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BIG IDEA: "Stories and other texts help us learn about ourselves,
our families, and
our communities.."
Curricular Competency: Use personal experience and knowledge to connect to text and make meaning.
Curriculum Link: Building Student Success - B.C. Curriculum (gov.bc.ca)

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Content

Content

Story/text

elements of story

character, plot, setting, conflict, and theme

functions and genres of stories and other texts

text features

how text and visuals are displayed (e.g., headings, diagrams, columns, and sidebars)

literary elements and devices

descriptive language, poetic language, figurative language, images, imagery, rhythm, rhyme, simile, alliteration

Strategies and processes

reading strategies

using illustrations and prior knowledge to predict meaning; rereading; retelling in own words; locating the main idea and details; using knowledge of language patterns and phonics to decode words; identifying familiar and "sight" words; monitoring (asking: Does it look right? Sound right? Make sense?); self-correcting errors consistently using three cueing systems: meaning, structure, and visual

oral language strategies

focusing on the speaker, asking questions to clarify, listening for specifics, expressing opinions, speaking with expression, staying on topic, taking turns, connecting with audience

metacognitive strategies

talking and thinking about learning (e.g., through reflecting, questioning, goal setting, self-evaluating) to develop awareness of self as a reader and as a writer

writing processes

may include revising, editing, considering audience

Language features, structures, and conventions

Curricular Competency

Curricular Competency

Comprehend and connect (reading, listening, viewing)

Create and communicate (writing, speaking, representing)

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Building Student Success - B.C. Curriculum

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Story/text elements of story character, plot, setting, conflict, and theme functions and genres of stories and other texts text features how text and visuals are displayed (e.g., headings, diagrams, columns, and sidebars) literary elements and devices descriptive language, poetic language, figurative language, images, imagery, rhythm, rhyme, simile, alliteration Strategies and processes reading strategies using illustrations and prior knowledge to predict meaning; rereading; retelling in own words; locating the main idea and details; using knowledge of language patterns and phonics to decode words; identifying familiar and "sight" words; monitoring (asking: Does it look right?

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Key Question: How is the life of an animal in captivity different from yours?

Description: This is a discussion guide of The One and Only Ivan. Students will learn about this award winning novel and examine questions based on the events occurring throughout the story. As a result, they will think critically about animals in captivity.

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It's not as easy as it looks.
Ivan is an easygoing gorilla. Living in a glass cage at the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade, he rarely misses his life in the jungle. In fact, he hardly ever thinks about it at all.

Instead, Ivan thinks about art and how to capture the taste of a mango or the sound of leaves with color and a well-placed line.

Then he meets Ruby, a baby elephant taken from her family, and she makes Ivan see their home-and his own art-through new eyes. When Ruby arrives, change comes with her, and it's up to Ivan to make it a change for the better.

WATCH THE TRAILER

Also Available

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The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

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Buy the Book Amazon Barnes & Noble Books-A-Million Indiebound hello I am Ivan. I am a gorilla. It's not as easy as it looks. Ivan is an easygoing gorilla. Living in a glass cage at the Exit 8 Big Top

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3. What is Social and Emotional Learning?

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3. What is Social and Emotional Learning?

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Resource: Guide to Schoolwide SEL
Key Question: Why is it important to feel and show empathy for other?
Description: Social and emotional learning (SEL) is an integral part of our education system. This resource addresses SEL the process through which all people acquire develop knowledge through application and skill building, to show empathy for others, maintain healthy relationships, and become responsible in decision-making.

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Why Schoolwide SEL?

A growing body of research indicates that schools that promote social and emotional learning are critical to students' academic, social, personal, and professional success (Durlak et al., 2011). Additionally, a systemic, schoolwide approach to SEL:

Improves the school environment, which results in better social and academic outcomes for students. An evaluation of CASEL's Collaborating District Initiative (CDI)-a multiyear, systemic SEL initiative in multiple school districts-showed a variety of positive outcomes both for the school as a whole (improved climate and increased attendance) and for students (academic performance, social and emotional competence, and fewer disciplinary referrals) (CASEL, 2017).

Helps schools coordinate diverse services and programs (Elias et al., 2015; Oberle et al., 2016). Schools typically tackle many in-school and out-of-school programs aimed at prevention (e.g., substance abuse prevention, bullying prevention) and promoting student achievement and well-being. When fragmented, this kind of programming demoralizes staff and impairs student learning (Elias et al., 2015). Systemic SEL provides a framework to coordinate existing programs into one initiative with a common infrastructure, vision, and language (Meyers et al., 2018).

Ensures students experience SEL in a consistent and coherent way. Students learn and apply social and emotional competencies more rapidly and effectively when the messages they receive across settings are aligned and mutually reinforcing. A systemic approach to SEL brings all of the developmental agents in a student's life together to teach, learn from, and communicate with one another.

