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Best Practices in Universal Social Emotional, and Behavioral Screening: An Implementation Guide

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Best Practices in Universal Social Emotional, and Behavioral Screening: An Implementation Guide

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Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Videos - YouTube

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Studies show that sustained and well-integrated social and emotional learning (SEL) engages students and improves achievement. Explore classroom practices th...

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The Calm Moments Cards provide user-friendly information on how to recognize stress reactions in children and youth and embed simple evidence-based strategies to promote emotional well-being throughout the school day. The program is free and downloadable.

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Introduction: Calm Moment Cards for More Mindfulness in the Classroom and Beyond

Who can use these? Any school personnel including teachers, para-educators, therapists, counselors, etc. The goal is to help all adults become mental health promoters.

Why are they Needed? Anxiety disorders are the most prevalent diagnosable mental health disorder among children in the United States with 50% experiencing onset by age six. ¹ Feeling anxious during the school day can lead to restlessness, difficulty concentrating and irritability, leading to challenges in academic and social performance. ²

How to use the Calm Moments Cards? This is a flexible program that can be used in a number of ways. For example, mindfulness in the classroom, thinking (cognitive behavioral), and sensory strategies can be implemented with a whole class, small group, or individually with a student.

Individual use. Any school personnel can read and apply the strategies and activities on their own. A good starting point is to start with one of the cards. Identify one of the 17 situational stressors that seems most prevalent (e.g. Test Taking), read the card, and apply some of the strategies. (Each card can be printed on 8.5 X 11 paper.)

Whole school use. The program can also be used at a whole-school level by a committed group of school providers. Refer to Orienting School Personnel.

Developed by: Sarah Kolic, OTR/L, Alisa Deininger, OTR/L, Denise Young, COTA/L, and Susan Bazyk, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA (2016)

¹Merikangas K. R., He, J. P., Brody, D., Fisher, P. W., Bourdon, K., & Koretz, D. S. (2010). Prevalence and treatment of mental disorders among US children in the 2001-2004 NHANES. Pediatrics, 125, 75-81. http://doi: 10.1542/peds.2008-2598²Weaver, L. L., & Darragh, A. R. (2015). Systematic review of yoga interventions for anxiety reduction among Children and Adolescents. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 69(6). http://doi:10.5014/ajot.2015.020115

Orienting School Personnel

Whole School Implementation

Who should lead whole school implementation of the program?
Ideally, occupational therapy (OT) practitioners can take the lead in implementing the Calm Moments Cards (CMC) program because of expertise in activity-based services, mental health, sensory processing and activity analysis. However, if an occupational therapy practitioner (OT or OTA) is not available, other skilled school personnel (e.g. school psychologist, nurse, counselor) may take the lead in implementing this program in their school. Refer to this Power Point Orientation.

Major steps for how to implement this program at the Universal level (whole school)

Prior to beginning the program, it is essential to obtain the principal's permission and support. Schedule a meeting with the principal to review the Calm Moments Cards program and share your plan of action for implementing the program (how you'll invite school personnel, approximate start date, etc.). Discuss how implementing this program fits into your workload. Example: "This is a school-wide initiative that may benefit students with and without disabilities and/or mental health challenges. The goal is to empower school personnel in recognizing signs of stress and anxiety (not diagnosing anxiety) and embedding simple strategies to reduce stress and enhance feelings of mental well-being so students can participate fully in the school day."

After obtaining the principal's approval, begin letting school personnel (all teachers, paraprofessionals, related services, counselors, coaches, guidance counselors, cafeteria/ lunch supervisors, librarians, etc.) that you'll be kicking off the program. Encourage them to invite colleagues who might be interested. Click this link to download a marketing flyer - Calm Moments Cards Marketing Flyer. Share this flyer with school personnel to invite them to the orientation session.

The lead OT (or other relevant school personnel) will provide a 1 to 1.5 hour orientation of the program using a power point presentation to educate school personnel about the signs and symptoms of stress and anxiety, the common school situational stressors that may evoke a stress response, and how to use the 17 Calm Moments Cards. With the principal's assistance, the orientation session should be scheduled in a room that allows for computer access for the participants (e.g. computer lab). If this is not available, participants should be encouraged to bring their own laptops. Another option is to send the Every Moment Counts website link for the cards prior to the session so that participants can download the cards beforehand. During the orientation, the following is provided:

CMC Orientation PPT presentation which provides an overview of the program. Click this link to download the PPT - Orientation PPT Calm Moments Cards

Hard copy samples of some of the CMC materials. Have a set of laminated CMC cards to display as well as the Appendices.

Prepare samples of some of the activities to share with participants.

Demonstration of how to access the 17 Cards and Appendices A through E.

Give examples of how to use the Cards and Appendices (e.g. Activity Templates, Movement Poses & Breathing Instructions, Teaching Moments, etc.).

Provide ongoing, informal coaching to support school personnel in proactively embedding the thinking, calming & focusing, and sensory-based activities throughout the day during or before situational stressors. When? Embed this coaching during times when you typically collaborate with school personnel - in the classroom, cafeteria, or recess. Purpose of follow-up coaching is to encourage use of the Calm Moments Cards and Appendices, problem-solve challenges, and demonstrate activities. An effective coach:

Develops a positive relationship with the school personnel based on trust

Promotes two-way sharing of information

Demonstrates positive unconditional regard for the school personnel - they are experts about themselves and their experiences

Facilitates the change process involving problem-solving, exploring options, trying things out, working together and maintaining a positive attitude. You are in this together!

Calm Moments Cards for Mindfulness in the Classroom and Beyond

Situational Stressor: Situations or activities during the day the may cause added stress for some students due to sensory, learning, or emotional challenges

Triggers: Possible causes of stress and anxiety related to the situation (e.g. student has difficulty reading directions on test)

Thinking strategies: Cognitive behavioral strategies (e.g. repeating a positive affirmation) to change thinking and feelings

Focusing & Calming Strategies: Movement poses, stretching, mindfulness & breathing activities

Sensory Strategies: The strategic use of touch, taste, movement, visual input, and smells to foster emotional regulation

Teaching Moment: Simple evidence-based explanations explaining how the supporting the activities and strategies impact functioning

Download the Calm Moments Cards (links on left sidebar)

All of the Calm Moments Cards and Appendices are free and downloadable. You can download the whole booklet (which includes information about the program, all of the cards, and appendices), or, download separate cards to use.

Not sure where to start? Then, start with one! Look over the 17 situational stressors and identify one that you have observed in one or more students. Read through the thinking, calming & focusing, and sensory strategies and embed some of them. Doing the activities will help adults as well as students reduce stress, maximize mindfulness in the classroom, and enhance overall emotional well-being throughout the school day.

During the 2015-16 school year, the Calm Moments Cards program was implemented in two school districts in northern Ohio. OT practitioners oriented school personnel about the program and how to implement the strategies. Informal coaching was used over 4 months to help the participants use the cards during situational stressors. The findings of this mixed methods research study are described below.

Researchers: Sarah Kolic, OTR/L, Denise Young, COTA/L, Alisa Deininger, OTR/L, & Susan Bazyk, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA

Type of study: A mixed methods design involving quantitative and qualitative data was completed. Data included pre- and post-surveys measuring changes in knowledge, beliefs and actions related to minimizing stress and anxiety, improving mindfulness in the classroom, and promoting positive mental health in students. Qualitative data included final written reflections regarding the meaning and benefits of the program.

Participants: A total of 93 school personnel implemented the Calm Moments Cards program and took part in this study during the 2015-16 school year. School personnel from 2 school districts ¹ included general education teachers, special education teachers, para-educators, administrators and related service providers). Participants received and orientation to the program with follow-up coaching by the occupational therapists over 4 months.

Results: Statistically significant improvements (p < .00-.03) in pretest-posttest scores of knowledge, beliefs, and actions related to minimizing stress and anxiety and promoting positive mental health in students were found. Qualitative findings suggest that participation in the program was both meaningful and enjoyable resulting in enhanced awareness of signs of stress and anxiety, the situational stressors that evoke a stress reaction, and the implementation of embedded strategies for reducing stress and anxiety.

Conclusion: The Calm Moments Cards program expanded school personnel knowledge, promoted confidence, and resulted in enhanced awareness of signs of stress and anxiety and application of embedded strategies for reducing stress and anxiety and enhancing emotional well-being in all students.

¹ School Districts: Lake Local Schools and Aurora City School District

Kolic, S., Deininger, A., Young, D., & Bazyk, S. (pending publication). The Calm Moments Cards program for reducing stress and enhancing emotional well-being: An outcome study.

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Calm Moments Cards - Every Moment Counts

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Embedding mindfulness in the classroom is easier with Calm Moment Cards, which offers user-friendly info on reducing stress in school.

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PRACTICAL WAYS TO INTRODUCE AND BROADEN THE USE OF SEL PRACTICES IN CLASSROOMS, SCHOOLS, AND WORKPLACES

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This is a FREE student empowerment program rooted in SEL competencies for grades 3-12. The program includes free research-based SEL resources as well as Student Empowerment Journals to help students process emotions and find optimism throughout the entire 40-week school year. Each lesson is partnered with inspirational and engaging videos that are sure to inspire students. Journals are available in free digital formats, or as physical printed journals to support the SEL needs of all students.

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Believe in You offers FREE leadership resources for all students with the Leadership Cycle Workbooks and Emotion Education Journals.

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We've gathered resources for helping you implement a program of compassionate, creative and inclusive alternatives for responding to school discipline issues.

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Benefits of SEL (Research Collection from CASEL)

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Benefits of SEL (Research Collection from CASEL)

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The benefits of social and emotional learning (SEL) are well-researched, with evidence demonstrating that an education that promotes SEL yields positive results for students, adults, and school communities.

SEL has a powerful combination of evidence and support. The findings below come from multiple fields and sources and include analyses of hundreds of studies that show SEL leads to beneficial outcomes related to: social and emotional skills; attitudes about self, school, and civic engagement; social behaviors; conduct problems; emotional distress; and academic performance.

In addition, the surveys published below by CASEL and partners show teachers, principals, parents, and students agree: SEL is essential.

Download this customizable presentation to make a compelling case for SEL.

The Benefits of SEL
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SEL leads to improved academic outcomes and behaviors

When students have supportive relationships and opportunities to develop and practice social, emotional, and cognitive skills across many different contexts, academic learning accelerates. Hundreds of studies offer consistent evidence that SEL bolsters academic performance.

Results from a landmark meta-analysis that looked across 213 studies involving more than 270,000 students found that:

SEL interventions that address the five core competencies increased students' academic performance by 11 percentile points, compared to students who did not participate.

Students participating in SEL programs showed improved classroom behavior, an increased ability to manage stress and depression, and better attitudes about themselves, others, and school.

Additional meta-analyses echoed these findings. Consistency across independent research teams offers strong support that well-implemented SEL programs are beneficial.

What might this mean for the practical benefits of SEL? About 27% more students would improve their academic performance at the end of the program and 24% more would have improved social behaviors and lower levels of distress.

Read the 2011 meta-analysis. (Durlak et al., 2011)

Read a summary of the four major meta-analyses on SEL.

