4 Ways To Use Chutes And Ladders In School Counseling
Kids of all ages love to play games. Here are 4 ways that you can use Chutes and Ladders for school counseling.
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Chutes and Ladders is a classic game that has been treasured for many years. As you make your way through the game board, you never know if you will get to climb a ladder to advance, or if you’ll have to take a slide back down toward the beginning. This excitement has made the game a student favorite for years. Not only is it fun, but Chutes and Ladders can also be used to explore different social emotional topics. Keep reading for ways to use the game to teach about anger management, honesty, growth mindset, and self control.
Using Chutes And Ladders To Work On Anger Management
Chutes and Ladders is one of the best games to use when working on anger management with kids. There are so many situations in this game when students will experience failure and disappointment. This gives the students plenty of opportunities to practice their coping skills. Whether they have to go down a slide, or lose the whole game, students will surely be challenged to stay calm and practice good sportsmanship!
Using Chutes And Ladders To Work On Growth Mindset
Chutes and Ladders is a great game to use to encourage a growth mindset. When playing the game, talk about how going down a slide helped you to later go up a ladder. This can symbolize how much of our success has come from previous mistakes and failures.
To encourage discussion about growth mindset during the game, instruct students to respond to the following prompts.
Each time you go down a slide, share something you want to get better at.
Each time you go up a ladder, share something you’ve accomplished that you are proud of.
Using Chutes And Ladders To Work On Honesty
Using Chutes and Ladders to help students with honesty might not be an obvious way to use the game, but it can totally help! I have found that this game is one of the most common games for students to try to cheat at. They adjust the spinner, say they have moved when they haven’t… anything to avoid going down a dreaded slide.
This game can also provide a great opportunity to work on honesty with your students. Start the game by talking about how it’s difficult to be honest, how you could cheat at the game, and why people may cheat at the game. Then, before you play, come up with a consequence for cheating. When I play with students, we usually say that if you cheat to avoid going down a slide, then you have to go down two slides. However, the consequence can change depending on what your students decide. Then, after the game, process how it went with your students. Were they tempted to cheat? What stopped them from cheating? How could this relate to things they experience in real life?
Using Chutes And Ladders To Work On Self Control
One thing I love about using the game Chutes and Ladders for school counseling is that the game board encourages students to consider the consequences of their actions. Each ladder shows someone making a choice that leads to something positive. For example, doing chores can help you earn money to do things you enjoy. On the other hand, each slide shows someone making a choice that leads to a negative consequence. For example, climbing to get a cookie jar can cause you to fall and get hurt. This can lead to great conversation about our own actions. Encourage the students to think about their actions for the past day or week. Which choices were “ladder” choices that led to positive consequences? Which choices were “slide” choices that led to negative consequences?
Using Chutes and Ladders for school counseling is a great way to keep students engaged as they learn about important SEL topics. These fun spins on the classic game are perfect to use in your small group or individual lessons. You can also give these suggestions to parents and families to help them continue SEL at home. Do you have any other ways to use Chutes and Ladders? Let me know in the comments!
