Tips & Tricks on Implementing Social Emotional Learning

Editor's Notes

• #2: Hi everyone, this is Ami Shah, one of the co-founders of Peekapak and we’re really excited to have you here today for our webinar with our special guest and mindfulness. For the live webinar, please feel free to introduce yourself or post questions in the comments below and if we have time at the end we will address the comments or we’ll follow up afterwards via email.
• #3: Hello, I am Julie Faude; The LS Psych at EA 20 years, doing what you imagine a LS Psych does! I help children when upset, or having difficulty managing the classroom, I help teachers with ideas for classroom management, I work with the leadership team on larger initiatives, and I run programming with our youngest students and all parents on Mindfulness. WEBINAR: I an not an autism expert and have more experience (although limited) with higher functioning students on the spectrum. Also we will not be focusing on Mindfulness today, getting through the SEL is plenty!! AMI: resource doc we will discuss at the end of our talk, you will see under Curriculum Training our link
• #4: JULIE: We have a lot of slides, many of which we are giving you just a taste of but you can see more at Slide Share on Peekapak’s site and you can learn more about all of our slides from our resource doc which we will walk you through at the end of the talk. Mainly we want you to have practical tips on how to begin Monday (or Tomorrow for Webinar).
• #5: JULIE: Community Building is first and foremost about finding common connections and experiencing emotional and physical safety. IT IS KEY TO TEACHING SEL. You cannot expect children to learn and use SEL lessons without feeling safe. In a safe class: e/b can bring in their true selves, , and e/b is bringing something different into that class. Community building consciously celebrate all of our identities, that is that e/b has something to give, no exceptions!! Here is a quick idea for you to get us going on TIPS. After the class completes a job, teach them to do these three things: round of applause to recognize what OTHERS did, pat on back because YOU contributed; and a bow showing that WE accomplished this together. Overall Idea: we all did our own work, were bosses of our own bodies, and in doing so we were able to accomplish this together. You are reiterating the idea of the WE and ME relationship.
• #6: JULIE (2 mins) Students stand if it is true for them. You can ask students who have areas in common to move to a spot in the room and share in more detail. This is a nice community building approach. Rules of game: stand up if it is true for you, there is no limit to the number of times you can stand. Look around and see who has this in common with you. Edublogs on Community Building: Were born outside the United States? In Europe? (way to show you can make it more specific) Play sports/Work out Know a quote from a book, poem, or lyrics from music (Who is the author or composer? Are you willing to share it?) Can stand on one foot in the Tree pose for five seconds (On the other foot? For 10 seconds? Longer than that? Ask for demonstrations!)
• #7: AMI: Our next section we’ll give you a quick background on what is social-emotional learning and we’ll be referencing “CASEL” or the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning as they are considered the leading researchers on the topic. CASEL has identified five interrelated sets of cognitive, affective, and behavioral competencies and we’ll be reviewing these and will be suggesting lessons you can do to promote these five areas.
• #8: AMI Social and emotional skills are essential for students to learn starting at a young age for life long sucess - be it in academics, in work or in general in life. To foster the development of these SEL skills it’s done through numerous ways - including effective classroom instruction, fostering a school culture and community that supports positive engagement and engaging families/communities in supporting this development. As a teacher it’s important that you’re modeling these skills. On the screen, you’ll see CASEL’s definition of SEL which highlights those five areas to develop: understand and manage emotions set and achieve positive goals feel and show empathy for others establish and maintain positive relationships and make responsible decisions.” Today we will break this down for you and provide practical ideas to begin implementing tomorrow.
• #9: JULIE This is a confusing overlap but I like The Greater Good’s view of SEL as an outside in approach: we teach techniques from the teacher to the child, like you will learn today. Nothing the matter with that!! Mindfulness can be thought of as an inside out thing: we help students to tap into a natural reserve of person-to-person skills such as empathy and compassion, and intra-personal skills such as the calming effect of watching the breath. We teach practices to increase their awareness of what they already have. We practice awareness of the breath, body and thoughts and how they play off of eachother. Let’s try this metaphor to help explain the difference: You know when you have that perfect BB and B mirror with a light and great magnification, when shaving or putting on makeup? The mirror shows what we have, for better or worse. MT shows students what they already have. But it takes practice to create that mirror, and maybe more today than ever due to the extreme level of our schedules. So it is an inside out perspective. More on this on the resource doc.