More recently, a 2021 systematic review found that universal SEL interventions enhance young people's social and emotional skills and reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety in the short term. In comparison, other approaches have produced inconsistent results (mindfulness interventions) or limited evidence of impact (positive youth development interventions).

Read the 2021 report from the Early Intervention Foundation.

SEL benefits are long-term and global

Subsequent analyses spoke to the long-term effects of SEL implementation as well as SEL's effectiveness in diverse cultural contexts.

Long-term effects:

Measured a positive correlation between strong social emotional assets (measured at the end of intervention) and higher levels of well-being up to 18 years later. (Taylor et al., 2017)

Effectiveness across cultural contexts:

An SEL approach was consistently effective with all demographic groups both inside and outside the United States. This supports the idea that social and emotional assets promoted in SEL can support the positive development of students from diverse family backgrounds and geographic contexts. (Taylor et al., 2017)

SEL interventions show the largest effect size when the intervention is designed with a specific context or culture in mind. This supports the idea that SEL is not a 'one-size-fits-all' intervention. (Wiglesworth et al., 2016)

Read the 2017 meta-analysis of 82 research studies involving 100,000 students worldwide.

SEL is a wise financial investment

When it comes to school programming, education leaders are often weighing the benefits of investing in new efforts. Cost-benefit research demonstrates the value of SEL programs. The report found an average return on investment for six evidence-based programs of 11 to 1, meaning for every dollar invested there is an $11 return.

Read the 2015 review from Columbia University.

Social and emotional skills help improve lifetime outcomes

In addition to the long-term outcomes articulated above, there are statistically significant associations between social and emotional skills in kindergarten and key outcomes for young adults years later. Specifically, early social and emotional skills development helped to reduce societal costs required for public assistance, public housing, police involvement, and detention.

Read the 2015 national study published in the American Journal of Public Health.

The Support for SEL
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What young people are saying...

High school students and recent high school graduates see the benefits of attending schools that emphasize SEL. But most current and recent high school students believe their schools could have done better.

Download the 2018 report from CASEL and Civic.

A qualitative study of young people who describe their experiences with the integration of social, emotional, and cognitive development in exemplary learning settings shows that supportive learning environments are nurturing young people's sense of themselves as valued, multi-dimensional community members.

View the 2020 report from America's Promise Alliance.

What school principals are saying...

School principals agree SEL is essential, with nearly all principals surveyed sharing that developing students' social and emotional skills is a critical aspect of students' in-school experience. They also want more guidance, more training for teachers, and greater access to research-based strategies for developing SEL in students.

Read the 2017 report from CASEL and Civic on the survey's findings (and the 2019 update).

What educators are saying...

Not only do 56% of educators believe resources to support SEL in the classroom will be most critical post-pandemic, but 82% agree that a well-crafted, fully integrated SEL approach makes an impact on outcomes.

Read the 2021 Educator Confidence Report.

Eighty percent of educators from across 15 countries believe positive emotions are critical for academic success, and emotional well-being is crucial for developing foundational literacies and communication skills.

Read the 2019 brief from The Economist Intelligence Unit on the survey's findings.

What teachers are saying...

Virtually all teachers report that it's critical to develop key SEL skills in the classroom. According to educators, key SEL skills include:

Self-awareness (with 99% of educators rating it as either somewhat or very important)

Relationship skills (98% of educators)

Self-management (97% of educators)

Responsible decision-making (97% of educators)

Social awareness (96% of educators)

View the 2021 report from McGraw Hill on the survey's findings.

Ninety-three percent of teachers want a greater focus on SEL in schools. They agree that social and emotional skills are teachable and are calling for schools to prioritize the integration of SEL practices and strategies.

Download the 2013 report from CASEL and Civic on the survey's findings.

About 90% of elementary and secondary teachers agreed that promoting SEL would improve students' academic achievement. It also found that teachers who reported higher levels of well-being reported engaging in SEL practices to a greater extent than those with lower reported well-being.

View the 2020 report from Rand Corporation on survey findings from the American Teacher Panel.

What policymakers are saying...

When we consider what it means for students to be prepared for college, career, and community life, social and emotional competencies are critically important for the long-term success of all students in today's economy. A bipartisan report addressed SEL as a core component of children's education, recommending several steps to scale up high-quality, evidence-based SEL programs.

Read the 2015 report from American Enterprise Institute and Brookings Institution.

What the broader public is saying...

Eighty-two percent said that it is highly important for schools to help students develop interpersonal skills, such as being cooperative, respectful of others, and persistent at solving problems.

Read the 2017 PDK poll results.

What parents are saying...

As of 2021, 62% of parents feel teaching SEL is very important, compared to 55% three years ago. Parents also believe that SEL is not emphasized as much as it should be (81%), that it has become even more important since the beginning of the pandemic (82%), and that it is helpful for children learning online (80%).

View the 2021 report from McGraw Hill on the survey's findings.

What employers are saying...

Six of the identified top ten skills for the future involve social and emotional competence, including complex problem solving, critical thinking, and creativity.

View the World Economic Forum report.

Thirty-one percent of employers worldwide struggle to find qualified employees. A major reason for the qualified labor shortage is that fewer students are graduating high school with the social and emotional skills required for today's workplace. In another survey, 92% of surveyed executives say skills such as problem-solving and communicating clearly are equal to or more important than technical skills, yet 89% said they have a very or somewhat difficult time finding employees with those skills.

View the report from Association for Career and Technical Education, National Association of State Directors of Career Technical Education Consortium, and the Partnership for 21st Century Skills.

View the Wall Street Journal article on this data.

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The benefits of social and emotional learning (SEL) are well-researched, with evidence demonstrating that an education that promotes SEL yields positive results for students, adults, and school communities. SEL has a powerful combination of evidence and support.

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emotions face for social emotional learning

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By combining early & crisis intervention, real-time support, and a safe, digital space for emotional discovery, Closegap makes it easy for K-12 schools to support the emotional health of their students.

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5-Minute Film Festival: Student Voice & Choice

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5-Minute Film Festival: Student Voice & Choice

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If students feel that that their opinions and ideas are heard and valued by their peers and teachers, they're much more likely to be engaged with their education. These 7 videos offer up strategies for giving your students more agency in their lessons and day-to-day classroom life.

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Edutopia is a free source of information, inspiration, and practical strategies for learning and teaching in preK-12 education. We are published by the George Lucas Educational Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization.

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Understood: Shaping the World for Difference

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Understood: Shaping the World for Difference

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Understood is the only lifelong guide for those who learn and think differently. Resources for students, educators and caregivers to help students discover their potential and learn how to take control, find community, and stay on a positive path along each stage of life’s journey.

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I want help with behaviors , learning , and everyday skills

We are Understood.
We are the lifelong guide for those who learn and think differently. In the past year, we've helped more than 20 million people discover their potentials, take control of their lives, and stay on positive paths.

We support the 1 in 5 Americans who learn and think differently.

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When we shape the world for difference, we all thrive.

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Discover what's possible when you're understood.

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Helpful guidance from Understood

Essential resource spotlight

Are you wondering why your child is struggling?

We're here to help if you're feeling overwhelmed. Take N.O.T.E. (Notice. Observe. Talk. Engage.) is a simple step-by-step tool that can help you figure out if the struggles you're seeing might be signs of a learning and thinking difference.

"I have a hard time focusing, mostly in school. When I do my homework, I kind of feel stressed out because it feels like so much even though it's not too much."

Emperor Kaioyus, Grade 4

Copyright © Understood for All, Inc.

Understood is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) charitable organization (tax identification number 83-2365235). Donations are tax-deductible as allowed by law. Understood does not provide medical or other professional advice. The health and medical related resources on this website are provided solely for informational and educational purposes and are not a substitute for a professional diagnosis or for medical or professional advice.

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Copyright © 2014-2023 Understood For All Inc.

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Understood - For Learning and Thinking Differences

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Understood.org is the resource that helps the 70 million people with learning and thinking differences anticipate the challenges, barriers, or opportunities in life and confidently reach their potential.

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SEL Video Lessons | Lessons For SEL | What is SEL | SEL Videos | School | Teach

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Welcome to Lessons For SEL. We provide educators with Social Emotional Learning resources, tools, lessons, and strategies to boost core social-emotional learning (SEL) skills. Our SEL resources help teachers, counselors, social workers, school psychologists, & more! #SEL #socialemotionallearning

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These robust, ready-to-use classroom lessons offer breadth and depth, spanning essential social justice topics and reinforcing critical social emotional learning skills.

Search by keyword or browse our lesson bank—you can filter lessons by grade level, subject, topic or social justice domain. And remember, you can always create, save and share your own lessons with our Learning Plan Builder.

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For young white students, explorations of fair and unfair, just and unjust, can go a long way in advancing anti-racist white identity. Purposeful use of literature and basic study of white anti-racists are among the key ways educators can advance such aims.Teaching Tolerance presents four short biographies for early grades classrooms, with activity ideas.

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These robust, ready-to-use classroom lessons offer breadth and depth, spanning essential social justice topics and reinforcing critical social emotional learning skills.

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Video Library: Tips and Techniques for Creating Safe and Supportive Classrooms (and more)

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Video Library: Tips and Techniques for Creating Safe and Supportive Classrooms (and more)

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Compilation of SHORT Videos with tips and techniques for teachers.

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How Teachers Make Students Feel Welcome One way to create a safe, supportive classroom is to help students feel welcome. In this video, students of various ages describe ways that teachers have made them feel welcome and included. 1min 11sec

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A new digital tool helps education leaders engage with the latest SEL research — and work to apply it in their schools and districts

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A new digital tool helps education leaders engage with the latest SEL research - and work to apply it in their schools and districts.

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growth mindset quotes- -blank- color your own

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Social Emotional Competency Assessment Sample Bank from Washoe County School District

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Social Emotional Competency Assessment Sample Bank from Washoe County School District

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School Climate / Social & Emotional Assessment

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The Washoe County School District Social and Emotional Competency Assessments (WCSD-SECAs) are free, open-source instruments that measure the self-reported social and emotional competencies of students in grades 5-12. The WCSD-SECA instruments were developed through a collaboration among WCSD, the Collaborative for Academic and Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL), and the University of Illinois at Chicago through an Institute of Education Sciences Research-Practitioner Partnership grant.

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The 6-year-old boy's eyes welled up with tears. His teacher, 30-year veteran Leigh Yelton, could see the explosive anger building in the first grader. After his mother died unexpectedly in his kindergarten year, he struggled with what his grandmother called "mommy days," or periods during which he would often cry uncontrollably. Instead of asking him what was wrong or trying to distract him, Yelton asked him to do something simple and unexpected: go to a private part of the room and push against a wall. It worked.

Yelton learned the technique from a resilience training program that shows teachers how to help themselves-and their students-calm the central nervous system. Stress and trauma can trigger a response in the amygdala, the part of the brain that sends the body into fight, flight, or freeze mode, hijacking the rest of the brain so it becomes focused solely on responding to or fleeing the perceived threat.

