# data[].attributes.body
What is RULER?

RULER is an evidence-based approach to social and emotional learning (SEL) developed at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence. RULER supports the entire school community in:

Understanding the value of emotions

Building the skills of emotional intelligence

Creating and maintaining a positive school climate

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
How Do We Get Started?

Attending a RULER training is the first step for schools (preK-12) looking to implement RULER. Our training institutes focus on building a growth mindset and common language around emotions, skill development in emotional intelligence, and the building and sustaining of positive social and emotional climates where all stakeholders in the school feel empowered to learn, work, and achieve.

Apply to a RULER Institute training

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Attending a RULER training is the first step for schools (preK-12) looking to implement RULER. Our training institutes focus on building a growth mindset and common language around emotions, skill development in emotional intelligence, and the building and sustaining of positive social and emotional climates where all stakeholders in the school feel empowered to learn, work, and achieve.

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.zonesofregulation.com/uploads/3/4/1/7/34178767/english_reproducible_e_2021.pdf

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Carefully crafted check-ins can bring middle and high school classes closer together and improve student well-being.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Building Classroom Community Through Daily Dedications

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
When students share stories about those who have inspired and impacted them, the whole classroom feels more connected.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Self-Awareness | Social-Emotional Learning | PBS LearningMedia

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Learn how you can help children develop self-awareness, the foundation of social-emotional learning, by teaching the vocabulary of emotions, and modeling behavior that supports self-awareness.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Self-Management | Social-Emotional Learning | PBS LearningMedia

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Learn how to teach children ways to manage their feelings and turn them into positive actions, including creating a calm and regulated environment, showing how to manage impulses, and discussing ways to resolve conflicts.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Social-Awareness | Social-Emotional Learning | PBS LearningMedia

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Discover ways to help children develop social awareness and learn empathy by putting themselves in another's shoes: recognizing emotions, appreciating diversity and showing respect for others.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Responsible Decision-Making | Social-Emotional Learning | PBS LearningMedia

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Learn ways to teach children to make responsible decisions by developing the ability to think through all parts of a problem, analyzing a situation, understanding its ethical implications, and evaluating the consequences.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Relationship Skills | Social-Emotional Learning | PBS LearningMedia

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Learn to help students develop key skills for successful relationships: communication, cooperation and conflict resolution. Educators can help students develop these skills by working together in groups and discussing roles. Parents can support their children by spending time with them and encouragi…

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Future-Self | Social-Emotional Learning | PBS LearningMedia

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Learn to help children think about what kind of a person they want to be in the future, to see themselves in the future, to set and achieve their goals and to understand that they have control over their future self.

# data[].attributes.headline
Be Proud Of Where You Come From': An Indian-American Teen's Winning Podcast

# data[].attributes.subject
Be Proud Of Where You Come From': An Indian-American Teen's Winning Podcast

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
(You can listen to the middle school winner and college winners on the Student Podcast Challenge homepage. Check out this year's honorable mentions while you're at it!)

When we visited Kriti in Chicago, something else in her makeshift studio caught our eye: a shrine carved of wood, about the size of a basketball, that sits empty for now.

"It's like a mini-temple kind of thing," Kriti says.

Inside once sat a small figure of the elephant-headed Hindu god, Ganesha. Kriti says it used to hang in their old house, "but now we just took his figure and put it down in our kitchen because this was a little too bulky and heavy."

Kriti identifies as Indian-American and says the hyphen is important: Her podcast is all about growing up between cultures and how, at times she resented the parts of herself that didn't seem to fit the mold she saw around her.

"My honey-brown skin contrasted greatly with the peachy whites and olives of my friends," Kriti says, early in the episode. "My parents called me raja and beta, not munchkin or cutie-pie. When I opened up my lunchbox, I had a thermos full of daal and rice and chapati and roti - not mac n' cheese or PB&J."

The older she got, the more insecure she became about her Indian heritage, especially when her grandmother would visit Chicago from India, wearing a sari and the traditional red bindi on her forehead.

"I hated the way other kids would look at my grandma and me shopping. I hated the way they would ask if her bindi was a mole," Kriti says in one of the podcast's most painful moments. "Deep down, I wanted to rip that bindi off her head and cut off her long, thick, dark, braided hair and put a nice dress with a blue cardigan on her."

After years of internalizing these feelings of otherness, Kriti says, she realized recently that she had become her biggest critic. And she wrote her winning podcast, " My Very Own Bully," to take back the narrative and finally say: Enough is enough.

Kriti says for so long she worried about seeming different, because the world was constantly telling her she was different. She remembers being 9 years old, when, out of the blue, a classmate told her: "Hey Kriti, your skin's the color of poop."

And then, there were the constant, agonizing mispronunciations of her name:

Kreedy, Kyreetee, Chrissy.

"I got an award," Kriti says, sitting on the floor outside her closet studio. "And they said my name was Chrissy Sarva. And that's just not my name!"

For the record, it's pronounced KRIH-thee suh-RAHV.

As a kid, Kriti started to believe all these messages, telling her implicitly or explicitly that she was different, that she was weird. For years she hated her name, and says she once asked her mom if she could simply go by Kiki.

"On the tennis court, no one really says my name right. And I do think that contributes to a lack of self-confidence on the court," Kriti says. "I've never corrected anybody on the tennis court, and I don't know why it is."

But making her podcast, and coming to grips with her identity, she says, taught her a lesson:

"It really doesn't matter what you or anyone else, for that matter, says to me," Kriti says toward the end of her podcast. "What matters are the words that I whisper, day in and day out, to myself."

What are those words?

Kriti leans across the bedroom floor and, with a smile, whispers quietly into our microphone:

"I am strong. I am powerful. You have such an amazing and vibrant culture. You should just be proud of who you are. Be proud of where you come from."

Kriti hopes her story can provide some comfort to all the other kids out there who've felt this kind of isolation and pain.

These days, when Kriti isn't in school or on the tennis court, she's sitting in that narrow closet, next to Ganesha's empty shrine, talking into the microphone about... financial literacy. She has a podcast called " WhyFI Matters" and you can listen to it here.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
'Be Proud Of Where You Come From': An Indian-American Teen's Winning Podcast - MindShift

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
(You can listen to the middle school winner and college winners on the Student Podcast Challenge homepage. Check out this year's honorable mentions while you're at it!) When we visited Kriti in Chicago, something else in her makeshift studio caught our eye: a shrine carved of wood, about the size of a basketball, that sits empty for now.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Social & Emotional Learning (SEL)

These social and emotional learning strategies won't take a lot of time, but they can have a big impact on middle and high school students.

How do you feel about the phrase soft skills? For me (and for many), skills such as critical thinking, empathy, creativity, and teamwork are not soft skills. These are essential skills or center skills. Decision-making, self-awareness, and self-regulation are at the center of learning and life. We need to start with, build from, and embed social and emotional learning (SEL) into safe, equitable, empowering learning experiences for all students.

Regardless of your teaching and learning situation (fully online, hybrid, or in person), we know that the intentional and explicit weaving of SEL into the fabric of our everyday learning and life is critical. Below are three SEL signature practices from the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) that we need to bring in whenever we come together as a community of learners. Included are examples that are simple, portable, and customizable. Consider your scenario as well as the needs and size of your group when deciding whether to take turns sharing out loud, use the chat, or break into small groups or pairs.

Use opening check-ins to give students an opportunity to identify their emotions (self-awareness). We can provide scaffolding by using tools such as Zones of Regulation or the Mood Meter. We can also use images and word banks to help build vocabulary.

Have a kindness conversation asking everyone to share an act of kindness they have given or received recently (social awareness).

Inspired by Brené Brown, permission slips help us set our intention and focus. Share examples such as, "I give myself permission to make a mistake and try again." Then ask students to create their own permission slip (self-management).

3 SEL Practices for Every Day

Cocreate shared expectations ahead of time for collaborative work, and revisit regularly to ensure that everyone's needs are being met (relationship skills, responsible decision-making, social awareness).

Design for inquiry with voice and choice to provide opportunities for learners to construct meaning through communication and collaboration with their peers. Using an approach like Discover, Discuss, Demonstrate gives learners opportunities to explore content before direct instruction (relationship skills, responsible decision making, self management).

Incorporate movement breaks to refresh and reset the brain. These brain breaks could be a stretch or a mindful breathing practice. Depending on what suits the situation, the break could be to calm or to energize (self-management).

1. Welcoming or inclusion activities. Rather than jumping right into instruction, starting with brief routines and rituals provides us with interactive experiences that give everyone a voice and connects the community of learners. A few examples:

2. Engaging strategies. There are many SEL opportunities throughout learning experiences where learners are naturally engaged both individually and with their peers. As educators, we often use engaging strategies like breakout rooms/small group discussions, wait time, brain breaks, jigsaw, etc. However, we still need to be explicit with SEL. A few examples:

We can reflect doing a closing check-in on emotions by simply asking something like, "Which one to two words sum up your feelings about our time together?" (self-awareness).

Another way to reflect is through a gratitude practice (social awareness). Ask learners to acknowledge something or someone that they are thankful for. Guide them to think deeply and name the feelings they are experiencing (self-awareness).

The goal of looking ahead is to get us excited moving forward, and it is also an opportunity to hold ourselves accountable through goal setting and organization. Use a planner and/or set a reminder to execute next steps. You could even use a service like FutureMe.org to send your future self a reminder of long-term goals (self-management).

As we plan to use engaging strategies, activities, and protocols, we need to offer both interactive and reflective options. It is also important to make time to debrief these experiences, allowing us to identify and connect what we are doing to SEL competencies and specific skills. Notice that so much of this is also aligned with Universal Design for Learning (UDL).

3. Optimistic closure. The name of this practice often leads to the misconception that we need to end on a happy note. The reality is that what is most important about this practice is the intentional and authentic reflection and understanding of the learning experience. This allows us to both collectively and individually appreciate what we have accomplished and anticipate what comes next. A few examples:

These are just a few ways to implement the three signature practices, and additional examples are available here. The reality is, there are countless ways to use these practices. Collaborate with your learners and your peers to adapt and create practices to meet the specific goals and needs of your community. Your team can even use the "Getting It Down PATT!"-Purpose, Alignment, Transparency, Target (created by Micaela Gerardin-Frey) as a tool to thoughtfully select, adapt, and prepare strategies, activities, and protocols.

Emotions matter, and the research on how emotions impact learning is clear. But it isn't just about accepting SEL's necessity as a means to increased academic performance. Using the three signature practices as part of a systemic SEL approach allows us to create safe, equitable, empowering learning experiences for all, kids and adults.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
3 SEL Practices Teachers Can Use Every Day

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
These social and emotional learning strategies won't take a lot of time, but they can have a big impact on middle and high school students.

# data[].attributes.body
In the Edutopia article by Lauren Owen titled Empathy in the Classroom: Why Should I Care?
opens in new window, we see that there are three main ways that empathy impacts education:

1. Empathy builds a positive classroom culture

2. Empathy strengthens community

3. Empathy prepares your students to be leaders in their community

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
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.

# data[].attributes.headline
Articles that use a non violent communication (NVC) frame

# data[].attributes.subject
Articles that use a non violent communication (NVC) frame

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Character Education that Really Counts By Tiffany Meyer
Four years at Riverview Elementary has taught eight-year-old Lydia Castro a lot about character. Words like responsibility, respect, trustworthiness and compassion are partnered with clear rules about right and wrong behavior in the school's character education program - one of many nationally recognized programs implemented in schools throughout the U.S. and Canada.

Compassionate Communication and Waldorf Schools (PDF)
By John Cunningham
NVC Certified Trainer, John Cunningham provides the case for the integration of Compassionate Communication in the Waldorf School model.
Fostering Relationship Intelligence in the Classroom: Start Where You Are By Sura Hart and Victoria Kindle Hodson
Life is about relationships! In J Krishnamurti's words, Life is change through relationship. Each moment, each of us is in constant interaction, interconnectedness and exchange with someone or some thing - even if it is "just" with our own mind. The quality of these interactions determines whether we, and our world, are thriving or merely surviving.