• #10: JULIE: You can see on this slide that one teaches awareness of self (mindfulness) and one teaches responses to that awareness (SEL). If you want more direct info on Mindfulness, come to my talk here at 1:00!
• #11: AMI We’re now at the heart of our webinar with the specific lesson ideas you can start implementing in your classroom tomorrow. As mentioned earlier, we’ll cover the 5 CASE categories and provide suggestions for each.
• #12: AMI The first category we’ll focus on is self-awareness. Awareness of feelings, the way they impact actions, and thoughts. It also very much involves awareness of the body. When we think of the Peekapak program, this relates to units on Self-Regulation, Empathy, Honesty, Optimism
• #13: JULIE Self-Awareness helps an individual to tune into their feelings housed in their bodies, as well as to the behaviors and feelings of others. For example, a child successfully uses self-awareness skills when they notice they are talking too loudly in a library where other children are trying to work, and then adjusts the volume or their voice to a more considerate level So let’s try a little Body Scan and pay attn to our bodies. Unfortunately due to time I will have to stop after a few body parts but hopefully they will feel good!! Begin by bringing your attention into your body. You can close your eyes if that’s comfortable for you. (nothing will change on the slide, I promise). You can notice your body seated wherever you’re seated, feeling the weight of your body on the chair, or on the floor or anywhere that you are. Take a few deep breaths. And as you take a deep breath, bring in more oxygen, enlivening the body. And as you exhale, have a sense of relaxing more deeply. You can notice your feet on the floor, notice the sensations of your feet touching the floor. The weight and pressure, vibration, heat. You can notice your legs against the chair, pressure, pulsing, heaviness, lightness. Notice your back against the chair. Bring your attention into your stomach area. If your stomach is tense or tight, let it soften. Take a breath. Notice your hands. Are your hands tense or tight. See if you can allow them to soften. Notice your arms. Feel any sensation in your arms. Let your shoulders be soft. Notice your neck and throat. Let them be soft. Relax. Soften your jaw. Let your face and facial muscles be soft. Then notice your whole body present. Take one more breath. Now take a “whole body breath” feeling the breath equally in all areas of your body. Loosen up your attn and feel equally within your whole body and try a few whole body breaths. Be aware of your whole body as best you can. Take a breath. And then when you’re ready, you can open your eyes. The more we practice body awareness, the more likely we are to utilize all of the SEL areas on our wheel.
• #14: AMI Have students stand and partner up. One partner is the guesser and the other needs to arrange his/her face and body to demonstrate a feeling of their choice. The guesser will need to observe their partner to find clues suggesting how their partner is feeling. Model an example. - E.g., I see that your eyes are big and your mouth is open. Your body looks like it wants to run away. I think you are feeling...scared! Swap roles once done. Ask for volunteers to share what they observed and point out the clues that helped them identify their partner's feeling.
• #15: AMI Great way to help students share what gets to them. The link 25 Ways to Teach Children to Control Their Anger is great (on resource doc). Has ideas and links for tons of EASY and Quick approaches to conflict res. EB gets bugged by s/t, and owning what makes you mad, and sharing it is a great skill for life. http://www.thehealingpathwithchildren.com/category/anger-management/
• #16: JULIE Second SEL category we will discuss today Looking at this slide you see we are talking about self-control/self-regulation. How to stay in charge of your own emotions and actions. How to be the boss of yourself? Mel Levine painted a picture of self-management as a “concentration cockpit” similar to a pilot flying her plane. In relation to Peekapak’s unit, this can cover topics like Self-Regulation, Honesty, Courage, Perseverance
• #17: AMI Show students a sample calming jar. Invite students to think of the water in the jar as their mind and the materials moving inside as their thoughts and feelings. When a bottle is shaken, the materials swirl around inside. One cannot see through the water and this represents a mind that is not calm, but instead is filled with disruptive thoughts and feelings. When we let that bottle rest and be calm, the the materials inside will settle to the bottom and the water will be clear again. This clear water represents a clear and calm mind with calm thoughts and feelings. Discuss Recall: When you experience a disruptive feeling - what changes do you notice in your body? Your voice? Your thoughts? What are some strategies you can use to help calm down from disruptive thoughts and feelings? E.g., Taking deep breaths, counting to three. Ask students to identify times when they needed help calming themselves. Let students know that they will be trying out different calming strategies. These can be introduced and practiced over the course of a week. Begin with creating calming jars. Calming Jar Instructions: Ask students to bring in plastic water bottles, or provide them with small plastic jars. Have students select a material to place inside their jar (colored sand or glitter works best). Assist students in filling up the bottles with water. Optional: To help the sand or glitter fall at a slower pace, add a thickening agent like glue to the water. Mix glue with hot water first. Seal the lid carefully with tape or glue. Have students practice lightly shaking and observing how the materials in the bottle settle. Encourage students to think about, and discuss, how they feel as they watch the materials in the bottle settle. Suggestion: Have students bring home their calming jars to explain and demonstrate this calming strategy to their family, or encourage students to use their jars in class when they need to regain a calm state.
