About me by date Section 1

About me! by date

Section 1 – Me ¢ This is Me ¢ My personality ¢ Talents ¢ People who are important to me and understand me ¢ Things I find tricky ¢ New people and things at school ¢ We change as we grow

This is Me My name is I have lots of strengths and talents, including; ¢ ¢ ¢ ¢ ¢ Reading Spelling Writing Drawing & art work Computers Computer Games Maths & Numbers Remembering things Music Facts about my favourite thing, which is; ¢ ¢ ¢ ¢ ¢ I will tick the things that are true for me. Stories Photography Sports Cooking Cleaning Tidying up Putting things in order Mechanical things Making things What else?

Have you noticed that people are all different? Here are some of the ways in which people are different: ¢Their eye colour ¢The length of their hair ¢How tall they are ¢How old they are ¢How much knowledge they have ¢Their shoe size ¢How long their fingers and toes are ¢The things they are good at There isn’t anyone who is quite like me! Everyone is different. Each person is unique.

People often use words to describe what other people look like. Blond (or blonde for girls) brown, black, green, auburn ( or red ) blue, light, dark curly, straight, wavy, long, short, mid-length, fringe , tall, short and average ¢My hair is…………………. . and ……………………………. . ¢My ¢I eyes are ……………………. . am …………………………

My personality Everyone has their own personality. Your personality means what kind of person you are. Most people are a mixture of good things and not such good things. It is okay to have some bad parts to your personality as long as you work hard to try to make other people happy. My family and adults from school and I tried to think of words to describe my personality. These are the words we thought of: • • •

We drew some pictures to try to show my personality. You can see them here.

Talents are things people do really well. They can be things we are good at or parts of our personality that make other people happy. Most of us have some. Some of my talents are: ¢ ¢ ¢

Everyone has different talents For example: …………. . is really good at cooking ………. is great at football ………… is fantastic at games Everyone is good at some things and not so good at others. I would like to learn to be good at………………. .

People who are important to me and understand me Home _______ Other _______ Family _______ Me Clubs _______ School _______ Friends _______ I will write the names of my important people in each circle.

Things we each find tricky. We all have things we are good at: Some people find it very hard to remember numbers like telephone numbers. ! 735695 or is it 735693 Some people feel they are not very good at sport. Opps missed the ball again! Most people have a lesson they don’t think they are good at. Oh no not Art!

Here are some things that I find tricky

New people and things at school Sometimes I might have trouble with things that are different from the normal routine Things that bother me at school include; ¢ ¢ ¢ Supply teachers Student teachers New teaching assistants Visitors in the classroom Having my desk moved Having to sit somewhere else Sitting next to different people Standing in a line with lots of people Going into the dining room Being in the playground with everyone Another thing is; I will tick the things that bother me at school.

We change as we grow up. ¢ ¢ ¢ When we are babies we can’t do much but as we grow up we learn how to do more and more things. You may need to ask a grown up at home about some of these things ! I was …………………. old when I learnt to walk. The first words I said were “………………. . . ” When I was little my favourite toy was ………… When I was little I loved to play ………………. Now I am older I can do more things such as ……………. . and I like to play……………………

Section 2 – Learning style and senses ¢ Special Interests ¢ My learning style ¢ Questionnaire ¢ Being perfect cards ¢ My senses and how they effect my learning style ¢ Sensory likes and dislikes ¢ Health

Special Interests Everyone has interests but sometimes I can be very focused on mine. My favourite special interests are; 1 2 3 I like to enjoy my special interest by; ¢ Talking about it Reading about it Thinking about it Writing about it Drawing pictures about it ¢ What else? ¢ ¢ I will tick the things that I do.

My learning style Everyone learns but they do it in different ways. I may learn in a different way. I learn best when; ¢ ¢ ¢ ¢ I can see what people are doing The room is noisy and busy I can see pictures of the things I am going to do I have lots of written words and information Someone explains things to me a few times I am not too hot and bothered I am sitting with my friends My special interest is involved I will put a tick if I agree, or a cross if I disagree.

A lot of the time Do you say the same things over and over or ask the same questions over and over? Do you find it difficult to know when people are joking? Do you understand what people are saying when they talk to you? Do you say things that other people think are a bit unexpected? Do you find it hard to know what other people are feeling? Do you like to do things on your own? Do you like to do things with other children? Do you like noisy places? Do you like crowded places? Do you cope well when things change? Do you like to go to new places? Do you like doing the same things over and over? Are you able to remember a lot of facts about things that interest you? Do you like things to be “just so” like tables neat and tidy? Some of the time Not very often

Being perfect cards If my work doesn’t look right I get frustrated or angry I have to finish my work first or I get upset It puts me off if I don’t have the right pen or the sharpest pencil

Being perfect cards I want my work to be perfect every time I want to be the best at all of the work I do I erase my work many times until it looks perfect

Being perfect cards I always have to be the first In line I get upset if I haven’t finished my work but I have to stop I always have to put my hand up to answer questions

My senses and how they effect my learning style ¢ We have five main senses and some others, like balance and temperature, but the ones we are thinking about today are; Taste Sight ¢ Smell Touch Hearing Some people have different ways of experiencing senses On the next sheet I will circle things to do with the senses that I like, and cross the ones I don’t like.

