THE ZONES OF REGULATION :
A CURRICULUM DESIGNED TO FOSTER SELFREGULATION AND EMOTIONAL CONTROL
Written and Created by Leah M. Kuypers, MA, Ed., OTR/L
Presented by SBISD Psychological Services 2014
WHAT IS THE ZONES OF
REGULATION?
• The Zones of Regulation is a curriculum geared toward helping students gain
skills in consciously regulating their actions, which in turn leads to increased
control and problem solving abilities.
• The curriculum’s learning activities are designed to help students recognize
when they are in different states called “zones,” with each of the four zones
represented by a different color.
• In the activities or lessons, students learn how to use strategies or tools to stay
in a zone or move from one zone to another.
• Students explore calming techniques, cognitive strategies, and sensory
supports so they will have a toolbox of methods to use to move between
zones.
THE FOUR ZONES
• The four zones can be compared to
a stoplight or traffic signs.
• A Blue rest area sign (Blue Zone) –
represents pull over, you’re tired,
time to recharge.
• A Green Light (Green Zone) –
represents “good to go”.
• A Yellow Light (Yellow Zone) –
represents caution, slow down, or
take warning.
• A Red Light (Red Zone) – represents
stop and regain control.
THE FOUR ZONES
• The Red Zone is used to describe extremely heightened
states of alertness and intense emotions. A person may be
elated or experiencing anger, rage, explosive behavior,
devastation, or terror when in the Red Zone. A person is
described as “out of control” if in the Red Zone.
THE FOUR ZONES
• The Yellow Zone is also used to describe a heightened state
of alertness and elevated emotions; however, one has
some control when they are in the Yellow Zone. A person
may be experiencing stress, frustration, anxiety, excitement,
silliness, the wiggles, or nervousness when in the Yellow
Zone.
THE FOUR ZONES
• The Green Zone is used to describe a calm state of
alertness. A person may be described as happy, focused,
content, or ready to learn when in the Green Zone. This is
the zone where optimal learning occurs.
THE FOUR ZONES
• The Blue Zone is used to describe low states of alertness,
such as when one feels sad, tired, sick, or bored.
AN IMPORTANT REMINDER…
• Everyone experiences all of the zones at one time or
another.
• The Red and Yellow Zones are not the “bad” or
“naughty” zones (e.g., you would not tell a student
one zone is good and another is bad).
• The Zones of Regulation is intended to be neutral
and not project judgment when helping students
recognize their levels of alertness and feelings.
THE ZONES CURRICULUM
CHAPTER 2 – HOW TO GET STARTED (PG. 11)
• Chapter 2 teaches you how to use the curriculum and what you will need to
do to prepare to teach the lessons.
• Lessons are designed for use in a group format (2-4 students works best), but
curriculum can be adapted to work individually with a student.
• In addition, with another facilitator, the curriculum could be used with an
entire class.
In the ideal situation, students who struggle with selfregulation benefit from both individual and group
interventions – individual so you can teach the skills and
group so you can practice the skills!
THE ZONES CURRICULUM
CHAPTER 3 – THE LESSONS (PG. 23)
• Chapter 3 – Introducing Students to The Zones
• Learning activities are designed to teach students to recognize their zone at
any given time, gain insight into how their behavior changes how others
think and feel about them, understand how their ability to regulate affects
their day as a whole, and identify triggers that lead to the Yellow or Red
Zone.
• The lessons and learning activities of Chapter 3 are intended to be
introduced in the order they appear in The Zones book to present
manageable bits of information that build on one another and to aid you
and the student in organizing the information.
• Let’s look at some of the lessons and learning activities in Chapter 3.
THE ZONES CURRICULUM
CHAPTER 4 – THE TOOLS (PG. 102)
• Chapter 4 includes activities that teach various tools that are calming and alerting.
These tools include sensory supports, calming techniques, and thinking strategies.
• Exploring Sensory Support Tools (e.g., fidget balls, digging in rice bins,
jumping, sitting on a ball)
• Exploring Tools for Calming (e.g., deep breathing, visual calming sequence,
counting to 10)
• Exploring Tools – Thinking Strategies (e.g., big vs. little problems, inner coach
vs. inner critic, Superflex vs. Rock Brain)
• Chapter 4’s lessons may be taught in any order and can be introduced as soon as
students are able to decipher what zone a tool would help them in. Any time…Any
order.
• A visual overview of the Tools can be found on pg. 104.
THE ZONES CURRICULUM
CHAPTER 5 - PUTTING IT INTO PRACTICE (PG.
135)
• Chapter 5 – Learning When to Use and Apply Tools
• Activities teach students why, when and how to use the
tools they have explored in Chapter 4 to influence their
zones. Students also learn how to integrate the use of these
tools into everyday life.
• Chapter 5’s activities are intended to be introduced in the
order they appear in The Zones book.
SAMPLE IEP GOALS FOR
SELF-REGULATION
• Suggestions for IEP goals for self-regulation are included on
page 177 of the book. You can adapt them as needed to
meet the needs of the student.
• For example →
Johnny will increase emotional vocabulary as
demonstrated by labeling emotions ________,
_________, and ________, in self and others with ________
accuracy.
ADDITIONAL IDEAS FOR ACTIVITIES!
• Go to Pinterest and search The Zones of Regulation
• The Zones of Regulation blog
http://www.zonesofregulation.com/index.html
• The Zones of Regulation app at the iTunes App Store ($4.99)
• The School Counseling Files
http://www.schoolcounselingfiles.com/zones-of-regulationemotional-regulation-activities.html