Partnership Education and Nonviolent Communication (PDF)
By Rob Koegel
Ultimately, whether we call ourselves holistic, progressive, or liberating educators, our goal is to infuse more respect and partnership into a world based on dominance and submission.
If Your Child's Emotional IQ Were Tested, Would They Pass? By Tiffany Meyer
It's that time of year again. While parents shop for school supplies and new sneakers, U.S. standardized test scores are being released and analyzed under the stringent criteria of the No Child Left Behind's raise 'em up or shut 'em down policies. As schools reel or jump for joy in response to their test scores, leading brain research poses a compelling question: If your child's emotional IQ were tested, would they pass?

Respect in the School Starts with Respect for Yourself (PDF)
By Justine Mol
Translated from an article printed in a newsletter sent to all primary schools in the Netherlands. One of a series of articles about the Rosenberg School and working with Nonviolent Communication.

Teachers Take Up New Tools to Battle Burnout (PDF)
PuddleDancer Press
Teachers who practice the Compassionate or Nonviolent Communication (NVC) process discover surprising wellsprings of power," says Sura Hart, coauthor of The Compassionate Classroom with Victoria Kindle Hodson. "They spend no more time on lessons than before, and they ride on higher levels of energy and optimism.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Education Article Archive - PuddleDancer Press

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Character Education that Really Counts By Tiffany Meyer Four years at Riverview Elementary has taught eight-year-old Lydia Castro a lot about character. Words like responsibility, respect, trustworthiness and compassion are partnered with clear rules about right and wrong behavior in the school's character education program - one of many nationally recognized programs implemented in schools throughout the U.S.

# data[].attributes.headline
How Expansive is Your Emotional Vocabulary? 

# data[].attributes.subject
How Expansive is Your Emotional Vocabulary? 

# data[].attributes.body
Feelings and Needs We All Have  - Part of the non violent communication process

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Nonviolent Communication (NVC) Feelings and Needs

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Learn to better express how you are by improving your emotional vocabulary. Develop your conflict resolution skills through our proven effective books.

# data[].attributes.headline
The 4-Part Nonviolent Communication(NVC) Process Developed by Marshall B. Rosenberg, 

# data[].attributes.subject
The 4-Part Nonviolent Communication(NVC) Process Developed by Marshall B. Rosenberg, 

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
4-Part Nonviolent Communication (NVC) - PuddleDancer Press

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Express and receive communication empathically using the four-part Nonviolent Communication process developed by Marshall B. Rosenberg, Ph.D.

# data[].attributes.headline
Ashoka lists different strategies to incorporate empathy across different educational contexts

# data[].attributes.subject
Ashoka lists different strategies to incorporate empathy across different educational contexts

# data[].attributes.body
toolkit for increasing empathy within schools (PDF).

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
In a world of rapid change, society is confronted by an increasing number of complex challenges and opportunities. Ensuring solutions will outpace problems requires effective collaboration and the ability to organize into fluid teams-of-teams, where every player must be a contributor and a leader.

Effective collaboration in this environment is only possible with empathy: the ability to understand and respond to the feelings of others. In a changemaker world, empathy is as fundamental as reading and math. This creates a new social imperative to ensure that every child fully develops their own innate capacity for empathy.

Ashoka is bringing together a global network of the world’s leading social entrepreneurs and other partners to work towards a society where learning empathy is a essential, parents insist that their children develop empathy, and institutions cultivate empathy in learning and in practice.

We encourage you to explore the diverse ways that Ashoka’s Start Empathy initiative supports changemaking in young people and adults. Engage with our dedicated teams today to help advance an “Everyone a Changemaker” world:

Ashoka Changemaker Schools enable all students to become changemakers: young people with the skills and confidence to change the world for the good of all. At Ashoka Changemaker Schools, students are learning the essential skills of empathy, creativity, thoughtfulness, leadership, and teamwork so that they can thrive in the modern world and find solutions to our most complex problems. We have adapted our methodology for selecting the world’s leading social entrepreneurs to identifying and selecting a global network of Changemaker Schools. Follow us on Twitter: @AshokaCMschools.

Ashoka’s Start Empathy Initiative is mobilizing Ashoka’s network of social entrepreneurs, educators, and concerned citizens who are working with young people to make empathy a priority skill for all children. Ashoka identifies and elects Ashoka Fellows whose ideas and initiatives are teaching us how to cultivate empathy across society. It collaborates with influential elementary schools and school networks — public, public charter, and private — to develop and showcase models of school environments that integrate empathy as a core learning objective and strategy. Join the conversation on #StartEmpathy.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Every Child Practicing Empathy | Ashoka | Everyone a Changemaker

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Effective collaboration in this environment is only possible with empathy: the ability to understand and respond to the feelings of others. In a changemaker world, empathy is as fundamental as reading and math. This creates a new social imperative to ensure that every child fully develops their own innate capacity for empathy.

# data[].attributes.headline
 Toolkit for increasing empathy within schools 

# data[].attributes.subject
 Toolkit for increasing empathy within schools 

# data[].attributes.headline
Dr. Karyn Gordon provides some practical tips in TEACH Magazine's article "Creating Empathy and Gratitude in the Classroom."

# data[].attributes.subject
Dr. Karyn Gordon provides some practical tips in TEACH Magazine's article "Creating Empathy and Gratitude in the Classroom."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
By Martha Beach

Dr. Karyn Gordon is an expert on youth, a family consultant, an author, and much more. In her upcoming speaking tour, she will present to eight schools in the Toronto District School Board on the topic of "10 Practical Strategies to Develop Empathy and Gratitude in Children."

"There's three parts to empathy: the head, the heart, and the hand," Gordon says. The head is the intellectual part of understanding what empathy is and what it does, the heart feels what others are feeling, and the hand actually takes action after feeling empathy for someone.

Gordon has done a lot of training with different teachers and school boards. TEACH Magazine recently chatted with Gordon on her top five tips for creating empathy in the classroom.

Tip #1: Fill Their Emotional Bucket

"When children get the sense that their parent, teacher, or coach has more empathy for them, that's the best form of teaching," Gordon says.

When a child is upset, angry or frustrated, try to understand why and how they feel the way they do instead being angry, upset, or defensive. If a child feels understood by the adults around them, they feel more loved and more secure and, ultimately, they learn to share their feelings in a calm manner.

Empathy is about trying to see something from another person's perspective and trying to feel what they feel.

"When I'm coaching, I will try to jump in and see things from their perspective," Gordon says. "'Can you help me understand how you see this?' It's a very comprehensive line. I love that line. That line has been extremely helpful."
Tip #3: Ask, Don't Tell
This tip is very important to keep in mind when trying to understand a child's feelings. Gordon stresses that we never know for sure what the other person feels.

"It's really important that we ask how they feel and don't tell them how they feel," she says. "It's really irritating for children when they're told how they feel." Avoiding statements like "I know how you feel" and replacing them with "I imagine that you feel this way, am I right?" can make a world of difference.
Tip #4: Switch Roles
Gordon's fourth tip is a good exercise in understanding empathy. "It's a great teaching method," she says.

Teachers divide their class into two groups and create a conflict situation that must be resolved. Each group plays a different role, and after 10 or 15 minutes of discussion, the groups must switch roles and put themselves in the opposite group's shoes.
Tip #5: Make "Thank You" Part of Your Culture
This tip is all about gratitude. Every country has a culture and every classroom has a culture, a common attitude and an understood way of doing things.

Gordon points out that it's very important to recognize and help encourage a positive culture in the classroom. "Gratitude is very connected to empathy," she says. "Really make sure your classroom is a 'thank you' classroom."

From a simple thank you for holding the door, to a bigger thank you for sharing a secret, those two small words create an attitude of gratitude. Gordon says that when she teaches this model to educators, many of them feel that they don't need to do this, but it's a very easy way to cultivate a positive culture of gratitude and empathy within the classroom.

* * *

Ultimately, creating empathy comes down to leading children by example. "We have to model what we want them to do," Gordon says.

The schools selected for Dr. Karyn Gordon's upcoming speaking tour are being asked to fundraise. The money raised by students will be donated to World Vision , which will use it to build a school in Haiti.

The students will be told about the head, heart, and hand aspects of empathy. "A lot of people have the head and the heart part, but they don't know what to actually do [to help people]," says Gordon. "What I'm hoping is that they will be moved, they will actually take action and advance the project."
Martha Beach is a graduate of Ryerson University's journalism program. Currently, she is a freelance writer and factchecker in Toronto.
Originally published May 2010

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
By Martha Beach Dr. Karyn Gordon is an expert on youth, a family consultant, an author, and much more. In her upcoming speaking tour, she will present to eight schools in the Toronto District School Board on the topic of "10 Practical Strategies to Develop Empathy and Gratitude in Children."

# data[].attributes.headline
Teaching Tolerance describes a variety of strategies for helping to build a positive classroom culture that can include empathy.

# data[].attributes.subject
Teaching Tolerance describes a variety of strategies for helping to build a positive classroom culture that can include empathy.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
When asking students to explore issues of personal and social identity, teachers must provide safe spaces where students are seen, valued, cared for and respected. It is also important that students have opportunities to learn from one another's varied experiences and perspectives. To create this learning environment, teachers need to skillfully draw on student experiences to enrich the curriculum.

Teachers can show they value students' lives and identities in a variety of ways. Some are small, like taking the time to learn the proper pronunciation of every student's name or getting to know young people's families. Others require more time and investment, like building curriculum around personal narratives or incorporating identity-based responses into the study of texts. At the community level, it is important to understand neighborhood demographics, strengths, concerns, conflicts and challenges. Like students themselves, these dynamics may change frequently.

For teachers whose experiences differ from those of their students, it is critical to exercise sensitivity. They must bring the following to the effort:

An asset-based view of youth and unfamiliar identity groups

A commitment to avoiding and challenging stereotypes

A sense of openness and cultural humility

A willingness to let students define their own identities

Connection to Anti-bias Education

Honoring student experience supports three of the four anti-bias domains: Identity, Diversity and Action. Students who feel their experiences are unwelcome, judged, stereotyped, disrespected or invisible find it extremely difficult to engage in meaningful discussion of identity and justice issues. Those whose stories and voices are heard and reflected in the classroom are more likely to engage with anti-bias curriculum and translate their learning into action.

Knowing and valuing students' lives provides other benefits:

Ability to identify potential "hot spots" on key topics.

Development of caring student-teacher relationships that support effective identity-based learning.

Development of intergroup awareness and understanding.

Direction in the selection of texts that are relevant to a particular class.

Appreciation of student contributions to discussions.

Strategies

Classroom-Reflective Texts Coupled with Nonjudgmental Dialogue

Choosing texts that reflect classroom demographics and following the readings with discussions or reflective writing assignments can provide teachers with powerful information about their students' hopes, concerns, strengths and life circumstances. These practices also open channels of understanding among students. Successful conversations about issues of identity frequently lead to deeper dialogue about students' own backgrounds and the experiences of others.

Share Stories That Make Room for Student Sharing

Personal anecdotes-respectfully and thoughtfully shared by teachers-have great power. Stories should be chosen carefully, kept brief, and told at a level that invites appropriate student sharing.

Community Study or Student-Led Walking Tour

Community studies usually address up to three questions; structure can vary greatly and may involve research, interviews, art, writing, video or other media. A walking tour should also focus on a few themes and ask students to highlight neighborhood places they find meaningful in relation to a relevant social issue. Student age and physical limitations should be taken into consideration when planning a walking tour.

