BUILDING AND ENHANCING

NEW LITERACIES ACROSS

THE CURRICULUM

Prepared by:

Jannel C. Alviola, Ph.D.

Head, Student Publication Office/ Associate Professor 3

College of Education
Bachelor of Secondary Education

For Instructional Purposes Only

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 VISION
A provide of relevant and quality education to a
society where citizens are competent, skilled,
dignified and community- oriented.

MISSION
An academic institution providing technological,
professional, research and extension programs to
form principled men and women of competencies
and skills responsive to local and global
development needs.

QUALITY POLICY
Northwest Samar State University commits to
provide quality outcomes-based education,
research, extension and production through
continual improvement of all its programs, thereby
producing world class professionals.

CORE VALUES
Resilience. Integrity. Service. Excellence.

INSTITUTIONAL GRADUATE OUTCOMES

Creative and critical thinkers
Life-long learners
Effective communicators
Morally and socially upright individuals

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 Table of Contents

Module 1 – Introduction to New Literacies ..................................................................................

What is Literacy?………………………………………………………………………………
Traditional literacy Vs. New Literacies……………………………………………….
Importance of Acquiring New Literacies………………………………………………
Types of New Literacies………………………………………………………………

Module 2 – Globalization and Multi-cultural Literacy ...........................................................

Key Concepts…………………………………………………………………………
Globalization…………………………………………………………………….
Multi-culturalism………………………………………………………………..
The Globalization Trend and Literacy: Issues and Concerns………………………...
Multi-culturalism and Literacy: Issues and Concerns………………………………..
Diversity, equality and social justice……………………………………………..
Addressing Diversity Issues and Integrating Multi-culturalism
into the Curriculum………………………………………………………………
Module 3 – Social Literacy ……………………………………………………………………….
What is Social Literacy?..............................................................................................
Importance of Social literacy………………………………………………………...
Developing and Integrating Social Literacy
in the School Curriculum……………...................................................................

Module 4 – Traditional Media Literacy…………………………………………………………

What is Traditional Media Literacy?...........................................................................
The Role of Mass Media in the Society……………………………………………..
Mass Media: Issues and Concerns…………………………………………………..
Effective Use of the Different Media Materials
(Trimedia: TV, radio, print)……………………………………………………..
Developing and Integrating Media Literacy in Education………………………….
Module 5 - Cyber Literacy/Digital Literacy………………………………………………
What is Digital Literacies?........................................................................................
The Digital Environment………………………………………………………..
The Digital Tools………………………………………………………………..
Types of Digital Literacies…………………………………………………………
Locating and Filtering………………………………………………………….
Sharing and Collaborating……………………………………………………..
Reusing and Repurposing……………………………………………………...
Creating and Generating……………………………………………………….
Organizing and Curating………………………………………………………
Digital Literacy Applications in Education……………………………………….

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 Table of Contents

Module 6 – Eco-literacy ..............................................................................................................

What is Eco-literacy ………………………………………………………………….
Inner Ecology…………………………………………………………………………
Outer Ecology………………………………………………………………………...
Importance of Eco-literacy……………………………………………………………
Education for Sustainability…………………………………………………………..

Module 7 - Art and Creativity Literacy……………………………………………………..

Art and Its Types………………………………………………………………………
What is Art and Creativity Literacy?.............................................................................
Bringing Art Literacy in Education………………………………………………….

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 Module 3
Module Title: Social Literacy

Lesson 2: Developing and Integrating Social Literacy in

the School Curriculum

What is Social-Emotional Learning?

Social-emotional learning is the process of developing and using social and emotional skills.
It’s the skillset we use to cope with feelings, set goals, make decisions, and get along with—
and feel empathy for—others. (You also might hear SEL referred to as socio-emotional
learning or social-emotional literacy.

People with strong social-emotional skills are better equipped to manage daily challenges, build
positive relationships, and make informed decisions. SEL helps students and adults thrive in
school and in life. And the skills can be taught and learned from preschool all the way through
adulthood.

That’s important because your students aren’t born knowing how to manage emotions, solve
problems, and get along with others. These kinds of skills have to be developed, and you can
work to help your students learn them.