"Our thinking brain is where we process language, so if I have flipped my lid, and you talk to me, you sound like the Charlie Brown teacher," says Ann DuPre Rogers, executive director of Resources for Resilience, the nonprofit organization that conducts the training. When a person is triggered and can't be reached through conversation, the training directs them to take a sip of water, press against a wall, or try a quick walk while paying close attention to their physical sensations.

For example, when drinking a sip of water, a participant might try to feel every droplet of water in their mouth. How does it feel as it passes over the lips? Is it cool or warm? Does it have texture? This process of closely examining sensory details called sensing-in is similar to mindfulness practices which are increasingly backed by research, and even prescribed by doctors, for addressing acute stress and trauma.

"You notice all the sort of sensory elements of the sip," said Rogers, explaining one of the strategies that allows teachers and kids to calm their brains and bodies. Once the amygdala is calmed, she continues, "then the brain can come back and we can talk it through. We can make a plan."

Understanding Triggers

The simple techniques, called rapid resets, are designed for "anyone with a nervous system," Rogers says, but they can be especially helpful in the school setting where teachers and students of all grade levels experience different levels of stress and trauma. Students or teachers who have had many adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), such as living in an abusive household or having an incarcerated parent, may be more easily triggered.

Rogers and her staff train teachers, counselors, and other school personnel to recognize the triggers that cause a person to "flip their lid," or activate the stress response. Triggers in a classroom can seem minor: a student takes another student's pencil or a student teases another student about their appearance. But even these events can spark a response rooted in mounting frustration or underlying trauma and disrupt learning-for both the student and the wider classroom.

While the methods tackle the immediate problem-getting the child to calm down is the first step-the program advises teachers to follow up and address the deeper issues as soon as they can. Getting brains back "online" is a vital prerequisite for exploring the student's challenges and making plans to help the child or teen self-regulate in the future.

"These are quick strategies that you can implement into your classroom with a little effort, but get a big response," says Susan Puckett, a counselor at Forest Park Elementary.

Put On Your Mask First

Despite initial skepticism, Yelton calls the training "the most valuable workshop experience that I have ever been to." Like the flight directive about putting an oxygen mask on yourself before helping a child, the training encourages teachers to use the strategies for their own fight, flight, or freeze responses before teaching them to students.

After learning the rapid resets, Yelton tried them first on herself and then her husband. When she found herself growing angry, she would practice the grounding technique by focusing on the sensory experience of feeling the floor beneath her feet. The strategy brought Yelton back to a place where she could interact again.

The skills she learned in the training had immediate application in her classroom and transformed how she relates to her students. She taught her kids to imagine that their amygdala-which produces the first inkling of anger or anxiety-is like a barking dog. When the "lid is flipped," the dog barks to alert the rest of the brain to fight, flight, or freeze, and getting children to recognize the presence of the dog is a necessary prerequisite for getting them back to a place where they can learn. In her class today, Yelton's students use hand signals to demonstrate that a dog is in the house, periodically gesturing to indicate that they are starting to get anxious.

Before the training, if a child became upset, Yelton might ask "What's wrong?" and press the student to articulate the reason for their discontent. "Often I would say, when kids were really flipping their lids, 'Give me your words. Use your words and tell me,' not really thinking that they can't do that at this point," she says.

The training sparked a paradigm shift in Yelton's interactions with her students. Instead of trying to fix the problem, she approaches triggered students with a new sense of patience and understanding. She realized that "when they get that out of control, they're not in a zone where they know what's happening. They are so amped up or so shut down... and they can't hear you. They can't listen."

Yelton related to the grief of her young student who lost his mother in a different way than she would have before the training, acknowledging his anger without trying to distract or control him. "He was angry, and he had every single right to be angry. I never tried to change that," she said. "You have a right to be angry. I get it. I understand where you're coming from. I would be upset too."

Over time, the student's crying became less frequent and he began to self-regulate, taking time-outs when he felt himself getting triggered. The young boy moved at the end of the year, but Yelton feels she sent him off with a toolbox of tactics he could use to deal with some of the effects of the trauma he had experienced.

Changing School Community

The shift in Yelton's classroom is just one of many in the Kannapolis City School system, a small district in the central part of the state that began training school personnel in the resilience practices in 2016.

Teachers and staff appreciate the simplicity of the practices and their easy implementation in the classroom. "I remember walking out and thinking I can use this tomorrow. I don't have to wait," says elementary school psychologist Amy Roberts. "I don't have to prepare anything. I don't have to make anything. I can just do it."

The practices have created a positive shift in the overall school culture at Forest Park. "Teachers would come to my office and say, 'I did this and this worked for these kids. I haven't seen anything work like this before,'" says counselor Puckett.

The shared practices have created a common language in the school community. Fourth grade teacher Kelcie Lewis says her students know the strategies and respond when they observe her using them. "If I am getting frustrated waiting for them to pay attention or if they're not getting a skill, I might just go over and lean against the wall and they're like, 'Uh oh, guys, Mrs. Lewis is about to blow her lid,'" she says.

Bringing themselves back to a calm state is critical for teachers to avoid exacerbating triggers students may be experiencing. "Through the training, I learned that even the way that you approach the room can make such a difference," says Martha Motley, principal of Forest Park Elementary. "If you get called if there's a fight, a disturbance, or a student being disrespectful, and you show up... escalated, even from the quick walk there, then kids are going to respond differently."
Kelcie Lewis
When school takes place in-person, Forest Park teachers create physical space for students who need to take a break and reset. Lewis set up a corner of her classroom for her students to try the strategies with a wall adorned with posters of typical emotions along with more specific synonyms. If a child says, "I'm mad," she asks for a more nuanced understanding of their feelings-are they betrayed, frustrated, or annoyed? For kids who can't yet read, Yelton uses a board with emotion words, coupled with pictures depicting a range of emotional states.

"The student knows that they can go to the calm down corner and do those strategies without the teacher, or they can let the teacher know that they need help," says teacher Lindsay Stowe.

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With Stress in Schools Increasing, Simple Strategies to Stay Calm

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In North Carolina, a program offers 'rapid resets' to help teachers and students calm their minds and bodies and get back to learning.

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Why Every School Must Have a Social Emotional Learning Plan

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Why Every School Must Have a Social Emotional Learning Plan

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SoA1

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a resource created by Virginia Beach City Public Schools, provides staff with practical and often familiar ways to introduce and deepen the use of SEL practices and strategies in schools, classrooms and workplaces.  The stockpile introduces a variety of examples that, when used authentically and intentionally, can help educators create safe, equity-centered, productive learning and working spaces for all students and adults.

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Classroom Wise: Well-Being Information and Strategies for Educators

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Classroom Wise: Well-Being Information and Strategies for Educators

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Classroom WISE is a FREE 3-part training package that assists K-12 educators in supporting the mental health of students in the classroom. Developed by the Mental Health Technology Transfer Center (MHTTC) Network in partnership with the National Center for School Mental Health, this package offers evidence-based strategies and skills to engage and support students with mental health concerns in the classroom.

In addition to a free online course on mental health literacy for educators and school personnel, a video library and resource collection are also available!

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This resource is a self-assessment that provides a framework and process for staff to reflect on their own social and emotional growth.
Developed by CASEL

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Principals, administrators, SEL team members, staff members, and other adults can use this tool to assess personal strengths, think about how to model those strengths when interacting with others, and plan strategies to promote growth across areas of social competence.

Download Resource Purchase A Printed Copy

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Principals, administrators, SEL team members, staff members, and other adults can use this tool to assess personal strengths, think about how to model those strengths when interacting with others, and plan strategies to promote growth across areas of social competence. Download Resource Purchase A Printed Copy

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The Future of Children: Social Emotional Learning Focused

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The Future of Children: Social Emotional Learning Focused

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how to be a good friend for kids printable book

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Happy and Calm: The Best Tools for Mindfulness Now Webinar

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Happy and Calm: The Best Tools for Mindfulness Now Webinar

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Presented by Bari Koral, Kids Yoga Expert, and Popular Recording Artist

Sponsored by Kaplan Early Learning Company
Watch the Recording Get a CE Certificate for this edWebinar Learn more
Navigating our world can be challenging, but the right mindfulness tools can make all the difference. In this edWebinar, kids yoga expert and popular recording artist Bari Koral will share some of the best mindfulness tools you can use right now for peace at home and at school. Following up on her first two popular mindfulness edWebinars, Bari will bring a powerful review, new methods, and fresh perspective.

In this edWebinar, Bari discusses:

Supporting your students: Discover the beloved tools that will create a magical discipline, help children calm their brain, and self-regulate.

Supporting yourself: Learn Bari's best techniques for reducing anxiety in minutes.

The latest science about how mindfulness supports growth and development, so you feel ready to implement these powerful tools right away.

Whether you are new to mindfulness or have been teaching for a while, Bari helps reignite your confidence and accelerate your learning.
About the Presenter
This recorded edWebinar will be of benefit to preK through elementary teachers, librarians, school and district leaders, and anyone who works with children.

Bari Koral is a kids yogi and award-winning recording artist. Bari's songs and approachable yoga and mindfulness curriculum are used on a regular basis around the world. She is considered a pioneer in the world of kids yoga. To date, she has presented to over 30,000 teachers and counting on how to incorporate yoga into the classroom based on her beloved songs and activities. She has performed multiple times at the White House and has appeared in the NY Times and People Magazine.

Join the Classroom Management for Early Learning community to network with educators, participate in online discussions, receive invitations to upcoming edWebinars, and view recordings of previous programs to earn CE certificates.

Kaplan Early Learning Company is a leading international provider of products and services that enhance children's learning.

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Happy and Calm: The Best Tools for Mindfulness Now - edWeb

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Presented by Bari Koral, Kids Yoga Expert, and Popular Recording Artist Sponsored by Kaplan Early Learning Company Watch the Recording Get a CE Certificate for this edWebinar Learn more Navigating our world can be challenging, but the right mindfulness tools can make all the difference.

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Integrating SEL into your School-Wide PBIS Framework

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Integrating SEL into your School-Wide PBIS Framework

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Drama-based relaxation exercises that are part of our global Healing and Education through the Arts (HEART) program for children living in stressful situations. Join your child in trying the Lazy Cat, the Turtle, the Lemon or all of these stress busters!

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Incredible library of amazing resources for Social Emotional Learning and so much more!

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Find resources for balance and well-being. Build inner strength, navigate difficult feelings, and get support with this collection of videos, games, books, and more.

Spotlight

Take on the Day

Start the day by harnessing energy and focus with this energizing breathing video!

Breathing Break

Without trying to change it, pay attention to your breathing as you sit still. Do it for 10 breaths the first time, and then try 15!

Load more

Breathing Break

Without trying to change it, pay attention to your breathing as you sit still. Do it for 10 breaths the first time, and then try 15!

Rose, Bud, Thorn

Describe your day to a family member with one thing that fits each category: Include something positive (rose), something hopeful (bud), and something challenging (thorn). Take turns sharing.

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Emotional Well-Being activities for Grades 3-5

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Find resources for balance and well-being. Build inner strength, navigate difficult feelings, and get support with this collection of videos, games, books, and more. Spotlight Take on the Day Start the day by harnessing energy and focus with this energizing breathing video! Breathing Break Without trying to change it, pay attention to your breathing as you sit still.

