2021-22 School Year
Here are some playlists on Spotify to use as you like (waiting on students to arrive, thinking time, brain break, etc).
Thank you, Rachel, for your help!
“Minidisco” (Comes in Dutch as well)
"Action songs for kids” - nursery rhyme/movement type songs that might be good.
“Disco songs for kids”
“Funny songs for kids”, (Andrew Milder)
“Music for the classroom” (instrumental), (the O’neill Brothers Group)
“Calming Music for Concentration”
“Morning Melvin Classroom” - collection of upbeat songs
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This activity is a suggestion for the International Day of Peace which is coming up. It is from Lea Waters (author of The Strength Switch) Visible Wellbeing Free E program.
Hope Hearts
Learning Goal:To help students see the role that hope plays in hard times and in creating peace.
Activity Outline:Step 1: Find a heart image for students to use
Step 2: Set up a whiteboard/jamboard ready to post the hearts on
Step 3: Class discussion about hope.
•Hope is a motivating emotion that creates/triggers/sparks actions.
*Hope is important for peace.
•Ask students to reflect on what hope means to them.
Step 4: What I hope for the world.•Students write hope statements in their hearts and these get stuck on the e-board.•Discuss with the class the themes that are common.•Discuss one small action each student can do to create hope for others.
Step 5: What I hope for myself.•Students write hope statements in their hearts and these get stuck on the wall.•Discuss with the class the themes that are common.•Discuss one small action each student can do to work towards the hope for their own goal.
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If you are concerned about any of your students, please contact Michele or Linda to get the conversation started about how to best provide support early in the year.
Looking for something quick to shift Zoom room energy or re-engage students?.... Try some of these creative brain breaks.
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From the Counselors
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Happy First week of school! We know you love being with your students.
Here are some mindfulness activities to keep the “elephants” from charging. Short and easy.
1. Just listen: Everyone mutes themselves and stays still, silent and becomes aware of surroundings by listening to sounds.
2. Ask your students to sit comfortably and start by being aware of how they feel in the present moment. Then, invite them to breathe in deeply and exhale, imagining that their belly is a balloon that inflates and deflates - even a few minutes can help them clear their minds.
3. Sensory experiences: Ask students to choose an item - could be a tennis ball, slime, playdoh, stuffed animal, etc. They should hold the object in their hand and describe or think about what they are experiencing - color, texture, smells, etc.
2020-21 School Year
Social and Emotional Engagement Tools
What? | Notes | Resources for helping teachers |
Assessing Engagement | Persistence not easily observed. We have to talk to students to find out about persistence and to do this you need a trusting relationship with students. | Questions to routinely ask students: Did you enjoy the class today? If so, what made it enjoyable, if not, what would have increased the level of enjoyment? Did you find any part of your work difficult? If so, what did you do? How did you feel about what you did? Why did you do the work you were assigned? Do you think you learned anything worthwhile from that work? If so, what and how could I know what you have learned? If you were to teach this class, what kind of activities would you build in, and why would you do that? Dr. Schlechty
Zoom rubric for engagement
T chart- "What did I really do well as a virtual learner this week? Students report on their actions they took and how these actions helped them learn which made them feel like a great learner this week. |
Engagement Strategies: |
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Foster optimism in student’s ability to change. | Hope can be cultivated. Researchers have found that students who are high in hope have greater academic success, stronger friendships, and demonstrate more creativity and better problem-solving | Solution focused questions for students: Tell me about times when you were successful. Tell me about times you felt the happiest. When was the last time that you felt you had a better day? What was it about that day that made it a better day? Can you think of a time when the problem was not present in your life? “WWW”- What went well for you since our last class? What are you grateful for since our last class? Coaching questions
t-charts:Grade level teachers, individual teachers, counselors create a chart looking at what does being a 'great virtual/hybrid learning team member/buddy' LOOK LIKE AND SOUND LIKE. Can be added to and used to help students and teachers take note of what students are doing well.
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Research findings: Students’ emotional engagement is more closely related to teacher perceptions of their behaviors than to teachers’ perceptions of students’ emotions. Teachers' interactions with students predict students’ behavioral and emotional engagement.
| Research article | Students behavior is related to teacher structure - clear expectations, strategic help. Students' emotional engagement is predicted by teacher involvement. Student engagement influences teacher behavior. Teachers should be aware of their attachment style which will impact their relationships in the classroom. Research suggests that teachers' attachment styles—how their childhoods shape adult relationships—may influence their work in the classroom. Teachers tend to magnify students' initial level of engagement...i.e. Students who enter with high levels of motivation get higher but those with low get lower.
SF questions for the teacher to foster a positive view of children’s engagement Tell about a time when the student was engaged? What signs of engagement did you see? How did the student’s engagement make a difference to you? How did the student know what his engagement made a difference to you?
