The Keys to Creating a Joyful Classroom Community€¦ · The Keys to Creating a Joyful Classroom...
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© 2016 Maria Walther and Katherine Phillips, All Rights Reserved 1 The Keys to Creating a Joyful Classroom Community Maria Walther, First Grade Teacher Gwendolyn Brooks Elementary School, Aurora, IL [email protected] www.mariawalther.com Twitter @mariapwalther ILLINOIS SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL LEARNING STANDARDS Social and emotional learning (SEL) is the process through which children develop awareness and management of their emotions, set and achieve important personal and academic goals, use social-awareness and interpersonal skills to establish and maintain positive relationships, and demonstrate decision making and responsible behaviors to achieve school and life success. There is a strong research base indicating that these SEL competencies improve students’ social/emotional development, readiness to learn, classroom behavior, and academic performance. Goal 1: Develop self-awareness and self- management skills to achieve school and life success. A. Identify and manage one’s emotions and behavior. 1A.1a. Recognize and accurately label emotions and how they are linked to behavior. 1A.1b. Demonstrate control of impulsive behavior. B. Recognize personal qualities and external supports. 1B.1a. Identify one’s likes and dislikes, needs and wants, strengths and challenges. 1B.1b. Identify family, peer, school, and community strengths. C. Demonstrate skills related to achieving personal and academic goals. 1C.1a. Describe why school is important in helping students achieve personal goals. 1C.1b. Identify goals for academic success and classroom behavior. Goal 2: Use social-awareness and interpersonal skills to establish and maintain positive relationships. A. Recognize the feelings and perspectives of others. 2A.1a. Recognize that others may experience situations differently from oneself. 2A.1b. Use listening skills to identify the feelings and perspectives of others. B. Recognize individual and group similarities and differences. 2B.1a. Describe the ways that people are similar and different. 2B.1b. Describe positive qualities in others. C. Use communication and social skills to interact effectively with others. 2C.1a. Identify ways to work and play well with others. 2C.1b. Demonstrate appropriate social and classroom behavior. Goal 3: Demonstrate decision-making skills and responsible behaviors in personal, school, and community contexts. A. Consider ethical, safety, and societal factors in making decisions. 3A.1a. Explain why unprovoked acts that hurt others are wrong. 3A.1b. Identify social norms and safety considerations that guide behavior. B. Apply decision-making skills to deal responsibly with daily academic and social situations. 3B.1a. Identify a range of decisions that students make at school. 3B.1b. Make positive choices when interacting with classmates. C. Contribute to the well-being of one’s school and community. 3C.1a. Identify and perform roles that contribute to one’s classroom. 3C.1b. Identify and perform roles that contribute to one’s family. Source: http://www.isbe.net/ils/social_emotional/standards.htm MAKING DECISIONS AT SCHOOL *Note each of the learning experiences described below will take more than one day! Establishing Classroom Rules Read Alouds about Classroom Community and/or Classroom Rules Me First (Lester, 1992) Swimmy (Lionni, 1968) Please Play Safe! Penguin’s Guide to Playground Safety (Cuyler, 2006) This School Year Will Be the BEST! (Winters, 2010) 1. Read aloud a poem or picture book about school community or school rules. 2. Discuss school rules and expected classroom choices that allow students to be successful in school. 3. Share and discuss students’ ideas and record their ideas in notebook or on chart paper. 4. Create a “classroom rules” anchor chart.
Transcript of The Keys to Creating a Joyful Classroom Community€¦ · The Keys to Creating a Joyful Classroom...
© 2016 Maria Walther and Katherine Phillips, All Rights Reserved 1
The Keys to Creating a Joyful Classroom Community Maria Walther, First Grade Teacher
Gwendolyn Brooks Elementary School, Aurora, IL [email protected] www.mariawalther.com Twitter @mariapwalther
ILLINOIS SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL LEARNING STANDARDS Social and emotional learning (SEL) is the process through which children develop awareness and management of their emotions, set and achieve important personal and academic goals, use social-awareness and interpersonal skills to establish and maintain positive relationships, and demonstrate decision making and responsible behaviors to achieve school and life success. There is a strong research base indicating that these SEL competencies improve students’ social/emotional development, readiness to learn, classroom behavior, and academic performance. Goal 1: Develop self-awareness and self-management skills to achieve school and life success. A. Identify and manage one’s emotions and behavior. 1A.1a. Recognize and accurately label emotions and how they are linked to behavior. 1A.1b. Demonstrate control of impulsive behavior. B. Recognize personal qualities and external supports. 1B.1a. Identify one’s likes and dislikes, needs and wants, strengths and challenges. 1B.1b. Identify family, peer, school, and community strengths. C. Demonstrate skills related to achieving personal and academic goals. 1C.1a. Describe why school is important in helping students achieve personal goals. 1C.1b. Identify goals for academic success and classroom behavior.
