learning, such as when a learner wants to share a response, they are invited to stand and share it; or designate different parts of the room that learners can move to for multiple choice or voting options. 
  • After asking a question, the leader picks from a group of class craft sticks, each of which has a learner’s name on it. The chosen learner answers the question or chooses to pass it on to the next learner. Stick selection can continue until a sufficient number of answers are heard. 
  • Most slides include a visual that relates to the slide content. After sharing the text, have learners Pair & Share about the relationship between the visuals and the text on a slide. 
  • After a session, pair learners to name three things they learned, two things they found interesting, and one question they still have. 
  • For videos: 
    • Show it multiple times, each time asking learners to ponder a specific question or look for specific details. 
    • When watching, turn off the sound. Watch in silence to get curious or gather initial evidence that might help answer a focus question, then watch again with sound to find out which questions get answered. 

The Geared Activities, found within each concept, are designed to differentiate and deepen the instruction for a wide variety of learners using the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Guidelines (referenced earlier in this chapter). Use these varied activities following the Group Activity (in the Core Lesson section of the Interactive Presentation) to provide learners the opportunity to practice, apply, and extend learning through multiple learning modalities (see Geared Activity Learning Preferences Key). 

The Geared Activities found within each concept are divided into three different gears that offer differentiated levels of support. Please note that a gear is a type of activity, NOT a type of learner. Depending on a learner’s strengths, goals, and skills, they may benefit from activities within multiple gears, or you may vary gears depending on the concept.

Deciding Which Geared Activity Is Right for Your Learners 

The gear you select for your learners is flexible and will likely differ depending on the content. Choose a Geared Activity based on: 

  • Prior knowledge and language 
  • Strengths and interests 
  • Accessibility: Where is this learner on the developmental continuum for this skill? 

You may choose to do multiple activities within one gear with your learners, or jump from one gear to the next, depending on how much practice and reinforcement learners need within a particular concept. Geared Activities are designed to be flexible! 

The Zones of Regulation is highly adaptable, allowing you the flexibility to make it the most pertinent and relatable to your learners. What always remains fixed are the four Zones and what they represent, as well as how our tools help us regulate our Zones. What can vary, for example, is the depth to which the concepts are applied, the varied visuals that speak to your learner, how you make it accessible, the extent you use language to reinforce concepts, etc. No two leaders implement The Zones exactly the same way, nor should they, as they would not be considering their learners—their needs, strengths, abilities, interests, and experiences. Luckily, the Digital Curriculum makes it easy for you to follow the curriculum scope and sequence, while also allowing you to modify the content and adapt your delivery to make it the right fit for your learners. 

We encourage you to use your judgment for differentiating, adapting, and scaffolding the content found within the concepts. After all, YOU are the expert for your learners, not us. In addition to selecting the Geared Activities, you may find you need to further adapt or customize how concepts are presented depending on your learner’s age, language, development, lived experiences, authentic goals, and abilities. Suggestions are provided throughout the Concept Guide to support this. 

Considerations 
  • LEARNERS WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES AND EMERGENT COMMUNICATION SKILLS: These learners may not develop a deep understanding and application of all concepts within The Zones, because of its metacognitive structure and language-based strategies. Yet with consistent exposure, access to visual supports, and opportunities for practice, many can gain awareness of their feelings and Zones and increase their communication around regulation. Learners may become more open to co-regulation cues and supports through using The Zones.
    Each Concept Guide contains several accessibility and adaptation suggestions for learners with emergent regulation skills. 
  • LEARNERS IN THE MIDST OF A MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS: These learners need stabilization before The Zones of Regulation is introduced as an intervention. Connecting with wrap-around services is a top priority.
  • LEARNERS WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED TRAUMA: The Zones can be a very effective intervention for these learners once a strong, trusting relationship has been established with the leader and there is sensitivity to the unique needs of the learner. It may be painful or difficult for these learners to identify their feelings and Zone as they may experience emotional detachment and have a difficult time connecting with the physical sensations associated with feelings. There are trauma-informed care tips and considerations that pertain to each concept in the Concept Guide.
  • LEARNERS WITH IDENTIFIED REGULATION DIFFERENCES (INCLUDING AUTISM, ADHD, ETC.): Use of The Zones curriculum should not be thought of as a “quick fix” to help these learners stop a challenging behavior, but rather as a teaching tool to use gradually over time to support them in their ongoing regulation learning journey. Be aware that these learners may still demonstrate dysregulated and/or challenging behaviors.
    Rather than replacing existing positive behavior support plans, The Zones concepts and strategies can be woven into these plans as learners and the adults who support them gain awareness of a learner’s strengths, goals, and unique needs. As you progress through The Zones curriculum and build a common language around feelings and coping strategies, you may also integrate Zones language and concepts in restorative and problem-solving conversations, when the learner is ready to process a situation.

