Making a Difference During Distance Learning: Social- Emotional and Authentic Learning
“The fact that you worry about being a good teacher, means that you already are one.”
Jodi Picoult
We can connect in meaningful ways to meet the social-emotional needs of students. To do this we must help students to identify, understand, and manage their emotions. And, our plan for social-emotional learning must prioritize relationships and human connections. Keeping the learning meaningful and grounded in strong relationships can heal communities, especially right now in this time of crisis.
All of this might sound familiar to you if you attended or saw the recording of the Edchat Interactive webinar I presented back in June. Now that it’s been a couple of months since I was in the midst of trying my best to make ‘Distance Learning’ work, working so hard to find school-wide experiences to bring our Harry Kizirian Community together, and keeping my own kids at home engaged in their own learning, I’ve had time to reflect and focus on the ‘situation.’
One thing that’s certain is that every single person’s situation is unique. This is definitely not the time for a one-size-fits-all solution. However, there are some basic do’s and one big don’t, some of which I did refer to in the June webinar, that I feel will make a difference in the social-emotional needs and keep the learning authentic for our children.
Let’s start with the dos:
Do connect with families in support of their safety and well-being. Take the time and make thoughtful efforts to reach out to all families to understand their current situations and needs. We must be proactive in establishing meaningful relationships with families and communities, listening to their needs, and doing our best to match them with relevant resources and supports. Create spaces-even remotely-where every family and separately, each student can check in. This communication allows teachers to gain insight on challenges families are facing,student safety concerns and traumas. One way this can be done is to create a check-in using a google form that asks first about a positive part of their day. Then ask specifically about a student’s mental state. Using multiple-choice answers can help students feel less intimidated to complete the check-in. Offer choices such as “I’m great,” “I’m OK,’ “I’m struggling,” or “I’m having a hard time and would like a check-in.” For younger students, consider using happy/sad faces that show varying degrees of emotion from happy to upset. An open-ended question can also be used to ask if there are particular needs that can be addressed.
Do focus on one social-emotional skill each week and enhance the learning with literature, interactive projects, and skill-based assignments. Here is an example of how you might break down the skills and some suggested resources.
Week 1: Kindness -Seeds and Trees: A Children’s Book About the Power of Words by Natasha Daniels
Week 2: Friendship- Bad Apple: A Tale of Friendship by Edward Hemingway
Week 3: Bullying-Llama Llama and the Bully Goat by Anna Dewdney
Week 4: Goal setting-Lazy Ninja: A Children’s Book About Setting Goals and Finding Motivation by Mary Nhin
Week 5: Growth Mindset- The Empty Pot by Demi and another awesome book with extension activities can be found here, on this post. Also, this is a great resource for all ages.
Week 6: Respect-Why Should I? A book about respect by Sue Graves
Week 7: Taking responsibility for actions-Lily’s Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes
Week 8: Empathy-Those Shoes by Maribeth Boelts and there are more book suggestions, along with a great template for kids, on this post.
Week 9: Peer pressure-A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon
Week 10: Conflict resolution-Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin
Week 11: Breathing strategies-Breathe Like a Bear by Kira Willey
Week 12: Identifying emotions-In My Heart: A Book of Feelings by Jo Witek
Week 13: Apologizing-I’m Sorry Story by Melody McAllister
Week 14: Forgiveness- I Love My New Toy by Mo Willems
Week 15: Character traits-Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon by Patty Lovell
Week 16: Fears-A Little Spot of Courage by Diane Alber
Week 17: Anxiety-The Don’t Worry Book by Todd Parr and I love the strategies and resources shared here.
Week 18: Appreciating diversity-The Skin You Live In Book by Michael Tyler and find 10 more books with great activities here on this post.
Week 19: Anger management-Grumpy Monkey by Suzanne Lang
Week 20: Expressing emotions-The Color Monster by Anna Llenas
Do remember these wise words from Dr. Brad Johnson:
Do collaborate. Take advantage of your awesome co-workers and people in your PLN. Be willing to share and never be afraid to ask for help. We all have our own strengths and weaknesses and now is the time really work together as a team. Remember, you are not a silo.
