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You are so engaging in your presentation! I know that all of your kids are super excited when you are instructing them.

This understanding of SEL is so valuable, and so often ignored by many in our profession. Thank you for fighting the good fight!

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This was a great melding of content, process and product. SEL is so important, and actively teaching your students, taking them through a reflective process and then having a finished piece of work they're proud of is brilliant. Great work, Kimberly!
-Bob

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Kim,
You did a fantastic job of allowing kids to really feel valued in class. I know you are building healthy relationships with yourself and kids, also with them among each other! You are building RESILIENCY with each and every one of them! It was creative and fun.
Thank you!
Amanda G.

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I love that you teach writing conventions alongside explicit SEL strategies. Kids benefit from this so much, as you mention. It also gives you credibility to leverage these tools when the inevitable meltdown, outburst or teachable SEL moment occurs. This is another example of not using writing for decoration, but to support another purpose. Powerful stuff!

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Learning the 3 "Rs" is necessary, but when students don't feel heard, valued, safe, etc., it makes learning more difficult. As Craig Murray, one of my past principals used to say, we have to start with the heart to get to the head. Thank you for reminding us of the need to teach the whole child. Learning how to identify and manage our emotions and how to build healthy relationships are life skill that will have long-lasting implications. You also built in a writing component that encourages students to be independent and creative and to learn new skills. Way to go!!
Brooke

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I love how you bring SEL literally into the classroom curriculum. What you said at the beginning about how your students respond, "What? Isn't that what advisory is for!?" I think that's not just how most students would see it, but most teachers too.  I've gone through a couple of SEL trainings, and they tend to present it as a stand alone thing, like, we're going to take the time out of our regularly scheduled program to bring you, SEL!  But you don't do that.  I love this idea of making it just part of what you're doing on a day to day basis. I love that the kids get to put themselves into their writing, and I love that they are forced to grapple with these ideas! Awesome job!

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I LOVE the use of Newsela! I need to use it more this coming year. Also, I need to explore Google Sites for students to publish their work! GREAT job and so timely!!!

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Kimberly, I think so often teachers feel there isn't enough time to touch on all the important skills (soft skills too!) that we need to while also hitting standards. You've done both here and kept SEL at the forefront of the unit goals. You've also given students real life tools and strategies at such a critical and, dare I say, less emotionally stable time of their lives. I love your style and humor when you present! Thank you.--Daina

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Kimberly,

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I'm grateful for the time to focus on teachers and students as humans first and foremost. Great demo!

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What I really appreciated about this project is that students were clearly communicating to an authentic audience, and you could see this in their blog posts. I think the project offers a great reading-writing connection for informational writing that may also include narrative. Great job helping the kids to connect with such an important form of knowledge!

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I love the way you embedded the SEL into your classes. It is so important for students to know how to manage and regulate their emotions and to learn that at an early is going to set them up for success! I love the way you have them write multiple essays to learn the writing process.

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This will (I hope) come up in my demo, but I think the idea that you can read things that themselves contribute directly to students' abilities to be comfortable in our classes is absolutely indispensable. Stories can do that, but nonfiction can, too. Yay!

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We. need. more of this! This is building their understanding of themselves. How they handle situations AND identifying how to improve how they handle situations. This needs to be taught to students. They will not magically know if we don't share it with them.

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What a great approach to guiding students through the discovery of SEL in their lives and in their school community. I LOVE your energy and humor as you teach! It is clear that you are passionate about this topic--your students and school are so very lucky to have you! FABULOUS!

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I loved all of your connections that were made today. I am going to use this idea this upcoming year. Your awesome!

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You have just beautifully modeled what it looks like to be self-reflective and always continue growing and learning. You have given students so many wonderful strategies to experiment with and become more cognizant of the ways they can cool down and be in charge of their own emotions. I love your integration of SEL (it's so important!!) and loved your own reflection at the end. I see you growing so much as an educator and you should be proud of yourself! It's a delight to watch you reflect and grow honestly and openly before our very eyes. Well done. Thank you for being vulnerable with us!