Social-Emotional Learning Skills (SEL)

Five key areas (core competencies) that make up SEL:

 Self-awareness, like identifying emotions, recognizing strengths and needs, and

developing a growth mindset
 Self-management, like managing emotions, controlling impulses, and setting goals
 Social awareness, like seeing things from other people’s perspective, showing empathy,
and appreciating diversity
 Relationship skills, like communication, cooperation, and conflict resolution
 Responsible decision-making, including thinking about the consequences of personal
behaviour

The Benefits of Social-Emotional Learning

More and more research points to social and emotional skills—like cooperating and helping
others—as the foundation of thriving in life. Students with strong skills in these areas get along
better with their peers. They’re also more likely to graduate from high school and get a full-
time job.

One long-term study looked at the connection between kids’ early social-emotional skills and
their well-being as young adults. The study started tracking a group of students in kindergarten.

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 Teachers rated them on a scale of one to five, based on their ability to do things like sharing
and listening to others.

The study followed these students for nearly two decades. It found that for every point higher
the kindergartners scored on that five-point scale, they were:

 54 percent more likely to get a high school diploma

 Twice as likely to get a college degree in early adulthood
 46 percent more likely to have a full-time job at the age of 25

Other research has looked at SEL instruction. Early findings show it can lead to:

 Less emotional distress

 Fewer disciplinary incidents
 Increases in school attendance
 Improved test scores and grades

Social-Emotional Learning at School

The core competencies can be taught in many ways and across settings. SEL instruction often
focuses on kids’ emotional intelligence. The ultimate goal is to teach kids to understand and
respect themselves and others. This naturally leads to more positive behavior that promotes
social acceptance and friendship. Those skills together are often referred to prosocial behavior.

You may use explicit instruction to outline learning goals for SEL-specific activities and
explain the SEL skills to students. But social-emotional learning can happen in more than just
a lesson a day. You can provide opportunities to practice these skills in any class or content
area.

Making SEL a part of the school culture—across classrooms and throughout the day—is a big
part of schoolwide efforts to improve student well-being. A schoolwide emphasis is often
implemented as part of positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS). PBIS efforts
around social-emotional well-being can also help reduce bullying and build community.

Social and Emotional Learning Activities

SEL supports can also help with behavior management. Working on SEL skills can help
students understand how and why they’re behaving as they do and what supports they need if
their behavior is getting in the way of learning or making friends. This goes hand in hand with
PBIS.

SEL can help improve the overall quality and character of school life and improve the school
climate. When you’re implementing SEL practices and students get the help they need to
understand themselves and one another, SEL can lead to positive outcomes in school and
beyond.

SEL skills can be woven into traditional lesson plans. Here are some examples of instruction
at different grade levels that you might use:

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  Social-emotional learning activities for preschool: Show students how to work in
pairs. You can do this by modeling how to read a book together—pointing out how to
hold the book so it’s centered between two students and how to take turns flipping the
pages. This kind of explicit instruction can help kids learn about sharing, think about
the needs of others, and develop mutual respect.
 Social-emotional learning activities for grade school: You might ask students
to identify their strengths and weaknesses as part of math instruction. You can
encourage each child to do things like fill a hundreds grid or a pie chart to show how
strong the child feels at a particular skill.
 Social-emotional learning activities for middle school: At this age, you can focus
more on human connection. Do this by getting students to ask one another how their
weekend was. Explicit instruction can help make the classroom a safe space where
everyone can express themselves and say whether their weekend was good or bad. The
class can make an agreement that there’s no teasing or bullying allowed.
 Social-emotional learning activities for high school: Help teens practice taking the
perspectives of other people, like getting them to think about how a character in a book
felt or why a historical figure took certain actions. You can ask the class to reflect on
how and why someone fought for justice and equality. This builds SEL skills in your
students by creating opportunities to discuss these kinds of things in small groups or by
having them define and use the word empathy.

Targeted Supports for Social-Emotional Learning

You can teach social and emotional skills to students of all ages. The younger kids are when
they start learning how to build these skills, the better. But research shows that working on
them during adolescence can also help. The key is to meet students where they are.

