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Big or Small Problems Cut-And-Paste Worksheets For Size of the Problem

Thirty-six everyday-conflict scenarios are cut apart and sorted into "Big Problem" and "Small Problem" columns across three activity pages.
Grades
Grades 1–3
File type
PDF
Preparation
Print ready

Updated Jul 03, 2023

Subject
Life Skills, Social Emotional Learning (SEL), Special Resources
Topic
Social Emotional Learning, Coping Skills
Resource types
Activities, Worksheets, Worksheets & Printables
Preparation
Print ready

From the author

About this resource

Are you looking for no prep social emotional learning activities that helps to reinforce SEL topics in the classroom? These size of the problem cut and paste sorting worksheets are the perfect activity to keep students engaged while promoting social emotional learning! Students will learn about different problems and how much of a problem certain situations truly are. Students will also get to talk about and reflect on situations that seemed like a big problem, but weren't.

These activities are a great, quick addition to your emotions and coping skills lessons or an awesome tool to use in your school counseling sessions!, both individual and small group!

Simply print and give the worksheets to the students. The students with then cut the problem slips and paste them into the category they believe it belongs in. This makes for a great activity to any emotional regulation counseling lesson and can be used in small group counseling, individual counseling, and whole group lessons!

Some Ideas for Use Are:

⭐Individual Lessons

⭐Emotion Regulation Small Groups

⭐ Morning Meetings

⭐ As an extension activity for your Emotion Regulation Lessons

When you have students who struggle with thinking that everything is a big problem, this activity helps!

In the classroom

Teaching tips & learning objectives

Learning objectives

  • Sort everyday conflict scenarios into "big problem" and "small problem" categories.

  • Justify a sorting choice by comparing the relative seriousness of different situations.

  • Reflect on situations that felt like a big problem in the moment but could be seen as a small one.

Teaching tips

  • Use the three pages across separate sessions rather than all at once, since each is a complete standalone set of 12 scenarios.

  • Follow the sorting activity with a discussion of any scenarios students disagreed on, since several situations (e.g., a friend group ignoring you, a parent being sick) can reasonably be sorted either way.

  • Use with a student who tends to treat every problem as a big one, since the scenario mix is built to prompt that exact reflection.

Skills covered

  • Problem-size categorization — students sort 12 scenarios per page into "big" and "small" problem categories.

  • Perspective-taking — scenarios describe situations from a first-person "you" viewpoint, prompting students to imagine their own reaction.

  • Comparative reasoning — students weigh scenarios like a bad hair day against a parent's serious illness to decide relative severity.

  • Cutting and sorting fine-motor practice — students cut apart 12 individual scenario strips per page and paste them under the correct heading.

Good to know

Questions teachers ask about this resource

Are the three pages different scenarios, or the same page repeated?

Different — each of the three pages has its own complete set of 12 scenarios, for 36 total across the activity.

Do the scenarios focus on one type of problem, like just friendship issues?

No — scenarios mix peer conflicts, classroom mishaps, family situations, and physical mishaps, from a friend saying no to play to a parent needing to move schools or separate.

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Resource details

Concepts & topics

Core concepts

  • Size of the problem

  • Social-emotional learning

  • Sorting

  • Self-regulation

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