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Self-Assessing Social and Emotional Instruction and Competencies- A Tool for Teachers

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Self-Assessing Social and Emotional Instruction and Competencies- A Tool for Teachers

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Self-Assessing Social and Emotional Instruction and Competencies- A Tool for Teachers

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How to Sell SEL: Parents and the Politics of SEL

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How to Sell SEL: Parents and the Politics of SEL

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Presented by Dr. Nancy Boyles, Professor Emerita, Independent Literacy Consultant, and Author

Sponsored by Norton Books in Education
WATCH THE EDWEBINAR RECORDING Get a CE Certificate for this edWebinar Learn more
Watch this edWebinar to get to know amazing picture books, learn engaging questioning strategies for students, and consider talking points for professionals-all aimed at building students' social-emotional strength. Access a handout with classroom-ready resources to support social-emotional learning.

In this edWebinar, viewers will gain a better understanding of CASEL focus areas that impact personal strength: Managing feelings, a positive view of self, developing self-confidence, controlling impulsive behaviors, setting goals, and skill in communicating. This will include reflection on questions for professionals in each area, an introduction to noteworthy picture books aligned to the focus areas, and application of a student-friendly questioning strategy for starting SEL conversations.

Be able to use picture books aligned to the six designated focus areas to introduce issues related to social-emotional strength and start conversations with students on key themes.

Be able to develop standards-based questions at all Depths of Knowledge that connect picture books to CASEL focus areas.

Be prepared to engage with colleagues to reflect together on questions related to the impact of SEL on students.

By the conclusion of the edWebinar, viewers will:

This edWebinar will be of interest to preK through high school teachers, librarians, and school leaders.
About the Presenter
Dr. Nancy Boyles is Professor Emerita of Reading from Southern Connecticut State University, an independent literacy consultant, and an author of multiple books for literacy educators. As a consultant, Nancy works with districts and educational agencies to provide workshops, model lessons in classrooms, and assist with curriculum development.

Join the Creating a Positive School Climate community to network with educators, participate in online discussions, receive invitations to upcoming edWebinars, and view recordings of previous programs to earn CE certificates.

Norton Books in Education publishes breakthrough professional development books for K-12 teachers and administrators from leading voices in the field.

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Building Students' Social-Emotional Strength Through Literacy - edWeb

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Presented by Dr. Nancy Boyles, Professor Emerita, Independent Literacy Consultant, and Author Sponsored by Norton Books in Education WATCH THE EDWEBINAR RECORDING Get a CE Certificate for this edWebinar Learn more Watch this edWebinar to get to know amazing picture books, learn engaging questioning strategies for students, and consider talking points for professionals-all aimed at building students' social-emotional strength.

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Mindset Kit - Do's and don'ts of praise, Praise the Process, Not the Person

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See examples of how to turn person praise into process praise.

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Focus 5 is a set of exercises that provides you with skills to minimize distraction and develop greater focus for learning. Each exercise can be done in under five minutes.

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Lessons, posters, webinars, and more!

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Visit Shubert at Home and School!

Practical, Hands-On Examples of Conscious Discipline Structures

Shubert's Home and School in Bug Valley offers practical, room-by-room examples of Conscious Discipline implementation. Discover tips, tools, videos and more that model how families, educators, administrators and helpers can put the principles and practices into action and bring safety, connection and problem solving to life.

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Access over 300 free and premium digital resources including video, audio, printables, song lyrics, assessment rubrics and much more.

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Edutopia is a free source of information, inspiration, and practical strategies for learning and teaching in preK-12 education. We are published by the George Lucas Educational Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization.

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There's a growing awareness of the importance of social-emotional learning (SEL) at home and in school. In fact, SEL is already being implemented in many classrooms.

Get along better with others

Have an increased ability to manage stress

Are more likely to graduate from high school

Have key social skills that employers are looking for

Are less likely to be involved in the criminal system

But there are still misconceptions about SEL. Here are five of the most common myths - with the facts to debunk them.

Fact: Emotional intelligence (the ability to be smart about feelings) is only one of the many parts of SEL.

In fact, SEL helps kids develop a wide range of skills, from coping with feelings to decision-making. The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), a leader in the field of SEL, identifies five core competencies that make up SEL:

1. Self-awareness: Know your own emotions, strengths, and challenges and how they impact your actions. Have a growth mindset about your skills.

2. Self-management: Self-regulate and use executive functioning skills , like planning and organization, impulse control, and setting goals.

3. Social awareness: Understand other perspectives, show empathy, respect diversity, and understand social norms.

4. Relationship skills: Build and maintain relationships, communicate clearly, cooperate, and resolve conflict.

5. Responsible decision-making: Make positive choices about how to behave and interact with others. Think about how your actions affect yourself and others.

Watch this video from Edutopia to learn how social-emotional learning helps kids become engaged learners.

Fact: Social-emotional skills are often referred to as "soft skills," but they're just as important as "hard skills." Soft skills (sometimes called people skills) allow us to get along and work well with other people, communicate effectively, be empathetic, and solve problems. These skills can be difficult to measure, but they're essential.

Hard skills are the skills required for completing a task. For instance, knowing multiplication facts or being able to read are hard skills. These skills are easily measured and demonstrated.

Watch this video to learn more about why SEL skills are "essential skills."

Fact: People aren't born knowing how to manage emotions, get along with others, and solve problems.These skills are learned over time.

Fact: There's no one right way to teach SEL. Every child has different needs. Families have different backgrounds and cultures. Teachers, who work with a diverse group of students, can use what they know about their students to design SEL lessons in which all students can fully access and apply these skills.

Sometimes, differences in cultural norms and expectations can lead to hard but important conversations. Older kids may want to talk about how race, gender, class, or other forms of identity affect how different people are expected to act.

Fact: SEL is for all kids - and adults, too. We all continue to develop these skills throughout our lives.

Social-emotional skills aren't only about how people outwardly express themselves. They're also about how people react inwardly.

At school, one student might show frustration over a math assignment by shouting or crumpling up the paper. That student needs help with self-regulation. Another might quietly work through a challenging math problem but feel like a failure inside. The quiet student needs help with social-emotional skills, too.

Every child needs to know how to recognize challenges, ask for help, and think about how they feel. It's important to teach those skills so kids can thrive in school, at home, and in the community.

Use evidence-based strategies to support SEL throughout the day. For instance, use pre-correcting and prompting to tell and remind students of expectations. Use respectful redirection to help students with communication skills like tone of voice and body language.

Knowing more about your students helps, too. Learn about the science behind connecting with students and building strong relationships with them. Remember to also partner with students' families . SEL happens in all areas of a student's life.

About the Author

About the Author

worked as a classroom teacher and as an early intervention specialist for 10 years. She is the author of Amanda Morin The Everything Parent's Guide to Special Education. Two of her children have learning differences.

Reviewed by

Reviewed by

Shivohn N. García, PhD is an experienced educator and the senior director of the Impact team at Understood.

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There's a growing awareness of the importance of social-emotional learning (SEL) at home and in school. In fact, SEL is already being implemented in many classrooms. Get along better with others Have an increased ability to manage stress Are more likely to graduate from high school Have key social skills that employers are looking for Are less likely to be involved in the criminal system But there are still misconceptions about SEL.

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3 Big Ideas for Implementing Effective Social and Emotional Learning Strategies

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3 Big Ideas for Implementing Effective Social and Emotional Learning Strategies

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Presented by Dr. Stephanie Jones, Director of the Ecological Approaches to Social-Emotional Learning (EASEL) Lab, Professor of Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education, and Senior Fellow, International Center for Leadership in Education

Sponsored by International Center for Leadership in Education
WATCH THE EDWEBINAR RECORDING Get a CE Certificate for this edWebinar Learn more
Empowering teachers to design their own SEL instruction makes sense; they know their students best. However, many SEL programs adopted by schools consist of scripted and sequenced curricula designed to be used in a weekly 30-minute block often led by a school counselor or designated SEL facilitator. These programs tend to be expensive, require significant training and ongoing support, and limit individual autonomy or choice as adaptations or deviations from the script are seen as threats to program fidelity. Imagine an approach to SEL that is developmental, flexible, responsive to local needs, and focused on strategies for teachers to implement as appropriate, rather than a sequenced curriculum for them to follow. In this edWebinar, Dr. Stephanie Jones shares three big ideas to consider for reimagining how SEL can happen in and outside of school.

This recorded edWebinar will be of value to kindergarten through high school teachers, librarians, and school and district leaders.
About the Presenter
Dr. Stephanie M. Jones is a professor of child development and education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She's spent the last ten years studying the impact of social-emotional learning interventions on behavioral and academic outcomes of preschool and elementary students. Throughout the process, she has developed and tested programs, pedagogy, and curricula that foster social-emotional competencies among children, adults, and their environments. Stephanie is a firm believer in evaluating educational programs with rigorous scientific research and providing early and middle childhood practitioners and policymakers with accessible content. She's conducted such research for several programs and early education efforts, including Reading, Writing, Respect and Resolution, Resolving Conflict Creatively, SECURe, and the Head Start CARES initiative. Before she received her doctorate in developmental psychology from Yale University, she worked as a Research Associate at Columbia University's National Center for Children in Poverty. In addition to serving as Senior Fellow at ICLE, Stephanie serves on numerous national advisory boards including the National Board of Engaging Schools and the Council of Distinguished Scientists for the National Commission on Social, Emotional, and Academic Development convened by the Aspen Institute. In 2008, she was awarded the Grawemeyer Award in Education for her work on A Vision for Universal Preschool Education; a few years later she received the Joseph E. Zins Early-Career Distinguished Contribution Award for Action Research in Social and Emotional Learning.

Join the Social-Emotional Learning community to network with educators, participate in online discussions, receive invitations to upcoming edWebinars, and view recordings of previous programs to earn CE certificates.

The International Center for Leadership in Education's mission is to challenge, inspire, and equip today's educators - both teachers and leaders - to prepare our students for lifelong success.

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3 Big Ideas for Implementing Effective Social and Emotional Learning Strategies

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Presented by Dr. Stephanie Jones, Director of the Ecological Approaches to Social-Emotional Learning (EASEL) Lab, Professor of Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education, and Senior Fellow, International Center for Leadership in Education Sponsored by International Center for Leadership in Education WATCH THE EDWEBINAR RECORDING Get a CE Certificate for this edWebinar Learn more Empowering teachers to design their own SEL instruction makes sense; they know their students best.

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Lesson Plan for Establishing Ground Rules

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Lesson Plan for Establishing Ground Rules

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not all videos are free but there are several that are and have great content!

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blended and online learning solutions for educators and students promotes critical thinking and learning around historical and current events topics through the lens of diversity, bias and social justice.

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Our K-12 curricula provide an understanding of diverse perspectives, strengthen critical thinking skills, challenge the development of emerging biases and build skills and motivation to take action against injustice.

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The vast majority of students, educators, and families agree: Social and emotional learning (SEL) belongs in schools. Multiple independent surveys show that people across backgrounds and experiences understand the value of an education that promotes the social, emotional, and academic development of young people.