Students who learn and think differently often struggle with self-regulation and other SEL
skills. They may also struggle with anxiety and low self-esteem. But targeted supports can help
them fully participate. Here are some ways you can support them:

 Know what social-emotional skills to expect at different ages. Knowing what to

look for can help you know which skills may need to be taught more explicitly.
 Talk about challenges. Emphasize that everyone has specific areas in which they
struggle. Use examples of ways you struggle to help make the point that they’re not
the only ones who have trouble. It can help them feel less alone.
 Help students understand how they learn and what kinds of support they need to
thrive. Self-awareness is a key part of self-advocacy.
 Guide students through the process of self-reflection. Targeted supports can help
students who struggle with executive functioning issues or impulse control. SEL
activities that use yoga or other kinds of movement may help kids slow down and
think about next steps.
 Build social-emotional learning into everyday life. There are fun ways to teach
key skills like naming their feelings and learning how to compromise.

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 Key Takeaways

 Working specifically on social-emotional skills can help lead to positive outcomes in

school and beyond.
 Kids of all ages can benefit from SEL instruction.
 Some kids may need targeted supports to fully benefit from SEL.

25 Ways to Integrate Social Emotional Learning

By pathway2success

Kids and young adults need social-emotional skills to be successful at school, home,
and for the rest of their lives. These are the skills that help kids build confidence, understand
their own strengths and weaknesses, collaborate with others, navigate social situations, develop
strong relationships, and make better decisions. Without a doubt, these are critical skills for all
learners.

Here are 25 ways to integrate social emotional learning into your classroom:

1. Use Journal Writing. You can use daily journal prompts to help kids think about social-
emotional skills in all areas. For example, you might ask kids, “When was a time you used self-
control? What was outcome?” to focus on self-management skills. After writing, it’s helpful to
have students share their responses with a partner and with the class as a whole. Kids will be
practicing writing, partner work, group discussion, and SEL skills all at the same time. I love
this yearlong Social Emotional Learning Journal for just a few minutes of writing and
discussion every day.

2. Use Read Alouds. This is one of my favorite strategies for integrating SEL into everyday
learning because it is something educators do so often already. While reading, spend time
talking about how some of the characters might think and feel. Use this time to highlight that
this is perspective-taking, a skill we use to understand others’ emotions and thoughts. Best of
all, it can be done with any text you are already reading. Grab this free read aloud list for social
emotional learning to get you started with some ideas.

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 3. Do Daily Greetings. Kids and young adults need connection! One positive and simple
strategy is to start your morning with daily greetings. You can do this as kids walk through the
door or during the first few minutes of class. If you are teaching online, greetings can even be
virtual. Use this printable greetings poster to get started.

Hold Class Meetings. You can choose to hold a class meeting once a day as a “morning
meeting” or just once a week. The purpose of a class meeting can be to boost each other up, to
help solve problems, and plan class events together. Having this space for community can help
promote a positive climate for all kids. Use this morning meeting set to get started.

4. Incorporate Art Activities. Art can be a powerful way to target social and emotional skills.
Creating a self-collage can help kids develop better self-awareness about who they are. Painting
and drawing can serve as positive coping strategies to manage stress. Having partners work
together on a shared drawing can increase collaboration and relationship skills. There are lots
of opportunities for learning with art!

5. Talk About Managing Emotions. No matter what age, all kids and young adults need
practice managing their emotions. This is another skill that can be weaved into literature as you
talk about character’s feelings and needs. You might say, “How did Theresa feel when her
mom left? How did she manage her emotions? Do you think it was a healthy way to manage

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 them?” Additionally, be open with kids about how to manage their own emotions and give
strategies for what kids can do in your classroom. For example, “If you are feeling nervous
about the test today, remember to use positive self-talk. Tell yourself that you’ve got this!”

6. Give Responsibilities. Giving kids responsibilities and jobs helps build their sense of self-
worth and gives the message that we are all part of a larger community. It’s important that
every student has some type of responsibility, whether it is a class librarian, lunch counter, or
part of a “clean-up crew”.

7. Practice Problem-Solving Skills. If students have an issue or challenge to overcome, avoid

solving it for them right away. Encourage kids to think about how they could solve their
problem and have a 10 minute policy – students can get your help but they need to think about
the problem for at least 10 minutes first. Often, kids will figure out a solution on their own or
with a friend during that time. You can use these free social problem solving task cards or grab
the full set to get started! Again, this is another skill that can be strengthened through literature
by discussing characters, problems, and making predictions about solutions.

8. Build Community with Teamwork. For class projects and assignments, have students work
in larger teams to complete a task. Teach students to assign different jobs when working in a
team, so that all students have important responsibilities.

