Big Problem vs Small Problem

About this resource

Print-and-go big problem vs small problem activity for grades 1-5. Some problems are small and some are big, and a child often reacts to both the same way. This set puts the idea in front of a student in plain sentences with a picture: a scale poster of small, medium and big, sort cards to cut apart, and short worksheets where the student circles, matches, colors and writes. A problem check to color and a log turn it into something a student does all week.

EVERYTHING INSIDE — 31 pages

• A scale poster, "How Big Is My Problem?": small, medium and big, a bigger circle for each, two example problems each, and a "What I do" write-in line so the words are your classroom's own (color page and black-and-white ink-saver page)
• A sort mat: two sides, SMALL problem and BIG problem, with 12 card-sized boxes the cards sit in
• 12 sort cards to cut, 4 across and 3 down, cut on the dotted lines: 6 small problems (my pencil broke, I dropped my crayon, it is raining at recess, I spilled a little water, my team lost the game, I am last in line) and 6 big problems (someone is hurt, I am lost in a store, I do not feel safe, I see a fire, someone is mean to me again and again, my pet ran away). Each has a picture and a short sentence
• The same 12 cards in black-and-white ink-saver
• 24 blank sort cards (16 on a page of their own, plus a row of 4 under the cards on the color page and on the ink-saver page): the student draws a picture and writes their own words
• Small or Big? 8 everyday moments on 2 pages: the student reads each one and circles Small problem or Big problem
• What Do I Do? 8 problems on 2 pages, four a page: the student finds what fits each problem in the lettered boxes and writes the letter
• How Big Is It? 4 moments: the student colors a small, medium or big circle and writes why
• My Big and Small Problems: draw or write 3 small problems and 3 big problems
• My Problem Plan: draw a problem, color how big it is, then write what I will do and who can help me
• My Problem Check: 15 circles (5 days, 3 times a day) to color each time the student picked a reaction that fits
• A how-to page and an answer key for the cards, the 8 small-or-big moments and the 8 matches, with a space for your school's own words
• A Problem Log (20 rows: date, the problem, size, reaction fit Y/N, initials)
• A weekly roll-up (8 weeks) with a percent graph
• A filled example: an invented student, one week on the log, three weeks on the roll-up and the problems logged across all three
• A family page with 6 small cards to cut apart and a note home
• A hand-off page so a paraprofessional or another classroom uses the same words the same way
• A phrase bank: 23 lines in 6 groups (spoken lines for the poster, cards and worksheets; written starters for the log, the roll-up and the note home)
• A storage and binder label sheet: 12 labels and a spine strip
• Start Here, a contents page that maps every page, and a "what's next" back page

The Student Pages

Every student page has a "My name" line, one short instruction with a picture, big pictures and big rounded words, and room to circle, match, color, draw or write. The moments are everyday ones from the classroom, the playground and the bus. The student in the filled example is invented.

The Sort Cards

Twelve cards with a picture and one short sentence each, six small and six big. Use them on the mat, in a small group, as a quick sort at the desk, or hand a student two or three at a time. A blank card holds any idea that is not printed here. How big a problem is, for a child, is your call and your team's: the answer key says so, and the poster's "What I do" lines are blank for your own words.

What This Is, And What It Is Not

It is a fillable PDF: type into the name lines, the log, the roll-up, the family page, the hand-off page, the poster's write-in lines and the blank cards, or print and use a pen. It works offline with no account or subscription. It is NOT an editable online slideshow or word-processor document.

Who This Is For

Teachers, counselors, special education teachers and paraprofessionals who want a concrete, picture-based way to talk about small problems and big problems, for grades 1-5, and the families who get the home page.

More In The Collection

This set is in the Visual Supports Collection, alongside Self Control Worksheets, Positive Self Talk Swap Cards, Poster and Tracker, Frustration Tolerance Social Story and Calm Strategy Cards and Self Advocacy Social Story and I Can Ask Cue Cards. Free to try first: Visual Supports Starter Set FREE.

Pictures (color pages): Noto Emoji by Google, Apache License 2.0. Pictures (ink-saver pages): Fluent Emoji, Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation, MIT License.