Sensory likes and dislikes Being touched Smell of perfume Strong tastes Movement around me Running around Some food textures Some fabrics Loud noises Some colours Being too hot Stretching my fingers Sudden noises Flashing lights Having a bath or shower Quiet noises Smell of cooking

Health Do you feel ill sometimes in the day? How does your body feel? Do you feel ill sometimes at home? How does your body feel? How do you/does body feel now? How do you/does your body feel when something goes wrong? How do you/does your body feel when you are calm and relaxed?

Section 3 – Getting on with others ¢ What is Communication? ¢ Conversations can be confusing! ¢ Talking too much or not enough ¢ What are they communicating cards ¢ Being honest and polite chart

What is communication? Communication is a bit like putting my thoughts into words and saying them to other people, and listening to their thoughts. ¢ Here are other ways of communicating I will think of some other ways of communicating and write them on the lines above. My favourite ways of communicating are,

¢ Communication is the word we use to describe what we do when we talk to people. Words are not always straight forward –being 'a bit wet could mean that someone has been out in the rain or that they are silly! ¢ Some people find words very confusing. ¢ And words are not the only way most people communicate and this is where it can get really tricky ! Most people use the volume of their voices such as shouting or whispering to let people know how they feel. It can be hard to know when it is okay to shout and when you should be quiet. ¢ ¢ Most people also use something called body language. This is when they use their arms and legs instead of words. Sometimes people turn away from people they don’t like or to let you know that they are bored with talking. Some people fold their arms when they are cross.

¢ They use facial expression too. This is where they can smile or frown or lift their eyebrows to show that they are surprised or don’t know what you mean. Let’s try some !

What Are They Communicating Thought Bubbles I’m shy It’s funny We’re happy together Well done! I’m cold Which one should I choose?

What Are They Communicating Thought Bubbles Be quiet! Yipeeeeee! Leave me alone! I don’t know I’m upset I’m bored

What are they communicating cards Velcro Bubble

Conversations can be confusing! Conversations might be confusing because; ¢ ¢ ¢ ¢ ¢ I don’t understand what the person means Talking and listening at the same time is too difficult for me I don’t have anything to say It is difficult to put my thoughts into words The other person goes too fast for me I can’t concentrate on what people say I’m not interested in talking to others I don’t know when to start or stop talking I’m worried about saying the wrong thing I will tick the things that are true for me and cross out those that are not true.

Talking too much or not enough Some people talk too much or not at all. The way I talk is, enough too much not enough I will circle thing that fits me most My thoughts about talking are; ¢ ¢ ¢ I like to talk to I don’t like to talk to I want to talk about I might be quiet because

¢ You might find it hard to think of things to say to people. You might say things that sound a bit rude when you don’t mean to be rude, e. g. Aren’t you too old for a bike! ¢ Being polite can be very tricky. It is all about not saying things that may make another person feel sad. We should all tell the truth about things that hurt us but the rest of the time we need to think about being polite. Try this activity.

Being honest and polite Being honest means saying what is true and being polite means not saying things that might hurt someone’s feelings ¢ Here are some things that are honest but might not be polite for me to say and some things that are OK to say You are fat You look nice today I like your clothes You smell Thanks for being my friend Your clothes look stupid You are stupid I’ll talk to you later, OK Your face looks funny You try really hard I will cut out the things and stick them on the chart on the next page, in the right place.

Being honest and polite chart Polite Not Polite

Being in class ¢ You may also have difficulties in class. Sometimes you may not think the teacher is speaking to you because she doesn’t always use your name. Does class 3 mean me? ¢ Sometimes teachers say long long sentences and it is difficult to remember what they have said !

¢ Sometimes it feels a lot easier to play on your own. It is okay to spend sometime alone and lots of people need to have some time to relax after being with other people. It can be hard work communicating and it can make some people feel cross or angry. Most teachers will let you have a short learning break if you need one. ¢ But as you get better at communicating you may find that it is really good fun making friends. ¢ You could draw a picture of your friend/friends

Section 4 – Thoughts and feelings ¢ What are thoughts? ¢ Hopes and fears ¢ Other people’s thoughts ¢ Feelings ¢ Power cards ¢ Feelings chart ¢ Feelings timetable ¢ 5 point feelings scale ¢ Emotion meters

What are thoughts? Thoughts are things I hear, see or feel in my mind, including; Feelings I am feeling…. . _________ Memories Pictures Here’s one of my earliest memories Here’s something I often see in my mind.