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 9. Encourage Positive Self-Talk. Self-talk is voice in our minds that reassures and encourages
us. It also helps us control our emotions so we can deal with problems appropriately. Today,
kids hear a lot of negative, so teaching positive self-talk explicitly is really important. Model
this and encourage this every day. Use this free positive thoughts and affirmations list to get
started.

10. Celebrate Diversity. Spend time discussing and learning about people from diverse
cultures, backgrounds, and ability levels. Kids need to hear, see, discuss, and understand that
we are part of a larger community within our countries and world. Early discussions about
diversity can help promote tolerance, acceptance, and inclusion for everyone.

11. Incorporate Hands-on Crafts. If your students need a craft break or activity before a
holiday, use that time to promote social and emotional skills. The craft below is a Positive Self-
Talk Flower Craft. Kids can add their own positive self-talk statements, color the craft, cut it
out, and then keep it to help remind them how to use this helpful strategy. This is just one small
example that can help to maximize your learning time by incorporating SEL into activities like
crafts.

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 12. Encourage Reflection. After students complete a task, assessment, project, or assignment,
encourage them to reflect about their own progress. This is a critical SEL skill that can be used
across all curriculum, such as math, reading, writing, science, history, and more.

13. Practice Mindfulness. Using mindfulness in the classroom can help teach kids how to
calm down before a big test, manage their emotions when they are upset, and just feel happier
in the moment. Sometimes, kids don’t really know how to calm down on their own. Teaching
mindfulness can help kids learn breathing strategies, how to focus on just one thing at a time,
and relaxing our bodies. You can use these Mindfulness Activities to teach kids these strategies
right away.

14. Create a Calm Down Area. Not all kids will use this area, but there are some students
who truly need it. Set up a small area in your classroom with a bean bag, a few books, a calm
down jar, a few fidgets, and anything else you have that is calming. Students who need this
space can sit, use coping strategies, and return back to class when they are calm again.

15. Promote a Growth Mindset. Embracing a growth mindset helps kids and young adults
learn that we can accomplish our goals with hard work, good strategies, and persistence over
time. Sometimes kids feel they are just as smart as they’ll ever be (i.e. “I’m just never good at
math, so there’s no use in trying). This mindset can be detrimental to student growth, so it is
worth investing time into teaching kids to embrace a growth mindset and instead say, “Math is
tough but I’m going to study, work hard, and ask for help so I can accomplish what I want to.”
Use these free Growth Mindset Task Cards to get yourself started!

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 16. Encourage Kindness. One of my favorite ways to promote kindness is encouraging
random acts of kindness. Set up a bin where students can write and add a note when they notice
someone else doing something kind or helpful. Once a month, draw from the bin to award a
small reward. You can also post the random acts up on a bulletin board so that everyone can
see.

17. Play Games. It’s helpful to have an assortment of games that focus on social-emotional
skills, such as communication, empathy, and problem-solving. Read up more on how you
can integrate social emotional learning through games. You can also read my blog post
about games you can use to strengthen executive functioning skills, such as self-control,
planning, attention, and more.

18. Provide a Daily Check-in. You can do this either through a morning meeting, or just a
quick check-in for specific students in need. Have students identify how they are feeling and
consider what they might need to improve their emotions in the moment.

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 19. Discuss Empathy. To me, empathy is one of the most critical skills for kids to develop. It
is the foundation for considering about how others think and feel so that we can respond in
socially appropriate and compassionate ways. You can practice empathy on its own or through
literature by discussing characters and how they might feel in a variety of situations. I also love
these social skills task cards to practice the skills when time allows.

20. Create SMART Goals. SMART goals are another way to help kids have control over what
they want to accomplish in life. You can have students write SMART goals for an academic
area that they need to improve or a social area that needs work. Make sure to check-in on these
goals periodically so that students can identify if their strategies are working or not, and make
decisions about how to change their approaches to make their goals a success.

21. Teach Coping Skills to Manage Stress. All kids and young adults experience stress even
when we don’t see it. It is so important to teach them actual strategies they can use when they
are feeling overwhelmed. It’s critical that kids practice these strategies when they are actually
calm and don’t need them. That’s so they can effectively use those skills in the moment when
they are struggling with emotions. I love this Coping Strategies Wheel to teach and practice
some of these skills in a hands-on way.