If your community does not yet prioritize SEL, you can make a strong case for SEL by sharing the evidence and the perspectives of important stakeholders: parents, educators, students, and more. Use the material below to advocate for high-quality SEL on social media, websites, presentations, and other digital materials.
If you care about kids and if you care about academic achievement, if you care about outcomes in life, SEL is the way to get there.
Take action today

Key Messages: Explaining SEL
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More than ever, SEL is critical to supporting the academic recovery, mental well-being, and safety of all young people. In addition to sharing the definition and framework [link] for SEL, here are three core messages to highlight when explaining SEL.

SEL is for everyone. SEL develops skills that help us be successful in all parts of our lives-like communicating effectively, setting goals, staying motivated, and making decisions that benefit ourselves and others. With these skills, we can build healthy relationships, succeed in schools and workplaces, and contribute to our communities.

SEL is based in science. Hundreds of independent studies show that SEL leads to better academic performance, improved well-being, and safer schools. It creates positive school environments where children learn the skills they need to succeed in school and in their futures.

SEL brings families, schools, and communities together. The way SEL is implemented in schools and which skills are emphasized are driven by partnerships between families and schools and tailored to the local community's priorities, cultures, and needs.

Surveys: Broad Support for SEL
Back to top Parents and caregivers support SEL ... Real Stories, Real Families: Educators support SEL ... Superintendents nationwide Employers support SEL ... Young people support SEL ... talk about the value of SEL in their communities. Listen to an audio series featuring parents talking about the benefits of SEL in their own words. Back to top
Help us make the case for a quality education with SEL. Download the graphics below and feel free to tag us on Twitter, LinkedIn, or Facebook. (@caselorg)

Select a topic below to download the infographic:

Additional Resources
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Implement SEL in your district. Use CASEL's District Resource Center to find research, knowledge, and resources curated from school systems across the U.S. to support high-quality, systemic implementation of SEL. Visit the website.

Implement SEL in your school. Use the CASEL Guide to Schoolwide Social and Emotional Learning to help students excel academically, build stronger relationships, and lead happier, healthier, more fulfilling lives. Visit the website.

Select an evidence-based program. The CASEL Guide to SEL Programs is designed to help educators and school administrators select an evidence-based SEL program that best meets the needs of their community. Visit the website.

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The vast majority of students, educators, and families agree: Social and emotional learning (SEL) belongs in schools. Multiple independent surveys show

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The Building Connections Webinar Series 

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The Building Connections Webinar Series 

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The Building Connections webinar series offers an opportunity to connect SEL to key priorities and learn from those who are exploring innovative solutions. Our free presentations will reveal why SEL is critical to advance and strengthen the many systems that support our young people.

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Tune in to timely discussions and events on social and emotional learning, including conversations on-demand that you may have missed.

Past Events and Webinars

Virtual Summit On Demand: 2022 SEL Exchange Virtual Summit

November 1 - 30, 2022 at 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm EDT

Did you miss the live virtual summit on October 13? It's not too late! The annual Social and Emotional Learning Exchange Virtual Summit brings education champions together to learn and share insights that advance evidence,...

Access All Past Events and Webinars

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Tune in to timely discussions and events on social and emotional learning, including conversations on-demand that you may have missed. Past Events and Webinars Virtual Summit On Demand: 2022 SEL Exchange Virtual Summit November 1 - 30, 2022 at 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm EDT Did you miss the live virtual summit on October 13?

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Go from a Safe Classroom to a Brave Classroom

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Go from a Safe Classroom to a Brave Classroom

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In fostering inclusive, equitable and safe schools, we encourage educators to develop group guidelines for respect and safety in the classroom. These classroom guidelines can be created in a variety of ways and the list typically includes recommendations such as: share air time, actively listen, show empathy, respect confidentiality, participate fully, assume good will, be sensitive to feelings, and others. However, there is often a need to go further and frame guidelines around the concept of bravery instead of safety.

Why brave vs. safe?

There are a few reasons for this. While these group agreements work for some, they don't always help everyone feel safe, respected or included. For example, people of color and/or those who are members of marginalized groups may want to share real and sometimes harsh testimony about their experiences, something they might need to do in order to feel included and be able to participate. They may want to caucus with others in their same identity group in order to feel safe. Or, they may feel that being able to challenge others' bias is what is necessary to build empathy. Therefore, what they require to feel safe may not subscribe to the typical list of guidelines. In addition, sometimes when those who feel marginalized express strong feelings and ideas, the people in majority and/or power groups sometimes say they feel "unsafe."

In diverse groups and especially when the goal is equity and safety for all, it is important to be aware that the word "safety" is open to interpretation and how it is understood depends on the person. This means people have different ideas about what it means to "feel safe," "assume good will," "participate fully," etc. These different perspectives may be attributed to whether one is part of a marginalized or majority group in school or society.

One example that illustrates this is the concept of "assuming good will." This may seem like a guideline everyone can agree to. However, if you belong to a marginalized group that has been harmed in the past by these conversations-by other students'/participants intent or impact-you may not be able to assume good will. In fact, it may be safer to assume the opposite or at least be neutral about trusting that there is positive intent on the part of others.

Brave is defined as: "To have or show physical, emotional or moral strength in the face of difficulty, danger or fear." When you're brave, you do something that is hard for you. In a classroom or group, bravery goes both ways-giving and receiving. This means taking a risk to say something that is difficult or scary. It is also brave to listen fully and hear hard things that people may tell you. A brave space is one in which we accept that we will feel uncomfortable and maybe even defensive when exploring issues of bias, injustice and oppression. A brave space is one in which we take risks, doing so with care and compassion.

Strategy for setting up brave guidelines in your classroom

Ask students to define brave. You can use the definition above ("to have or show physical, emotional or moral strength in the face of difficulty, danger or fear") or come up with one that works for you and your students.

Have students close their eyes and think of a time they felt brave; then ask them to share some of the images, thoughts, feelings and behaviors that came to mind. Alternatively (especially for younger students), you can have them draw something that reflects a time they felt brave.

Have students talk with a partner (or share in concentric circles, if time permits) asking students to respond to the following prompts:

What does bravery mean to you?

When was the last time you felt brave in school?

What do you need to feel brave in this classroom?

Have students share their thoughts aloud or on post-it notes that you can hang somewhere in the classroom for all to see. From these conversations and shared thoughts, have students come up with a list of guidelines for being brave in the classroom.

Make sure everyone agrees with the guidelines; you can get verbal agreement or have everyone sign a pledge or a classroom poster that lists the guidelines.

Possible guidelines for brave classrooms
(Keep in mind that it's ideal that the list is generated by the group.)

1. Be open to different and multiple viewpoints and perspectives, especially those that differ from yours.

2. If people share experiences and feelings that are different or unfamiliar to you, show respect by taking it seriously and understand the impact of your response.

3. Explore, recognize and acknowledge your privilege.

4. Even if you are uncomfortable or unsure, contribute and take risks.

5. Make space by sharing speaking time; try to speak after others who have not spoken.

6. Listen actively, even and especially when people say things that are difficult to hear.

7. View the candor of others as a gift.

8. Find ways to challenge others with respect and care and be open to challenging your own points of view.

9. Work hard not to be defensive if people challenge what you say or the impact of your words.

10. Commit to confidentiality and not disclosing what people say; at the same time, take responsibility for sharing important messages and themes outside the group/class. One way to think about this is: "stories stay, lessons leave."

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Moving from Safe Classrooms to Brave Classrooms

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In fostering inclusive, equitable and safe schools, we encourage educators to develop group guidelines for respect and safety in the classroom. These classroom guidelines can be created in a variety of ways and the list typically includes recommendations such as: share air time, actively listen, show empathy, respect confidentiality, participate fully, assume good will, be sensitive to feelings, and others.

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Mind Yeti is a library of research-based guided mindfulness sessions that help kids and their adults calm their minds, focus their attention and connect to the world around them.

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Mind Yeti is a library of research-based guided mindfulness sessions that help kids and their adults calm their minds, focus their attention and connect to t…

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Using Data to Support and Communicate Effectively about SEL

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Using Data to Support and Communicate Effectively about SEL

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Check-in routines help students self-reflect upon their emotional state.

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Happy New Year! Now is that time of the school year when teachers start to rethink their classroom behavior management systems. We wonder, "How effective is our current classroom management system and does it address the needs of all of our students?" We might also ask ourselves, "Have I provided visual supports within my behavior system?" These questions are helpful to consider before assessing or implementing your need for visual supports within your class.

What are visual supports? Visual supports are an effective behavioral strategy that includes providing concrete items, pictures, symbols, printed words, or a combination of these. These types of supports may assist children with maintaining attention, understanding spoken language, and sequencing and organizing their environment (Hodgdon, 1995). In the classroom, visual supports help students understand directions, schedules, rules, and instructional materials (Jaime & Knowlton, 2007). The effectiveness of providing visual supports for students with autism within the classroom has strong research support; however, visual supports can help all students and assist teachers with defining their classroom behavioral expectations.

How can you incorporate visual supports into your current behavior management system, or how can you create an effective classroom behavior management system using visual supports? One tool to help you assess your classroom use of visual supports is a visual supports checklist. A visual supports checklist prompts you to ask yourself some of the following questions:

Do my students understand where to find things and where they belong?

Do they understand when things will happen (e.g., class schedules or agendas)?

Do they understand the curriculum, classroom, and community expectations (i.e., rules)?

Do they have the social skills necessary to interact successfully in their school environment and communities?

Do they know how to effectively communicate with their peers and teachers?

Using a checklist will help you determine where to begin creating an environment that effectively uses visual supports, or how to update your current classroom visual supports. Visit the website supported by the University of Maine to view a Visual Supports Checklist by Bennett-Armistead, Blagojevic, Neal, and Taylor (2016).

The Incredible 5-Point Scale (see Figure 1), designed by Buron and Curtis (2003), is an example of a versatile visual support that can be used in classrooms to teach a variety of behaviors.

Figure 1. The Incredible 5-Point Scale.

(Adapted from Buron & Curtis, 2003. Used with permission.)

The scale is based on three strategies: Simon Baron-Cohen's educational theory of hyper-systemizing (according to which some individuals learn better within systems such as charts, graphs, numbers, and scales), cognitive behavioral therapy (teaching self-awareness and social awareness rather than external management of behavior), and visual supports (K. Buron, personal communication, January 5, 2018).

This simple and practical scale breaks down any challenging situation or behavior, and helps organize the student's thinking process on how to manage it. The scale consists of five rows and one or more columns. The first column lists numerals 1-5 each coded in a different color to demonstrate levels of intensity of a given behavior. Other columns can be designed based on the needs of a student and the planned use for the scale. Adding what a behavior looks like or feels like as the second column helps students identify the particular behavior. Finally, including a column "what to do" can help students find and record strategies to de-escalate and self-manage the target behavior/issue. Self-monitoring strategies have been shown to be effective positive behavioral interventions for both general and special education students (Sheffield & Waller, 2010).
Developing the Incredible 5-Point Scale
The first step in using The Incredible 5-point Scale is to identify a challenging behavior together with the student. For example, does the student struggle with staying on task or get anxious or upset? It is important to develop the scale with the student, using the student's own words as much as possible.