Without saying a word, classrooms send messages about diversity, relationship building, communication and the roles of teachers and students. Consider the different messages sent by these two classrooms:

Classroom 1

Desks are arranged in a U shape. The teacher's desk is in the front center of the room. On the wall is a poster of U.S. presidents, a copy of the Declaration of Independence and inspiring quotes from Winston Churchill, Robert F. Kennedy and Albert Einstein. Students are working quietly on an independent assignment.

Classroom 2

Desks are arranged in clusters of four with students facing one another. The teacher's desk is in the back corner of the room. On the wall is a display of student self-portraits, a copy of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and inspiring quotes from Maya Angelou and César Chávez. Students are working with their table-mates on a group project.

Classroom setup should be student centered. Specifics will vary from teacher to teacher and class to class, but common elements include these:

Classroom milieu. Classrooms should be decorated with multicultural images that mirror student backgrounds and showcase the diversity of our society.

Arrangement of furniture and supplies. The arrangement will look different depending on age group and subject, but all teachers can draw on these goals when setting up a classroom: supporting collaboration, fostering dialogue, encouraging ownership and ensuring comfort.

Student roles and responsibilities. Classrooms will be most effective when structured to maximize student voice and participation.

Classroom norms. Norms and expectations should take into account different cultural and communication styles, as well as gender differences, language needs and the desire to challenge stereotypes. Students should be involved in setting classroom norms to generate buy-in.

Connection to Anti-bias Education

Thoughtful classroom setup and structure supports two of the four anti-bias domains: Diversity and Justice. A welcoming class space sets the tone for participatory engagement. Diverse images affect students' conscious and subconscious understanding of classroom values. Expectations and practices that honor diverse backgrounds also create a more just and equitable educational experience.

Strategies

Classroom "Audit"

A (nonjudgmental) classroom audit involves "reading" the messages conveyed by the images on the walls, the books on the shelves and the arrangement of the furniture with an eye toward diversity, equity and student empowerment. The audit also includes considering the types of interactions that teachers have with students and that students have with one another.

Student Jobs and Ownership of Classroom Space

Many daily tasks can be done by students who, given the opportunity, may create new and interesting ways to approach them. Real-world lessons related to work and responsibility can be reinforced in a classroom. Students can apply for a position and be rewarded or promoted for a job well done. Some classroom jobs might involve passing out materials, documenting or taking notes, managing a classroom library, filing papers or helping with a bulletin board. The job of "peacemaker" can work nicely in classrooms where students have been trained in conflict resolution. Jobs in a responsive classroom can accommodate multiple learning styles such as artistic, kinesthetic and verbal.

Gender-Neutral Practices

Many teachers, especially at the elementary level, seat or group students along gender lines. However, not everyone fits traditional gender categories. Some students may feel they are truly a different gender than their physical bodies suggest; others might not fit neatly into either the male or female identity category. Using gender-neutral categories or allowing students to choose the group with which they identify affirms the experiences of all students.

Differences shape who we are and what we know. Life, history, society and power cannot be understood from a single perspective; we need multiple viewpoints to truly see the world. Because of this, inclusive classrooms must function as learning communities built on shared inquiry and dialogue.

Dialogue is more than conversation. It is also different than debate, in which someone wins and someone loses. Dialogue requires openness to new ideas and collective learning. This is not an easy practice; for students (and teachers) to engage in dialogue, they must build and exercise specific skills:

Listening. Deeply listening to what others say and to the feelings, experiences and wisdom behind what they say.

Humility. Recognizing that, however passionately we hold ideas and opinions, other people may hold pieces of the puzzle that we don't.

Respect. Trusting the integrity of others, believing they have the right to their opinions (even when different from your own) and valuing others enough to risk sharing ideas.

Trust. Building a safe space to explore new ideas and work through conflicts, controversy and painful moments that may arise when talking about issues of injustice and oppression.

Voice. Speaking the truth as we see it and asking questions about things we don't know or understand, particularly on topics related to identity, power and justice.

Connection to Anti-bias Education

Shared inquiry and dialogue support two of the four anti-bias domains: Diversity and Action. Building the skills necessary to explore multiple perspectives fosters critical thinking, complex textual understanding and appreciation for diversity. Dialogue also supports active listening, respectful sharing and conflict resolution. A culture of shared inquiry offers a lived example of meaningful collaborative work and a model for community building.

Strategies

Naming Shared Inquiry as a Goal

Because many students experience classrooms that do not value shared inquiry and dialogue, it is important for teachers to create a safe environment before asking students to engage in this work. Safety can be established by discussing principles of engagement, demonstrating the teacher's commitment to collective learning or creating a set of discussion agreements.

Teaching Active Listening Skills

Active listening is a way of hearing and responding to another person that requires the listener to stop thinking about his or her own ideas and focus on the speaker. Active listening behavior includes asking good questions, listening without judgment and paraphrasing. These behaviors can be modeled through the use of talking circles or ordered sharing. Short practice activities can also strengthen active listening skills.

Rethinking Participation Norms

To most teachers, class participation means contributing to discussions, volunteering to answer questions or otherwise engaging in verbal exchanges. However, participation does not have to be verbal; gender, culture and ability may affect student comfort levels with verbal communication. Modeling equity and inclusiveness calls for a broader definition of participation that includes active listening, written response, artistic response and involvement in small groups. These options should all be valued as classroom participation.

Addressing Conflicts and Hurt Feelings

Teachers need to prepare for possible conflicts or hurt feelings when exploring personally or politically sensitive material. Teachers can encourage students to publicly or privately name "ouch moments"-times when comments or reactions (usually unintentional) cause upset or discomfort. It is also helpful for teachers to check in with students who seem upset as a result of a class activity or conversation.

Social-emotional learning, respect and safety are as important as literacy and critical thinking skills when exploring an anti-bias curriculum. Research shows that students need to feel both physically and emotionally safe to learn. This includes safety from stereotype threat, harassment and exclusion.

Creating a safe climate takes time and work. These are some of the most important components:

Active teaching of social-emotional skills

Attention to creating positive relationships

Bullying prevention and intervention

Community building

Explicit focus on understanding and appreciating differences

Meaningful conflict resolution

Teaching students to challenge bias and exclusion

Upstander training

Work on classroom climate and social-emotional learning cannot simply focus on empathy, kindness and inclusion. Social difference and bias underlie many unsafe and exclusionary behaviors; these issues need to be discussed explicitly. Appreciation for multicultural perspectives is also critical when teaching about relationship building, conflict management and community. This helps students learn to draw on many traditions and experiences and address social divisions in the classroom.

Connection to Anti-bias Education

Prioritizing social and emotional safety supports three of the four anti-bias domains: Identity, Diversity and Action. This practice supports a classroom community in which students feel secure enough to engage in respectful, productive conversations about identity and diversity. This work also models actions necessary to nurture inclusive, respectful connections across lines of difference.

Strategies

Classroom Contracts

A contract of norms and behaviors can help define the classroom community as a socially and emotionally safe place. Students should participate in shaping the contract, identifying a list of agreements about how class members will treat one another, talk together and so on. Issues such as identity, difference and power should be addressed explicitly. For example, a contract could include "Listen with respect to the experiences of others," "Try to understand what someone is saying before rushing to judgment" or "Put-downs of any kind are never OK."

Explicit Anti-bullying or Community-Building Curricula

Many powerful anti-bullying and community- building curricula, when integrated into the regular school curriculum, can build social-emotional skills and teach students to manage conflict. Below are a few suggested resources. Not all address diversity or bias issues specifically; be sure to add these issues to the existing materials if they're missing.

Tribes Learning Community. Research-based approaches to classroom and school-wide community building, social-emotional education and the development of positive learning communities (all grades).

Respect for All Project (GroundSpark). Award-winning films, curriculum guides and teacher training on issues of bias-based bullying, family diversity, gender role expectations and LGBT inclusivity (all grades).

Steps to Respect/Second Step (Committee for Children). Research-based social-emotional learning and bullying-prevention programs (pre-K through middle school).

Bullied: A Student, a School and a Case That Made History (Learning for Justice). Documentary and teaching guide about one student's ordeal at the hands of anti-gay bullies and his fight against hate and harassment (middle and high school).

A Guide to the Film Bully by Lee Hirsch (Facing History and Ourselves). Film and discussion guide on bullying and its profound impact on several different students and families (middle and high school).

Participation in Mix It Up at Lunch Day

Mix It Up is a Learning for Justice program designed to help students identify, question and cross social boundaries. Launched in 2001, Mix It Up recognizes that some of the deepest social divisions in schools are found in the cafeteria. Each fall, Learning for Justice sponsors a national Mix It Up at Lunch Day when schools around the country encourage students to move out of their comfort zones and share a meal with peers who are different from them.

Discipline and behavior management are central to classroom culture. How are students encouraged to treat one another? What happens when they make poor choices or present behavioral challenges? What shapes student-teacher interactions? And what happens when conflicts arise?

This critical practice asks teachers to think about behavior management in light of five key principles:

Belief in the dignity of every person

Community building

Equity and fairness

Respect for cultural differences

Respect for the safety and inclusion of all individuals and groups

These values can be creatively infused into disciplinary practices. However, in general, responsive classrooms address three key aspects.

First, behavior management systems must support safe, inclusive communities by enforcing high standards for respectful interaction; incorporating student-generated discipline policies; teaching conflict resolution; and actively addressing all instances of bias, bullying, exclusion or disrespect.

Second, disciplinary incidents must go beyond punishment and be treated as opportunities for growth, restitution and community building. This is not to say that rules violations should not be met with consequences. However, if community respect is to be a core classroom value, students should not be cast out of the group, even if they struggle to live up to expectations.

Finally, behavior management practices must reflect fairness, equity and cultural awareness. Research shows that students of color and special education students face disproportionate rates of discipline, suspension and expulsion. These patterns have devastating social consequences. Applying disciplinary rules fairly requires self-awareness and willingness to suspend judgment (positive as well as negative) about individual students. Culture also plays a role in disciplinary judgments; in some cases, "inappropriate behaviors" may reflect a cultural mismatch between the norms of the school and the norms of a student's home culture. Teachers can better understand the relationship between culture and discipline by working on a related critical practice: self-awareness and cultural competency.

Connection to Anti-bias Education

Taking a values-based approach to behavior management and discipline supports one of the four anti-bias domains: Justice. This practice exposes students to community-building goals and to a system of justice that values all people and builds connections rather than creates divisions.

Strategies

Student-Generated Agreements and Contracts

Involving students in the design of classroom discipline policies can go a long way toward establishing buy-in and shared ownership of classroom culture. Ideally, students will work on the policies as a class, but teachers can also work individually with students who need extra support.

"Zero Indifference" but Not Zero Tolerance

Although zero-tolerance policies are popular, mounting evidence suggests that this approach does not make schools safer. An alternative (recommended by the American Civil Liberties Union; GLSEN; the Anti-Defamation League; the Respect for All Project; and Learning for Justice) is taking a "zero-indifference" approach to bullying, harassment and other disciplinary issues. Zero indifference means never letting disrespectful conduct go unaddressed; school staff always name and respond to behaviors, but they do not implement automatic suspension, expulsion or other punishments.

Restorative Justice

Restorative justice is an approach to school discipline (and criminal justice) that emphasizes repairing harm and restoring relationships rather than simply punishing those who have engaged in misconduct. Restorative justice spans a wide variety of practices and strategies, including peacemaking circles, peer jury processes, mediation, conferencing and classroom discussions focused on building empathy.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Critical Practices for Anti-bias Education

# data[].attributes.headline
Miranda McKearney and Sarah Mears suggest incorporating reading in their article "Lost for words? How reading can teach children empathy."

# data[].attributes.subject
Miranda McKearney and Sarah Mears suggest incorporating reading in their article "Lost for words? How reading can teach children empathy."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
There's no better feeling than seeing a child losing themselves in the world of a favourite fictional character.