Promotes cultural responsiveness through authentic partnerships with families and community partners, who play key roles in supporting students' academic, social, and emotional development (Chartock, 2010; Delgado-Gaitan & Trueba, 1991; Hollins, 1996).

Citations can be found in the School Guide Bibliography.

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A growing body of research indicates that schools that promote social and emotional learning are critical to students' academic, social, personal, and professional success (Durlak et al., 2011). Additionally, a systemic, schoolwide approach to SEL: Improves the school environment, which results in better social and academic outcomes for students.

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Resource: Second Step
Key Question: How can children learn to understand emotions and cope with everyday challenges?
Description: On this website, students will learn a holistic approach to social-emotional learning. They will understand how emotions operate, and how they can react in various situational conditions.

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Social-Emotional Learning Programs | Second Step

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Discover Second Step, an evidence-based social-emotional learning curriculum that fosters students’ emotional intelligence, empathy, and problem-solving skills.

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Resource: Reflective Journals
Unit on TeacherVision
Key Question: How can we build on our metacognitive skills?
This unit includes learning how to write journals in a way that reflects student's own thoughts. It is a good way to encourage children in building their metacognitive skills. This will help them to learn how to organize their thoughts in different ways.

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Reflective Journals

What Is It?

Reflective journals are notebooks or pieces of paper that students use when writing about and reflecting on their own thoughts. The act of reflecting on thoughts, ideas, feelings, and their own learning encourages the development of metacognitive skills by helping students self-evaluate and sort what they know from what they don't know. The process of examining one's own thoughts and feelings is particularly helpful for students who are learning new concepts or beginning to grapple with complex issues that go beyond right and wrong answers.

Examples of Reflective Journals:

History Alive Reflection (Fifth Grade)
"The character I chose for history alive was Sequoya. He was a Native American who invented the first Cherokee alphabet so his people could read and write a language.

"Sequoya had a lot of perserveracne because he never game up when he was making his Cherokee alphabet. No matter how hard it was to come up with all eighty-sox symbols and even when other Cherokee members burnt down this house for writing the alphabet, he never gave up. That is one of the best skills you can ever have.

"Sequoya also had a lot of confidence and organization. Confidence explains how Sequoya knew he could make an alphabet and how he knew he could prove to the Tribal Council that the alphabet was no fake. Organization explains how well organized he arranged his alphabet.

From learning about Sequoya, I learned that I need to be more confident in myself and by that I can achieve my goal and be successful in anything that I may want to do."
~Natalie R.

Reflection on Teamwork (Middle School)
Group Members: Brian, Kristin, and CJ
Responsiblities: Brian - Leader (Paper), Kristen - PowerPoint, CJ - Outline

General Feeling: If we can get to the computer to work on Power Point and get some more info, we should be fine.

Progress: Today we got any information that was left out of the books. Our paper is started, and our bibliography is all caught up.

Concerns: I am concerned about getting everything done, I think we can do it but CJ is going to have to help.

Why Is It Important?

John Dewey (1938) believed that education should serve not only as a means of acquiring information but also as a way to bring learning to our everyday actions and behaviors. Most successful learners know how to identify questions and problems as they reflect on what they already know, what they want and need to know, and how they will proceed to increase their understanding. Less successful learners need to develop the habits of mind that are the underlying strategies of the learning process.

Reflective practice can be supported in classrooms by creating opportunities that allow students to think about their learning, their own lives, and the world around them. The process often illuminates problems, misunderstandings, and confusions and helps determine new growth, independence, and responsibility for learning (Strong, Silver, and Perini 2001).

Reflective journals allow students to practice their writing skills in an open-ended format that encourages the same thought process that is used in analytical writing. Zemelman, Daniels, and Hyde (1993) believe that the most powerful learning happens when students self-monitor, or reflect. As learners continue to distinguish what they know from what they need to reevaluate or relearn, they begin to translate discoveries they have made about their own learning into plans for improvement. Just as reflective journals open the windows of a student's mind, they also allow teachers to look in. In this way, the journals become a useful assessment tool that gives teachers additional insight into how students value their own learning and progress.

How Can You Make It Happen?

Model the journaling process, especially with younger students, by thinking aloud, debating what and what not to write. The main idea is to show students how to transfer their thinking into writing, not necessarily how to produce a finely polished piece of writing. Students can take from 3-15 minutes to write reflective entries in their personal journals before, during, or after a learning activity. The entries may build on areas covered in the classroom or promote students' thoughts about their own lives or the world beyond the classroom.