Hopes and fears Hopes are thoughts that make me feel good, about things I want to happen and fears are thoughts that make me feel afraid or worried I will write some things that are my hopes and some that are my fears. My hopes My fears

Other people’s thoughts Other people have thoughts too. Here’s what they may be thinking… Go to your room and stay there all night!

Feelings What do you like to do? What do you do when you want to do something? What makes you calm/happy? What don’t you like to do? What do you do when you don’t want to do something? What makes you anxious? What makes you angry? How does your body feel? What do you do when you are angry?

Activity Link bodily feelings to the angry emotion e. g. increased heart rate, tingling, sweating, headache, tension Link into thought, feelings, behaviour, physical symptoms which are all connected.

Example of a power card How Dawn, the Pokémon trainer, Handles Mistakes Front Like everyone else, dawn makes mistakes sometimes. Before she became involved with the other Pokémon trainers, sometimes Dawn became frustrated, threw pens and pencils and refused to do any more work because she had made a mistake. Ash and Brok told Dawn, “Everyone makes mistakes. Making mistakes is a way of learning and becoming a cleverer trainer. ” Dawn learned to control her frustration in order to become a better Pokémon trainer. Dawn still feels frustrated when she makes a mistake, but she has learned to control her reactions and to calm herself down. When Dawn makes a mistake, she STOPS and takes three deep breaths, even if she really wants to throw a pencil. Dawn thinks inside her head, “Its ok. I can do this. Making mistakes helps me to learn and become cleverer. ” Dawn looks at her mistake, thinks about it and corrects it. Good, Dawn says to herself, I have corrected my mistake. This means I am learning and becoming cleverer. Dawn still makes mistakes and she’s becoming a cleverer Pokémon trainer every day. Back¢When Dawn, the Pokémon trainer makes a mistake, she: ¢STOPS… ¢Takes does not act. 3 deep breaths. 1…. 2…. 3. ¢Says, “Its OK. I can do this. Making mistakes helps me to learn and becomes cleverer!” ¢Looks at her mistake calmly, thinks about it and corrects it. ¢Knows she has learnt something new and therefore is becoming cleverer. She is closer to becoming a Pokémon master.

Front- Back¢ Peppa Pig wants Joe to remember to: Stop! ¢ No More! Use words to tell people what you want

Feelings cards

Circle the word you feel, or write your own feeling word. I feel like this because…………………. Angry Hurt Sad Scared Worried Poorly I need quiet!

In school an adult helper could help you use a feelings timetable in. I feel __________ happy 9. 00 a m 10. 00 am sad 11. 00 am 12. 00 am angry 13. 00 am

5 point feelings scale How are you feeling? 5 Out of control 4 Distressed 3 A little anxious or worried 2 OK 1 Happy

Emotion meters ¢ There are ways of expressing emotions through emotion meters like the ones here. 10 – Lost it! 9 – Angry 8 – Frustrated 7 – Annoyed 6 – Bit upset 5 – Coping Red Means I’m losing it! Orange Means I’m Coping Green Means I’m happy 4 – So-so 3 – OK 2 – Cool 1 – Happy Using the things on the next page, I will make my own emotion meter to express my emotions.

Emotion meter resources I can use the words and pictures on the next pages to make my personal emotion meter. I can also draw my own pictures if I want to. Lost it! Angry Frustrated Annoyed A bit upset Coping So-so OK Cool Happy I’m losing it I’m coping I’m happy

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Velcro the arrow onto the face that shows the right mood

Section 5 – Finale ¢ Evaluation ¢ Create a certificate ¢ Resources

The About me Evaluation My name is I enjoyed taking part I learned new things about me I liked talking to other people about me. I understand what I find tricky. I know what I am good at.

Alternative and extension activities ¢ Card blanks for own words and pictures ¢ Cut and stick thought bubbles ¢ Emotion meter blanks ¢ Make a poster about you!

Blanks for Making Your Own Word & Picture Cards

Cut & Stick Thought Bubbles Glue Thought Bubble Here

Cut & Stick Thought Bubbles Yipeeeeee! Leave me alone! I’m bored Be quiet! I don’t know I’m upset I’m shy It’s funny Well done! I’m cold We’re happy together Which should I choose?

Velcro the arrow onto the face that shows the right mood