647.Resource, Gordon, When Sadness Is at Your Door: Mentor Text for Emotional Regulation (Grades 3-5)

The theme of Emotional Regulation includes a teachable, complex set of skills for managing emotional states. The skills include identifying emotions, self-control (managing impulses, delaying gratification), managing stress, using coping skills, and reflection.

Sadness, while not an emotion we might want to discuss, is a normal part of life. For children to manage their emotions, they need to be able to name and describe what they are feeling. When Sadness Is At Your Door provides a way to accept and respond to our emotions. It offers ways to cope. While it may be beyond the grasp of many elementary school students, a lesson is that emotions are part of us.

Heart of Georgia RESA teachers may request a free copy of the book to use with their classes by listening to the short VoiceThread about the book, reading a brief handout that includes the ELA standards and suggested strategies for using the mentor text, and completing a request form.