22. Highlight Skills Throughout the Day. Just teaching or addressing some of these social-
emotional skills isn’t enough. When you see them in action in the classroom, highlight and
encourage the skill! For example, you might say privately to a student, “I noticed you were

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 frustrated when you couldn’t work with the group you wanted and you did a great job using
your self-control and flexibility to go with the flow and choose another group. Thank you.”
You can highlight the skills to the whole class, too. You might say, “Before this test, I want
everyone to just stop and use some positive self-talk. Give yourself a compliment.”

23. Teach Active Listening Skills. All kids need to learn strong active listening skills for
success at school, with friends, and at their future jobs. Kids will use them in your classroom
when you are teaching, when they are working with a partner on an assignment, and when they
are just chatting with a friend.

24. Teach Group Ground Rules. Group work is an important part of learning in the
classroom, but it is not a strength for all learners. Have your kids develop “Group Ground
Rules” for what is important when working in a group. Some examples might be: Do your fair
share of the work, stay with the group, and give everyone a chance to speak up. Continually
remind students of these rules when working in groups or partners.

25. Practice Respectfully Disagreeing. People are going to disagree sometimes, so learning
how to disagree respectfully is a critical skill (especially in our digital world). Have students
discuss and debate topics, making sure that they actively listen to the other person and respect
that opinion even when they don’t agree.

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 10 Ways to Teach Social Skills in Your Classroom
By The Inclusive Class

Research and experience has told us that having social skills is essential for success in life.
Inclusive teachers have always taught, provided and reinforced the use of good social skills in
order to include and accommodate for the wide range of students in the classroom.

Essentially, inclusive classrooms are representations of the real world where people of all
backgrounds and abilities co-exist.

Here some ways in which you can create a more inclusive classroom and support social skill
development in your students:

1. Model Manners

If you expect your students to learn and display good social skills, then you need to lead by
example. A teacher's welcoming and positive attitude sets the tone of behaivor between the
students. They learn how to intereact with one another and value individuals. For example,
teachers who expect students to use "inside voices" shouldn't be yelling at the class to get
their attention. In other words, practice what you preach.

2. Assign Classroom Jobs

Assigning classroom jobs to students provides opportunties to demonstrate responsibility,

teamwork and leadership. Jobs such as handing out papers, taking attendance, and being a
line-leader can highlight a student's strengths and in turn, build confidence. It also helps
alleviate your workload! Teachers often rotate class jobs on a weekly or monthly basis,
ensuring that every student has an opportunity to participate.

3. Role-Play Social Situations

As any teacher knows, it's important to not only teach the students a concept or lesson but
then give them a chance to practice what they have learned. For example, if we teach
students how to multiply, then we often provide a worksheet or activity for the students to
show us their understanding of mulitiplication. The same holds true for teaching social skills.
We need to provide students with opportunities to learn and practice their social skills. An
effective method of practice is through role-playing. Teachers can provide structured
scenarios in which the students can act out and offer immediate feedback.

4. Pen-Pals

For years, I arranged for my students to become pen-pals with kids from another school. This
activity was a favorite of mine on many different academic levels; most importantly it taught
students how to demonstrate social skills through written communication. Particularly
valuable for introverted personalities, writing letters gave students time to collect their
thoughts. It levelled the playing field for students who had special needs or were non-
verbal. I was also able to provide structured sentence frames in which the kids held polite

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 conversation with their pen-pal. Setting up a pen-pal program in your classroom takes some
preparation before the letter writing begins. You want to ensure that students have guidelines
for content and personal safety.

6. Large and Small Group Activities

In addition to the academic benefits, large and small group activities can give students an
opportunity to develop social skills such as teamwork, goal-setting and responsibility.
Students are often assigned roles to uphold within the group such as Reporter, Scribe, or
Time-Keeper. Sometimes these groups are self-determined and sometimes they are pre-
arranged. Used selectively, group work can also help quieter students connect with others,
appeals to extroverts, and reinforces respectful behavior. Examples of large group activities
are group discussions, group projects and games. Smaller group activities can be used for
more detailed assignments or activities.

7. Big Buddies

We know that learning to interact with peers is a very important social skill. It is just as
important to learn how to interact with others who may be younger or older. The Big Buddy
system is a great way for students to learn how to communicate with and respect different age
groups. Often an older class will pair up with a younger class for an art project, reading time
or games. Again, this type of activity needs to be pre-planned and carefully designed with
student's strengths and interests in mind. Usually, classroom teachers meet ahead of time to
create pairings of students and to prepare a structured activity. There is also time set aside for
the teacher to set guidelines for interaction and ideas for conversation topics. Entire schools
have also implemented buddy programs to enrich their student's lives.