The next step is to break down the behavior into five parts, clearly illustrating the degrees of the situation and organizing the information into a visual scale (Buron & Curtis, 2003). Teachers should avoid using arbitrary judgments (i.e., avoid words such as "appropriate," "inappropriate," "good," or "bad" (K. Buron, personal communication, January 5, 2018). Instead, descriptions should be used to define what each step looks or feels like. An example of a breakdown of on-task behavior appears in Figure 2.

Figure 2. 5-Point Scale for On-Task Behavior.

Next, together with the student, identify some behaviors to reduce the current level of the behavior/situation. What can a student do during that state to get to a level 1 or 2 on the scale? Suggestions should include only the behaviors that have student buy-in. An example might look similar to the one below in Figure 3 (based on student input).

Figure 3. 5-Point Scale for Behaving On-Task Using Strategies.

The scale can include other columns based on student needs such as "How This Is Impacting Others" or "Outcome of Engaging in This Level."
Implementing the 5-Point Scale
For any visual support, it is critical to first teach the appropriate use of the tool, practice it with feedback, and recognize the students for using it successfully. Combining the visual support of a 5-point scale with the self-monitoring intervention can improve behavior management in the classroom and preserve instructional time.

Once the scale has been developed, initially use it in a direct instructional setting by prompting the student to identify where on the scale he or she is during specific situations and what to do to move to a lower level on the scale. You can teach this through developing and role-playing scenarios that frequently result in the challenging behavior and then prompting the student to identify what to do in those instances. Then move toward applying the scale to real situations that the student experiences. The scale can be used (a) for pre-teaching before a challenge arises, (b) during the challenge to provide visual supports and directions on how to manage the situation, or (c) as a tool for reflection after an event has occurred. As students use the scale over time, remember to fade the prompts and build independent use. Periodically check in with the students to ensure that they are using the scale accurately.

The Incredible 5-Point Scale can also be used as a support for managing stress and anxiety or for identifying and dealing with other emotions. Kari Buron, the developer of The Incredible 5-Point scale, provides many downloadable examples of what the scale may look like for a variety of behaviors. Visit The Incredible 5-Point Scale website to find more examples.

Figure 4 illustrates one of Buron's examples for self-management.

Figure 4. 5-Point Scale for Self-Management.

(Kari Dunn Buron, 2010, https://www.5pointscale.com/more_sweet_scale.htm/. Used with permission.)

In addition to use with individual students, the scale can also be implemented with a whole class for situations such as managing the noise level during small groups (see Figure 5). Using a visual support to redirect students to a more appropriate noise level is faster and more efficient than repeated verbal reminders. Throughout, it is important to remember that the scale is designed to be a teaching tool, not a consequence system. That is, the focus is on teaching how to manage challenging situations, not punishing students for making mistakes. Posting the number for the desired noise level in each setting or during each activity can be helpful for both students and teachers.

Figure 5. 5-Point Scale for Volume Control.

Visual supports play an important role in almost every aspect of our adult lives. We rely on them for cues to tell us what to do, where to go, when to move, and how to behave. They are of equal importance in the classroom and can assist students as they acquire and master academic and behavioral skills. The Incredible 5-Point scale is an example of a visual support that can be adapted in numerous ways to help students build self-regulation skills and gain independence. It is just one visual support tool that can help you as you continue to foster student success within your classroom.
References
Buron, K. D., & Curtis, M. (2003). The incredible 5-point scale: Assisting students with autism spectrum disorders in understanding social interactions and controlling their emotions responses. Shawnee Mission, KS: Autism Asperger Publishing Company.

Hodgdon, L. (1995). Visual strategies for improving communication practical supports for school and home. Troy, MI: QuirkRoberts Publishing.

Jaime, K., & Knowlton, E. (2007). Visual supports for students with behavior and cognitive challenges. Intervention in School and Clinic, 42(5), 259-270.

Sheffield, K., & Waller, R. J. (2010). A review of single-case studies utilizing self-monitoring interventions to reduce problem classroom behaviors. Beyond Behavior, 19(2), 7-13.

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Do You Provide Visual Supports in Your Classroom? - WMTTAC Link Lines

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Print PDFBy LaShauna Britt, M.Ed., Daria Lorio-Barsten, M.Ed, BCBA, and Kara McCulloch, M.S. Happy New Year! Now is that time of the school year when teachers start to rethink their classroom behavior management systems. We wonder, "How effective is our current classroom management system and does it address the needs of all of our students?"

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What?

During Affirmation Interview, students practice verbal and non-verbal communication in the roles of "interviewer" and "interviewee."

Before and after reading

Affirmation Interview helps students get acquainted, builds an inclusive classroom community, and strengthens listening, speaking and interpersonal communication.

Steps

1. Select a central text and Identify a focus for the interview from the text.

2. Have students read the text, either individually, in pairs or as a whole class.

3. Introduce the class to writing effective text-dependent interview questions. Use these criteria to guide your introduction.

Text-dependent questions:

Can only be answered with evidence from the text.

Can be literal but must also involve analysis, synthesis and evaluation.

Focus on word, sentence and paragraph detail as well as themes or events

Focus on difficult portions of text to enhance reading proficiency

Can be about content, meaning, connections or style.

4. Direct students to select five interview questions from the class-generated list.

5. Strategically pair students. Assign one student the role of the interviewer and another the role of interviewee.

6. Instruct students to interview each other about the central text. The interviewee's responses must include textual evidence. The interviewer records the interviewee's responses.

7. Students switch roles.

8. Put pairs together to form groups of four. Instruct students to share their interview responses with their new group mates.

9. Tell students that, during sharing, they are responsible for affirming each member of the group at least once. Provide examples of affirmations such as: "Thank you," "I like how you re-stated that," or, "That was a really thoughtful thing to say."

10. Bring the large group back together. Ask students to share insights from the team experience with the whole class.

English language learners

English language learners may begin class with lowered confidence because of their lack of English proficiency; a strategy that encourages positive feedback can help. Allow lower-proficiency students to use flashcards or cheat sheets with affirmation prompts. Be sure all students are clear on the content and meaning of the affirmations so they can use them correctly while sharing in their groups.

Connection to anti-bias education

Affirmation Interview captures positive behaviors and encourages mutual support, respect, collaboration and community building. The strategy also empowers learners by turning over responsibility of communication to students.

Sample text-dependent interview questions:

Before reading interview questions:

What do you most want to learn about the central text?

What experiences have you had with...?

When in your life would you find it useful to...?

After reading interview questions:

What did you learn from the text?

What would you like to know more about?

How will you use what you have learned?

What did you find most interesting about the reading?

What did you find most difficult?

What did you find surprising?

Critical Literacy Text-Dependent Questions

Use these critical literacy question models to create text-dependent questions that examine the role of power and privilege in the central text. Craft questions so that students must defend and explain their response with reference to the texts being studied.

1. Textual Purposes
What is this text about? How do we know?

Who would be most likely to read this text and why?

Why are we reading this text?

What does the author of this text want us to know?

2. Textual Structures and Features

What are the structures and features of this text?

What genre does this text belong to?

What do the images suggest?

What kind of language is used in the text?

3. Construction of Characters

How are children, teenagers, young adults, and adults constructed in this text?

What does the author tell us and not tell us about these characters/subjects?

Why has the author constructed the characters in this way?

Who benefits from this text?

How does the text depict age, gender and different cultural groups?

Who is allowed to speak? Who is quoted?

Are there gaps where something is left out of this text for the reader to fill in?

Are there silences in this text that leave out certain viewpoints or voices?

What questions does the text not raise?

What effect do the gaps and silences have on the text and reader?

6. Whose View? Whose Reality?

What views of the world does the text present?

How does the text construct a version of reality?

How would the text be different if it were told in another time, place, or culture?

7. Interrogating the Author

What kind of person, and with what interests and values, authored the text?

What view of the world and values does the author assume the reader holds? How do we know?

What different interpretations of the text are possible?

How else could the text have been written?

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During Affirmation Interview, students practice verbal and non-verbal communication in the roles of "interviewer" and "interviewee." Before and after reading Affirmation Interview helps students get acquainted, builds an inclusive classroom community, and strengthens listening, speaking and interpersonal communication. Select a central text and Identify a focus for the interview from the text.

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Second Step Community Rebuilding Unit Middle School

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Second Step Community Rebuilding Unit Middle School

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SEL Integration Approach for Classroom Educators

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SEL Integration Approach for Classroom Educators

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Hand Signals to Engage Students in Group Conversations (Large and Small)

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Hand Signals to Engage Students in Group Conversations (Large and Small)

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9/14/2020

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10 Creative Cooldown Breathing Activities

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10 Creative Cooldown Breathing Activities

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Just take a deep breath.

You've probably heard it before, or even instructed your students to try it when things start to get out of control. Inhale, exhale, relax.

Breathing exercises can be helpful to cool the body back down after an exciting game, diffuse tension after a conflict, or just recharge and refocus. To make this cooldown tool more fun for kids, try out these 10 creative breathing exercises.

1. Smell Flowers/Blow Dandelions:

Grasp your hands together just below your face as if you're holding a bouquet of flowers. Take a deep breath as if to inhale the beautiful scent of the flowers. Exhale and blow out the air as though you were blowing the little wispy seeds off of a dandelion.

2. Hold one hand out in front of you with your fingers spread apart. With your pointer finger from the other hand, start at the base of your thumb and trace along the edge of your hand. Inhale as your finger traces upward, and exhale as your finger traces down between fingers.

3. Whale Breath:

Take a deep breath in, and then as you exhale, tilt your head up and blow out like a whale spraying water out of a spout.

4. Bunny Breath:

Take three quick breaths through the nose as if you're hopping along, then release one long exhale through the mouth.

Do you have other ideas for creative breathing exercises or want to share these in action? Share them with us on Twitter.
Return to the Keep Playing Homepage

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10 Creative Cooldown Breathing Activities | Playworks

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Just take a deep breath. You've probably heard it before, or even instructed your students to try it when things start to get out of control. Inhale, exhale, relax. Breathing [...]

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Second Step Community Rebuilding Unit Grades 4-5

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Second Step Community Rebuilding Unit Grades 4-5

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Learn Five High-Leverage Practices to support their own social-emotional development and well-being.

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What is SEL for Educators?

Social-emotional learning (SEL) shares some similarities with terms such as emotional intelligence, resilience, well-being and self-care. However, the specific components of SEL for adults in school settings are unique.
Educator SEL is:

The competencies that adults need in order to manage stress and create a safe and supportive classroom environment

The skills and mindsets that adults need to effectively embody, teach, model and coach SEL for students

The overall well-being and emotional state of adults in school settings

Based on a synthesis of the latest research, we have created Five High-Leverage Practices to streamline learning, practice, and application. None of the outlined practices, skills, or strategies works in isolation. They interact dynamically and are part of an ongoing process of learning and development.

Why Download the SEL for Educators Toolkit?