• #18: JULIE For this activity, students move or dance around the classroom to different songs or to the beat of an instrument. Remember to discuss rules for safety: move quickly but no crashing into others, no sliding/rolling/diving; Call out a feeling word you’ve discussed as a class. Start playing music. Have students move or dance in a way that expresses that feeling. E.g., If the feeling is "happy", students can smile and jump up and down. When the music stops, students need to freeze in a pose showing that feeling. Walk around and ask A FEW students to explain why they selected that pose. End each round by having students switch to a calm pose. Maybe cross legged on the ground or on their desks. Emphasize the changes that happen in their facial expressions and body language when moving from their current pose to a calm one.
• #19: JULIE I want to alert you to a resource I put in the doc called Movement Stories for Children Ages 3-6 (under books). The story for yoga and young children is called: (The Mice go to the Zoo). When teaching yoga our drama teacher says: “I am going to teach you a new word, some of you may know, called YOGA. Yoga is about connecting breath with body, not about stretching more than somebody else. Make an adjustment in your body so YOU are comfortable. If you forget to breath, make an adjustment so you can breathe and connect your breath to your body. If you can’t breathe, scale back.” If somebody says “I can’t do this” you can refer back to “well you are the boss of your body, if John can touch his toes, and you can touch your knees, then you make adjustments because you are the boss of your body” “What is fun and challenging for Sue is different for you, not better or worse.” Ask students to find a space away from others. Begin with students sitting cross-legged and breathing in and out. This will be the calming baseline. Model each pose. For instance mountain, or tree pose, or rag doll, or if you know it the Sun Salutation. Then have students practice. Encourage students to take deep breaths in and deep breaths out during and between poses. End back at baseline with students cross-legged and breathing in and out. At the end of the practice, ask students to share changes they may have felt before and after engaging in the yoga poses. Take a quick class vote to see if the exercises helped them feel calmer. Ask students when they might use their yoga poses.
• #20: AMI Social awareness is focused on a student’s ability to take perspective and empathize with other and understand social and ethical norms for behavior. This relates very much to Peekapak’s unit on empathy.
• #21: AMI With this lesson titled “What do you see” , Students learn that everyone has a different perspective and that what they see may not be the same as what someone else sees This is important as in order for students to understand what it means to put themselves into someone else's shoes, they need to have a gasp of what it means to take on a different perspective. AS A CLASS Show different examples of images and illusions and ask students what they see (see template "Images & Illusions, or find your own). The intention is for these images to trigger differences in opinions that spark discussion and debate. E.g., Which direction is the dancer spinning? Click here: Spinning Dancer. At the end of the exercise, emphasize that everyone sees things differently. What you see might not be what someone else sees. We cannot assume that if we see something one way, everyone will see it that way, too.
• #22: JULIE- Having a classroom friend, animate or not, is a way to teach empathy or feelings of others. Teacher brings in a stuffed animal, doll, statue, or plant. Let your class know that this is their new classroom friend. Give it a name together. Start by letting students know how their new friend is feeling. Example: [Classroom friend's name] tells me it is feeling really lonely because it doesn't know any of you. What should we do? Get ideas and enact. Throughout the day, let students know how their new classroom friend is feeling. Examples: [Classroom friend's name] tells me it is feeling really hungry. What should we do? [Classroom friend's name] is really quiet and looking sad. What should we do? After revealing each scenario, ask students questions such as: How do you think [Classroom friend's name] feels? Why might [Classroom friend's name] be feeling that way? What might we say to [Classroom friend's name]? How might we show empathy toward [Classroom friend's name]?
• #23: JULIE Same vs. Different (Social Awareness SEL Skill) This is what I Say: “What is the first thing you see when you look at somebody? They may say if they are a boy or girl, or long or short hair. Say: Yes it is what they look like. Tells you A LOT about somebody, but not everything. Not if they are nice, or shy, or excitable, or what they love to do. BTW, you can read Jungle Drums with the lesson (on resource doc). Because Preschoolers recognize physical differences before similarities I say: You probably noticed some parts of somebody that look different than you. To guide this process, get out knee-high nylons of different colors for your child or students to try on. Pretend that they are skin, and emphasize the beauty and uniqueness of each color. Your preschooler will learn to appreciate his own skin color and the colors of others.
