Stop, Think, Choose – Self-Control SEL Game

Players consider self-control scenarios while moving around a board and practicing Stop, Think, Choose. Joke cards, movement prompts and an extension sheet vary the activity.
Grades
K–2
Pages
21
File type
PDF
Preparation
Print ready

Updated Oct 01, 2025

Subject
Social Emotional Learning (SEL)
Topic
Stop think choose, Self-control
Resource types
Games
Preparation
Print ready

Product description

From the author

In this resource, you will get a fun SEL game for students. This STOP THINK CHOOSE game is to help students practice slowing down when they are upset and thinking through their feelings and choices. There is a traffic-light strategy handout that all students receive and can take home. This can also be used as an SEL poster in the classroom to reference this strategy of Stopping (calming down and stopping what you are doing), Thinking (How do I and others feel right now?) and Choosing a safe and respectful choice. When students play the game, they will land on ice cream truck, car and stop spaces. The ice cream truck is for fun. The students will read the joke or "would you rather" question to the group and they will guess the answer or share their preferred choice of a "would you rather" question. The car spaces are for scenarios where students can walk it through the stop, think, and choose strategy. The stop sign spaces ask students to act out a motion, saying, or movement around the room activity and the person on their right will tell them to stop. Students will practice stopping right away. This is great practice for when teachers ask students to stop and they need to learn to stop right away in the moment. Lastly there is an extension handout for students to fill out that assesses if they understand the strategy. There are 24 car scenario cards and 24 ice cream truck cards for fun. There is an action needed for each space of the game. The game board is 8.5 by 11 inches but if you would like to enlarge the game board, this is possible using a copy machine and zooming to a larger size if needed. You just need game pieces and dice or an 8 sided die.

In the classroom

Teaching tips & learning objectives

Learning objectives

  • Students will apply the three-step STOP-THINK-CHOOSE strategy to a described classroom or playground scenario.

  • Students will practice stopping a physical action immediately when a peer signals stop, using the action-wheel space.

  • Students will identify which stage of the STOP-THINK-CHOOSE strategy — stop, think, or choose — is shown in a written scenario by colouring the matching light.

Teaching tips

  • Prepare the board, game pieces and cards before the session.

  • Use an eight-sided die for the eight-action wheel and offer accessible alternatives to movements.

  • Use the three-scenario extension sheet to discuss Stop, Think and Choose after the game.

Skills covered

  • Self-control application — matching a described classroom scenario (sneaking a cookie, wanting to push a friend, blurting out an answer) to the STOP-THINK-CHOOSE strategy.

  • Impulse-stopping practice — physically stopping a movement the instant a peer signals stop, on the action-wheel space.

  • Strategy-stage identification — reading a short scenario and colouring the light (red, yellow, or green) that matches the STOP, THINK, or CHOOSE stage shown.

Good to know

Questions teachers ask about this resource

What do the ice-cream-truck cards contain?

They provide jokes and would-you-rather questions between the self-control scenarios.

What happens at a stop-sign space?

Players select an action from the eight-part wheel, begin it and practice stopping when prompted.

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Resource details

Concepts & topics

Core concepts

  • Self-control

  • STOP-THINK-CHOOSE strategy

  • Social-emotional learning

  • Impulse management

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