The SEL Framework
What are the core competencies and where are they promoted? 

Welcoming Rituals establish and help maintain positive relationships.

In the classroom, they may be part of a morning circle, a class meeting, or even as simple as smiling and greeting each student by name as they enter the classroom. But when teachers purposefully choose a Welcoming Ritual and connect it in some way to the learning of the day, it strengthens the curricular connections and the climate of the class. 

So if you're not already using this practice, have a go at using Welcoming Rituals in class, in professional development, and in your PLCs this year!

In the future, we plan to provide other examples of Welcoming Rituals for your reference. Please check back!

• Superstar Ice Breaker Game: This simple, quick game (developed by Panorama Playbook partner Playworks) helps students explore and deepen relationships. Welcoming Ritual games promote respect, encourage playfulness, promote inclusion, and build community. Participation in these ice breakers also helps students feel more comfortable engaging in further games and activities, and are a great tool for new groups of students at the start of the year. Superstar Ice Breaker is a perfect fit as a first day of school get-to-know-you activity. 

• The Warm Wind Blows: Before students enter the classroom, write the following statement on the whiteboard: "The warm wind blows for everyone who likes to ______." Then, instruct students stand in a circle in front of a clearly marked spot, such as their chair or desk. One child is selected to start in the middle of the circle and complete the statement on the board (e.g., "The warm wind blows for everyone who likes to watch movies.") Everyone who agrees with their statement needs to find a new spot in the circle, including the student standing in the middle. Whoever is left without a spot in the outer circle is then the next one to move into the middle and complete the statement.

• Follow The Leader: This team building activity encourages students to practice active listening and build their observation skills. One students volunteers to be "it" and stand out in the hallway for a few minutes. Another student is selected to be the leader, whose role is to perform random physical movements (such as nodding their head or clapping their hands). The students need to watch closely and imitate his or her actions as they happen spontaneously. When the "it" person comes back into the classroom, they watch a few sets of movements and have three guesses to try and identify the leader.

Organization and Credit

In the sections below, you will find several ideas for Welcoming Rituals grouped by grade level bands and for professional development sessions. Depending on how well your participants know one another, be thoughtful about what SEL skills you hope to grow among the group. 

And remember to gear it to the content of your lesson or professional development activity for an even greater impact.

References: Cleveland Metropolitan School District's Class Meeting Ring Book; SmartBrief

Social Goals

"When planning lessons, we craft two types of goals — academic and social. Having dual goals ensures that both of the things we value — how students are working together and what they are learning — are given equal attention during our teaching." ~ Peter Brunn, The Lesson Planning Handbook: Essential Strategies That Inspire Student Thinking & Learning (p. 49)

We invite you to add a social goal based on the 3 Illinois SEL Standards and/or the Social Emotional Competencies to every academic goal. 

Examples of Social Goals Stated As Questions

• How can we agree or disagree respectfully in discussions?

• How might we share work equally?

• What tools can we use to help extend one another's thinking?

• How can we give and receive peer feedback respectfully?

• How can we listen to one another respectfully?

• How can we reach agreement?

Source: The Lesson Planning Handbook Essential Strategies That Inspire Student Thinking and Learning, Peter Brunn 

Building Class Culture with Social Goals

In this video, from the Teaching Channel, you will see middle school students developing their social goal for the lesson and self-reflecting at the end of class. 

Morning Meetings: A Daily Strategy for Teaching Social and Emotional Learning

The overall goals of any Class meetings/Circles  are to:

• Provide students with opportunities to check-in with their emotional state by labeling or naming feelings

• Establish psychological safety and trust among students and caring adults

• Support social-emotional needs as the foundation for academic learning and engagement

• Build a strong sense of connection and community

• Set the tone for the day (and the overall classroom climate)

• Encourage teamwork, a growth mindset, and collaboration

Documents

• 135 Circle/Class Meeting Community Building Ideas

• Sample Topics for Class Meetings/Circles

• 101 Circle Ideas

Class Meeting Greetings

Intentionally greeting students as they enter the classroom is an important aspect of any morning meeting. Review this list of sample class meeting greetings and brainstorm ways to adapt them for your students.

