Samantha Develli

OT 6389: School-Based Fieldwork

Positive Mental Health Assignment

Occupational Therapy Group Activity Report

Be sure to see resources on www.everymomentcounts.org and www.casel.org

1) Proposed goal of group. Define 1-2 overall goals and 1-2 objectives for this activity.
(5 pts)

Goals: (1) Members will develop a repertoire of coping skills to use during difficult
situations. (2) Members will demonstrate knowledge and understanding of basic
emotions.

Objectives: (1) Members will learn and apply positive self-talk during session. (2)
Members will identify basic emotions and practice making emotions in the mirror.

2) Group composition (why each student was selected): Provide 1-2 words defining the
social participation strengths and limitations of each member. (5)

This group will consist of two members, one female and one male, who are from
the same 4-year-old preschool class. The first student was selected due to some anxious
behaviors and perfectionism. She is very intelligent and an extremely hard worker, but
has a hard time connecting with peers. The second student was selected due to some
hyperactivity and communication challenges with peers. He is a happy child who doesn’t
become upset easily, but has difficulty performing one task at a time, staying on topic
when participating in a conversation, and completing schoolwork. I felt that both these
children would benefit from building some emotional intelligence and learning about
coping strategies.

3) Expected group activity preparation. Describe how you prepared the group
members (and others) for this activity. (5)

Preparation for this group began the week prior when my FWEd and myself
shared with these children that they would be participating in a special group with me the
following week. My FWEd was given my plans and approved my idea prior to starting
physical planning. Upon arrival the day of the group, we shared with the children again
that they would be working with me today. When we arrived to the room, we discussed
what “emotion” meant and discussed emotions that they knew. We then dove into the
activity.

4) Detailed plan for activities: Explain how you will use 1) occupation-based activities,
2) social emotional learning, and 3) positive behavioral supports. (10)

Both of these children are working on grasp and handwriting, so through this
activity, we addressed both of these occupations, as well as peer interaction. To start
 Samantha Develli

with, we played a game that consisted of cards with images of children expressing
different emotions and the kids helped identify the emotion and practiced making that
face in a mirror. After this, I introduced the concept of coping strategies, using the zones
of regulation (which they already know) to assist with explanation. We then discussed
activities that they enjoyed doing or activities that made them feel better, providing
suggestions when unsure. The children then wrote 4 on a worksheet using a near-copy
model. Last, we discussed use of positive self-talk as a coping strategy with explanation
of what this meant. We created bracelets with 6 different colored beads, representing
different positive self-talk statements and the children were able to wear these bracelets
home with them to remind them to use this strategy when feeling sad or overwhelmed.
They were also given a handout with these to refer to at home with their parents. Both
children had difficulty forming the corresponding facial expressions to given emotions in
the mirror, so through discussion and explanation of how to form these expressions, they
gleaned information about different emotions they might feel, enhancing their social-
emotional learning. The writing task was also difficult for the kids, I used positive
encouragement during this challenge. The coping strategies identified, and the bracelet
created, will serve as a positive behavioral support in the classroom. They will provide an
outlet for the children to respond when they are not feeling their best, thus improving
confidence and attention in the classroom.

*Obtain FWEd approval for above before you run the group*

5) Outcomes. What happened? Describe participation. (10)

This group was quite successful! The beginning of this group was difficult for the
children as they had difficulty identifying and expressing emotion when given a picture.
The girl did a good job of identifying most emotions and attempted to form expressions
in the mirror, while the boy had an extremely hard time identifying emotions, and instead
enjoyed making faces (not facial expressions) in the mirror. The children were great at
identifying enjoyable tasks for them, and really persevered and were successful in the
writing of 4 unique coping strategies despite this being a challenge based on their current
skills! They really enjoyed the bracelet making, both opting to repeat their positive self-
talk sayings each time they placed a bead on their bracelet. They were so excited to wear
their bracelets at the end! At the beginning of this group, attention was difficult but
improved as the group went on, leading to high engagement by the end.

6) Reflection. Lessons learned. Evaluation of the group, including social interaction.

(10)

This was an eye-opening experience for me. I learned a great deal about
emotional intelligence at 4-years-old and gleaned the difficulty of producing facial
expressions and identifying emotions based on images. It was somewhat frustrating at the
beginning but as the group went on, the engagement and interaction improved. These
children both normally have difficulty waiting for others to finish a task, but they did an
excellent job when engaged in a hands-on activity. I learned that goal-based activities are
successful at this age to promote conversation and engagement as a group. I also learned
 Samantha Develli

that the actual goal isn’t as important as what was learned along the way! Simply having
an enjoyable peer interaction helped to improve self-esteem, focus, and positivity.

7) What will you do differently next time? What is an optimal next activity for this
group of students? (5)

Next time, I would have the kids draw images of their ideal coping strategies
rather than adding in the task of writing the words. This would also provide a sheet that
they are able to look at independently and apply their coping strategies since they are not
yet reading. Additionally, I would introduce less emotions at the beginning and work on
producing the corresponding facial expressions for the most basic emotions.
An optimal next activity for this group would center around readdressing basic
emotions and introducing another coping strategy that they are able to apply
independently. Providing a toolbox for these kids to turn to and introducing different
methods to self-calm will allow them to select a few that are most effective for them
personally, and really be able to apply them.