The most important aspect of reflective journal writing is to encourage students to begin to think about their own thinking. The reflective process transfers the responsibilities of self-appraisal and understanding the elements of quality work from the teacher to the student. Reflective journals should encourage students to develop their own personal values, going beyond summary conclusions such as "I hate this class" or "I didn't learn anything." Students should consider what they personally think and feel, drawing their own conclusions instead of just parroting what the teacher thinks. Journal prompts and questions should not be superficial but should encourage students to explore their thoughts in depth. For example, consider the difference between the following questions.

What did you think of the class?

What did you learn today?

What did you do in school today?

What happened in school today that made you feel proud?
Do you think everyone else felt that way?

What would you like to be when you grow up?

How could you use some of your strengths and accomplishments to help you in a career when you grow up?

What do you want to learn?

How do you plan to learn this content?
How and when will you do the work?
How do you want to be evaluated?

The questions in the first column are vague and may lead children to respond with egocentric or superficial facts and feelings, while the questions in the second column ask them to explore assumptions and values. Good journaling questions will help students develop critical-thinking skills and expand, analyze, or defend ideas.

It is important that journaling become a regularly scheduled activity. As with any other writing form, reflective journaling takes time and practice. Creating a routine for journaling will give students an opportunity to anticipate and prepare for other writing activities.

Encourage students to reread and revise previous entries as well as any they have just written. Help them observe the progression of their thoughts and understanding by letting them rewrite or comment on earlier entries. This exercise will help students appreciate their own learning and the process they have gone through to arrive at an understanding of concepts and knowledge. When journals are not formally assessed, students are free to experiment without fear of outside evaluation. Open assignments, or having students choose topics to write about, can allow students to express ideas in new forms and contexts. Encourage students to extend, defend, debate, and question their own ideas.

If you do assess the journals, give students feedback on what they have written. It may not always be possible to comment on each entry, so try using stickers to recognize what students have written. A smiley face sticker can give positive feedback while a star can be used to signify good ideas or thinking.

Management

Students should keep their reflective journals in a folder or spiral or bound notebook. This allows students to review what they have written and monitor their own reflective process and thoughts throughout the school year. Establish a system for identifying each entry in the journal, and create a shared understanding concerning the time frame allowed for journal writing. Some students will want to have time to reflect before they begin to write. Others will need to know when journal time is about to end. A timer may be used to warn and then signal the end of the reflection time.

Depending on the grade level of your students, you may want to keep the journals in a place that is easily accessible. Students should know where to find their journals and understand that they need to be returned to this area. You may want to establish a clear procedure for the distribution and collection of journals. Older students may want to keep their reflections between themselves and the teacher, and it may be more appropriate to have students keep track of the journals individually.

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Reflective Journals: Resource for Teachers (Grades K-12)

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Reflective journals are notebooks or pieces of paper that students use when writing about and reflecting on their own thoughts. The act of reflecting on thoughts, ideas, feelings, and their own learning encourages the development of metacognitive skills by helping students self-evaluate and sort what they know from what they don't know.

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Resource:

McGraw-Hill Reading Wonders – Grade 3

(Language Advisor)
Key Question: How do we help students recognize and embrace the role they play in the world they are creating?
Description: Strong communication skills support children in navigating their world. This resource provides students with opportunities to practice reading and writing, with a strong focus on extended writing.

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8.The Social & Emotional Learning Song | Scratch Garden

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8.The Social & Emotional Learning Song | Scratch Garden

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Key Ideas: How can students learn about social and emotional intelligence?
Description: The Social & Emotional Learning Song will help teach SEL skills, and these include identifying and managing emotions, showing empathy for others, and making responsible decisions.

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The Social & Emotional Learning Song | Scratch Garden

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Cole, Elizabeth. Our Diversity Makes Us Stronger. 1st ed., World Of Kids Emotions, 2021.

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Key Question: What are the principles of learning in a classroom?
Resource: fnesc
Description: A worldview of principle perspectives applied in a classroom setting.

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Key Question: What are some good habits that will help you as an individual?
Resource: Jump Start Good Habits – 3rd Grade Social Skills Worksheets – JumpStart
Description: Writing a topic regarding good habits is important for building students' social skills. This activity sheet gives students an opportunity to explore their habits and encourage them that good behavior is beneficial to personal growth and well-being. As a result, this will encourage them to think openly, and also understand what makes a good friend to others.

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Key Question: What is Empathy?
Description: Educational video for children to learn what empathy is and how to practice it following easy examples. First, they will be given the definition of empathy. And then, they will look at situations in their everyday lives in school to understand better what empathy means and learn how to put themselves in the position of others. This video is an excellent resource to work with emotions, for both preschool education and elementary school.

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What is EMPATHY? Explaining Empathy to Kids - Emotions