        As you approach instruction with learners who have regulation needs identified in individualized plans such as Individualized Education Plans (IEPs), Section 504 Intervention Plans, treatment plans, or Positive Behavior Support Plans (Behavior Intervention Plans), the Zones may be used as a method or intervention and can be important for providing targeted instruction.

        However, we discourage you from naming The Zones or including Zones-specific language into the goals. Goals should center around growing competencies in regulation and social emotional learning, not mastery of The Zones concepts. It is important to consider access to visuals, language prompts/cues, triggers (and sparks), and regulation tools when creating support plans as a road map for supportive adults to follow to best co-regulate with a particular learner.

        This section found at the end of each Concept Guide offers ideas and strategies to support learners in applying, generalizing, and extending the skills taught beyond your core instruction. It includes the following sections: 

        The Zones Climate 
        The Zones Climate

        As discussed in Adult Learning: Module 4 establishing a safe climate that promotes well-being is foundational to the environment where we teach The Zones. To enhance the climate, each concept includes a Zones Climate section that provides suggestions on how to integrate key concepts into the learner’s environment, further establishing this is a safe space to talk about and care for our feelings. Collectively, the suggestions found in this section are integral in formulating what we refer to as the Zones Climate. 

        Bridging The Zones: Connect with Supportive Adults

        Although collaboration among team members can seem cumbersome, it is critical for learners’ success. In all settings, having team members (leaders, caregivers, classroom assistants, therapists, coun– selors, administrators, and support staff) on board and familiar with The Zones concepts and terms creates a comfortable and supportive environment for learners to effectively practice their regulation skills. To simplify this for leaders, each concept includes easy-to-distribute information that we call the Zones Bridge. Each Bridge includes the following sections: What Are We Learning?, Why Is It Important?, Ask and Share (discussion questions), and a quick activity to reinforce the concept. In addition, research has shown (Miranda, Presentación, and Soriano, 2002 and Sofronoff, 2005) neurodivergent individuals make more gains when the caregivers and leaders share resources and strategies to support the learners. 

        When possible, set aside time to connect with caregivers and staff who work closely with the learner(s) to establish the terminology, concepts, strategies, and practices that can support them. Explain to supportive adults the value of reinforcing Zones concepts throughout daily life in a variety of settings. This prepares adults to help the learner co-regulate, orient them to Zones Visuals, and to find tools to support regulating their Zone without having to “manage the behavior.”  

        As concepts are completed, copies of completed handouts can be sent home in addition to the Zones Bridge. We stress copies as it is best to keep the originals so learners can spiral back to the concept later in the curriculum and build upon their knowledge. Also provide relevant copies for other supportive adults on their team, or who work closely with the learner, who would benefit from being informed.

        For example, a learner who may frequently feel dysregulation on the bus would benefit from the bus driver being in the know and having a copy of the learner’s toolbox to reference. Keeping communication open among all team members provides the learner with ongoing support as they move through the curriculum. 