Goal 2: Use social-awareness and interpersonal skills to establish and maintain positive relationships. A. Recognize the feelings and perspectives of others. 2A.1a. Recognize that others may experience situations differently from oneself. 2A.1b. Use listening skills to identify the feelings and perspectives of others. B. Recognize individual and group similarities and differences. 2B.1a. Describe the ways that people are similar and different. 2B.1b. Describe positive qualities in others. C. Use communication and social skills to interact effectively with others. 2C.1a. Identify ways to work and play well with others. 2C.1b. Demonstrate appropriate social and classroom behavior.
Goal 3: Demonstrate decision-making skills and responsible behaviors in personal, school, and community contexts. A. Consider ethical, safety, and societal factors in making decisions. 3A.1a. Explain why unprovoked acts that hurt others are wrong. 3A.1b. Identify social norms and safety considerations that guide behavior. B. Apply decision-making skills to deal responsibly with daily academic and social situations. 3B.1a. Identify a range of decisions that students make at school. 3B.1b. Make positive choices when interacting with classmates. C. Contribute to the well-being of one’s school and community. 3C.1a. Identify and perform roles that contribute to one’s classroom. 3C.1b. Identify and perform roles that contribute to one’s family.
Source: http://www.isbe.net/ils/social_emotional/standards.htm
MAKING DECISIONS AT SCHOOL *Note each of the learning experiences described below will take more than one day! Establishing Classroom Rules
Read Alouds about Classroom Community and/or Classroom Rules Me First (Lester, 1992) Swimmy (Lionni, 1968) Please Play Safe! Penguin’s Guide to Playground Safety (Cuyler, 2006)
This School Year Will Be the BEST! (Winters, 2010)
1. Read aloud a poem or picture book about school community or school rules. 2. Discuss school rules and expected classroom choices that allow students to be successful in school. 3. Share and discuss students’ ideas and record their ideas in notebook or on chart paper. 4. Create a “classroom rules” anchor chart.
© 2016 Maria Walther and Katherine Phillips, All Rights Reserved 2
Composing a Class Promise 1. Read aloud a poem or book about promises. 2. Share and discuss students’ ideas, record in notebook or on chart paper. 3. Collaborate with class to compose a class promise (see below for examples). Signing the Class Promise/Making “Faces” Project
Read Alouds about Being Unique Beautiful Hands (Otoshi, 2015) It’s OK to Be Different (Parr, 2001) Bein’ With You This Way (Nikola-Lisa, 1994) The OK Book (Rosenthal, 2007) The Colors of Us (Katz, 2001) Only One You (Kranz, 2006) A Rainbow of Friends (Hallinan, 2002)
1. Read aloud a poem or book about the ways people are similar and different. 2. Reread the Class Promise. 3. Invite each child to sign the promise. 4. Take a digital picture of class promise. Print out and put in booklet. 5. Project: Make faces to surround Class Promise or take students’ photographs to surround Class Promise Using “Whole Body” Listening Definition: Whole Body Listening is when your eyes, ears, mouth, hands, arms, legs, and feet are calm and quiet. when your body is calm and quiet you are able to listen with your whole body; it helps you pay attention to what people are doing around you and it shows others you are thinking about them.
Read Alouds about Listening Listen Buddy (Lester, 1997) Whole Body Listening Larry at School (Sautter & Wilson,
2011) Telephone (Barnett, 2014) *Great before “Operator” game
1. Read aloud a book or poem about listening. 2. Introduce “Whole Body Listening.” 3. Play “operator” to demonstrate the importance of listening.
My eyes are watching. My ears are listening. My mouth is quiet. My hands are still.
My brain is thinking. My heart is caring. My feet are still.
Our Promise to Each Other When we care about each other and
our classroom, we share what we have, listen carefully, help each
other learn, work hard, and have fun together. We understand that
everyone makes mistakes. We stand up for ourselves and for others.
When someone asks us to stop, we stop. This is who we are even when
no one is watching!
Source: Reading for Meaning by Debbie Miller (Also in Teaching Struggling
Readers With Poetry p. 33)
© 2016 Maria Walther and Katherine Phillips, All Rights Reserved 3
RECOGNIZING AND LABELING FEELINGS AND EMOTIONS Identifying Feelings and Emotions
Read Alouds about Feelings and Emotions How Are You Peeling: Foods With Moods (Freyman, 1999) Today I Feel Silly and Other Moods That Make My Day
(Curtis, It’s Not Fair (Rosenthal, 2008) Walther Was Worried (Seeger, 2006) Theo’s Moods (Cocca-Leffler, 2013) *Perfect for Feelings Page
The Way I Feel (Cain, 2000)
1. Read aloud a poem or book about feelings/emotions. 2. Discuss and identify basic feelings and emotions
a. Identify facial expressions that portray different emotions b. Role play different feelings/emotions c. Create an anchor chart with words children can use to describe how characters are feeling.