• The "Good Morning" Greeting: Greet each student at the door by making eye contact, saying, "good morning," and following up with a handshake or high five. Students can emulate this to greet each other.

• Compliments: Each student greets a classmate and shares a compliment with them. Educators can model what this looks like and set parameters for how to express gratitude and appreciation.

• Ball Toss Greetings: After students have entered the classroom and are seated (or standing) in a circle, roll or bounce a ball to one student. Ask them to greet a classmate (verbally) and gently roll or bounce the ball to them. That child can then choose someone new to greet and pass the ball to. 

Classroom Circles/Class Meetings

Morning and/or Closing Circles help students start and end the day (or class period) by building caring relationships with their peers and teachers. Students who participate in social and emotional learning activities have shown significant improvement in academic achievement, social behavior, and attitudes about self, others, and school, and also exhibit fewer conduct problems and less emotional distress (Durlak et al., 2011). Circles can also be used at any time of day, for a variety of purposes, including, but not limited to, conflict resolution, idea sharing, team building, problem solving, and getting to know one another.

This Classroom Circle Handbook was created and compiled by the Office of Social & Emotional Learning for Summer Bridge 2015 in the Chicago Public Schools. It is provided as a reference for more ideas and information on using Classroom Circles.

Sample of Strong Circle/Class Meeting Implementation
Source: Developmental Studies Center 

Sample of Teacher Facilitation Techniques
Source: Caring School Community/Developmental Studies Center 

Video Resources

Creating Space for Learning
An elementary example that illustrates how circles/class meetings can build community, practice SEL competencies and allow teachers to earn quality academic time throughout the day.
Source: Edutopia 

13 Powerful SEL Strategies
A high school example showing a Habits, Community, and Culture (HCC) class designed to help students learn habits of success and build SEL skills. Academic teachers at the school also use some of these activities to build SEL skills and deepen their relationships with their students.
Source: Edutopia 

5 Ways to End Class with Optimistic Closures

Think of: 

• Something I learned today

• Someone I was able to help

• Something I want to share with an adult 

• Something I am looking forward to doing tomorrow

• Something I enjoyed about the day

• Someone who was kind/helpful to me

Source: SEL Playbook OUSD 

One Word Whip Around

1. Prepare a statement or question prompt that is aligned to the content of the class. For example, “Think of one word about how you are feeling now that you have participated in this engagement,” or “Share one word that sums up your learning for today.”

2. Invite participants to stand in a circle.

3. State the prompt, explain that everyone should prepare a one-word response, and allow a minute of think time.

4. Ask for a volunteer to start off by sharing their word. The volunteer then chooses a direction to go in (left or right), and participants continue to respond in turn around the circle. As always, it’s okay to pass by saying, “Pass.”

5. If time allows, debrief the activity by asking participants if they noticed any themes or similar responses and ask what that might that tell us about the engagement or participants.

Source: SEL Playbook OUSD 

Suit Yourself

1. Pass out a playing card to each participant. The suit the participant gets describes the category of their response as follows:

   • Hearts: generate conversations about something from the heart—how you felt, what it meant to you, etc.

   • Clubs: describe things that grow—new ideas, new thoughts, a new point of view.  Diamonds: are gems that last forever. What are some of the gems of wisdom gathered from people or content?

   • Spades: used to dig in the garden, so generate conversation about planting new ideas or things participants dug up during class.

2. Provide 1-2 minutes of quiet time for each participant to jot down (or think about) their answer, then use one of the following three options:

   • Ask for one volunteer from each ‘suit’ to stand and share their response. Do not comment between sharing.  

   • Ask participants to turn to a neighbor and share their response. 

   • Invite each participant to answer aloud to you as they walk out door, or hand in their written response as an exit ticket.

Source: SEL Playbook OUSD 

My Next Step

1. Ask students to think of their first next step based on what they learned during class. It might be a conversation, gathering additional resources, or thinking more about the topic.

2. After giving participants a minute to think about what that step would be, ask them to share their next step with a partner or at their table.