8. Class Stories

There are dozens of stories for kids that teach social skills in direct or inadvertant ways. Find
strategies to incoporate these stories in your class programs. You can set aside some time
each day to read-aloud a story to the entire class or use a story to teach a lesson. Better yet,
have your class write their own stories with characters who display certain character traits.

9. Class Meeting

Class Meetings are a wonderful way to teach students how to be diplomatic, show leadership,
solve problems and take responsibility. They are usually held weekly and are a time for
students to discuss current classroom events and issues. Successful and productive meetings
involve discussions centered around classroom concerns and not individual problems. In
addition, it reinforces the value that each person brings to the class. Before a class meeting,
teachers can provide the students with group guidelines for behavior, prompts, and sentence
frames to facilitate meaningful conversation.

10. Explicit Instruction

Finally, teachers can carve out a time in their curriculum to directly teach social skills to their
students.

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 21 Simple Ways to Integrate Social-Emotional Learning throughout the Day
By Elizabeth Mulvahill

1. Start the day with a check-in.

Make it a goal to start each day with a personal connection. It doesn’t need to be a time-
consuming or elaborate procedure. It could be as simple as giving a warm greeting to welcome
each person as they arrive in the morning.
2. Use story time for teachable moments.
Read-aloud are the perfect tools for exploring social-emotional themes with your class.
They’re not just for little kids either—there are tons of gorgeous picture books with complex
themes and vocabulary that older kids will love too.
3. Work in partnerships.
Give kids lots of opportunities to work with partners. Working with a partner helps kids
learn to cooperate and builds community in your classroom. Alternate between strategically
assigning partnerships and allowing kids to make their own choices.
4. Teach them how to work in a group.
Being able to work in a group setting is an important life skill. Students will learn how to
negotiate with others, develop leadership skills and figure out their own strengths so they can
best contribute to the group. Click here for tips to make group work more productive.
5. Nurture a culture of kindness.
At the beginning of the year, read Have You Filled a Bucket Today? a story about the
power of kind words. Then create your own bucket for the classroom. Get a small tin bucket
from a craft store and cut 3-by-3-inch pieces out of card stock. Kids can write messages of
kindness, appreciation and love on the cards throughout the week to fill up the bucket. At the
end of each week, spend a few minutes sharing these notes of encouragement to end the week
on a positive note.
6. Give them new words to say.
Here’s a free poster, “8 Phrases That Nurture Growth Mindset,” that gives students
positive phrases they can use to foster their resilience and overcome failure. Hang a large copy
on the wall, or give them their own smaller version for their journals or planners.
7. Set up a Peace Place.
Create a special place in your classroom for kids to take a break when they are upset or
angry or need to calm themselves. This space should have a peaceful atmosphere and might
include comfy pillows to sit on, noise-canceling headphones, a fish tank, journaling materials,
calming images and/or books about peace.
8. Teach your kids how to manage conflict with peer mediation.
Peer mediation is a problem-solving process that helps students involved in a dispute
meets in a private, safe and confidential setting to work out problems with the help of a student
mediator.

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 9. Use anchor charts to teach social-emotional skills.
You can create anchor charts with your class about many different topics, from “Owning
Your Learning” to “What Does Respect Look Like?” and “Be a Problem-Solver.”
10. Practice lots of role-play.
Sometimes you have to put yourself in someone else’s shoes to truly understand a
situation. Taking time to role-play tricky or troubling situations that show up in your classroom
helps kids develop empathy and understand other people’s feelings.
11. Allow for talk time.
Give kids a lot of opportunities for both structured and unstructured to talk to one another
during the course of the day. Bouncing ideas off of one another or figuring out problems with
a little give-and-take will help your students build understanding and confidence. Here are 10
great techniques to try with your students. When your class is cracking up and getting wiggly,
taking a five-minute chat break is a great way to hit the reset button.
12. Play games to build community.
Cooperative-learning games can promote social and relationship skills. There are tons of
resources out there for activities to play in your classroom.
13. Buddy up with an older or younger class.
Having a special connection with another class is a great way to build positive ongoing
relationships in your school community. Kids are always amazed at how easy it is to find
common ground with younger or older students. The big kids feel important and the little kids
feel special.
14. Build community with teams.
Consider an alternative seating arrangement that allows kids to sit in teams. Let each team
create an original name, motto and flag. This is a great way for students to feel a sense of
belonging, and it encourages collaboration and cooperation. Change up teams every 6 to 12
weeks.
15. Teach them to monitor their own progress.
Make personal goal-setting (academic, emotional, social, etc.) a regular activity with your
students. It will strengthen their intrapersonal skills and give them ownership of their own
learning. Help them develop the habit of revisiting and adjusting their goals often to monitor
progress. Am I meeting my goals? What do I need to work on next? How do I want to grow?
16. Hold class meetings.
Check in frequently to celebrate what is working and address things that need tweaking
within your classroom community. Empower all of your students with a voice and a vote to
give them ownership of their environment.
17. Make space for reflective writing.
Give your student time to journal and free-write. Put on quiet music. Dim the lights. Make
writing time a quiet, soothing break from busyness that your students will look forward to.