This toolkit can be used in Professional Learning Communities (PLCs), staff meetings, professional development, training sessions, or for individual learning, reflection, and practice.

For the purposes of this resource, educator refers to any adult in a school setting who interacts with students. This can include, but is not limited to, classroom teachers, paraprofessionals, principals, deans, instructional coaches, specialists, special education teachers, and coaches. Although this resource can be used by individuals, we encourage collaboration as a way to understand the content, engage in practice, and to expand perspective by processing in community.
The toolkit focuses on the following objectives:

Educators will reflect on the importance and impact of their own social-emotional learning.

Educators will learn Five High-Leverage Practices to support their own social-emotional development and well-being.

Using embedded activities, educators will deepen their understanding and strengthen their skills related to the Five High-Leverage Practices.

Learn More

The toolkit is designed to be flexible and adaptable; educators can review and use the tools in their entirety, or select one or more focus areas. Due to the wealth of resources focused on system-level support, this toolkit focuses on what educators can do to support their individual growth.

Below, you can download TransformEd's SEL for Educators Toolkit for educators and school leaders focusing on the social-emotional development and well-being of the adults in school settings.
The Toolkit contains the following resources:

The Professional Learning Presentation is divided into three sections: The What: Defining Educator SEL, The Why: Supporting Evidence, and The How: High-Leverage Practice. It is designed to provide both content and opportunities for engagement and practice.

The Companion Guide presents additional details about the interactive components outlined in the presentation, as well as suggestions for pacing, facilitation, application, and further learning.

The Snapshot summarizes the Five High-Leverage Practices and their corresponding strategies in a simple and accessible handout.

The Reference List provides a comprehensive list of the resources consulted during the development of this tool for those who would like to dig deeper into the research on this topic.

Mini Modules

We will be releasing six mini modules to introduce our SEL for Educators Toolkit. This toolkit is extensive, therefore each module aims to synthesize the material and walk you through it using the following breakdown:

Module 1 - An Overview: The What, The Why, & The How

Module 2 - Examine Identity

Module 3 - Explore Emotions

Module 4 - Cultivate Compassionate Curiosity

Module 5 - Orient Towards Optimism

Module 6 - Establish Balance & Boundaries

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What is SEL for Educators? Social-emotional learning (SEL) shares some similarities with terms such as emotional intelligence, resilience, well-being and self-care. However, the specific components of SEL for adults in school settings are unique.

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Resume motion Reduce motion

Reports & Guidance

Policy Roadmap to Bridge Social and Emotional Learning and Career and Workforce Development

May 9, 2022

Civic, CASEL, CCD Center

Summary

A key goal of preschool to high school education is to ensure that students are “future ready"—with the knowledge, skills, and drive to navigate their careers and lives. But the future is rapidly shifting. How can policymakers, educators, business leaders, and community leaders come together to nourish students’ real-world competencies?

This report reframes what it means for students to be future-ready. Its aim is to provide a state policy roadmap for a PreK-12 education that prepares students to succeed in a rapidly changing world. Key to this effort is the integration of social and emotional learning (SEL) with career and workforce development (CWD). This roadmap builds on prior efforts by the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), Civic, and the Coalition for Career Development (CCD) Center to advance a state-level developmental framework for systematically integrating SEL and CWD.

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A key goal of preschool to high school education is to ensure that students are “future ready”—with the knowledge, skills, and drive to navigate their careers and lives. But the future is rapidly shifting. How can policymakers, educators, business leaders, and community leaders come together to nour…

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elementary

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A series of short videos that break down effective classroom practices in literally one minute. How’s that for a quick win?

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Our popular series of short videos that break down effective classroom practices in literally one minute. How's that for a quick win?

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Empower teachers to integrate SEL into their core literacy instruction with content that is relevant to what students are experiencing—wherever they’re learning.

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SEL support and resources for K-12 curriculum | Newsela

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Empower teachers to incorporate SEL topics and strategies into their core instruction.

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Second Step Community Rebuilding Unit Grades 2-3

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Second Step Community Rebuilding Unit Grades 2-3

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upper elementary-middle/high

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Sample Teaching Activities to Support Core Competencies of SEL

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Sample Teaching Activities to Support Core Competencies of SEL

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Second Step Community Rebuilding Unit Grades K-1

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Second Step Community Rebuilding Unit Grades K-1

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School Leaders Take Note: Teacher Care is a LOT More than Self-Care

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School Leaders Take Note: Teacher Care is a LOT More than Self-Care

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If you get burned in a fire, you first treat the wound, but you also try to put the fire out. In education, we treat the wound and then usher our teachers back into the fire. Excuse the pun but they are more than burned out, they are scorched.

Chelsea Prax, a program director at the American Federation of Teachers, sums it up succinctly.

"You can't deep-breathe your way out of a pandemic; you cannot stretch your way out of terrible class sizes; you cannot 'individual behavior' your way out of structural problems," she says.

This quote, which comes from Education Week's aptly titled piece, Teachers Are Not OK, Even Though We Need Them to Be, is just one of numerous articles, reports and statements outlining the stress that educators are under, and the well-intentioned but flawed approach of asking educators to save themselves.

Just in the past month we've read:

But the only solutions we are presented revolve around "self-care," i.e., rest, relaxation, meditation, physical activity and yoga. Basically, it's up to you to save yourself. No doubt these strategies are helpful in addressing the wound, but they do little to nothing to address the cause. For many educators, being asked to "find time for themselves" is both impossible and, in itself, stress inducing when finding time is not a real option.
For more on the future of learning, check out the weekly EdSurge Podcast, wherever you listen.
Larry Felazzo, the award-winning teacher who writes a popular education blog and a teacher advice column, recently wrote, "I teach in an almost ideal situation and I'm exhausted after just the first month of this year. I don't know how others who might be in less than ideal situations are handling it."

The experts are exhausted. The experienced are exhausted. We can safely assume that those new to the profession are exhausted too.

So, what do we do?

Sean Slade, 2021.

We must stop expecting educators to save themselves and instead start to address the group climate and culture of our schools. We must improve the environments that educators find themselves in everyday and at a minimum decrease the stress and increase the supports available in that setting. Collaboratively, we must start to address the systems that we have helped foster that have caused much of the stress in the first place.

If we only focus on self-care, we only affect the top of what I've coined the Wellbeing Pyramid. Not only is the effect temporary but it butts up too often against unsupportive environments and unresponsive systems. We must target the group interactions and focus on our school cultures, and then we must address the underlying causes. We give most attention to the Self but we must place more attention onto the Group and eventually the System.

As educators, or in fact as anyone who works with children and youth, we have less impact over our System-the scheduling, supports, time for collaboration, funding, duties, responsibilities and accountability systems. But we have more influence over the Group and consequently our culture and climate at the school. This is reflective of how we-the adults-treat each other. How we interact, how we react and how we support one another.

And while everyone in the school setting, from students, to staff, to families, influences the culture and climate, the person, or persons, who influence our school cultures the most are our school leaders. As my colleague Alyssa Gallagher and I wrote earlier this year, "Principals have the power to set the tone and establish a new order of business in a school. The principal provides education credibility to almost any initiative they champion, and as such, most school teams buy-in."

Acknowledging individuals, both personally as well as professionally

Demonstrating our human side of collaboration, and of leadership

Increasing our own understanding of how we react to, and interact with others

Adjusting our communication and leadership styles.

How do we do this?

We start by enhancing and improving the ways we interact and the ways we react to one another. These skills can be learned and fostered, but in general they revolve around core understandings and actions.

If we continue to focus only on self-care without addressing the causes of the stress we lose in both the middle and long game. We must start to focus more attention on the venues where we work and the interactions that influence the culture. This will not alleviate all stress (after all, most stress comes from our system), but if we continue to build our schools into places of care, support and positive interactions, we start to buffer the system stresses, and support the self-care that may take place.

It is not teachers' responsibility to save and take care of themselves; it is our responsibility to help ensure and develop safe, supportive environments with them.

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School Leaders Take Note: Teacher Care Is a Lot More Than Self-Care - EdSurge News

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If you get burned in a fire, you first treat the wound, but you also try to put the fire out. In education, we treat the wound and then usher our teachers back into the fire. Excuse the pun but they are more than burned out, they are scorched.

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5 Tiny Language Shifts (That Can Make a Big Difference in the Classroom!)

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5 Tiny Language Shifts (That Can Make a Big Difference in the Classroom!)

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5 Language Shifts That Can Make a Difference in the Classroom

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for adults and youth

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Millions of people have taken the free VIA survey to discover their greatest strengths so they can use them in their everyday lives.

How is a Report different from the free VIA Survey?

Our free survey provides your rank order list of character strengths with the strengths that are most core to your identity at the top. A VIA Report provides personalized, in-depth analysis of your character strengths, including actionable tips to apply them to find greater well-being.

Explore Reports

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Millions of people have taken the free VIA survey to discover their greatest strengths so they can use them in their everyday lives. Our free survey provides your rank order list of character strengths with the strengths that are most core to your identity at the top.

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Coronavirus Resources for Physical Education and Health

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SHAPE America Coronavirus resources help physical education and health education teachers across the country as many schools and school districts are moving to distance learning due to COVID-19.

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Compassion Fatigue and Teacher Resilience

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Compassion Fatigue and Teacher Resilience

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elementary school education effective teaching classroom management community academic engagement social emotional learning morning meeting

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Watch teachers using our research- and evidence-based, time-tested strategies with students in their own classrooms. Look for demonstrations of energizers and author interviews here, too!

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Social, Emotional, and Ethical (SEE) Learning

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Social, Emotional, and Ethical (SEE) Learning

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An innovative K-12 education program developed by Emory University. SEE Learning™ provides educators with the tools they need to foster the development of emotional, social, and ethical intelligence for students and themselves.

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SEE Learning COVID-19 Response and Resources

The time for social, emotional, and ethical learning has come. His Holiness the Dalai Lama Watch Now

"This is SEL 2.0"

"I'd call SEE Learning 'SEL 2.0', showing the way to the future direction for this critically important educational approach."

Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence: Why it Can Matter More than IQ

SIGN UP FOR SEE 101: Orientation

What is SEE Learning

The Science of Compassion.
The Cultivation of Awareness.
The Tools of Engagement.

The Future of Education.

Social, Emotional, and Ethical (SEE) Learning is an innovative K-12 education program developed by Emory University.
SEE Learning™ provides educators with the tools they need to foster the development of emotional, social, and ethical intelligence for students and themselves.

SEE Learning™ represents the state of the art in education by enhancing SEL programming with key additional components, including:

attention training

compassion and ethical discernment

systems thinking

resilience and trauma-informed practice

This program provides educators with a developmentally-staged curriculum consisting of easy-to-implement lessons, the conceptual framework used to design the curriculum, and resources for educator preparation and development. SEE Learning empowers students to engage ethically as part of a global community and provides educators with the tools to support student well-being.

Who We Are

We are a global community comprised of over 7000+ educators and partners across over 25 countries. Our highly qualified team of advisors includes experts from the fields of:

Psychology

Neuroscience

Education

Mindfulness

Compassion Science

Trauma and Resilience

Who We Serve

Educators

Parents and Families (in development)

School and District Leaders

Researchers

How To Get Started

The SEE Journey Starts Here.

