Embedded Social-Emotional Learning The embedded social-emotional learning in Rising Voices forms a link between social-emotional learning, literary texts, and life. Under the “Build Social-Emotional Awareness” heading in the “Extend Learning” section of every Teaching Card, the teacher is offered a suggestion to tie the reading to something children can consider about their own lives and the world around them. For example, in the Kindergarten Teaching Card for A Song of Frutas, the teaching prompt says: “ The girl in the story loves spending time with her grandfather in his neighborhood in Havana, Cuba. She enjoys getting to be part of the community, even though her own home is in the United States, far away from Abuelo. Why do you think it can be good to find out about and explore different places and get to know the people who live there? ” This focus
“Social-emotional learning (SEL) skills can help us build communities that foster courageous conversations across
difference so that our students can confront injustice, hate, and inequity.”
—Dena Simmons, EdD (2019) Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence
on learning about and understanding other cultures targets the core competency of social awareness. Once children have had the opportunity to discuss among themselves, a few children should share their thinking with the class. Social-emotional learning must be taught with a lens on equity. While working with diverse groups of children in the classroom, it is important to understand how culture and personal experience can have an effect on a child’s understanding of social-emotional skills. Research shows that students’ social-emotional development is significantly impacted by their view of their cultural identity (Gee et al., 2014). By reading culturally responsive texts and discussing them in context, children will be given a safe space to explore the core competencies of social-emotional learning. This practice also allows children the opportunity to apply these core competencies to their own lives inside and outside of the classroom. “Social and emotional skills matter for many areas of development, including learning, health, and general well-being. Furthermore, recent research has demonstrated that high-quality, evidence-based social and emotional learning (SEL) programs produce positive outcomes for students, including reduced stress and improved behavior, attitudes, and academic performance.” —Stephanie Jones, Katharine Brush, et al. (2017) Harvard Graduate School of Education
Teacher’s Guide • 21
Sample Teacher’s Guide 13
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