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 18. Encourage expression through art.
Sometimes students think and feel things that they can’t quite put into words. Art is a great
tool to allow them to explore topics from a different perspective. Sketch your thoughts and
feelings out as a prewriting activity. Create a painting as an interpretation of a piece of music
or poetry.
19. Assign interview projects.
Have your students interview each other throughout the year about topics such as cultural
background, family traditions or opinions about a current event. Conducting a formal interview
is different than a casual conversation and teaches skills such as focused listening and
conversational skills. In addition, learning about their classmates will broaden their perspective
as they consider that everyone’s background and experience is not necessarily the same as their
own.
20. Put them to work.
Classroom jobs teach responsibility and give kids ownership of their classroom. Pride in
a job well done is a great confidence-builder.
21. End each day with a checkout.
Circle up for just a few minutes at the end of each day to reflect on your day together.
Check in with how your students are feeling, talk about what went well, read some notes from
the kindness bucket and set some goals for tomorrow.

How to Promote Social, Emotional, and Character Development

By Maurice J. Elias

As more and more schools adopt social and emotional learning standards and realize
that students’ college and career success depends strongly on their social, emotional,
and character development (SECD), teachers are looking for guidance as to how to
bring SECD into their classrooms every day. Whether or not your cl ass has a
systematic curriculum, students benefit when SECD is part of academics and
classroom conversations and procedures.

Each of the eight areas below includes a list of strategies that you can introduce into
classroom and school routines.

1. Be a positive role model in your words and actions:

 calm yourself down when you’re upset,

 use a problem-solving process to help you make decisions,
 reflect on what you have done and try to learn from it, and
 live a life of social commitment and concern for others.

2. Respond to real-life situations by:

 showing measured reactions to students’ behaviors,

 offering students choice and voice,
 providing opportunities for students to give feedback to each other,

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  noting the consequences of their choices, and
 providing second chances when appropriate.

3. Read to students and use literature:

 share biographies and autobiographies to highlight character virtues and use of

positive SECD skills,
 examine current role models and those from history,
 work with students to examine the advantages and disadvantages of the internet, and
 explore the work of scientists, mathematicians, artists, musicians, first responders,
public officials, and those working in other fields, the problems they were trying to
solve, and the decisions they made along the way.

4. Encourage writing as a means of expression by:

 teaching students a variety of emotion words to use in their writing,

 encouraging students to think about choices and consequences and effects on self
and others,
 identifying students’ goals and aspirations and how these connect to their everyday
behaviors, and
 having students use a personal journal with or without feedback to record interests,
needs, ambitions, feelings, attitudes, and emotions.

5. Have conversations about character by:

 relating personal and family stories,

 sharing and listening to students’ experiences,
 highlighting examples of kindness and of caring students in and around the school,
 discussing real-life and fictional dilemmas and the choices and values they require,
 reflecting on what motivates people and why they act the way they do, and
 commenting on and improving the critical thinking skills of students, including time
management, goal-setting, questioning, brainstorming, problem-solving, and ethical
decision-making.

6. Advocate for participation and service in school and in the community by:

 providing many opportunities for contribution to the everyday classroom

community,
 encouraging students to become involved in school activities,
 recognizing when students volunteer and help others,
 encouraging students to engage in cultural events and share what they experienced,
 encouraging involvement in physical activities such as sports or exercise programs
or other co-curricular activities, and
 encouraging classroom and school community service projects.