Take the Orientation

Embark on your SEE Learning Journey with SEE 101: Orientation or explore the resources section for sample learning experiences, practices, and tip sheets.

Sign Up for SEE 101

Download the Curriculum

After completing SEE 101: Orientation, you will have full access to the SEE Learning Curriculum.

Connect to the Community

We are a constantly-evolving global community of educators and researchers, working towards a more compassionate future.

Contact SEE Learning

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SEE Learning COVID-19 Response and Resources The time for social, emotional, and ethical learning has come. His Holiness the Dalai Lama Watch Now "I'd call SEE Learning 'SEL 2.0', showing the way to the future direction for this critically important educational approach."

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How to Teach Mental Health Coping Skills

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How to Teach Mental Health Coping Skills

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Lo sentimos, la página que usted busca no se ha podido encontrar. Puede intentar su búsqueda de nuevo o visitar la lista de temas populares.

To the over 60,000 California educators who participated in the Healthy Minds, Thriving Kids Project incentive awards, we thank you for taking the time to review a sample of the Project's resources and provide valuable feedback. Among those surveyed:

86%

rated our videos as either "Excellent" (50%) or "Good" (36%)

76%

have either used or plan to use Project materials in their classrooms

82%

of those who used these resources reported that their students benefitted

Though the incentive program has ended, the resources are free for all to view or download, right here.

Elementary School Teachers

The elementary-age videos feature hedgehog characters in imaginative stories to teach key skills in a way that kids will enjoy watching and remember longer.

There are 5 episodes in the series, each teaching a different mental health skill. Corresponding activity sheets summarize and reinforce key ideas in each video. You can show students the entire series in one session, or show each episode individually.

Watch Individual Episodes

Middle School Teachers

The middle school-age videos feature an engaging host and interviews with a diverse group of real kids. They teach key skills while normalizing the challenges kids face and sparking productive conversations.

There are 5 episodes in the series, each teaching a different mental health skill. Corresponding activity sheets summarize and reinforce key ideas in each video. You can show students the entire series in one session, or show each episode individually.

Watch Individual Episodes

High School Teachers

The high school-age videos feature an engaging host and interviews with a diverse group of teens. They teach key skills while normalizing the challenges kids face and sparking productive conversations.

There are 5 episodes in the series, each teaching a different mental health skill. Corresponding activity sheets summarize and reinforce key ideas in each video. You can show students the entire series in one session, or show each episode individually.

Watch Individual Episodes

These Simple Skills Can Make a World of Difference for Our Kids

Educational resources grounded in the expertise of the Child Mind Institute

Optimized through services delivered to over 60,000 students, caregivers and educators in over 600 schools

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How to Teach Mental Health Coping Skills - Healthy Minds

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Evidence-based resources can help you teach students the mental health skills they need to be more ready to learn.

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Goal Setting: Learning from the Past Activity Sheet

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Goal Setting: Learning from the Past Activity Sheet

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Uplifting Books About Black and Brown Kids

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Uplifting Books About Black and Brown Kids

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Jerry Craft’s Picks: Uplifting Books About Black and Brown Kids

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Common Sense Media editors help you choose Jerry Craft’s Picks: Uplifting Books About Black and Brown Kids. “New Kid” author picks his favorite books about happy kids of color.

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A no cost, next-generation Character Social Emotional Development (CSED) program for Pre-K through 12th grades, designed to teach students, educators and staff how to choose love in any circumstance thereby creating a safer, more connected school culture.

Aligned with CASEL and ASCA, Choose Love For Schools is also the first program of its kind to fully incorporate state of the art Character Social Emotional Development (CSED) model standards, while also incorporating neuroscience and positive psychology to teach mindfulness, character, and emotional intelligence.  These essential life skills and tools make students better learners, more desirable employees and happier, healthier, human beings.

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Choose Love programs include Growth Mindset, Neuroscience, Mindfulness, Positive Psychology, Post-Traumatic Growth, Emotional Intelligence, and more for a solution that is both preventative and proactive. Choose Love is aligned with the new Character and Social Emotional Development Standards (CSED) which include BOTH Character.org and CASEL.

We can make our world better by Choosing Love.

Learn More

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Choose Love Movement - Promoting Hope, Healing & Connection

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We create safer and more loving communities through groundbreaking social and emotional learning (SEL) and character development programs.

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Lo sentimos, la página que usted busca no se ha podido encontrar. Puede intentar su búsqueda de nuevo o visitar la lista de temas populares.

For Kids in Elementary School

The elementary-age videos feature hedgehog characters in imaginative stories to teach key skills in a way that kids will enjoy watching and remember longer. Each video comes with Skill Sheets that summarize and reinforce key ideas.

For Kids in Middle School

The middle school-age videos feature an engaging host and interviews with a diverse group of real kids to teach key skills while normalizing the challenges kids face and sparking productive conversations. Each video comes with Skill Sheets that summarize and reinforce key ideas.

For Kids in High School

The high school-age videos feature an engaging host and interviews with a diverse group of teens to teach key skills while normalizing the challenges they face and sparking productive conversations. Each video comes with Skill Sheets that summarize and reinforce key ideas.

These Simple Skills Can Make a World of Difference for Our Kids

Educational resources grounded in the expertise of the Child Mind Institute

Optimized through services delivered to over 60,000 students, caregivers and educators in over 600 schools

Stay Updated

Enter your email address to learn about new articles, videos and other resources from the Child Mind Institute.

Questions or feedback about the project?
Contact Us

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Mental Health Coping Skills for Parents - Healthy Minds

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Lo sentimos, la página que usted busca no se ha podido encontrar. Puede intentar su búsqueda de nuevo o visitar la lista de temas populares. The elementary-age videos feature hedgehog characters in imaginative stories to teach key skills in a way that kids will enjoy watching and remember longer.

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The project was created in 2010 with a simple goal in mind; one book to connect the world. From its humble beginnings, the GRA has grown to make a truly global connection with milllions of students having participated.

What is it?

The premise is simple; we pick a book to read aloud to our students during a set 6-week period and during that time we try to make as many global connections as possible. Each teacher decides how much time they would like to dedicate and how involved they would like to be. Some people choose to connect with just one class, while others go for as many as possible. The scope and depth of the project is up to you. While there are commonly used such as Skype, Twitter, Padlet, or Flipgrid, you choose the tools that will make the most sense for you. Teachers get a community of other educators to do a global project with, hopefully inspiring them to continue these connections through the year.

When is it?

Once a year, starting in early October and running through mid-November. Due to the time commitment, this is only a once a year project, however, two fantastic spin-off projects run at other times; the New Zealand Read Aloud and the French version of GRA, Ecouter Lire le Monde.

I have questions as a Participant

Please see " For Participants" to have all of your questions answered.

I have questions as an Author

Please see "For Authors" to have all of your questions answered.

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To see the blog with the latest news and ideas, go here. To join our Facebook Community, go here - this is how you sign up The project was created in 2010 with a simple goal in mind; one book to connect the world. From its humble beginnings, the GRA has grown to make a...

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Strengths-Based Gratitude Curriculum for Tweens and Teens

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Strengths-Based Gratitude Curriculum for Tweens and Teens

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Building Teacher Capacity for SEL: 7 Practical Strategies for Leaders

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Building Teacher Capacity for SEL: 7 Practical Strategies for Leaders

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District leaders, school leaders, and teachers are united in a common purpose: to provide a positive educational environment for students. For many districts, that means bringing social-emotional learning into every aspect of school life.

As a district administrator, you may be looking to bring SEL to your district, but are hearing from your teachers that they need more time, support, and resources for building their own skills around SEL instruction. In this article and video, we will share some of the practical ways you can support classroom educators in building their understanding, comfort, and capacity for SEL.

Download the full guide for more tools, strategies, and resources.

7 Practical Strategies for Building Teacher Capacity for SEL

1. Model SEL for teachers by incorporating SEL strategies into staff meetings ( Tweet This )

Just as teachers find ways to incorporate SEL strategies and activities into the school day, leadership can incorporate many of the same strategies in faculty and staff meetings. Consider beginning a meeting with get-to-know-you questions or a two-word check-in.

2. Facilitate teacher support networks around SEL ( Tweet this )

Consider ways that other teams within your schools can support classroom teachers with social-emotional learning during lessons. For example, mental health and counseling teams can partner with classroom teachers to introduce SEL instruction.

3. Give teachers direction by setting clear goals and expectations for SEL implementation

Gathering baseline SEL data from students and adults can help with the process of setting goals. If you use an SEL assessment, do include teachers in the data exploration process to decide what SEL skills and competencies you want to focus on with students and why.

Ensure that there is time during the day or week for social-emotional learning activities. This not only helps teachers plan their activities, but it also shows your district community that SEL is a priority. Set aside time (10-15 minutes) in daily or weekly schedules for SEL. This may look different depending on your community needs. For example, you could ask schools to take a few minutes for a daily morning meeting routine, or guide students in a mindfulness exercise during a school-wide or grade-level assembly.

Providing your classroom teachers with research-backed SEL lessons and resources can help alleviate the burden for teachers, and ensure that students are getting the instruction that they need.

Districts that partner with Panorama can access Playbook, a library of hundreds of SEL strategies, activities, and interventions from leading SEL curriculum providers.

Make a practice of sharing resources like articles, webinars, and asynchronous professional development videos with your team. Set aside time throughout the year for teachers to talk with each other to revisit their learnings and discuss any developments.

Create opportunities for teachers to share feedback on their experiences, recommendations, and needs related to SEL. One way to elevate teacher voice is through district-wide surveys.

Download "A District Leader's Guide: Building Teacher Capacity for SEL" for more tools, strategies, resources.

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Building Teacher Capacity for SEL: 7 Practical Strategies for District Leaders

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District leaders, school leaders, and teachers are united in a common purpose: to provide a positive educational environment for students. For many districts, that means bringing social-emotional learning into every aspect of school life.

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the 4 Proven Steps to Goal Setting for Kids

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the 4 Proven Steps to Goal Setting for Kids

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5 Ways to Make Classrooms More Inclusive

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5 Ways to Make Classrooms More Inclusive

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5 Ways To Make Classrooms More Inclusive

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LGBTQ students are more likely to be bullied, which can lead to missed classes and a higher risk of suicide. For them, a teacher who knows how to “queer” the classroom can make a big difference.

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2023 Collection

Explore the new 2023 coloring pages collection with the same great Truth Be Told Quotes, only with new images. Teens have their own style, so now their coloring pages can too. Find some mindful inspiration with these new quotes to color in modern designs.

Crashing Waves Coloring Page

"In any conflict, be sure you know what you really want, and whether what you're doing will actually help you get there."

More on this quote Download PDF

Also from this author:

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Mindfulness Coloring Pages- Quotes to color for teen wellness

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Free printable mindfulness coloring pages for teens about real life issues teens face. Mindfulness coloring is a great way to process teen issues. Our free coloring pages on life lessons are free to print for personal use.