'Supportive Fans' for Children to Help Classroom Communication during Activities
Supportive Fans are a practical, hands-on communication tool designed to scaffold the words children need in the moments they need them most.
Each fan gives children a ready-made starting point for talk, responses, and self-regulation when finding the right words feels difficult.
Rather than expecting children to generate language from scratch under pressure, Supportive Fans quietly close the gap between thinking something and being able to express it to show understanding. Making them a super duper powerful everyday support for inclusion, oracy, and emotional literacy across the whole class.
Print off a set of each per table and explicitly teach the children how to use the supportive fans during activities.
This resource features The Scribbles Crew, a group of friendly-looking emotions characters that can be created by any child. They are just that: scribbles!
How could this resource be used?
- To support emotional regulation.
- To facilitate more positive peer relationships and friendships.
- To support a child 1:1 and in groups.
- To help children to communicate their thoughts and needs with others.
Relevant Curriculum Links
England PSHE Statutory Curriculum Strands:
- KS1: H12 – to recognise and name different feelings.
- KS1:H18 – different things they can do to manage big feelings, to help calm themselves down and/or change their mood when they don’t feel good.
- KS2: H16 – about strategies and behaviours that support mental health — including how good quality sleep, physical exercise/time outdoors, being involved in community groups, doing things for others, clubs, and activities, hobbies and spending time with family and friends can support mental health and wellbeing.
- KS2: H19 – a varied vocabulary to use when talking about feelings.
- KS2: H20 – strategies to respond to feelings, including intense or conflicting feelings; how to manage and respond to feelings appropriately and proportionately in different situations.
Scottish Health and Wellbeing Curriculum Outcome(s):
- I am aware of and able to express my feelings and am developing the ability to talk about them. HWB 0-01a / HWB 1-01a / HWB 2-01a / HWB 3-01a / HWB 4-01a.
- I know that we all experience a variety of thoughts and emotions that affect how we feel and behave and I am learning ways of managing them. HWB 0-02a / HWB 1-02a / HWB 2-02a / HWB 3-02a / HWB 4-02a.
- I understand that my feelings and reactions can change depending upon what is happening within and around me. This helps me to understand my own behaviour and the way others behave. HWB 0-04a / HWB 1-04a / HWB 2-04a / HWB 3-04a / HWB 4-04a.
- I understand the importance of mental wellbeing and that this can be fostered and strengthened through personal coping skills and positive relationships. I know that it is not always possible to enjoy good mental health and that if this happens there is support available. HWB 0-06a / HWB 1-06a / HWB 2-06a / HWB 3-06a / HWB 4-06a.