7. Promote mindfulness in students by:

 having mindful moments in your classroom at the start of the day and during
transitions,

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  giving time for reflection at the end of the school day, or the end of a class or unit,
about what was learned, how students’ learning was supported, and what questions
students have for the future, and
 teaching a self-calming strategy students can use when they anticipate or find
themselves upset in a situation, such as before tests and performance situations or
when in a conflict with peers.

8. Help students make better decisions about their health and relationships by:

 having them set goals for something they can do to improve their health (nutrition,
personal hygiene, sleep patterns), and
 having them set goals for something they can do to improve their behavior
(controlling strong negative emotions, stopping harassment and intimidation of
others, acting more kindly and helpfully, and being more honest).

The more frequently you integrate these strategies into the learning and teaching as
routines, the more habitual they will become for students. When this happens, you
will be building students’ social, emotional and character development in ways that
will nourish and create positive habits in their interpersonal and intrapersonal
relationships.

How can we incorporate social literacy into the classroom?

Ways to incorporate social literacy online:
Blogging: Through blogging, students learn how to effectively use the internet and share their
thoughts and knowledge appropriately. Reading classmates blog posts and responding helps
students learn from others and gives them access to others ideas, as well as a chance to
constructively respond.
Class website: A class website is extremely useful in teaching students how to use and navigate
on the internet. Keeping students updated on class happenings, as well as giving student’s
opportunity to write and contribute on the class website will teach them useful skills in
communicating on the internet.
Video conferencing: Video conferencing has endless possibilities. Whether it is conferencing
with a professional in the community, or students from a culture across the world, it opens up
a realm of social interaction that can teach students so much about people in the world around
them.
Social Networking Sites: social networking gives students opportunities to know and learn
about people all over the world in a matter of seconds. Encouraging students to meet people of
other cultures and learn about social issues around the world is a priceless opportunity-and we
are so blessed to have sites like these to make it happen.

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 Ways to incorporate social literacy in a face to face environment:
Group projects: group projects give students opportunities to interact face to face and
experience social interactions. It is so crucial that students learn to interact with people
effectively and contribute their part. ,
Peer reviewing: Peer reviewing teaches students how to give constructive advice and
communicate their thoughts well. To be able to give constructive criticism and view another
person’s ideas is an important ability.
Field trips: taking students to a museum or to volunteer in an area in need could help students
open their eyes and learn about different societies. On any field trip, even learning how to travel
in groups, communicate with people in charge, and work together as a group will be effective
in teaching students to be socially literate.

References

Clark, A. (2020). Social-emotional learning: What you need to know. Retrieved from
https://www.understood.org/en/learning-thinking-differences/treatmentsapproaches/
educational-strategies/social-emotional-learning-what-you-need-to-know.

Elias, M. J. (October 14, 2019). How to promote social, emotional, and character development.
Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/article/how-promote-social-emotional-and-
character-development.

Eredics, N. (August 5, 2015). 10 Ways to teach social skills in your classroom. Retrieved from
http://www.theinclusiveclass.com/2015/08/10-ways-to-teach-social-skills-in-your.html.

Mulvahill, E. (October 21, 2016). 21 Simple ways to integrate social-emotional learning

throughout the day. Retrieved from https://www.weareteachers.com/21-simple-ways-to-
integrate-social-emotional-learning-throughout-the-
day/?fbclid=IwAR0wVwECxfNyCMQxiOwAXVUf-WwZdG7DOwMoY-
OY_spFp1UjBCPlV50Ezt8.

Social literacy. Retrieved from https://360430028271334326.weebly.com/how-can-social-

literacy-be-taught-in-a-classroom.html.

25 Ways to Integrate Social Emotional Learning. Retrieved from https://www.thepathway

2success.com/25-ways-to-integrate-social-emotional-learning/.

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 ACTIVITY

Module 3-Lesson 2 provides you with variety of approaches, strategies and activities in
integrating social-emotional skills development in classes. Read the module and reflect. Then,
develop at least one (1) activity that you think you could give your class in the future.

Indicate the following items in your output:

1) Subject

2) Lesson/Subject Matter

3) Activity Title

4) Activity Description

5) Activity Details

You may adopt a given activity in the module, and modify it to suit to the class that you
imagine. Be sure that you give clear and specific instructions for the activity.

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