Relationship building activities Strategies for building relationships Try cold calling, calling on students equitably, thinking time, add movement, activate connections to what students know, make sure vocabulary is manageable, don't lecture too much, help students conceptualize information (graphic organizers), use higher order thinking questions, summarize, and be student oriented. |
Encourage persistence and effort | Dr. Schlechty...“Most of us are not academically inclined. You have to be academic to enjoy academic work. Need a way to create engaging work.” work needs to have meaning and value. Teachers have control over work they give and the relationship they have with students. Understand that patience is involved in persistence. Model patience. | 
Praise effort, not intelligence
Tell me how much effort you put into the task and explain  the reason. Use scales. growth mindset feedback comments from PEEC (Positive Education Enhanced Curriculum). Growth mindset activities, Pepper strategy |
Communicate to students that we believe in them and trust them. | Students' emotional engagement is predicted by teacher involvement.
| Growing student trust and engagement
( Strengthening Student Engagement* by Dr. Richard D. Jones, Author and Senior Consultant, International Center for Leadership in Education November 2008) • Showing respect • “Being there” for students and frequent contact • Active listening • One-on-one communication • Encouraging students to express opinions • Avoiding “put-downs” • Writing encouraging notes • Students praising peers • Displaying students’ work • Identifying unique talents and strengths • Exhibiting enthusiasm • Using positive humor
Strength spotting activity |
Movement activities | Biological and neurological benefits of movement: increases neuroplasticity and increases positive endorphins.
A Learning non-negotiable | Digital brain break Brain breaks
Virtual brain breaks with movement
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Focus attention | Important for engagement. Small changes can make a big difference to engagement.
Lemov: make decisions about which students to call on to benefit all students. Plan for this. | How to get students to focus on something important: Have a signal for important information.. Put on hat. Use color for levels of importance. Walk backwards before teaching negative numbers. Something new captures curiosity. No opting out. Use individual write boards for predictions. (Dr Judy Willis on the Science of boredom). Create mystery Tell stories, make predictions, connections Call and response ideas Attention: to have and to hold by Dr. Judy Willis Cold calling Narrate the wait time/thinking time. Explain why we are waiting, use speech bubble visuals. Response cards 
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Keep the brain calm and open to learning | Brain can react to boredom just like fear. Brain can also protect us from boredom with daydreaming, etc. . (Dr Judy Willis) Keep the brain in a state of low stress.
| Breathing slides
Keeping brain and emotions regulated
Daily checkins
Music
Upstairs / Downstairs brain |
Develop social skills and creativity | Creativity encourages students to learn new things, reduces stress, improves focus and attention, improves problem solving. Social skills are important 21st Century skills. | Complete the drawing activity, create a treasure using recycled material.
Brain break cards for creativity and virtual brain breaks
Jigsaw activities - to encourage cooperation
Think outside the box drawing activity
Morning meeting activities for zoom Survey your students at the beginning of the year. Then make a point of using their names, favorite foods, games, books, etc. in word problems, writing exercises, shared reading and many other activities throughout the year. Use stories- use speech bubbles with clip art - characters showing different emotions Minecraft social skills story
Brain breaks |
Helping reluctant learners |
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Reasons students resist engagement | #1: Fear of Failure #2: Lack of Relevance #3: Lack of Trust | 
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How to find reason for resistance | When we don't start where our students are or spend enough time seeking the root causes of our students' resistance, we tend to jump ahead to trying to fix the problem, which often means working to convince students that they need to do their work or looking for ways to make the work more attractive to students. One of the biggest mistakes we can make is to try to motivate students using generic strategies. Instead, tailor your response to directly address the root cause of students' resistance and build value in students' own terms. R.Jackson | 
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Classroom barriers that prevent students from investing | 3 common classroom barriers that prevent students from investing (R. Jackson) Requiring currencies students don't have- examine each activity and ask What tools, skills, knowledge will students need to complete the assignment or participate in the activity. Do all students have access to tools and know how to use them? Not clarifying which currencies are required Insisting on our preferred currencies
| Focus on three key time frames (what goes on before, during, and right after students invest in your classroom), identify potential impediments during each phase, and consider how these barriers could be addressed. Do students have clear directions, expectations, know how to use the tools to get work done, is the work meaningful to them? Provide Students with More Autonomy-give them responsibility for learning, promote a sense of purpose, connect school tasks to overall goals, be mastery focused (emphasising the process of learning, self-improvement and new skills acquisition) over performance goals (based on an outcome or the ability to demonstrate competence). (R. Jackson)
Recognize and remove barriers to engagement |
More resources and inspiration to support teachers’ positive involvement with each child.
| community building strategies and self-care messages. | Questions for teachers: what do you want to be noticing about yourself that will tell you that you are on your way to being hopeful? What will you notice about yourself that tells you you tapped into hope? The wonderfulness of your activity The wonderfulness interview A mental vacation activity for teachers Taking note of successes- telling teachers what you see them doing
Self-care practices
Navigating the pandemic as an educator with anxiety
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