Be Consistent. In these difficult and challenging times, it is important to offer families routines and to provide consistency. Last spring many parents offered families a sample schedule for at-home schooling. Some schedules included a wake-up time, reading, exercise time, and even a nature time. Many also included opportunities for social interaction and open-ended exploration. In my district, we were teaching online from 8-3:30. I created a very detailed schedule and gave it to my families ahead of time. They knew exactly what was going to be happening in regards to all of our distance learning for the entire week.
Be Flexible. Most likely, the families of your students will be on different schedules and have different preferences on how they receive the information. Allow them flexibility within the schedule each week and work together to make accommodations when needed.
Do help families create self-care plans with their children. Helping families create self-care plans with thier children gives them a sense of control, and prevents them from becoming overwhelmed with their feelings. When families create their own wellness plan, they gain ownership and autonomy. Having a plan makes it easier for them in a moment of crisis. They won’t have to wonder about what to do. Students can respond rather than react to the situation at hand. A wellness plan will allow them to take time to think about what they want to do and how they want to do it. It’s easy to help families do this. Begin by asking families to identify support structures, people, and activities that help them feel better. Guide them by creating a simple list of activities that make people feel calm or happy, such as music, exercise, coloring, art, or meditation. Offer suggestions of appropriate cognitive activities based on grade level. Once the activity is complete, ask students to identify one or two people with whom they have a good relationship and to whom they feel they can turn to for help and support. Next, ask students to list stressful things that might cause anxiety and be harmful to thier well-being. These are the things they will use thier wellness plan to help deal with. Work with them so they create a plan to address each of the stressors using items they choose for their wellness plan. As students create and implement their plans, they will realize that they are in control of how they respond to any situation in thier life. This will build thier self-esteem and confidence tremendously.
Keep learning meaningful by providing students with opportunities for collaboration and meaningful discourse during Zoom or Google Meet sessions. One strategy for this is called “Hook the Group,’ and what you do is present a problem or challenge. Then ask students to work collaboratively (without your help) to discuss and solve. As students discuss and attempt to solve, observe their interactions to identify gaps or misconceptions. Debrief as a small group and follow up with instruction and/or modeling. There are additional strategies mentioned in detail here.
Do make an effort to build on the knowledge of your students. Survey your students if you don’t know what they like. Ask them what topics they are most excited about and what books they are reading. Use this information to assign non-fiction books that build on students’ interests. You could also create a playlist of shows, documentaries, and historical events related to the topics mentioned. Encourage families to seek out community landmarks or interesting sights, if possible and of course while following social distancing guidelines, that are relevant to students’ interests. With all of these activities, it’s important to give students direction so they know what to be paying attention to. For example, ask them what their biggest surprise was from whatever book or show you assigned. You could also try a thinking routine sentence such as “I used to think ____but now I think____.” Always make sure students are doing something with their knowledge as well. They can share interesting facts they learned during a video conference or by sending a video clip. Students with limited internet access can share what they’ve learned with thier parents.
And now here is my one and only don’t:
Don’t forget your take time for yourself. Take a break when you need one. Use positive self-talk. Plan an activity to look forward to. Spend time outside or go for a walk. Leave work for ‘work time,’ and try to put it aside at night and on the weekend. Plan healthy snacks and meals. Be comfortable saying “no” to more obligations and give yourself grace.
Back in January, I choose ‘Grace’ to be my #oneword365, and I had no idea how meaningful that word would end up being during these past six months. Looking back at that blog post reminds me that grace truly is the voice that calls us to change and also what gives us the power to pull it off.
Thank you so much for visiting the blog today. I hope you found this post worthwhile. I truly appreciate your time and attention.
If you would like to connect further, please feel free to leave me a comment, message, or email and I will get back to you in a timely fashion.
Yours truly,
Jennifer
“Technology is just a tool. In terms of getting the kids working together and motivating them, the teacher is the most important”
Bill Gates