The benefits of reading go far beyond literacy: an emerging body of research highlights the power of stories to help children handle their own and other people's feelings.

A Cambridge University study by Maria Nikolajeva, professor of education, found that "reading fiction provides an excellent training for young people in developing and practising empathy and theory of mind, that is, understanding of how other people feel and think".

Neuroscience backs this up. Researchers at Emory University in Atlanta, US, say that fiction tricks our brains into thinking we are part of the story. The empathy we feel for characters wires our brains to have the same sensitivity towards real people. Carnegie Mellon University studies discovered that when you get lost in a book your brain lives through the characters at a neurological level.

Empathy is increasingly being recognised as a core life skill, and the bedrock for sound relationships and classroom climate. Roman Krznaric, author of Empathy, a Handbook for Revolution, says: "There has been an extraordinary shift ... a concept that has been buried in psychology textbooks for nearly a century - empathy - is coming to be seen as one of the fundamental forces for tackling global challenges."

EmpathyLab is a small start-up that is exploring ways to use stories to boost empathy among students. Here are some approaches teachers could try:

Pick the right books

The first thing is to find the right story. One approach is to find texts exploring familiar life scenarios to help children understand what their peers might be experiencing. At primary and secondary level there's a text for just about every situation. For instance Kes Gray's Mum and Dad Glue helps children empathise with friends' pain when parents separate and Phil Earle's Being Billy gives older readers a profound insight into how it feels to live in a young people's care home.

In general, look for texts with well-rounded, believable characters. Even if they are doing terrible things, the story should help children understand a character's motivations. Feelings should be dealt with subtly and not over-described.

If it's hard to find the best books, search out a librarian. Their deep knowledge is currently on show through the Carnegie Medal, which emphasises the importance of strong characterisation.
Children are also fantastic at recommending books, especially on crunch issues. For instance, certain "being different" books, like David Walliams' The Boy in a Dress, come up repeatedly.

Book groups help children explore new texts and learn how differently other people experience life. You could consider joining a free network, such as Chatterbooks. Writer Roman Krznaric's Empathy Library, which has hundreds of empathy-boosting books and films for children and adults, is a useful resource.

Teach vocabulary for feelings

If children lack the language to share feelings, it's hard for them to understand each other and communicate effectively.

Story-based questioning and discussion works well to build a language for emotions, especially when the teacher and student work together to explore what caused a character to act or feel as they did, and the consequences of their actions and emotions. Take Goldilocks and the Three Bears. You could ask: "Was Goldilocks really just a burglar or was she homeless or hungry?" This could be followed with diary writing or telephone interviews where Goldilocks explains herself to the bears.
Any teacher will attest to the power of meeting a real author. Bringing one into school with a brief to deliberately emphasise feelings can help children learn new emotional vocabulary. We wrote a blog about Sue Hendra's session on her book Norman the Slug. Children loved Hendra's hilarious naming of her feelings when she started writing but found aliens eating her pencils. She helped children learn new words to name Norman's emotions and share them on a huge "feelings wall".

Step into a character's shoes

Getting children deeply engaged with characters is a good way to teach empathy.
Writers like Jacqueline Wilson and Cathy Cassidy spring to mind because of their skill in creating characters with strong, unique voices. But look out too for award winners such as Patrick Ness and Neil Gaiman whose inventive language and robust character development captivates readers. Ivan Brett, year six teacher at Brent's Preston Park primary school, uses Bod from Gaiman's Graveyard Book "because he's a normal boy in a very abnormal situation and it stretches pupils' imaginations to step into his shoes".
Hotseating works well when exploring topics like bullying or prejudice. Start by absorbing related stories or playscripts. Ask children to create a character quite unlike them - the bully or the bullied - then get them in a hotseat for an interview where they really have to be that person. Getting into character like this makes things much more real - in a creative writing class, helping children step into a character's shoes will make their descriptions more lively and nuanced. In a spiritual, moral, social and cultural (SMSC) session, the same technique delivers on Ofsted's requirement that children develop an interest in investigating moral issues and an understanding of others' viewpoints.
Miranda McKearney and Sarah Mears both work for EmpathyLab would like to hear from schools interested in using reading, writing and story-making to build children's emotional and social skills. Contact Miranda McKearney if you're interested in taking part. EmpathyLab. McKearney is chair and Mears library lead.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Lost for words? How reading can teach children empathy

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
There's no better feeling than seeing a child losing themselves in the world of a favourite fictional character. The benefits of reading go far beyond literacy: an emerging body of research highlights the power of stories to help children handle their own and other people's feelings.

# data[].attributes.headline
To better understand the difference between empathy and sympathy, check out this brief video (2:55) based on Brené Brown’s TED talk.

# data[].attributes.subject
To better understand the difference between empathy and sympathy, check out this brief video (2:55) based on Brené Brown’s TED talk.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
In the very first week of school, my students and I have a conversation about our comfort zones. I draw a circle and say, "Everything inside this circle is what's in your comfort zone: All the things that you do without even batting an eye."

Then I draw another ring around the circle and tell them, "Everything inside this circle is in your stretch zone. Those are things that you sometimes have to talk yourself into doing. To do these things, you might have to breathe and remind yourself: 'I'm braver than I think.'"

The rest of the space is the outside zone - the panic zone. I tell students, "That zone is just beyond your stretch zone. It's all the things you just do yet - or at least you tell yourself that you can't do them."

Students draw their own comfort circles and stretch zones. We take a photo for their digital portfolios, and they keep the piece of paper at the front of their binders. I then remind them almost every day that we want to be in that stretch zone. That's where we grow. By spending time in the stretch zone, we expand our comfort zone. I tell them: "You actually don't even really know where your comfort zone ends until you push yourself into that stretch zone."

Throughout the day, there are so many opportunities for students to challenge themselves. For some kids, that might just mean putting up their hand to speak. For some of them, it's sharing the work they've just completed. For some of them, it's asking somebody else to collaborate with them.

Sometimes, I'll give them a challenge. I'll say, "OK, today we're really going to focus on being in a stretch zone." We'll do a reflection at the end of class, and I'll say, "How many times do you feel like you put yourself in your stretch zone today?" Then we celebrate. I just love how proud they are when they recognize that they've grown. At the end of the school year, when I ask them to reflect on life lessons they will carry with them from our time together, they often highlight this experience. Here's what a couple students shared at the end of this school year:

"The biggest life lessons I learned from Ms. Chan is that she pushes us out of our comfort zone. Like, for example, if you don't like going in front of the class Ms. Chan would help you and encourage you to go out of your comfort zone to talk in front of the class."

"The biggest life lesson I learned from Ms. Chan is that I can push myself outside of my comfort zone. "

When I started using this language and reminding students about their goals, they began to grow in so many different ways. I've had students who had trouble believing in themselves, and this helps all students see that they're somebody who can grow when they put in the effort and the time. Every day, they're thinking about what it means to stretch themselves. And they are celebrating and encouraging each other when they see each other step into their stretch zone - or even their panic zone. It's so powerful when they recognize those moments and cheer for each other.

Every day, I want them to feel like they've grown in some way. Because we're in school for quite a few days, right? Close to 200 days a year. One day can roll into the next and next. But if students recognize their goals and reflect, that's when they can say, "Oh, I did stretch myself today. I can see myself growing."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
A Simple Way I Show Students They're Growing Every Day

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In the very first week of school, my students and I have a conversation about our comfort zones. I draw a circle and say, "Everything inside this circle is what's in your comfort zone: All the things that you do without even batting an eye."

# data[].attributes.headline
38 Questions you can ask students at the start of the year

# data[].attributes.subject
38 Questions you can ask students at the start of the year

# data[].attributes.body
questions you can use with your students to build relationships, encourage growth mindset, support social and emotional learning, and set learning goals

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The start of the new school year is a period of excitement and anticipation for students and teachers alike.

Students entering your class are wondering: how will I feel in this class? Will my teacher understand me? Will I be comfortable amongst my peers?

Whether you've been teaching forever or are a newbie, it's a critical time that sets the tone for the rest of the year.

Getting to know our students and setting expectations early on can help the rest of the year run more smoothly.

We've compiled a list questions you can use with your students to build relationships, encourage growth mindset, support social and emotional learning, and set learning goals.

‍

Relationships

Positive teacher-student relationships promote a sense of belonging and encourage students to participate cooperatively.

A helpful starting point for building relationships with students is to get to know them better. The following questions are designed to help you do just that.

1. What's one skill you have that makes you unique?

2. What's one goal you're currently working on outside of class?

3. What's your favorite activity to do outside of class?

4. What's your greatest strength?

5. What's your superpower?

6. What three words best describe you?

7. When was a time that you were really proud of yourself?

8. What talents or special abilities do you have?

9. What is a big dream or goal you have for the future?

10. If you could invent your own holiday, what would it be?

11. What's the hardest thing you've ever done?

12. What is something most people love but you dislike?

‍

Growth mindset

According to leading researcher Carol Dweck, growth mindsets involve people believing their abilities can be developed through hard work and dedication.

The benefits of growth mindsets include:

Higher motivation

Greater ability to take risks

Lowered stress and mental health challenges

Better relationships

Higher performance

Below are 10 questions to promote a growth mindset in your classroom.

1. What is a growth mindset? Why is it important?

2. What's one mistake you made in class today? What could you do to improve next time?

3. Explain what you do when you do not understand a skill or concept you are learning

4. What mistake did you make today? What can you learn from that?

5. What's one change you have made recently to become a better learner?

6. What goal are you currently working on with your learning? How did you work towards that today?

7. Explain what it means to be a good learner in this class

8. In what ways were you challenged today and why?

9. How much effort did you put into learning today?

10. How do you respond to constructive feedback?

‍

Social and emotional learning

The importance of social and emotional learning for creating well-adjusted people are well documented. Teachers are uniquely placed to support students social and emotional development.

The following questions can be a helpful starting point for encouraging discussions and personal reflection in class.

1. What are some things you can do to be a good listener?

2. What makes you a good friend?

3. What makes a good team?

4. How do you problem solve when working with others?

5. What does being a good community member mean to you?

6. Think of a good friend. What are their qualities?

7. What does kindness mean to you?

8. How do you show kindness to yourself?

9. What are two things you could do to show kindness to others?

10. What acts of kindness could we undertake as a class?

‍

Goal setting

The start of the academic year is a good point to think about our goals and set intentions for the year ahead. This is true of both teachers and students.

The following questions are intended to help students set meaningful goals which can be reviewed after a period of time. These might be project focused, weekly, monthly or yearly.

1. What are two goals you have for this project / week / month / semester / year?

2. How will you know if you are meeting your goals?

3. What do you think are three keys to success in meeting your goals?

4. Who can you ask for help in achieving your goals?

5. What will you do if you are not meeting your goals?

6. How will you feel when you achieve your goals?

‍

Summary

The start of the year is an exciting time for you and your students.

It's the perfect opportunity to get to know your students on a deeper level.

The better you know them, the more you can calibrate your teaching to meet their needs and improve learning outcomes.

Try these questions for yourself. Find them all in your Ziplet account.

‍

Answer a Ziplet exit ticket and let us know what you think of this post. No login required.

Go to Ziplet.com/GO and enter the GO! Code:

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
38 Questions you can ask students at the start of the year | Ziplet

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The start of the new school year is a period of excitement and anticipation for students and teachers alike. Students entering your class are wondering: how will I feel in this class? Will my teacher understand me? Will I be comfortable amongst my peers?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Questions for Caregivers to ask their Kids.pdf

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Teen Brain: How Schools Can Help Students Manage Emotions and Make Better Decisions

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Cognitive and neuroscience research points out ways schools can help leverage teenagers’ strengths in this unique developmental period.

