For many years, since Positive Discipline in the Classroom was first published, many teachers have used and loved having the Wheel of Choice in their classrooms—without lesson plans. After all, don’t all students know how to do something as simple as count to 10 to calm down, or to share and take turns?

At some level they do, and the Wheel of Choice has been effective. However, the teachers who helped create these lesson plans found that the effectiveness of the Wheel of Choice was greatly increased when students were involved in activities that helped them practice the skills involved in the Wheel of Choice solutions. Their students gained a deeper understanding of the choices.

The Wheel of Choice has caught on in homes, as well. The effectiveness will be increased at home when parents take time to teach the skills necessary for using the Wheel of Choice. This is just one way that parents and teachers can work together to teach problem-skills. Class meetings in classrooms and family meetings in homes is another, as is “focusing on solutions” in any form.

The lessons include activities that involve children in learning the skills to use the Wheel of Choice, and then coloring in each slice to create their personal Wheel of Choice.

All of the choices on the Wheel of Choice are life skills that will serve children for the rest of their lives to help them improve and enjoy their relationships with others. They are worth learning at a deeper level and practicing on a daily basis.

Sustaining the Skills

            Teachers would never consider teaching reading skills just once. Parents know that children need constant training to learn social skills. We suggest you find creative ways to teach these lessons over and over. Consider some of the following:

• A few weeks after teaching the lessons, assign students to take turns teaching the lessons to each other. Children at home can do the same.
• Allow older students to teach younger students. In homes, consider inviting another family to you home and let your children teach a lesson
• Invite students and children to keep a journal of their results when they use the wheel of choice. When something doesn’t work, they can be invited to put the problem on the family or class meeting agenda and brainstorm for solutions.

We hope you and your children enjoy participating in these lessons and the greater peace you will experience in your homes and classrooms due to valuable social and life skills learned and practiced on the daily basis through the Wheel of Choice