From Red to Green: Zones of Regulation Bulletin Board and Lesson Ideas
If you’re anything like me, you have spent a lot of time working on self-regulation with students in your counseling office. Big feelings, classroom frustrations, and friendship drama…our students experience a wide range of emotions throughout the day, and more often than not, they lack the skills to manage their emotions effectively. One of the ways I love teaching students how to self-regulate with positive coping strategies is by using the Zones of Regulation framework.
The Zones provide a simple, color-coded way for students to identify how they’re feeling and choose coping strategies to help them get back on track. In this post, we’ll explore how to introduce the Zones in your counseling program, creative ideas for a Zones of Regulation bulletin board, and a few ready-to-use lessons and activities that make teaching self-regulation easier (and way more fun).
Hi, I’m Rachel Davis! I’m a former school counselor with over 8 years of experience in the classroom. I specialize in creating easy-to-implement strategies for busy school counselors, and I am the counselor and curriculum designer behind Bright Futures Counseling, a community designed to offer counselors the support they need to feel confident serving their students well.
What Are the Zones of Regulation?
The Zones of Regulation is a framework developed by Leah Kuypers to help kids build emotional awareness and self-regulation skills. It breaks emotions into four easy-to-understand categories, or “zones”:
Blue Zone: Low states of alertness — sad, tired, bored, sick
Green Zone: Calm, focused, ready to learn — happy, content, regulated
Yellow Zone: Heightened alertness — frustrated, worried, silly, excited
Red Zone: Extreme emotions — angry, panicked, out of control
The key idea? Every zone is normal and something we all experience at one point or another, but some zones are more helpful than others for learning and interacting at school. Our job as counselors is to help equip students with the skills necessary to recognize their emotions, respond appropriately, and self-regulate back to the green zone, where they are ready for learning.
Why Teach the Zones in Elementary Counseling?
For many students, especially in the younger grades, it’s hard to name emotions beyond “mad” or “happy.” The Zones provide them with a visual language to communicate their feelings and ask for help. The zones also provide a common language amongst students and staff throughout an entire building, helping bridge gaps and inconsistencies.
Benefits of teaching the Zones include:
- Increased emotional awareness: Students learn to label feelings more specifically.
- Improved self-regulation: Kids can connect emotions to coping strategies that work for them.
- Better classroom behavior: Teachers and support staff can use a shared language with students, reducing power struggles.
- Stronger peer relationships: Students understand not just their own emotions, but also those of their classmates.
Zones of Regulation Bulletin Board Ideas
One of the best ways to reinforce the Zones is with a visual in your counseling office or classroom. One of my favorite ways to do this is by displaying a Zones of Regulation bulletin board. Here are a few ideas:
1. Daily Check-In Station
Create a bulletin board with four large color sections (blue, green, yellow, red). Add emotion words and picture icons in each zone. Students can check in by moving their name tag, Velcro dot, or clothespin to the zone that represents how they feel. This creates a nonverbal way for kids to express emotions and a starting point for counseling conversations.
For a ready-to-use version, check out my Self-Regulation Bulletin Board and Check-in Station. It comes with posters, check-in visuals, and everything you need to set up your own self-regulation station.
2. Coping Strategies Wall
Once students can identify their zone, the next step is knowing what to do about it. Add a list of coping strategies under each zone.
For example:
Blue Zone: take a walk, listen to music, talk to a friend
Green Zone: keep going, encourage a peer, help someone
Yellow Zone: take deep breaths, draw, use positive self-talk
Red Zone: ask for help, use a calm corner, practice mindfulness
This turns your bulletin board into a “menu” of strategies kids can use in real time.
3. Interactive Journaling Connection
Pair your bulletin board with a self-regulation journal. After students check in, have them grab their Self-Regulation Coping Strategies Journal to reflect on their feelings and plan a strategy. This builds the habit of not just naming feelings, but also taking action.
Zones of Regulation Lesson Ideas
While the bulletin board reinforces the concepts daily, intentional lessons give students the chance to dive deeper into the Zones. Here are a few ideas:
Lesson 1: Identifying Feelings in Each Zone
1. Use picture cards of children showing different emotions.
2. Have students sort them into the correct zone.
3. Extend the activity by asking, “What might this student do to move back to the green zone?”
This works well in both classroom lessons and small groups.
Lesson 2: Matching Strategies to Zones
1. Brainstorm strategies students already use when they’re in the blue, yellow, or red zone.
2. Record answers on chart paper or in a shared journal.
3. Introduce new coping strategies using the Self-Monitoring and Self-Regulation Activity Packet, which includes worksheets and hands-on activities to practice.
Lesson 3: Role-Play Scenarios
- Present short scenarios like “Your best friend doesn’t want to play with you” or “You got a question wrong in math.”
- Ask students which zone they might feel in, and then act out a coping strategy that could help.
Role-play is especially powerful for younger students who need to practice skills, not just talk about them.
Small Group Counseling with the Zones
If you have a group of students who need more targeted support, consider running a self-regulation counseling group.
My Ready to Regulate Small Group Curriculum walks students step by step through identifying emotions, practicing coping strategies, and applying the Zones in real-life situations. Over several sessions, students build confidence in managing their feelings and learn how to carry these strategies back into the classroom.
Bringing It All Together
Teaching the Zones of Regulation in elementary counseling doesn’t have to be overwhelming. By pairing bulletin board visuals, engaging lessons, and small group practice, you create multiple touchpoints for students to learn, practice, and master self-regulation skills.
Whether it’s a simple daily check-in, an interactive role-play, or a structured group curriculum, these activities empower students to better understand their emotions and respond in healthier ways. And when kids can regulate themselves, the entire school community benefits.
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