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Social and Emotional Learning

Social/Emotional, Reading, and Writing Integration

Over the past few weeks we have been reading new books and learning about listening behavior and on topic behavior. We made a list of ways we can tell that someone is listening and someone is not listening, and we discussed what are the times that it is important to listen. Second graders shared that when a person is looking at you, facing you, and asking questions, it shows that that person is listening. Now when the teachers say “listening position” all students know to look at the speaker, listen, and ask questions or make comments to show that they are listening. Building on this we became actors and actresses in a role playing scene. In the first scene person A kept interrupting person B and asking questions that had nothing to do with the topic of conversation. In the second scene person A waited their turn to speak and then asked questions about the topic of conversation. We practiced having “on topic” conversations, and connected this to how we use our listening skills to notice the topic of conversation and follow it.

Some of the new books we have introduced in class are The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig, All The Ways to be Smart by Davina Bell. The Invisible boy is a story about a boy who feels invisible in school, and the pictures in the story show only him without color. The more he reaches out to others, the kinder the other kids are to him which leads to more color that he gains each page. We discussed how we have the power to invite friends to play, give compliments, and help each other. This can make us all feel recognized and happier! All The Ways to be Smart describes the different things we can be good at, not just in school but outside of school as well. For example, we can be good at apologizing when we’ve done something wrong, at using our imaginations, and being curious. We wrote about what we are good at and shared all the different strengths we bring to the classroom!

Over the weekend, practice having “on topic” conversations and being in a listening position. Also, ask your child which of these two books were their favorite and why!