2.2.4. Session Structure

The program consisted of twelve 60-minute sessions. Throughout the program, children read and discussed the content of the 17 chapters in the story-tool. Each session began with a review of the contents worked in the previous session, followed by the reading of a new chapter. With the help of a research assistant with training in delivering SR interventions, children used the three facets of knowledge to discuss the SR processes presented in the chapter: declarative (i.e., What is? the definition of a concept), procedural (i.e., How? the operationalization of the knowledge), and conditional (When? Where? Why? in which circumstances could the knowledge be used) knowledge, e.g., [41].

These guidelines allowed students to assign meaning to the story and foster possible ways to apply these strategies to their daily lives. For example, one of the chapters reported the traditional story of “The Three Little Pigs”; discussion on this content provided an opportunity for students to reflect on the importance of using attention control strategies while working. Moreover, students were encouraged to examine the distractors likely to interfere in their school work and analyze strategies that may help them to avoid them. Afterwards, students were presented with a consolidation group task (e.g., make a plan for a picnic in the park with the rainbow colors). Finally, at the end of the session, children were invited to reflect on new learnings and asked to write a take-home message likely to emphasize the content discussed.