Tips and tools for promoting calm and focused attention in the classroom. This volume from the editor of the SEL Solutions Series provides a concise introduction to mindfulness for teachers and others who work in preschool and elementary-school settings. Each chapter includes simple, research- tested, practical activities that can be integrated into the school day to help kids calm down and pay attention.

Tips and tools for promoting calm and focused attention in the classroom. This volume from the editor of the SEL Solutions Series provides a concise introduction to mindfulness for teachers and others who work in preschool and elementary-school settings. Each chapter includes simple, research- tested, practical activities that can be integrated into the school day to help kids calm down and pay attention.

Mindfulness includes qualities of mind and heart; it provides a strong foundation for other social and emotional skills. Mindfulness is making inroads into classrooms, as teachers seek ways to center and focus their own attention as well as that of their distracted students. Trish Broderick describes the particular relevance of mindfulness to the teaching of adolescent students, including its potential to alleviate stress, foster motivation, engagement, and compassion—and ultimately, to improve both learning and social relationships. Her book is a guide to applying mindfulness to day-to-day classroom challenges; every chapter contains authentic vignettes of secondary teachers and students, brief practices to try, and a set of takeaway points and reflection questions.

SEL is not separate from academics or instruction; it is integral to quality teaching and learning. Not every school has the time, resources, capacity, or conditions to implement a schoolwide SEL program. But prioritizing SEL need not take time from instruction. This book draws on the latest research and resources to offer individual teachers and teacher teams an accessible guide to incorporating SEL into everyday teaching in middle- and high- school classrooms.

How to foster social and emotional learning, even when teaching remotely. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic posed multiple dilemmas for educators; the most immediate one, when schools closed their physical doors, was how to switch nimbly from classroom instruction to emergency remote teaching. But educators also face a related, ongoing challenge: how to meet the social and emotional needs of their learners when separated by distance, whether in the middle of a traumatic event or on an unremarkable day of schooling. In this essential volume of the SEL Solutions Series, online learning expert Stephanie Louise Moore shows how teachers can seamlessly integrate effective SEL practices into their online instruction, beginning with the all-important creation of a social learning community. Strategies and resources are provided throughout to help with every step, including: understanding the individual needs of diverse distanced learners; developing students’ navigational and focusing skills in the digital learning environment; increasing the level of interaction in online lessons; building in flexibility and choice; and assessing learning in a remote context.

An essential guide to using social and emotional assessment in support of teaching and learning. Assessing children’s social and emotional learning skills is a critical and underappreciated element of all SEL programming. This book provides educators with practical information that they can use to clarify their assessment goals, identify viable assessment options that meet their needs, and understand and use assessment data to inform their practice and improve student outcomes.

Lessons to begin using from the first day of school. Teachers are trained to manage misbehavior in the classroom, but receive little guidance about how to cultivate positive, prosocial behavior. With this book in hand, elementary teachers will be ready to launch the school year with confidence, using the concrete strategies in each chapter for improving students’ SEL skills in the five categories defined by CASEL (the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning): communication skills, emotion management, emotional awareness, social awareness, and decision-making skills. This handy guide breaks down instruction of these skills into small, sequenced steps, making it easy to foster students’ skills from the start of school and build on them as the year progresses.