        There are many additional Zones of Regulation products and materials that support, reinforce, and/or extend the concept’s core instruction. These adjunctive Zones related resources integrate a variety of mediums to engage learners, such as storybooks, apps, tool cards, posters, and games and deepen learning for different age groups. Following you will find all the Zones related resources referenced throughout The Zones Digital Curriculum, plus a brief description and age range:

        • The Zones of Regulation App: An interactive tool that provides a fun way to assist in developing real-life regulation skills. Learners will be taken on an adventure through a town filled with exciting learning opportunities around Zones concepts, rewards, and mini-games. Currently available for download on iPhone, iPad, Android, Mac, Chromebook (Android compatible). One app download may be used for up to 8 unique learners. (ages 5+ with supportive adult) 
        • Exploring Emotions App: The second app from The Zones, Exploring Emotions, is designed to foster regulation skills in an engaging manner, while simulating realistic everyday situations. It helps learners gain skills in consciously regulating their feelings within their environments. Currently available for download on iPhone, iPad, Android, Mac, Chromebook (Android compatible). One app download may be used for up to 26 unique learners. (ages 5+) 
        • Navigating The Zones and Advanced Pack: This game is an interactive teaching tool designed to extend the curriculum, giving participants the opportunity to walk through the Zones Pathway. Players should have a strong working knowledge of the concepts and vocabulary in The Zones curriculum to use this product and before advancing to the Advanced Pack to extend play. (ages 8+) 
        • The Zones of Regulation Poster: A visual to reinforce the four Zones and the common feelings associated with each, as well as space to add strategies or tools to support regulation of each Zone. (ages 5+) 
        • Triggers and Sparks Poster: Use this poster to brainstorm your triggers and sparks. Noticing them helps us be prepared for when they happen again. This way, we aren’t as surprised when our feelings change, and we can regulate and/or problem solve more easily. (ages 5+) 
        • STOP, OPT & GO Poster: This poster supports the decision- making that goes into regulation, while also addressing problem solving and group conflict resolution. First we pause before we act, think about our options and how they may work out, then use our goal to decide on the best option. It also can be used proactively to prepare learners manage themselves when they encounter previously identified triggers. (ages 5+)
        • Zones Check-In Poster: Use this poster to support learners in mindfully pausing to check in with their body signals, emotions, and Zones. (ages 5+) 
        • The Zones Pathway Poster: Learning culminates in the Digital Curriculum with the Zones Pathway. This poster outlines 5 concrete steps to support regulation, making it accessible for learners to move through in real time. (ages 5+) 
        • The Zones of Regulation Storybook Set | The Road to Regulation and The Regulation Station: This two-storybook set provides engaging social scenarios and strategies to help learners explore how concepts from The Zones curriculum can be used at school and at home. Kids love stories and will identify with the characters and the everyday situations as they learn about their feelings and emotions, as well as how their body helps them sense what they are feeling. (ages 5–11) 
        • The Road to Regulation Poster: Adapted from a colorful 2-page illustration in The Regulation Station storybook, this full-color poster outlines the steps along the Road to Regulation (Zones Pathway) taught in The Zones of Regulation Storybook Set. (ages 5+) 
        • Tools to Try Cards: The Zones Tools to Try Cards for Kids (ages 5–10) and Tools to Try Cards for Tweens & Teens (ages 10+) include over fifty 4″× 6″ tool cards. These two separate decks are an easy, user-friendly way to introduce regulation strategies and empower learners to choose tools that work best for them. Each strategy card displays the regulation tool on one side and a how- to-do-it description on the reverse, along with a metacognitive self-reflection.  

        (All products except the apps are available from Social Thinking: www.socialthinking.com.)

        Where to implement The Zones Digital Curriculum and how to support use in homes, clinical settings, classrooms, and after-school/community centers. 

        Implementation of The Zones of Regulation can occur in a variety of settings. There is no best place to implement; in fact, a best practice is for learning to happen across settings. Ultimately, teaching learners in their natural environment, whether it’s their home, class- room, or community setting, will help them best connect with their authentic experiences and apply learning. 