# data[].attributes.body
: In social and emotional learning lessons, I always incorporate breathing exercises to promote self-regulation, and I believe these exercises make one of the best types of bulletin boards. Combining a visual that introduces students and adults to a calming exercise can be beneficial for all. When you teach breathing exercises, students will start to incorporate these strategies when they need to, like when they are taking a test or feeling anxious. I have used bulletin boards to share images that show students how to do “triangle breathing” and “mountain breathing,” for example.

https://www.edutopia.org/article/promoting-sel-through-bulletin-boards

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
When you're walking down a school hallway, what do you notice? Does the environment seem inviting and accepting, or does it seem dull and neglected? Are the walls overpowered with color or bare and gray? My point is, bulletin boards are the billboards of classroom halls-they can capture a school's mission, display what students are learning, and be interactive for bystanders.

I'd like to share some strategies to use bulletin boards to promote social and emotional learning. The pandemic brought a wave of anxiety to teachers and to the students and families we care for. Consequently, social and emotional learning is even more important now.

Over the past six years, I have taught in environments with a high number of military children. I can recall growing up as one of these kids and experiencing a lot of anxiety and fear of the unknown, and with the pandemic we've seen even more anxiety, stress, and fear. The ability to recognize feelings and manage them is vital-prior to learning and teaching, our students and staff must first feel emotionally supported.

With the idea of supporting students, when I create bulletin boards I think about how to make them inclusive and helpful. They don't have to be extravagant, over the top with decorations, or overstimulating. If we are displaying student work, I want the work to be varied and not just focused on the "best." This helps every student feel seen and included.

I enjoy creating boards that catch students' attention and make them want to invest a few minutes into looking at what we are sharing. I believe bulletin boards are something that can get easily overlooked, and the right displays can be a helpful tool for students. Below are a few examples of bulletin boards to support students' social and emotional learning and inclusivity.

Supporting SEL and Inclusivity With Bulletin Boards

Breathing exercises: In social and emotional learning lessons, I always incorporate breathing exercises to promote self-regulation, and I believe these exercises make one of the best types of bulletin boards. Combining a visual that introduces students and adults to a calming exercise can be beneficial for all. When you teach breathing exercises, students will start to incorporate these strategies when they need to, like when they are taking a test or feeling anxious. I have used bulletin boards to share images that show students how to do "triangle breathing" and "mountain breathing," for example.

Student check-ins: Checking in with students is a great way to encourage them to express themselves, especially those who may be hesitant to speak up if they feel dysregulated. Connecting students to something like different characters in the Avengers movies is a great motivational tool to get students to recognize how they are currently feeling-are they feeling like the Hulk or Groot today, for example? So I have put up a bulletin board with "Which Avengers character do you feel the most like?" as a prompt above images of five or six characters with different facial expressions.

While students can be hesitant to share how they are feeling, it's important to know how they are feeling because it will affect their learning. You can construct this kind of board as a virtual board using Jamboard, or as a physical interactive board using sticky notes.

Self-reflection: I believe that as educators, we are constantly reflecting on ourselves and our work. A reflection can be a wonderful tool to recognize our accomplishments and a great way to celebrate them. To support this with students, I created a bulletin board-with a laminated background and dry erase markers handy-with the prompt "What have you done today to make you feel proud?" When my class showcased something they were proud of, more classes joined, and eventually students from all grade levels participated.

This board helps create a positive atmosphere and promotes empathy. One student wrote, "I felt proud when I helped someone up when they fell during recess." Having students be reflective is a great way to have them create goals and recognize that we all do something every day we can be proud of, whether it be big or small.

Building empathy: Empathy can be a difficult skill to teach and learn. It takes time to understand how others are feeling and requires being present and listening intently. It gives a sense of hope to see a student being empathetic toward another student, and it builds up the community. For these boards I love using emojis because kids can easily connect to them and they're gender neutral. They're a simple way to have students connect how someone's body might look or feel with specific feelings, and they can promote ways to self-regulate.

For example, a board I call Emoji Emotional Awareness has an angry emoji on the left and a relieved emoji on the right, with this prompt: "If you notice your body feeling like the emoji on the left, what is something that helps you to feel like the emoji on the right? Add a sticky note and give your suggestions."

Then if students are curious they can view the notes and suggestions that fellow classmates have given to help support each other.

Activities: When we engage students in activities, we can challenge them to work toward a goal. With a bulletin board similar to the game tic-tac-toe, students can choose what challenges they want to do.

To set this up, I make a big tic-tac-toe board and fill the spots with the following prompts:

Row 1: List 3 things you like about yourself; What is something you're thankful for?; Stretch up like a tree

Row 2: Write a positive note to someone you care about; Complete a breathing exercise; What is something you do well?

Row 3: Write a goal you have for the week; What is something you hope for?; What was the last thing that made you laugh?

Students can pick three activities in a row-across, down, or diagonally. When students have choice, we know it increases engagement and helps provide motivation to complete a task. This board is a great tool with a variety of tasks to complete that include physical movement, breathing exercises, and reflection.

Situations: When students are tasked to respond to a situation, they need to synthesize it and figure out if it's something positive or dangerous. For example, consider asking students to choose two of the situations below and talk to a partner about what they would do:

There's a new classmate and it's their first day at school.

During recess, a classmate called another student unkind names and shoved another peer.

You see two classmates arguing at recess about who gets to go first in a game.

These scenarios give students a chance to reflect on their own actions and start to recognize situations where they could bring something positive.

Billboards can be more than a tool to hang student work. When used effectively, they can help students embrace social and emotional learning and teach them tools to help reflect and build empathy and kindness toward themselves and others. Making social and emotional learning the first priority for students creates a positive and inviting culture that brings one classroom community together with everyone else in the school.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
When you're walking down a school hallway, what do you notice? Does the environment seem inviting and accepting, or does it seem dull and neglected? Are the walls overpowered with color or bare and gray? My point is, bulletin boards are the billboards of classroom halls-they can capture a school's mission, display what students are learning, and be interactive for bystanders.

# data[].attributes.body
: Checking in with students is a great way to encourage them to express themselves, especially those who may be hesitant to speak up if they feel dysregulated. Connecting students to something like different characters in the Avengers movies is a great motivational tool to get students to recognize how they are currently feeling—are they feeling like the Hulk or Groot today, for example? So I have put up a bulletin board with “Which Avengers character do you feel the most like?” as a prompt above images of five or six characters with different facial expressions.

While students can be hesitant to share how they are feeling, it’s important to know how they are feeling because it will affect their learning. You can construct this kind of board as a virtual board using Jamboard, or as a physical interactive board using sticky notes.

https://www.edutopia.org/article/promoting-sel-through-bulletin-boards

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
When you're walking down a school hallway, what do you notice? Does the environment seem inviting and accepting, or does it seem dull and neglected? Are the walls overpowered with color or bare and gray? My point is, bulletin boards are the billboards of classroom halls-they can capture a school's mission, display what students are learning, and be interactive for bystanders.

I'd like to share some strategies to use bulletin boards to promote social and emotional learning. The pandemic brought a wave of anxiety to teachers and to the students and families we care for. Consequently, social and emotional learning is even more important now.

Over the past six years, I have taught in environments with a high number of military children. I can recall growing up as one of these kids and experiencing a lot of anxiety and fear of the unknown, and with the pandemic we've seen even more anxiety, stress, and fear. The ability to recognize feelings and manage them is vital-prior to learning and teaching, our students and staff must first feel emotionally supported.

With the idea of supporting students, when I create bulletin boards I think about how to make them inclusive and helpful. They don't have to be extravagant, over the top with decorations, or overstimulating. If we are displaying student work, I want the work to be varied and not just focused on the "best." This helps every student feel seen and included.

I enjoy creating boards that catch students' attention and make them want to invest a few minutes into looking at what we are sharing. I believe bulletin boards are something that can get easily overlooked, and the right displays can be a helpful tool for students. Below are a few examples of bulletin boards to support students' social and emotional learning and inclusivity.

Supporting SEL and Inclusivity With Bulletin Boards

Breathing exercises: In social and emotional learning lessons, I always incorporate breathing exercises to promote self-regulation, and I believe these exercises make one of the best types of bulletin boards. Combining a visual that introduces students and adults to a calming exercise can be beneficial for all. When you teach breathing exercises, students will start to incorporate these strategies when they need to, like when they are taking a test or feeling anxious. I have used bulletin boards to share images that show students how to do "triangle breathing" and "mountain breathing," for example.

Student check-ins: Checking in with students is a great way to encourage them to express themselves, especially those who may be hesitant to speak up if they feel dysregulated. Connecting students to something like different characters in the Avengers movies is a great motivational tool to get students to recognize how they are currently feeling-are they feeling like the Hulk or Groot today, for example? So I have put up a bulletin board with "Which Avengers character do you feel the most like?" as a prompt above images of five or six characters with different facial expressions.

While students can be hesitant to share how they are feeling, it's important to know how they are feeling because it will affect their learning. You can construct this kind of board as a virtual board using Jamboard, or as a physical interactive board using sticky notes.

Self-reflection: I believe that as educators, we are constantly reflecting on ourselves and our work. A reflection can be a wonderful tool to recognize our accomplishments and a great way to celebrate them. To support this with students, I created a bulletin board-with a laminated background and dry erase markers handy-with the prompt "What have you done today to make you feel proud?" When my class showcased something they were proud of, more classes joined, and eventually students from all grade levels participated.

This board helps create a positive atmosphere and promotes empathy. One student wrote, "I felt proud when I helped someone up when they fell during recess." Having students be reflective is a great way to have them create goals and recognize that we all do something every day we can be proud of, whether it be big or small.

Building empathy: Empathy can be a difficult skill to teach and learn. It takes time to understand how others are feeling and requires being present and listening intently. It gives a sense of hope to see a student being empathetic toward another student, and it builds up the community. For these boards I love using emojis because kids can easily connect to them and they're gender neutral. They're a simple way to have students connect how someone's body might look or feel with specific feelings, and they can promote ways to self-regulate.

For example, a board I call Emoji Emotional Awareness has an angry emoji on the left and a relieved emoji on the right, with this prompt: "If you notice your body feeling like the emoji on the left, what is something that helps you to feel like the emoji on the right? Add a sticky note and give your suggestions."

Then if students are curious they can view the notes and suggestions that fellow classmates have given to help support each other.

Activities: When we engage students in activities, we can challenge them to work toward a goal. With a bulletin board similar to the game tic-tac-toe, students can choose what challenges they want to do.

To set this up, I make a big tic-tac-toe board and fill the spots with the following prompts:

Row 1: List 3 things you like about yourself; What is something you're thankful for?; Stretch up like a tree

Row 2: Write a positive note to someone you care about; Complete a breathing exercise; What is something you do well?

Row 3: Write a goal you have for the week; What is something you hope for?; What was the last thing that made you laugh?

Students can pick three activities in a row-across, down, or diagonally. When students have choice, we know it increases engagement and helps provide motivation to complete a task. This board is a great tool with a variety of tasks to complete that include physical movement, breathing exercises, and reflection.

Situations: When students are tasked to respond to a situation, they need to synthesize it and figure out if it's something positive or dangerous. For example, consider asking students to choose two of the situations below and talk to a partner about what they would do:

There's a new classmate and it's their first day at school.

During recess, a classmate called another student unkind names and shoved another peer.

You see two classmates arguing at recess about who gets to go first in a game.

These scenarios give students a chance to reflect on their own actions and start to recognize situations where they could bring something positive.

Billboards can be more than a tool to hang student work. When used effectively, they can help students embrace social and emotional learning and teach them tools to help reflect and build empathy and kindness toward themselves and others. Making social and emotional learning the first priority for students creates a positive and inviting culture that brings one classroom community together with everyone else in the school.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
When you're walking down a school hallway, what do you notice? Does the environment seem inviting and accepting, or does it seem dull and neglected? Are the walls overpowered with color or bare and gray? My point is, bulletin boards are the billboards of classroom halls-they can capture a school's mission, display what students are learning, and be interactive for bystanders.