• #24: JULIE Our next SEL area is Relationship Skills. You can talk to students about this as what it takes to be a friend and member of a classroom. One Webinar person asked about interrupting. This is where that skill fits in. All about: Teamwork and dealing with the me/we dichotomy. Let’s address Partner and Individual Work: Honestly talk about the pros and cons of independent work and group work. Gather ideas from the class (“I like to do posters together because I like how my friends draw dogs”). Share your own feelings of when you like working with others and when you prefer alone (shake, prepping for talks). Increase awareness of the pros and cons helps them see these two modes for what they are. Partner work needs partnering up. There are tons of ways but here is one quick and easy way. Stand up, Hands up, Walk around room with your hand raised if you need a partner Teach students to ask by saying “will you be my partner” (model first kind and respectful language) High Five as a yes Hands down and be partners
• #25: JULIE Here is the game: two students will sit back to back, one has a bag with a teacher pre-constructed leggo model, all set up, with about 4 pieces, other student has a bag with the same pieces, but they are broken up and not constructed. The student speaker has to tell the other student how to make it, but listener cannot speak. At the end they compare and discuss. Say: you will have two bags of legos, and you will be seated back to back. You will not be able to see each other or talk. So you are going need to develop a way to say “go on, I get it” or “I don't understand”. It can be an elbow tap means I get it and a shoulder tap means I dont understand. Discuss before giving the bags. Best to model with another teacher or prepared student. It is a lot of fun, it is easy and cheap and they experience the effect of their words and how hard it is to communicate and listen well, that it takes work
• #26: AMI Students practice their communication, cooperation and collaboration skills by working in small teams with specific roles IN GROUPS Divide students into groups of four. Hand out a piece of chart paper and colored markers (a different color for each member in the group) and materials to build a robot. Let students know that they will be designing a robot together and that each student has a very important role to play. Each student will be responsible for drawing or designing one part of the robot - their head, their body, their arms or their legs. Only by working together will they be able to complete their robot. Encourage groups to first brainstorm and discuss what their robot will look like and whether it has a special ability before starting the drawing process. After the activity have each team present their robot and introduce its special ability (if applicable), and to describe how they worked as a team and the steps they took.
• #27: AMI Arrange students in a circle and explain that the goal is to create a story from start to finish, with everyone contributing a sentence to the story as they move around the class circle. Everyone will have an important role to play to ensure the story is completed. Each student will contribute one line, starting with a connecting word or words. Connecting words may include: Because, and then, after, followed by, next, suddenly, etc. Encourage students who may be stuck by asking questions such as: "What might happen next?" or "How do you think that made him feel?" Example lines to begin a story: It was a dark and stormy night ... When I got home, I found a big ... I'm packing my bags to go on an adventure to ... DISCUSS How did teamwork help us complete our story? How did it feel to have everyone work together?
• #28: AMI Responsible decision making is the ability to understand consequences of one's actions. Its impact on self and others. This relates to topics like Honesty, Optimism, Courage, Kindness, Gratitude, Respect, Teamwork
• #29: AMI One activity you can find on Peekapak is the Kindness in the community lesson, where students work together to come up with acts of kindness to share with their school community. IN GROUPS 1. Divide students into small groups to discuss ideas for what they can do as a class to help their school. Some ideas may include: Picking up garbage around the school Planting a tree Creating a recycling club Creating bird feeders Volunteering at the school library Creating a play about kindness to present at the next school assembly AS A CLASS 2. Discuss and scribe all ideas. 3. Have students decide as a class the outreach idea(s) they wish to work on. 4. Set aside a time and date for students to do this act of kindness for their school.
• #30: Julie I have been developing this Mindfulness and SEL resource doc for a few years now. You will see mindful apps/websites, curriculum, etc. Everything we spoke of today is one click away.
• #34: AMI Resources that integrate with your current teaching Read Alouds are a great way to introduce topics and spark discussions Find Common Core aligned resources- Find more bite sized and flexible resources Lessons and activities that are 15-25 mins make it easy to fit in into morning meetings, breaks or within instruction blocks. Even transitions are opps for teaching SEL, like “321 contact” Engaging & relevant for student Extending the learning with families