Emotions Hub
Emotions are messengers. Understanding the emotional landscape behind behavior helps us respond to what a student needs rather than just what they are doing.
Mood Meter — The Four Zones
"If you can name it, you can tame it." — Marc Brackett, Permission to Feel
Green Zone
Calm, Happy, Ready to Learn
High pleasantness, low-moderate energy. The student is regulated, engaged, and able to access learning.
Strategies that work well:
2x10 · Morning Greeting · Responsibilities · Morning Meeting · Positive Praise
Blue Zone
Sad, Tired, Withdrawn, Sick
Low pleasantness, low energy. The student may appear shut down, disengaged, or emotionally flat.
Strategies that work well:
Check In · Pulse Check · Empathetic Listening · Responsibilities · Gentle Movement Break
Yellow Zone
Anxious, Nervous, Frustrated, Excited
Low-moderate pleasantness, high energy. The student may be agitated, unfocused, or escalating.
Strategies that work well:
Break Card · Secret Signal · Breathing Techniques · Fidget · Forewarning · Controlled Choices
Red Zone
Angry, Frustrated, Terrified, Overwhelmed
Low pleasantness, high energy. The student is dysregulated and likely in a Fight/Flight/Freeze/Fawn response.
Strategies that work well:
Reset Plan · Break Card · Calm Neutral Tone · Rapid Resets · Avoid Power Struggle
Trauma Response Behaviors — Fight / Flight / Freeze / Fawn
"When a threat is identified, the downstairs brain takes over." — Joe Brummer, Building a Trauma-Informed Restorative School
What you see → What it may mean → How to respond
Fight
You may see: Aggression, arguing, defiance, yelling, throwing objects, provoking, slamming doors, talking back, hands in fists
Respond with: Calm neutral tone · Relational Discipline Moves · Avoid power struggles · Reduce audience
Flight
You may see: Walking out, ignoring, head down/hood up, avoiding tasks, daydreaming, cutting class, frequent bathroom trips
Respond with: Connection before compliance · Break Card · Provide safe exits · Responsibilities
Freeze
You may see: Blank stares, dissociation, numb shrug, head on desk, inability to move or respond, appears forgetful, avoids tasks
Respond with: Reduce demands first · Gentle check-in · Breathing · Wait before expecting engagement
Fawn
You may see: Perfectionism, over-preparing, overly helpful, befriends bullies, submits to pressure, exaggerated people pleasing, lacks boundaries
Respond with: Build authentic relationship · Validate genuine effort · Help student find their voice · Secret Signal
Emotions are Messengers
We can invite others to connect their emotional vocabulary with appropriate expression. — Aguilar & Cohen, The PD Book
Three Ways to Support Emotional Literacy in Your Setting
Build the Environment
Normalize feelings — use mood meter and sticky note check-ins
Appreciate feelings — verbally acknowledge, express gratitude
Validate feelings — use empathy, never dismiss
Make the First Moves
Ask: What's going on? How do you know you're feeling this?
Model vulnerability — communicate your own emotions first
Avoid emotional invalidation at all times
Foster Introspection
Take time to acknowledge — do not avoid or dismiss
Hold time for processing — mindfulness, Meta-Moment
Dig deeper — ask more than just "How are you?"
Five Domains of Regulation
Understanding different types of regulation helps us develop the right skills to improve them. — Brummer, adapted from Sorrels (2015)
Physical Regulation
The ability to regulate our bodies in response to sensory input — equilibrium, hunger cues, movement, and sensory processing.
Cognitive Regulation
The ability to control and purposefully use our minds — holding information, blocking distractions, and maintaining focus on a task.
Emotional Regulation
The ability to control and manage unpleasant or overwhelming emotions, or to feel and enjoy the pleasant ones.
Social Regulation
The ability to adapt behaviors based on how they impact others — empathy, reading facial cues, voice tones, and relational messages.
Pro-Social Regulation
The capacity to empathize AND act on that information — responding in caring ways to a friend's distress or excitement.
Emotional Regulation Strategies — Four Category Types
Emotional regulation starts with giving ourselves and others permission to own our feelings. — Brackett, Permission to Feel, p.146
💨 Mindful Breathing
Calms the body and mind. "Hits the brake" on the stress response.
Strategies: 7-11 Breathing · Belly Breathing · Rapid Resets · Shape Breathing · Thich Nhat Hahn Breathing · Slow Counting
🕐 Forward-Looking
Anticipate what will cause an unwanted emotion. Plan ahead to alter the emotional impact.
Strategies: Reset Plan · Forewarning · Implementation Intention · Scheduled Breaks
👁 Attention-Shifting
Tempers the impact of an emotion by diverting attention away from its source.
Strategies: Drinking Water · Look Up · Fidgets · Music · Doodle Notes · Movement Break · Visualization
Cognitive Reframing
Analyze what is triggering the emotional experience and find a new way of seeing it.
Strategies: Meta-Moment · Q-Tip · Affirmations · Mantra · Journal Writing · Positive Self-Talk
3 Components of Co-Regulation
When we meet students' dysregulated behaviors with co-regulation, they learn how to self-regulate. — Micere Keels, Trauma Responsive Educational Practices
Build
Cultivate a warm, responsive relationship by displaying care and affection.
2x10 · Greeting at the Door · Affirmations · Morning Meeting · Circles · Teach Kindness
📋 Structure
Structure the environment to make self-regulation manageable. Avoid vague expectations and prolonged quiet seated work.
Getting Class Ready · TROGS · Visual Schedule · Structured Routine · Belonging Cues
🏫 Coach
Modeling, instruction, and positive reinforcement of even modest progress toward regulation.