# data[].attributes.body
I believe that as educators, we are constantly reflecting on ourselves and our work. A reflection can be a wonderful tool to recognize our accomplishments and a great way to celebrate them. To support this with students, I created a bulletin board—with a laminated background and dry erase markers handy—with the prompt “What have you done today to make you feel proud?” When my class showcased something they were proud of, more classes joined, and eventually students from all grade levels participated.

This board helps create a positive atmosphere and promotes empathy. One student wrote, “I felt proud when I helped someone up when they fell during recess.” Having students be reflective is a great way to have them create goals and recognize that we all do something every day we can be proud of, whether it be big or small.

https://www.edutopia.org/article/promoting-sel-through-bulletin-boards

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
When you're walking down a school hallway, what do you notice? Does the environment seem inviting and accepting, or does it seem dull and neglected? Are the walls overpowered with color or bare and gray? My point is, bulletin boards are the billboards of classroom halls-they can capture a school's mission, display what students are learning, and be interactive for bystanders.

I'd like to share some strategies to use bulletin boards to promote social and emotional learning. The pandemic brought a wave of anxiety to teachers and to the students and families we care for. Consequently, social and emotional learning is even more important now.

Over the past six years, I have taught in environments with a high number of military children. I can recall growing up as one of these kids and experiencing a lot of anxiety and fear of the unknown, and with the pandemic we've seen even more anxiety, stress, and fear. The ability to recognize feelings and manage them is vital-prior to learning and teaching, our students and staff must first feel emotionally supported.

With the idea of supporting students, when I create bulletin boards I think about how to make them inclusive and helpful. They don't have to be extravagant, over the top with decorations, or overstimulating. If we are displaying student work, I want the work to be varied and not just focused on the "best." This helps every student feel seen and included.

I enjoy creating boards that catch students' attention and make them want to invest a few minutes into looking at what we are sharing. I believe bulletin boards are something that can get easily overlooked, and the right displays can be a helpful tool for students. Below are a few examples of bulletin boards to support students' social and emotional learning and inclusivity.

Supporting SEL and Inclusivity With Bulletin Boards

Breathing exercises: In social and emotional learning lessons, I always incorporate breathing exercises to promote self-regulation, and I believe these exercises make one of the best types of bulletin boards. Combining a visual that introduces students and adults to a calming exercise can be beneficial for all. When you teach breathing exercises, students will start to incorporate these strategies when they need to, like when they are taking a test or feeling anxious. I have used bulletin boards to share images that show students how to do "triangle breathing" and "mountain breathing," for example.

Student check-ins: Checking in with students is a great way to encourage them to express themselves, especially those who may be hesitant to speak up if they feel dysregulated. Connecting students to something like different characters in the Avengers movies is a great motivational tool to get students to recognize how they are currently feeling-are they feeling like the Hulk or Groot today, for example? So I have put up a bulletin board with "Which Avengers character do you feel the most like?" as a prompt above images of five or six characters with different facial expressions.

While students can be hesitant to share how they are feeling, it's important to know how they are feeling because it will affect their learning. You can construct this kind of board as a virtual board using Jamboard, or as a physical interactive board using sticky notes.

Self-reflection: I believe that as educators, we are constantly reflecting on ourselves and our work. A reflection can be a wonderful tool to recognize our accomplishments and a great way to celebrate them. To support this with students, I created a bulletin board-with a laminated background and dry erase markers handy-with the prompt "What have you done today to make you feel proud?" When my class showcased something they were proud of, more classes joined, and eventually students from all grade levels participated.

This board helps create a positive atmosphere and promotes empathy. One student wrote, "I felt proud when I helped someone up when they fell during recess." Having students be reflective is a great way to have them create goals and recognize that we all do something every day we can be proud of, whether it be big or small.

Building empathy: Empathy can be a difficult skill to teach and learn. It takes time to understand how others are feeling and requires being present and listening intently. It gives a sense of hope to see a student being empathetic toward another student, and it builds up the community. For these boards I love using emojis because kids can easily connect to them and they're gender neutral. They're a simple way to have students connect how someone's body might look or feel with specific feelings, and they can promote ways to self-regulate.

For example, a board I call Emoji Emotional Awareness has an angry emoji on the left and a relieved emoji on the right, with this prompt: "If you notice your body feeling like the emoji on the left, what is something that helps you to feel like the emoji on the right? Add a sticky note and give your suggestions."

Then if students are curious they can view the notes and suggestions that fellow classmates have given to help support each other.

Activities: When we engage students in activities, we can challenge them to work toward a goal. With a bulletin board similar to the game tic-tac-toe, students can choose what challenges they want to do.

To set this up, I make a big tic-tac-toe board and fill the spots with the following prompts:

Row 1: List 3 things you like about yourself; What is something you're thankful for?; Stretch up like a tree

Row 2: Write a positive note to someone you care about; Complete a breathing exercise; What is something you do well?

Row 3: Write a goal you have for the week; What is something you hope for?; What was the last thing that made you laugh?

Students can pick three activities in a row-across, down, or diagonally. When students have choice, we know it increases engagement and helps provide motivation to complete a task. This board is a great tool with a variety of tasks to complete that include physical movement, breathing exercises, and reflection.

Situations: When students are tasked to respond to a situation, they need to synthesize it and figure out if it's something positive or dangerous. For example, consider asking students to choose two of the situations below and talk to a partner about what they would do:

There's a new classmate and it's their first day at school.

During recess, a classmate called another student unkind names and shoved another peer.

You see two classmates arguing at recess about who gets to go first in a game.

These scenarios give students a chance to reflect on their own actions and start to recognize situations where they could bring something positive.

Billboards can be more than a tool to hang student work. When used effectively, they can help students embrace social and emotional learning and teach them tools to help reflect and build empathy and kindness toward themselves and others. Making social and emotional learning the first priority for students creates a positive and inviting culture that brings one classroom community together with everyone else in the school.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
When you're walking down a school hallway, what do you notice? Does the environment seem inviting and accepting, or does it seem dull and neglected? Are the walls overpowered with color or bare and gray? My point is, bulletin boards are the billboards of classroom halls-they can capture a school's mission, display what students are learning, and be interactive for bystanders.

# data[].attributes.body
Empathy can be a difficult skill to teach and learn. It takes time to understand how others are feeling and requires being present and listening intently. It gives a sense of hope to see a student being empathetic toward another student, and it builds up the community. For these boards I love using emojis because kids can easily connect to them and they’re gender neutral. They’re a simple way to have students connect how someone’s body might look or feel with specific feelings, and they can promote ways to self-regulate.

For example, a board I call Emoji Emotional Awareness has an angry emoji on the left and a relieved emoji on the right, with this prompt: “If you notice your body feeling like the emoji on the left, what is something that helps you to feel like the emoji on the right? Add a sticky note and give your suggestions.”

Then if students are curious they can view the notes and suggestions that fellow classmates have given to help support each other.

https://www.edutopia.org/article/promoting-sel-through-bulletin-boards

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
When you're walking down a school hallway, what do you notice? Does the environment seem inviting and accepting, or does it seem dull and neglected? Are the walls overpowered with color or bare and gray? My point is, bulletin boards are the billboards of classroom halls-they can capture a school's mission, display what students are learning, and be interactive for bystanders.

I'd like to share some strategies to use bulletin boards to promote social and emotional learning. The pandemic brought a wave of anxiety to teachers and to the students and families we care for. Consequently, social and emotional learning is even more important now.

Over the past six years, I have taught in environments with a high number of military children. I can recall growing up as one of these kids and experiencing a lot of anxiety and fear of the unknown, and with the pandemic we've seen even more anxiety, stress, and fear. The ability to recognize feelings and manage them is vital-prior to learning and teaching, our students and staff must first feel emotionally supported.

With the idea of supporting students, when I create bulletin boards I think about how to make them inclusive and helpful. They don't have to be extravagant, over the top with decorations, or overstimulating. If we are displaying student work, I want the work to be varied and not just focused on the "best." This helps every student feel seen and included.

I enjoy creating boards that catch students' attention and make them want to invest a few minutes into looking at what we are sharing. I believe bulletin boards are something that can get easily overlooked, and the right displays can be a helpful tool for students. Below are a few examples of bulletin boards to support students' social and emotional learning and inclusivity.

Supporting SEL and Inclusivity With Bulletin Boards

Breathing exercises: In social and emotional learning lessons, I always incorporate breathing exercises to promote self-regulation, and I believe these exercises make one of the best types of bulletin boards. Combining a visual that introduces students and adults to a calming exercise can be beneficial for all. When you teach breathing exercises, students will start to incorporate these strategies when they need to, like when they are taking a test or feeling anxious. I have used bulletin boards to share images that show students how to do "triangle breathing" and "mountain breathing," for example.

Student check-ins: Checking in with students is a great way to encourage them to express themselves, especially those who may be hesitant to speak up if they feel dysregulated. Connecting students to something like different characters in the Avengers movies is a great motivational tool to get students to recognize how they are currently feeling-are they feeling like the Hulk or Groot today, for example? So I have put up a bulletin board with "Which Avengers character do you feel the most like?" as a prompt above images of five or six characters with different facial expressions.

While students can be hesitant to share how they are feeling, it's important to know how they are feeling because it will affect their learning. You can construct this kind of board as a virtual board using Jamboard, or as a physical interactive board using sticky notes.

Self-reflection: I believe that as educators, we are constantly reflecting on ourselves and our work. A reflection can be a wonderful tool to recognize our accomplishments and a great way to celebrate them. To support this with students, I created a bulletin board-with a laminated background and dry erase markers handy-with the prompt "What have you done today to make you feel proud?" When my class showcased something they were proud of, more classes joined, and eventually students from all grade levels participated.

This board helps create a positive atmosphere and promotes empathy. One student wrote, "I felt proud when I helped someone up when they fell during recess." Having students be reflective is a great way to have them create goals and recognize that we all do something every day we can be proud of, whether it be big or small.

Building empathy: Empathy can be a difficult skill to teach and learn. It takes time to understand how others are feeling and requires being present and listening intently. It gives a sense of hope to see a student being empathetic toward another student, and it builds up the community. For these boards I love using emojis because kids can easily connect to them and they're gender neutral. They're a simple way to have students connect how someone's body might look or feel with specific feelings, and they can promote ways to self-regulate.

For example, a board I call Emoji Emotional Awareness has an angry emoji on the left and a relieved emoji on the right, with this prompt: "If you notice your body feeling like the emoji on the left, what is something that helps you to feel like the emoji on the right? Add a sticky note and give your suggestions."

Then if students are curious they can view the notes and suggestions that fellow classmates have given to help support each other.

Activities: When we engage students in activities, we can challenge them to work toward a goal. With a bulletin board similar to the game tic-tac-toe, students can choose what challenges they want to do.

To set this up, I make a big tic-tac-toe board and fill the spots with the following prompts:

Row 1: List 3 things you like about yourself; What is something you're thankful for?; Stretch up like a tree

Row 2: Write a positive note to someone you care about; Complete a breathing exercise; What is something you do well?

Row 3: Write a goal you have for the week; What is something you hope for?; What was the last thing that made you laugh?

Students can pick three activities in a row-across, down, or diagonally. When students have choice, we know it increases engagement and helps provide motivation to complete a task. This board is a great tool with a variety of tasks to complete that include physical movement, breathing exercises, and reflection.

Situations: When students are tasked to respond to a situation, they need to synthesize it and figure out if it's something positive or dangerous. For example, consider asking students to choose two of the situations below and talk to a partner about what they would do:

There's a new classmate and it's their first day at school.

During recess, a classmate called another student unkind names and shoved another peer.

You see two classmates arguing at recess about who gets to go first in a game.