Learning How to Cool Off ** Make fan on large piece of chart paper
Read Alouds about Anger and Calming Down When Sophie Gets Angry—Really, Really Angry (Bang, 1999) If You’re Angry and You Know It (Kaiser, 2005) What Are You So Grumpy About? (Lichtenheld, 2007) Ruthie and the (Not So) Teeny Tiny Lie (Rankin,
1. Read aloud a poem/book about feelings/emotions 2. Discuss ways to cool off at school. 3. Brainstorm ideas on “fan” anchor chart. Being a Flexible Thinker
Read Alouds about Flexible Thinking Beautiful Oops! (Saltzberg, 2010) A Perfectly Messed-Up Story (McDonnell, 2014) It’s Okay to Make Mistakes (Parr, 2014) Pete the Cat: Rocking in My School Shoes (Litwin, 2011) The Odd Egg (Gravett, 2008) What To Do With a Box (Yolen, 2016)
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Understanding the Difference Between Bullying and Bothering Read Alouds about Bullying and Standing Up for Others
Bully (Seeger, 2013) Say Something (Moss, 2008) Chester Raccoon and the Big Bad Bully (Penn, 2009) *This is OK, not great
The Smallest Girl in the Smallest Grade (Roberts, 2014)
Peanut Butter and Jellyfish (Krosoczka, 2014) Two of a Kind (Robbins, 2009) The Recess Queen (O’Neill, 2002) Yoon and the Jade Bracelet (Recorvits, 2008)
1. Read aloud a poem or book about bullying 2. Discuss the difference between bullying and bothering and how each situation makes children feel
© 2016 Maria Walther and Katherine Phillips, All Rights Reserved 5
Practicing How to “Talk it Out” Read Alouds about Friendship or Conflicts
Horace and Morris But Mostly Dolores (Howe, 1999) The Story of Fish and Snail (Freedman, 2013) Pug and Doug (Breen, 2013) What James Said (Rosenberg, 2015) The Secret Olivia Told Me (Joy, 2007)
1. Read aloud a book or poem about friendship or conflicts. 2. Model and practice appropriate ways to ask someone to stop (adapted from Reading for Meaning by Debbie Miller). Use chart below to guide your discussion. 3. Role play “Talking It Out.”
RECOGNIZING OTHERS’ FEELINGS AND PERSPECTIVES Being a Good Friend
Read Alouds about Friendship Enemy Pie (Munson, 2000) and Let’s Be Enemies (Udry, 1961) Life is Fun (Carlson, 1993) Friendshape (Rosenthal, 2015) Peanut Butter & Cupcake (Border, 2014) How to Lose All of Your Friends (Carlson, 1997)
Accepting Differences Read Alouds about Accepting Differences
Big Al (Clements, 1991) The Sandwich Swap (Al Abdullah, 2010) Exclamation Mark (Rosenthal, 2013) Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon (Lovell, 2001) Freckleface Strawberry (Moore, 2007) My Three Best Friends and Me, Zula (Best, 2015) Henny (Stanton, 2014) Tommy Can’t Stop (Federle, 2015) Janine (Cocca-Leffler, 2015) Too Loud Lilly (Laguna, 2004) Nerdy Birdy (Reynolds, 2015) Two Speckled Eggs (Mann, 2014) Odd Velvet (Whitcomb, 1998)
When someone is annoying or hurting me I can . . . Look the person in the eye and nicely say, I don’t like it when you ________. It makes me feel ____________. I want ____________________. When someone tells you this, what can you say back? Look the person in the eye and nicely say, I heard you say ______________
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Finding a Fair Solution Read Alouds about Conflicts and Resolutions
Old Henry (Blos, 1990) Poem: “The Eraser” by Brod Bagert (Teaching Struggling Readers With Poetry p. 32)
1. Read aloud a book or poem about conflicts and resolutions. 2. Invite students to work with a partner to complete “Problem Solving Posters.” • Your friend is not making expected choices • You and your friend are playing and someone asks to join you. • A kid is chasing you on the playground. • Someone gets in line in front of you. • You and a friend want to read the same book. • You see someone walking alone on the playground.
Professional Resources Biggs-Tucker, K., & Tucker, B. (2015). Transforming Literacy Teaching in the Era of Higher Standards, 3-5. Scholastic. Fuhler, C. J., & Walther, M. P. (2007). Literature Is Back! Using the Best Books for Teaching Readers and Writers Across Genres. Scholastic. Johnston, P. H. (2012). Opening Minds: Using Language to Change Lives. Stenhouse. Johnston, P. H. (2004). Choice Words: How our Language Affects Children’s Learning. Stenhouse. Laminack, L. L., and Wadsworth, R. M. (2012). Bullying Hurts: Teaching Kindness through Read Alouds and Guided Conversations. Heinemann. Walther, M. P. (2015). Transforming Literacy Teaching in the Era of Higher Standards, K-2. Scholastic. Walther, M. P., & Fuhler, C. J. (2010). Teaching Struggling Readers With Poetry. Scholastic. Walther, M. P., & Phillips, K. A. (2009). Month-by-Month Trait-Based Writing Instruction. Scholastic. Walther, M. P., & Phillips, K. A. (2012). Month-by-Month Reading Instruction for the Differentiated Classroom. Scholastic.
