Think It or Say It

About this resource

Print-and-go think it or say it activity for grades 2-6. Some thoughts are best kept in your head, and some are worth saying out loud. Students read short everyday scenarios, sort them under THINK IT or SAY IT, circle an answer on short worksheets, then write and draw their own. A words check to color and a log turn it into something a student practices all week.

EVERYTHING INSIDE — 29 pages

• A Think It or Say It poster: 6 think it scenarios in one panel, 6 say it scenarios in the other (color page and black-and-white ink-saver page)
• A sort mat: two sides, THINK IT and SAY IT, with 12 card-sized boxes the cards sit in
• 12 scenario cards to cut, 4 across and 3 down, cut on the dotted lines. Each has a small picture, a few words and a short line the student reads: a funny haircut, a boring game, a weird lunch, a messy drawing, a wrong answer and a silly tie (think it); a thank you, I need help, a turn, I'm sorry, an invite and good game (say it)
• The same 12 cards in black-and-white ink-saver
• 24 blank scenario 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
• Think It or Say It? 8 everyday moments on 2 pages: the student reads each one and circles Think it or Say it
• Write the Words: 3 moments with room to write what the student could think and what they could say
• My Think It or Say It: draw or write 3 thoughts to keep in my head and 3 things to say out loud
• My Plan: draw a time I had a thought, then write what I will think, what I will say and what I will do first
• My Words Check: 15 circles (5 days, 3 times a day) to color each time the student stopped and picked think it or say it
• A how-to page and an answer key for the cards and the 8 moments, with a space for your school's own words
• A Words Log (20 rows: date, when, card, did it 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 cards that came up 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 cards 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, color, draw or write. The scenarios are everyday ones from the classroom and the playground. The student in the filled example is invented.

The Scenario Cards

Twelve cards, six think it and six say it. 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 moment that is not printed here, and your classroom's own rules come first.

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 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, text-based way to talk about when a thought stays inside and when it gets said, for grades 2-6, and the families who get the home page.

More In The Collection

This set is in the Visual Supports Collection, alongside Circle of Control Activity, Self Control Worksheets and Positive Self Talk Swap Cards, Poster and Tracker. 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.