These scenarios give students a chance to reflect on their own actions and start to recognize situations where they could bring something positive.

Billboards can be more than a tool to hang student work. When used effectively, they can help students embrace social and emotional learning and teach them tools to help reflect and build empathy and kindness toward themselves and others. Making social and emotional learning the first priority for students creates a positive and inviting culture that brings one classroom community together with everyone else in the school.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
When you're walking down a school hallway, what do you notice? Does the environment seem inviting and accepting, or does it seem dull and neglected? Are the walls overpowered with color or bare and gray? My point is, bulletin boards are the billboards of classroom halls-they can capture a school's mission, display what students are learning, and be interactive for bystanders.

# data[].attributes.body
When students are tasked to respond to a situation, they need to synthesize it and figure out if it’s something positive or dangerous. For example, consider asking students to choose two of the situations below and talk to a partner about what they would do:

There’s a new classmate and it’s their first day at school.

During recess, a classmate called another student unkind names and shoved another peer.

You see two classmates arguing at recess about who gets to go first in a game.

These scenarios give students a chance to reflect on their own actions and start to recognize situations where they could bring something positive.

https://www.edutopia.org/article/promoting-sel-through-bulletin-boards

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
When you're walking down a school hallway, what do you notice? Does the environment seem inviting and accepting, or does it seem dull and neglected? Are the walls overpowered with color or bare and gray? My point is, bulletin boards are the billboards of classroom halls-they can capture a school's mission, display what students are learning, and be interactive for bystanders.

I'd like to share some strategies to use bulletin boards to promote social and emotional learning. The pandemic brought a wave of anxiety to teachers and to the students and families we care for. Consequently, social and emotional learning is even more important now.

Over the past six years, I have taught in environments with a high number of military children. I can recall growing up as one of these kids and experiencing a lot of anxiety and fear of the unknown, and with the pandemic we've seen even more anxiety, stress, and fear. The ability to recognize feelings and manage them is vital-prior to learning and teaching, our students and staff must first feel emotionally supported.

With the idea of supporting students, when I create bulletin boards I think about how to make them inclusive and helpful. They don't have to be extravagant, over the top with decorations, or overstimulating. If we are displaying student work, I want the work to be varied and not just focused on the "best." This helps every student feel seen and included.

I enjoy creating boards that catch students' attention and make them want to invest a few minutes into looking at what we are sharing. I believe bulletin boards are something that can get easily overlooked, and the right displays can be a helpful tool for students. Below are a few examples of bulletin boards to support students' social and emotional learning and inclusivity.

Supporting SEL and Inclusivity With Bulletin Boards

Breathing exercises: In social and emotional learning lessons, I always incorporate breathing exercises to promote self-regulation, and I believe these exercises make one of the best types of bulletin boards. Combining a visual that introduces students and adults to a calming exercise can be beneficial for all. When you teach breathing exercises, students will start to incorporate these strategies when they need to, like when they are taking a test or feeling anxious. I have used bulletin boards to share images that show students how to do "triangle breathing" and "mountain breathing," for example.

Student check-ins: Checking in with students is a great way to encourage them to express themselves, especially those who may be hesitant to speak up if they feel dysregulated. Connecting students to something like different characters in the Avengers movies is a great motivational tool to get students to recognize how they are currently feeling-are they feeling like the Hulk or Groot today, for example? So I have put up a bulletin board with "Which Avengers character do you feel the most like?" as a prompt above images of five or six characters with different facial expressions.

While students can be hesitant to share how they are feeling, it's important to know how they are feeling because it will affect their learning. You can construct this kind of board as a virtual board using Jamboard, or as a physical interactive board using sticky notes.

Self-reflection: I believe that as educators, we are constantly reflecting on ourselves and our work. A reflection can be a wonderful tool to recognize our accomplishments and a great way to celebrate them. To support this with students, I created a bulletin board-with a laminated background and dry erase markers handy-with the prompt "What have you done today to make you feel proud?" When my class showcased something they were proud of, more classes joined, and eventually students from all grade levels participated.

This board helps create a positive atmosphere and promotes empathy. One student wrote, "I felt proud when I helped someone up when they fell during recess." Having students be reflective is a great way to have them create goals and recognize that we all do something every day we can be proud of, whether it be big or small.

Building empathy: Empathy can be a difficult skill to teach and learn. It takes time to understand how others are feeling and requires being present and listening intently. It gives a sense of hope to see a student being empathetic toward another student, and it builds up the community. For these boards I love using emojis because kids can easily connect to them and they're gender neutral. They're a simple way to have students connect how someone's body might look or feel with specific feelings, and they can promote ways to self-regulate.

For example, a board I call Emoji Emotional Awareness has an angry emoji on the left and a relieved emoji on the right, with this prompt: "If you notice your body feeling like the emoji on the left, what is something that helps you to feel like the emoji on the right? Add a sticky note and give your suggestions."

Then if students are curious they can view the notes and suggestions that fellow classmates have given to help support each other.

Activities: When we engage students in activities, we can challenge them to work toward a goal. With a bulletin board similar to the game tic-tac-toe, students can choose what challenges they want to do.

To set this up, I make a big tic-tac-toe board and fill the spots with the following prompts:

Row 1: List 3 things you like about yourself; What is something you're thankful for?; Stretch up like a tree

Row 2: Write a positive note to someone you care about; Complete a breathing exercise; What is something you do well?

Row 3: Write a goal you have for the week; What is something you hope for?; What was the last thing that made you laugh?

Students can pick three activities in a row-across, down, or diagonally. When students have choice, we know it increases engagement and helps provide motivation to complete a task. This board is a great tool with a variety of tasks to complete that include physical movement, breathing exercises, and reflection.

Situations: When students are tasked to respond to a situation, they need to synthesize it and figure out if it's something positive or dangerous. For example, consider asking students to choose two of the situations below and talk to a partner about what they would do:

There's a new classmate and it's their first day at school.

During recess, a classmate called another student unkind names and shoved another peer.

You see two classmates arguing at recess about who gets to go first in a game.

These scenarios give students a chance to reflect on their own actions and start to recognize situations where they could bring something positive.

Billboards can be more than a tool to hang student work. When used effectively, they can help students embrace social and emotional learning and teach them tools to help reflect and build empathy and kindness toward themselves and others. Making social and emotional learning the first priority for students creates a positive and inviting culture that brings one classroom community together with everyone else in the school.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
When you're walking down a school hallway, what do you notice? Does the environment seem inviting and accepting, or does it seem dull and neglected? Are the walls overpowered with color or bare and gray? My point is, bulletin boards are the billboards of classroom halls-they can capture a school's mission, display what students are learning, and be interactive for bystanders.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Build a culture of wellbeing

Foster a happier, healthier, and more balanced school with evidence-based resources and strategies.

Learners can take a Brain Break with our curated collection of short, inclusive activities designed to promote mental fitness, refresh the mind, and refocus.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Microsoft Reflect | Encourage connection, expression and learning

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A wellbeing app to identify student needs and support their social and emotional learning (SEL).

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Student voice is more important than ever as we transition back to school for 2020-21.

This summer and into the fall, a strategic priority for many districts will be to collect and analyze feedback from students on their experiences in school. Our students' perspectives have never been more critical to ensuring equitable and supportive learning environments.

However, sending out a student survey and understanding the responses is not enough. Caring adults must model the practice of moving from understanding to action. Students must know that their voices are changing mindsets and shifting practices.

At Panorama, we've guided hundreds of districts through the process of gathering, reviewing, and taking action on student voice data. This article outlines the four key stages of the data exploration process and shares the discussion questions that your school or district team can ask at each stage.

I. Preparing to Review Student Voice Data

To access all of our discussion prompts in printable worksheets, download our Student Voice Data Exploration Guide. The guide, used by district and state partners such as D.C. Public Schools, Portland Public Schools, and the Kentucky Department of Education includes templates and worksheets that you customize for your own data planning meetings.
Download: Student Voice Data Exploration Guide II. Reflecting on Student Voice Data

III. Prioritizing and Synthesizing the Data

IV. Planning Your Path Towards Improvement
Discussion Prompts for Your Next Student Voice Data Planning Meeting

I. Preparing to Review Student Voice Data

The process of reflecting on student voice data can oftentimes be challenging or uncomfortable. Before diving into the data, set the stage for a productive discussion by sharing your aspirations and apprehensions for using student feedback. In addition, take a moment to anticipate what you expect to see in the data.

What aspirations do you have about using student data?

What apprehensions do you have about examining student data?

What areas of strength do you expect students will identify?

What areas of improvement do you expect students will identify?

What are you most curious to know from the feedback?

If you have feedback from previous surveys, what changes do you expect to see?

As you prepare to review the data, take a moment to familiarize yourself with the ladder of inference. Popularized by Peter Senge's The Fifth Discipline, the ladder of inference is a mental model for reducing bias while understanding and analyzing data. The key is to walk slowly up the ladder of inference, spending more time observing the data and considering alternative explanations in the data before deciding what it means and choosing a course of action.

II. Reflecting on Student Voice Data

Now it's time to review the survey results. Consider the data points that most jump out at you, and listen for the narrative behind the numbers. As you take your first pass through the results, remember to stay low on the ladder of inference.

What did students identify as your district's biggest strengths?

What did students identify as your biggest areas for growth in the district?

What notable differences did you see in student experience based on student background?

What made you most proud?

What connections can you make between the data from this survey and other data you have related to your practice?

What biases may exist as I interpret the data?

We also need to center conversations about student voice data in equity. For example: if we start with the question: "What are the key challenges that we want to prioritize as a district?" we need to follow that by asking: "Which students are impacted by this challenge?"

As you disaggregate your data by race, gender, FRPL status, ELL status, and grade level, structure your data inquiry protocols to emphasize that crucial question.

III. Prioritizing and Synthesizing the Data

When dealing with a rich data set, prioritization is key. Select one topic (or two, at most) to prioritize. Consider focus areas that are high impact and highly actionable, as pictured in the matrix below.

Based on the data, what focus area would yield the greatest impact for students?

Is this focus area aligned to school priorities?

Who is impacted by the decision to focus on this priority?

How will we ensure that students who are most impacted by this priority area are included in the design of next steps?

How does the prioritized topic fit within the streams of work already happening in your district or school?

IV. Planning Your Path Towards Improvement
Access these prompts as printable worksheets in our Student Voice Data Exploration Guide.
Finish out the data exploration process by creating a rollout plan for your district or school. This is your chance to think through logistics and to consider the steps you'll take to implement your focus area.

What will you prioritize or focus on for this or next year?

Why will this be the most impactful thing to focus on?

When is the ideal time to introduce this work to your team? Where is the appropriate setting?

What are some challenges you may face in the process?

How will you break down your goal into steps?

How will you hold yourself and your team accountable to action? (What calendar invites do you need to send; what PLCs need to be set up, etc.)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Reflecting on Student Voice Data? Use These Discussion Prompts With Your School or District Team

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Student voice is more important than ever as we transition back to school for 2020-21. This summer and into the fall, a strategic priority for many districts will be to collect and analyze feedback from students on their experiences in school. Our students' perspectives have never been more critical to ensuring equitable and supportive learning environments.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Browse Printable 8th Grade Social Emotional Worksheets | Education.com

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Browse Printable 8th Grade Social Emotional Worksheets. Award winning educational materials designed to help kids succeed. Start for free now!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
2022-23 School Kindness Calendar

We have something new and exciting to share with you!

You may be aware we have a workplace calendar and a general calendar with kindness ideas, but we decided to create a calendar with an education theme! And guess, what? We're so clever we even made the calendar start in August.

It's a perfect addition to the walls of any hallway, office, classroom or teacher lounge. You can start your morning announcements with a kindness idea from the calendar!

Download your copy now and start the school year off right with KINDNESS!