3. Ask participants to write their “next step” on a stickynote and post the note somewhere where they will be reminded of their task, such as on their desk, inside the cover of their related text, etc.

Source: SEL Playbook OUSD 

I Am Curious

1. At the end of class, ask participants to complete this sentence, "I am curious to learn more about..." or, "I am curious about..."

2. Give participants a minute to think and write a "note to self.

3. At the end of the minute ask participants to share their “curiousity” with a partner or their table group.

4. After 1-3 minutes of partner talk, ask for for 2-3 people to share what they are curious about with the whole group.

5. Collect the “notes to self” if you are using this as a formative assessment for future planning.

Source: SEL Playbook OUSD 

Elementary Brain Breaks

Brain breaks are an important part of learning. They are small mental breaks designed to help students focus and attend. They typically get students moving and allow blood and oxygen to flow to the brain. These breaks allow students a small reset in the day and enhance energy and relaxation. Research states that doubling students’ chronological age is comparable to their attention span. Too much, too fast, won’t last. Teachers’ goals are for students to retain information, and it is best to allow them time to think and process. Brain breaks are good for students at any age from Pre-K through college. 

Countless research supports incorporating brain breaks into teaching. The benefits include better behavior, increased productivity, enhanced comprehension, creative thinking, and increased time on task. They help students pay attention and are as important as the skills being taught. https://www.edutopia.org/article/research-tested-benefits-breaks

• Headspace- Mindfulness for the Classroom- Get your Free Account 

• Class Dojo

• Cosmic Kids 

• Go Noodle 

• Jammin Minute

• Pure Edge- Create a free account to access

• PK Brain Breaks-Pure Edge

• K-2 Brain Breaks-Pure Edge

• 3-5 Brain Breaks-Pure Edge 

• Animated Brain Breaks from Pure Edge 

• Mindfulness with Justme

• Mindful Moment Videos with Ms. Gail (Department of Education-Delaware) 

Sid Shuffle

Brain breaks are an important part of learning. They are small mental breaks designed to help students focus and attend. They typically get students moving and allow blood and oxygen to flow to the brain. These breaks allow students a small reset in the day and enhance energy and relaxation. Research states that doubling students’ chronological age is comparable to their attention span. Too much, too fast, won’t last. Teachers’ goals are for students to retain information, and it is best to allow them time to think and process. Brain breaks are good for students at any age from Pre-K through college. 

Countless research supports incorporating brain breaks into teaching. The benefits include better behavior, increased productivity, enhanced comprehension, creative thinking, and increased time on task. They help students pay attention and are as important as the skills being taught. https://www.edutopia.org/article/research-tested-benefits-breaks

• Headspace- Mindfulness for the Classroom- Get your Free Account 

• Grades 6-8 Brain Breaks- Pure Edge 

• Grades 9-12 Brain Breaks- Pure Edge 

• Brain Break Video Library- Pure Edge 

• Pure Edge- Create a free account to access additional resources 

• Colorado Education Initiative-Teacher Toolbox Physical Activity Breaks in the Secondary Classroom 

• Secondary Brain Breaks

• YouTube Secondary Brain Breaks 

• Teach Upside Down Brain Breaks 

• Science Lessons That Rock Brain Breaks

• Mindfulness with Justme 

• Mindfulness Moments with Ms. Gail (Department of Education-Delaware) 6th Grade

Social-Emotional Learning Standards are divided into 3 Goals and those goals are broken down into standards. The standards describe the content and skills for students in grades K - 12 for social and emotional learning. Each standard includes five benchmark levels that describe what students should know and be able to do in early elementary (grades K - 3), late elementary (grades 4 - 5), middle/junior high (grades 6-8), early high school (grades 9-10), and late high school (grades 11-12). These standards build on the Illinois Social/Emotional Development Standards of the Illinois Early Learning Standards

Goals:
• Goal 1 - Develop self-awareness and self-management skills to achieve school and life success. Goal 1PDF
• Goal 2 - Use social-awareness and interpersonal skills to establish and maintain positive relationships. Goal 2PDF
• Goal 3 - Demonstrate decision-making skills and responsible behaviors in personal, school, and community contexts. Goal 3PDF