        Depending on the implementation plan, there are likely one of two ways that adults are involved with teaching and supporting The Zones of Regulation within a setting: 

        1. Adults can lead instruction in Zones of Regulation concepts in the setting. When this is your role, we refer to you as the “leader” and you provide direct instruction of The Zones of Regulation curriculum. 
        2. Adults can reinforce Zones of Regulation instruction that is being led in a different setting (such as in school, therapy or special services, or community organization). In this case, adults can follow along with concepts taught through the Zones Bridge handouts and regular communication with the leader. Your role will involve carrying out the activities and suggestions in the Bridge in your setting to help learners practice and generalize new skills, as well as extending the Zones Climate to your setting. 

        In either one of these scenarios, your role involves establishing Zones Climate practices in your setting, helping create an environment where talking about and regulating feelings is the norm.

        The Zones of Regulation has been widely adopted by schools around the world to foster regulation and social emotional learning (SEL) competencies. The Zones can be used in many ways within a school setting, from individually or in small groups by a therapist/counselor, to select classes or grades by a classroom leader or guest leader (e.g., school counselor or OT), to schoolwide where every classroom, as well as all staff, embraces The Zones. In addition to its application in general education classrooms, The Zones of Regulation has proven to be a valuable resource in special education and targeted interventions to provide identified learners more intensive instruction and support around regulation and social emotional learning. This leads to further inclusion and positive outcomes. As you learned in Adult Learning: Module 4 school staff are encouraged to adapt and integrate The Zones into all aspects of a school culture. In addition, The Zones concepts can be woven into academic content throughout the school day, rather than only at a specific time and place 

        Connect to Academic Standards 

        Given that we experience feelings across all aspects of the school day, The Zones of Regulation Digital Curriculum can be adapted and integrated into teaching of core subjects to address K–12 state academic standards. The following are some examples of how you can connect the lessons/concepts to these standards. 

        • Reading/Literature: Increasing vocabulary around emotions and sensations; using comprehension and inference skills to identify characters’ shifting Zones as well as their use of tools/ strategies; relating the text to individual learner’s prior knowledge and personal experience 
        • Writing: Creating poetry, personal narratives, opinion pieces, and fictional stories that explore feelings, thoughts, and related actions in varying contexts/situations 
        • Math: Creating bar/line graphs and pie charts based on data collected from learners during the Zones Check-Ins; constructing and interpreting line and bar graphs, using data to draw conclusions regarding regulation tools to try, and looking for patterns over time 
        • Speaking/Listening: Communicating effectively through participating in conversations and formal discussions about The Zones concepts; following two-step directions; attending to and understanding the meanings of messages; communicating needs, feelings, and ideas to peers and adults; and using a voice level appropriate for the language situation 
        • Social Studies: Exploring multiple perspectives and the role of emotions within historical and current events 

        The Zones of Regulation® Digital Curriculum can easily be used within tiered support systems widely adopted in education settings, such as Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS). When The Zones was first developed, it was primarily used for small-group or individual interventions (Tiers 2 and 3). With the paradigm shift in education over the last decade calling for the education of the whole child and support for social emotional learning, we have seen a dramatic increase in schools that are using The Zones in Tier 1. This establishes common language and practices in SEL that can be built upon in Tiers 2 and 3. The Zones of Regulation is a proactive practice or intervention that can be applied at varying intensities within all the differing tiers of support. What is unique about The Zones is that it builds positive mental health and social emotional competencies for all, while serving as an inclusion strategy for neurodivergent learners and learners with trauma histories and regulation differences. It provides the universal language and a visual system that EVERYONE can use in school, home, and even if they move to a new school within the district. 