Download School Calendar

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
FREE K-8 Kindness in the Classroom® Curriculum

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
2022-23 School Kindness Calendar We have something new and exciting to share with you! You may be aware we have a workplace calendar and a general calendar with kindness ideas, but we decided to create a calendar with an education theme! And guess, what? We're so clever we even made the calendar start in August.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Updated: May, 2022
© 2022 Think Social Publishing, Inc.

Join Michelle Garcia Winner and Dr. Pamela Crooke for a brand new free webinar on Perspective Taking in the Classroom on October 12 at 9:00AM Pacific Time. This free 60-minutes webinar will be followed by our new You Are a Social Detective Teaching Curriculum launch party!

Click here to download a free infographic on The 5 Steps of Being with Others and explore additional resources on perspective taking.

Part 1- Social Perspective Taking: Our Meaning Maker
What is social perspective taking and when do we use it?
Social perspective taking occurs any time you share space with others, even in the absence of active social interactions. We use social perspective taking before, during, and after a social encounter to help us figure out our social responses, based on our own and others' social goals in a situation. Now consider that most people think they only engage in social perspective taking during social interactions, such as when participating in a classroom, team sports, hanging out with friends, playing a game, or conversing face to face with another person. For example, if you notice shoppers move their shopping carts out of the way of fellow shoppers walking down the same aisle of a grocery store-that also requires using social perspective taking. If you see others waiting in line, you find your place at the end to wait your turn. Each of us, adapting our thoughts, movements, and what we say or do to consider others, requires the use of social perspective taking. In reality, social perspective taking is active any time anyone is thinking about others, even when these people are not physically present. For instance, we consider the actions, reactions, motives, and intentions of people in context within the novels and news stories we read and any time we watch people on our screens or listen to them on the radio or a podcast. Social perspective taking is expected to persist in the background of our thinking-if not the foreground-across the entire time we have others' minds in our minds.
Why is social perspective taking important?
Consider what it would be like if humans did not have the capacity for social perspective taking. We would regard other people in much the same way as we would an object, such as a box of Kleenex, without thoughts, feelings, possible actions, and reactions. We don't have to give much thought to walking by this box, since we don't expect it to interpret us or our actions. Now consider that without some level of social perspective taking we would be unable to work well in groups, drive in traffic, play together, make friends, or engage in teamwork. Each of these activities requires us to consider our own and others' perspectives as we share space, collaborate, or try to figure out others' intentions. Social perspective taking helps us make meaning of people as they interact or coexist together in specific contexts; it also helps us to navigate to regulate in the social world-a world that expects us to be consciously aware of each other.
How to foster the development of social perspective taking
If the goal is to help individuals build their own social competencies when compared to their own baseline abilities, simply teaching a social skill (behavior) is not enough. We need to illuminate the usefulness of social perspective taking in their day-to-day lives. Unfortunately, interventionists tend to think about teaching social perspective taking when the behavior of a student is perceived as "doing something wrong." Rather, we should teach them the power of their own social thoughts, feelings, and the expectations they have about others in their class, school, community, and at home. This provides them with the knowledge that they think and feel about what others are saying or doing (or not saying or doing); it's not just that others have thoughts and feelings about their actions. As they learn about their own perspective, they can also start to learn that others have a different perspective and how to navigate through this social information.

Social perspective taking involves metacognition (i.e., thinking about thinking) because all participants or observers of a social situation typically think about what people are thinking and feeling, including their motives and intentions. We then use this thinking to interpret the situation and problem solve how to socially respond, which we refer to as developing social cognitive self-regulation. This means we navigate through a social situation and regulate what we do and say based on our own goals, as well as the expectations of others. A goal in treatment is to break down this information to teach different aspects of it in more detail, gradually fostering development of one's social competencies.
Social perspective taking is developmental
Perspective taking is a developmental process, and concepts and skills related to social perspective taking become more complex with maturity. We all continue to learn about our own and others' increasingly sophisticated perspectives across our lives. How we expect 5-year-olds to perceive and relate to each other's perspectives is different from what we expect from 15-year-olds, which is different from what we expect of 25-year-olds, 45-year-olds, and 65-year-olds, etc.
Unpacking social perspective taking in five steps for social learners
The Social Thinking® Methodology includes a core treatment framework to teach about the perspective taking process. The 5 Steps of Being with Others is designed to be used by social learners-from ages 10 through adulthood-to help develop metacognitive awareness of the process through which we figure out how to respond socially, based on how we take perspective of each other's thoughts, feelings, and intentions in context.

Part 2 - Social Perspective Taking: The 5 Steps of Being with Others
A framework to unpack social perspective taking in five steps
Social perspective taking is a complicated process that requires us to explicitly teach something that, for the neurotypical social learner, develops intuitively over time. Our role as interventionists is to help social learners begin to develop metacognitive awareness of different aspects of the many moving parts of perspective taking. The following five-step treatment framework seeks to define elements of this abstract process in a concrete manner that can be further explored and discussed.
Defining the 5 Steps of Being with Others
Step 1: I notice the social situation and the people in it. I am also aware that you are doing the same thing.

Step 2: In each social situation, I am aware that I am thinking about you and that you may be thinking about me.

Step 3: I think about why you and others are here, what each of you are thinking or feeling, what you are doing, and/or why you may be doing it. I am trying to figure out your motive, intention, or plan.

Step 4: I also realize you may be thinking about (or just noticing) me (and others in the situation), why each of us is in the social situation, what we each may be thinking, feeling, or planning, based on what I or others say or do to try and figure out our motives, intentions, or plans.

Step 5: I monitor and possibly adjust what I do or say to try to keep you thinking and feeling about my actions in the way I want you to, based on my own social goals for the situation and the expectations you have for me in this context. In the same way, you are likely monitoring and possibly adjusting what you do or say to try and keep me and others thinking and feeling about you in the manner you want, based on your social goals and our social expectations for each of us in this situation.
Considerations when using this teaching framework
These five steps happen within milliseconds and at an intuitive level below our immediate consciousness for most of us. The first four steps involve active social thought and metacognition; only the last step involves our seeking to adapt our behavior based on our collective social perspective taking and related social goals for this situation.

The 5 Steps of Being with Others is for use with tweens, teens, and adult social learners, as well as helpful for interventionists, to begin exploring this synergistic concept. These steps help individuals recognize and consider the extent to which we think about others and adjust our behavior based on our own and shared social goals within a situation, even in the absence of intentional social interaction.
Social perspective taking in the classroom
The 5 Steps of Being with Others treatment framework is an essential part of learning, working, and relating in a classroom. Embedded within most classroom environments or any situation where there is more than one person (in person or online) is a set of unspoken or hidden expectations (e.g., social norms). One hidden expectation within a classroom is that all participants are aware of the thoughts, feelings, and needs of the people present in that context and that all participants are expected to adapt their behavior to not only help themselves meet their own goal in that social situation, but also help others meet the collective goal(s). For example, Stephan needs help with a math problem; his goal is to get help from his teacher. He could accomplish this most efficiently by calling out "I need help!", but that would disrupt the other students who are working on their math at this time. The collective goal of the class is to complete their individual math work assignments. Stephan recognizes yelling for the teacher would be "unexpected" for that particular situation (note: yelling can also be expected for another situation like playground play or in emergencies) and instead raises his hand as he looks toward the teacher.

As you review this example, consider that most parents and professionals assume that students automatically engage in this level of social cognitive self-regulation. Therefore, it's not usually taught, even within most social emotional learning curricula. However, when students are don't know there are hidden expectations and then accidentally say or do something that is unexpected for that situation, they may be considered a "behavior problem." Components of the Social Thinking® Methodology guide social learners-through treatment frameworks, Social Thinking Vocabulary, and strategies-toward increased understanding about dynamic perspective taking and how to notice it in specific social landscapes within the social world.
Considering Others
Our social brain is active even when we are aren't hanging out or chatting with others. In fact, being around others requires our social system to ramp up to consider more than our own thoughts and feelings. As people share space together and/or interact, they do so with a basic assumption that we usually desire others around us to have reasonably "okay" or even "neutral" thoughts about what we say or do, even when our encounters are brief. Embedded in this assumption is the opposite: others want us to have "okay" or "neutral" thoughts and/or feelings about what they do or say. However, a challenge for those who struggle with some aspects of social learning is the process of perceiving and interpreting the thoughts and feelings of others as part of the social problem-solving process. It's not uncommon for our clients to state that they say or do what they want because it makes sense and keeps them comfortable. They do this often without realizing that it may leave others feeling confused. For example, Madison, who interrupts a classmate's explanation to make her own point in class, may feel her interruption makes sense because she has clarified the statement for the sake of accuracy. Yet, Madison may not understand that what she said left people confused or hurt.
Social evaluation, social judgment, and social memories: The social world has all three
Social judgment complicates the social world and it's something we ALL do. We can't help but make guesses and form social judgments about people's intentions and people doing the same to us. Those who adapt what they do and say as a way to keep others having "okay" or "neutral" thoughts are much more likely to be considered friendly than when someone does or says something that creates "confused" social memories. In teaching social perspective taking, we help social learners first realize they have their own social judgements and memories about how what other people said or did made them feel (positive and negative). We teach that we all adapt what we do and say not only for what's going in the present, but also based on how we hope people will remember our actions and reactions in the future. We routinely ask conference attendees why, when feeling frustrated in meetings or classrooms, they don't just yell at others. The response is the same over and over, regardless of race, gender, age, or culture. Most of us don't do or say whatever we feel in the moment because we know that others will have confused, or unpleasant social memories of the event and will likely recall that in future interactions.
Using a combination of social learning tools to teach more deeply
Social learners who struggle to understand the social world (some neurotypicals and Neurodivergents) work harder because they need to learn cognitively what many others know intuitively. On the other hand, some neurotypicals may not realize they instinctively and effortlessly engage in this level of metacognitive thinking. Helping neurotypicals understand how Neurodivergent see the social world can also help to establish empathy from both lenses. Appreciating these differences can help the interventionist slow down and take time to teach concepts more deeply to all types of learners.
Best practices: notice your own experience with the 5 Steps of Being with Others before teaching
Start by developing your own metacognitive awareness of the 5 Steps of Being with Others and spend part of the day paying attention to your own and others' perceived thoughts and feelings, intentions, or plans and how this social information influences your actions and reactions in the presence of others. Your own experience can then be a guide as you explore these concepts with the tweens, teens, or adults with whom you work. Once you begin teaching, make sure to get ongoing feedback from your clients or students as to whether these 5 steps are helping in meeting their self-determined social goals.
Fostering social motivation within students to engage in this type of social learning
Believe it or not, most social learners are interested in learning about the metacognitive process-especially when the focus is on their perspective and their thoughts and feelings about others' behaviors and intentions within a situation. Teaching through their perspective helps them realize they have a say in the social learning process which can help motivate them.

CAUTION: Never use the framework to point out an individual's behaviors that might be perceived as problematic in the eyes of others. It's not constructive, nor is it in keeping with our mission and intent. Instead, motivate social learners to think about social thinking concepts and learn how the social mind works. The Social Thinking Methodology focuses on breaking down complex social concepts to help build up individuals' social competencies, step by step.

Next, explore the sister concept, 4 Steps of Face-to-Face Communication. Learn more about this concept and many others in the books Thinking About YOU Thinking About ME, 2nd Edition, Think Social! A Social Thinking Curriculum for School-Age Students, and Social Thinking Frameworks Collection.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Social Perspective Taking & The 5 Steps of Being with Others

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Updated: May, 2022 © 2022 Think Social Publishing, Inc. Join Michelle Garcia Winner and Dr. Pamela Crooke for a brand new free webinar on Perspective Taking in the Classroom on October 12 at 9:00AM Pacific Time. This free 60-minutes webinar will be followed by our new You Are a Social Detective Teaching Curriculum launch party!