Special Needs Support - Life Mastery

Overview
This Teaching Guide helps young students practise self-control and impulse regulation in both learning and social settings. Students learn how to pause before acting, wait their turn, listen without interrupting and respond calmly and appropriately. Through highly engaging games, movement-based tasks and repeated routines, they build the ability to stop automatic reactions and make more thoughtful choices.

Learning Objectives
By the end of this Teaching Guide, students will be able to:

• stop on the right signal
• stay focused on a given activity
• listen carefully and follow instructions at the right time
• adjust actions based on external stimuli
• control their actions and responses

Overview
This Teaching Guide supports early learners to develop awareness of how their behaviour affects others and to adjust their actions accordingly. Students practise noticing social cues, recognising when their behaviour is off-track and making small changes to meet classroom and social expectations. Structured discussion, role-play and guided reflection help students check and adjust their behaviour to support positive interactions and learning engagement.

Learning Objectives
By the end of this Teaching Guide, students will be able to:

• notice how their actions affect others
• recognise social cues such as facial expressions, tone of voice and body language
• identify when their behaviour does not match expectations
• adjust behaviour in response to feedback
• reflect on choices made during activities

Overview
This Teaching Guide develops students’ ability to transition smoothly from one activity, situation or idea to another. Students learn practical skills that help them adapt calmly when plans change or when they need to switch gears. They are introduced to key concepts such as switch, calm, think and change, and repeated routines support students in adjusting their actions, emotions and thinking in flexible and confident ways.

Learning Objectives
By the end of this Teaching Guide, students will be able to:

• change their ideas quickly
• adjust actions when the rules change
• think in different ways when something new happens
• switch between big and small ideas
• change their plan when something doesn doesn’t work

Overview
This Teaching Guide helps students build the awareness and skills needed to recognise, manage and regulate their feelings. Students learn to name emotions, notice where feelings manifest in their bodies and recognise how others may be feeling. Through explicit modelling, hands-on tasks and guided reflection, students practise staying calm under pressure, expressing feelings respectfully and recovering quickly after setbacks.

Learning Objectives
By the end of this Teaching Guide, students will be able to:

• recognise and name their own feelings
• notice how feelings change during the day
• identify how emotions feel in the body
• recognise what makes them feel calm or upset
• notice and respond to other people’s feelings

Overview
This Teaching Guide supports students to develop confidence and independence in starting tasks. Students practise strategies to overcome hesitation, avoidance or shutdown when beginning new learning activities. Through simple, repeatable routines and confidence-building tasks, students learn to start promptly, generate ideas and persist even when they feel unsure or challenged.

Learning Objectives
By the end of this Teaching Guide, students will be able to:

• begin tasks without excessive prompting
• use strategies to overcome hesitation or avoidance
• generate ideas to start an activity
• persist with a task even when unsure
• reflect on effort and readiness to begin.

Overview
This Teaching Guide develops students’ ability to hold and use important information in their mind while completing tasks. Students practise remembering instructions, keeping track of what they are doing and connecting new ideas to prior knowledge. Explicit modelling and engaging routines help students build reliable strategies for retaining and recalling key details during learning and everyday activities.

Learning Objectives
By the end of this Teaching Guide, students will be able to:

• use memory to remember instructions and actions
• remember what they see and what changes
• recall important details from a story
• focus on key information from what they see and hear
• remember sounds, pictures and instructions

Overview
This Teaching Guide supports students to think ahead and sequence tasks in logical, manageable steps. Students learn how to set goals, organise materials and plan time effectively. Through hands-on activities, clear visual templates and explicit teacher prompts, students practise approaching work using first, next and last routines, building confidence and independence in everyday classroom tasks.

Learning Objectives
By the end of this Teaching Guide, students will be able to:

• place story events in the correct order
• correctly order daily life steps
• organise steps and materials for practical tasks
• plan teamwork or social tasks in sequence
• use sequencing to plan a simple game or activity.

Overview
This Teaching Guide develops students’ ability to check and adjust their actions and work while completing a task. Students practise noticing mistakes or misunderstandings and making changes before the task is finished. Through structured routines, explicit modelling and error-detection activities, students learn how to review progress, explain what went wrong and apply strategies to stay on track.

Learning Objectives
By the end of this Teaching Guide, students will be able to:

• notice when something is not quite right
• check work carefully for small mistakes
• test whether a task is working properly
• recognise missing or mixed-up steps
• explain and fix mistakes when needed.

Overview
This Teaching Guide helps students build practical habits for keeping belongings and workspaces tidy and accessible. Students practise sorting, grouping, labelling and storing materials in workable order. Through engaging classroom-based tasks and checklists, students learn where items belong and how to manage them independently, reducing anxiety and supporting confident participation in school routines.