        When using The Zones for Tier 1 instruction, the implementation process and plan is approached differently at each school. There is no “right” way to roll out The Zones of Regulation Digital Curriculum, however, schools that have successfully implemented The Zones schoolwide share four common factors: 

        1. Administrator support: The administrators (and district staff) are involved in planning the implementation of Zones schoolwide. They are included in planning meetings, trainings, and use the Zones Climate Elements in their own spaces. Ultimately, administrators will set the tone for making The Zones an integral and sustained part of a school climate. 
        1. Zones champions who take leadership: This effort is brought forward and supported by staff who have experience supporting wellness, positive mental health, and social emotional learning with their learners. Zones champions are often counselors, social workers, general and/or special education leaders, and therapists (occupational, speech and language). 
        1. Staff buy-in: In addition to understanding how to use The Zones, make sure everyone understands WHY The Zones can help and what problems it can solve. Consider piloting The Zones in a few classes first and having staff share their success stories to build confidence, enthusiasm, and momentum before launching schoolwide. 
        1. An implementation plan: Create an implementation plan that identifies how instruction will be rolled out in the first year and beyond. Identify the implementation process in detail including the who, what, when, and how of training staff, teaching the lessons, and collecting data.

        For further information and resources for Schoolwide Zones Implementation, visit https://zonesofregulation.com/for-your-school/.

        Zones Champions consider attending Tier-1 Team Training (see https://zonesofregulation.com/training/tier-1-team-training).

         

        Using The Zones of Regulation in home and residential settings can be beneficial for both learners and the grown-ups who support them. The concepts found in The Zones of Regulation Digital Curriculum can be directly taught within a family unit or caregivers can support learners by creating a Zones Climate at home. In addition to the tips below, explore the Zones Bridge activities within each concept to help extend regulation skills into the home. 

        Here are some tips to support using The Zones in a home setting: 

        • Create a visual of the four Zones for the home. You may choose to incorporate pictures of family members (and pets) modeling various feelings for each Zone. (Concept 2) 
        • Use Zones Check-Ins on a regular basis to connect as a family. This can look like each family member having their name on a sticky note or clothespin and using the visual of the four Zones to check in by moving their sticky note or clothespin throughout the day. (Concept 5) 
        • Model using the visuals and the Zones language with all family members. When reading books or watching movies together, infuse Zones language into reflections on the characters’ feelings, behaviors, and/or tools as they manage their Zones. 
        • Have a family discussion around tools for each Zone, putting together a family Zones Toolbox that can be displayed visually. In addition, put together a collection of objects that work as tools in a designated space for easy access by all. (Concepts 7 and 8) 
        • Explore tools that a young learner gravitates to in the home and community to personalize the learner’s toolbox. Take pictures of the tools that a learner finds effective and add them to their Zones Toolbox visual. (Concepts 7 and 8)
        • Try out a Tool of the Week by choosing a regulation tool or strategy to try each week as a family. Some examples are journaling, listening to music, going for a nature walk, eating a healthy snack and taking screen breaks. Collect your favorite tools in a family Zones Toolbox. Check out our Tools to Try Cards for Kids and Tools to Try Cards for Tweens & Teens for ready-to-go tool ideas. (Concept 8) 
        • Build a comfort corner or regulation station by creating a place (or two) for kids and family members to go when they want to regulate. Choose a space that’s comfortable and quiet, and include items such as stuffed animals, coloring books, fidgets, and books. Practice using your designated space a few times together. Caregivers can model by using it themselves when they need a break. 
        • Tools can be reviewed and reinforced by making a book, video, or slideshow of the learner using their tools that the family can reference frequently with the learner when they are in a calm state. The family can work together to use tools, giving each other Tool Tickets and working together to accumulate a set amount to earn a special reward they decide on. (Concept 10) 
        • The Zones of Regulation Storybook Set, Zones apps, Tools to Try card decks, and Navigating The Zones game can be used to reinforce and explore Zones concepts. 
        • Family Game Night with games like UNO, Sorry!, and Twister can easily be turned into opportunities to practice and reinforce The Zones. Take turns naming an emotion or experience for each red-, yellow-, green-, or blue-colored Zone during game play. 

        For more information on Zones in the home consider attending our Zone Your Home: A Parent/Caregiver Training (see https://zonesofregulation.com/training/zoneyourhome/).