Zones of Regulation · 100 Coping Strategies · Mood Shifters · Positive Self-Talk
Three Types of Praise — and the Gratitude Formula
Adapted from Trauma Responsive Educational Practices — Micere Keels (2023)
Personal
"You are really smart!"
Minimize This Type
Subjective, can feel judgmental. Reinforces fixed mindset and de-emphasizes effort.
Effort-Based
"You worked really hard!"
Maximize This Type
Reinforces progress along the path to a goal. Especially impactful for struggling learners.
Behavior-Specific
"You did ___ well!"
Maximize This Type
Objective because it is observable. Clear communication benefits all learners.
Brain Science — Understanding the Thinking Brain
When we understand how the brain works under stress, we stop asking "why won't they just behave?" and start asking "what does this brain need right now?"
Focal Framework
Reptile Mode · Mammal Mode · Human Mode
Behavior that confuses us makes complete sense when we understand which part of the brain is driving it. The three brain modes give educators a simple, powerful lens for reading any student at any moment.
🦎
Reptile Mode
Brainstem. Survival only. Fight, flight, freeze, fawn. Cannot learn, connect, or reason.
Regulate first
🐘
Mammal Mode
Limbic system. Emotions, relationships, belonging. Needs connection before compliance.
Connect first
🧠
Human Mode
Prefrontal cortex. Reasoning, empathy, planning. Where learning lives. Only accessible when regulated and connected.
Ready to learn
Upstairs Brain (PFC)
Decision-making, empathy, impulse control, planning. Under construction until age 25. Cannot function when the downstairs brain is in control.
Downstairs Brain (Amygdala)
Survival, strong emotions, fight/flight/freeze. "Flipping the lid" = downstairs takes over. The brain is not being defiant — it is being protected.
Classroom application
When a student is in the downstairs brain: stop instructing, stop redirecting. Regulate first. Once calm, the upstairs brain reconnects and learning is possible again.
The nervous system has three states. Behavior is the nervous system communicating — not a choice, a signal.
🟢
Ventral Vagal — Safe & Social
Calm, connected, regulated. Learning is accessible. Build here with connection strategies.
🟡
Sympathetic — Fight or Flight
Activated, anxious, explosive. Body mobilizing for danger. Use regulation strategies, reduce demands, avoid power struggles.
🔵
Dorsal Vagal — Shutdown
Collapsed, dissociated, numb. Body conserving energy. Gentle connection, reduce demands, no confrontation.
When the brain perceives threat, it floods the body with stress hormones before the thinking brain has a chance to assess the situation.
👁
Perceive
Brain detects threat
⚡
Activate
Cortisol & adrenaline flood body
🌊
React
Fight, flight, freeze, or fawn
💧
Recover
Cortisol metabolizes, regulation returns
Key insight
The stress response fires 80,000x faster than the thinking brain. A student cannot "choose" to calm down — the body must metabolize the cortisol first. This takes 20–30 minutes minimum. Drinking water speeds cortisol metabolism. This is why the Reset Plan works.
Tomkins proposed that humans are born with 9 innate affects — biological programs that drive behavior before we have language for them. These form "scripts" — automatic patterns of response.
Interest-Excitement
Motivates exploration
Enjoyment-Joy
Signals safety & reward
Surprise-Startle
Resets attention
Distress-Anguish
Signals unmet needs
Fear-Terror
Activates threat response
Anger-Rage
Responds to obstruction
Disgust
Rejects the offensive
Dissmell
Avoids contamination
Shame-Humiliation
Interrupts connection
Why shame matters most in schools
Shame-Humiliation is the most socially powerful affect. Public correction, sarcasm, and embarrassment trigger shame, which shuts down connection. This is why private redirection and effort-based praise are neurobiologically necessary — not just kind.
The brain is not fixed. Every interaction either strengthens or weakens neural pathways. What gets practiced gets wired.
Stress pathways strengthen when...
Threats are unpredictable • Adults are unsafe • Shame is frequent • Regulation is never modeled
Regulation pathways strengthen when...
Adults are predictable • Relationships feel safe • Co-regulation is consistent • Effort is recognized
The 6-8 week window
This is why interventions need 6-8 consecutive school weeks. That is the minimum time for new neural pathways to begin forming. Consistency is not just good practice — it is how the brain changes.
ACEs are the 10 categories of childhood trauma from the landmark CDC-Kaiser study. Higher ACE scores correlate with significantly worse outcomes. But PCEs buffer ACE impact — and educators provide them every day.
The 10 ACEs
1. Physical abuse
2. Emotional abuse
3. Sexual abuse
4. Physical neglect
5. Emotional neglect
6. Mental illness in household
7. Substance abuse in household
8. Domestic violence
9. Incarcerated family member
10. Divorce/separation
The 7 PCEs — You provide these
1. Able to talk to family about feelings
2. Family is supportive
3. Sense of community
4. Sense of belonging in school
5. Supported by friends
6. 2+ non-parent caring adults
7. Feeling safe with an adult
Your role
PCEs 4, 6, and 7 are directly within your sphere of influence. A consistent greeting, a genuine 2x10, and a safe classroom are neurobiological protection against trauma.
The Window of Tolerance is the zone of arousal where a person can function effectively. Outside this window, learning is impossible.
Hyperarousal — Above the window
Too activated. Racing heart, panic, anger, aggression. Fight or flight. Calm the body first — breathing, movement, reduce stimulation.
Window of Tolerance — In the zone
Optimal arousal. Able to think, connect, and learn. Prefrontal cortex is online. Keep students here through predictability, connection, and regulation supports.
Hypoarousal — Below the window
Too shut down. Numbness, dissociation, collapse. Freeze or fawn. Gentle activation — movement, connection, warmth, gradual re-engagement.
Widening the window over time
Trauma narrows the window. Consistent co-regulation, safety, and predictability widen it over time. This is the long game of trauma-informed practice.