The Zones of Regulation, developed by Leah Kuypers in 2011, teaches students self-regulation using a systematic, cognitive behavior approach. Within the Zones framework, feelings and “states of alertness” are categorized into four concrete zones, represented by the colors Red (heightened, intense states, e.g., anger, terror), yellow (elevated emotions e.g., anxiety, excitement, ‘the sillies’), Green (calm state of alertness, e.g., focused, happy) and Blue (low states/down feelings e.g., tired, sad). Using these Zones, the curriculum teaches students strategies for building emotional awareness, and emotion regulation.
Teacher training in the Zones curriculum is available as one day workshops, and books, posters and even a Zones app is available for purchase through the website.