Learning Objectives
By the end of this Teaching Guide, students will be able to:

• organise items needed for school
• sort and organise materials at home or in the classroom
• identify and match classroom items
• group similar items by type or purpose
• label items so they can be found and used easily.

Overview
This Teaching Guide helps older primary students practise self-control and thoughtful decision-making. Students learn how to manage impulses and regulate behaviour by recognising cues and stopping actions at the right moment. Through engaging movement-based games and reflection routines, students develop an internal ‘stop sign’ that helps them choose appropriate ways to respond – whether verbally, socially or academically.

Learning Objectives
By the end of this Teaching Guide, students will be able to:

• stop and move slowly or quickly on the right signal
• follow stop and go signals
• listen carefully and follow instructions at the right time
• adjust actions based on external stimuli
• control their physical and verbal responses.

Overview
This Teaching Guide supports students to develop awareness of how their behaviour, words and choices affect others. Students learn to notice social cues, recognise when actions are off-track and make small adjustments in real time. Through explicit modelling, role-play and guided reflection, students practise behaviour repair and build stronger relationships and learning focus.

Learning Objectives
By the end of this Teaching Guide, students will be able to:

• notice how actions affect others
• recognise facial expressions, tone of voice and body language
• identify when behaviour does not match expectations
• adjust behaviour in response to feedback
• reflect on choices made during activities.

Overview
This Teaching Guide develops cognitive flexibility and adaptability. Students practise switching smoothly between activities, ideas and plans. They learn to think ahead, create a Plan B and remain calm when something doesn’t work out. Through structured tasks and explicit teacher prompts, students build transferable skills for handling change and adjusting strategies confidently.

Learning Objectives
By the end of this Teaching Guide, students will be able to:

• change their ideas quickly
• adapt actions when the rules change
• think in different ways when new information is added
• switch between big and small ideas
• change plans when something doesn’t work
• explain how their thinking changed.

Overview
This Teaching Guide builds emotional awareness and regulation skills for upper primary students. Students learn to recognise and name feelings, notice body cues and use calming strategies such as breathing routines and reflection tools. Lessons help students stay calm under pressure, communicate respectfully and recover quickly after setbacks.

Learning Objectives
By the end of this Teaching Guide, students will be able to:

• recognise and name their own feelings
• notice how emotions change throughout the day
• identify how emotions feel in the body
• recognise what helps them feel calm or upset
• notice emotions in other people
• express feelings respectfully.

Overview
This Teaching Guide supports students to begin tasks independently and confidently, especially in group learning situations. Students practise noticing what needs to be done and starting promptly without waiting to be told. Structured routines, sentence starters and explicit modelling help students overcome hesitation and build persistence.

Learning Objectives
By the end of this Teaching Guide, students will be able to:

• begin tasks confidently
• help others to join in
• use strategies to overcome avoidance
• generate ideas to start an activity
• persist even when unsure
• reflect on effort and readiness.

Overview
This Teaching Guide develops students’ ability to hold, track and recall important information while learning. Students practise remembering instructions, images, stories and details from what they see and hear. Explicit modelling and engaging activities help students build practical memory strategies that transfer directly into classroom learning tasks.

Learning Objectives
By the end of this Teaching Guide, students will be able to:

• remember multi-step instructions
• recall key details from stories
• notice and remember small changes
• hold onto important information while working
• use strategies to improve recall.

Overview
This Teaching Guide helps students build practical planning and organisation skills. Students learn how to set a goal, plan steps and organise materials and time. Activities support sequencing, teamwork planning and adapting plans when circumstances change. Explicit teacher prompts and visual templates help students approach tasks in confident, manageable ways.

Learning Objectives
By the end of this Teaching Guide, students will be able to:

• sequence tasks using first, next and last
• plan materials and steps for practical activities
• organise time effectively
• adjust plans when something doesn’t work
• explain how planning supports success.

Overview
This Teaching Guide develops students’ ability to monitor progress and detect errors while working. Students practise checking their own work, identifying what is missing and explaining how to fix problems. Structured routines help students remain focused on goals and adjust actions before a task is completed, making these skills highly transferable to everyday classroom learning.

Learning Objectives
By the end of this Teaching Guide, students will be able to:

• notice when something is wrong or incomplete
• detect small differences or mistakes
• test whether work is effective
• identify and explain missing steps
• fix mistakes using thoughtful strategies.

Overview
This Teaching Guide helps upper primary students strengthen habits for keeping materials organised and accessible. Students learn to sort, organise, label and explain where items belong. Hands-on activities such as Label Lab and Station Setup help students practise grouping similar items so they can be located easily. Clear routines and checklists build independence and reduce stress around managing belongings.

Learning Objectives
By the end of this Teaching Guide, students will be able to:

• organise school and personal materials
• group similar items by type or purpose
• label items clearly
• explain organisation choices
• check that materials are in the correct place.