Guide 3: Social Emotional

Skills

Early Childhood Faculty Infusion Guide*

This is a guide for college and university instructors working to infuse the

pyramid model into coursework.

*Materials were adapted from Training Modules and other resources from:

*This guide was developed by Amy Davis, Brenda Jerles, Nancy Ledbetter, and Sandra Williamson, Nashville

State Community College faculty and Cindy Ligon and Meg Thorstenson, Tennessee Voices for Children (TVC)

staff. Funding for the development of this guide was provided through a contract with TVC from the Tennessee

Early Childhood Training Alliance (TECTA).

The TECTA Program is funded through a contract with the Tennessee Department of Human Services and

Tennessee State University, Center of Excellence for Learning Sciences

Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning (CSEFEL)

www.vanderbilt.edu/csefel

Technical Assistance Center on Social Emotional Intervention for

Young Children (TACSEI)

www.challengingbehavior.org

Introduction to Infusion Guides for Instructors:

Please note the following key points about this Infusion Guide and the various sections:

Purpose: This guide can be used for various courses at both the community college and university

level. The purpose of the guide is to offer content, strategies, and assessment possibilities related to

infusing various aspects of the pyramid model of social-emotional development into college

coursework. It is believed that infusion into higher education provides an important vehicle for

supporting the implementation of this model into all programs in early education in Tennessee.

Learning Outcomes: The guide begins with a section titled, Learning Outcomes. These are what

students should know and be able to do in relation to the topics covered in the infusion guide. These

outcomes will help you determine if the content of the guide matches course objectives in your

particular courses.

Fundamentals: As a beginning overview section, the guide provides content and strategies related to

four specific topics below:

a. The Pyramid Model – This section is important to understanding the pyramid model and

making connections for students to each level of the pyramid. It is recommended that

instructors intentionally view, review, and explain the pyramid throughout their instruction. If

instructors need to strengthen their own background knowledge about the pyramid model, he

or she can review this section in more detail.

b. Importance of Relationships with Children, Families, and Colleagues – It is recommended that

instructors “practice what they preach” and focus on all relationships whether in an early

childhood classroom or college classroom.

c. Building Relationships and Community in the College Classroom – Each guide provides

strategies for building and enhancing your relationships with your own college students,

building a strong lower level of the pyramid in college instruction.

d. Becoming Emotionally Intelligent (Developing Self-Awareness) – Many instructors find that

their college students need support in developing their own emotional intelligence. This can

be a lifetime journey for most adults. The guide provides some strategies that can be used

with college students to help them become more aware of this aspect of their development

and guide them in growth.

Relevant Course Topics: The guide offers specific course topics that might be addressed related to the

pyramid model.

Intentional Teaching of Course Topics: This section is developed for each of the course topics. Each

topic is broken out into these sections: Readings, Multimedia, Book Nook, Activities, and Additional

Materials and Resources. The materials are adapted from the CSEFEL and TACSEI websites (see cover

page.) All the materials and multimedia are provided with the guide. You do not have to go to the

websites to print or download the materials and media; they are included in the guide materials.

Assessment Strategies: A few suggested assessment strategies for college courses are included in this

section. These are only beginning ideas to prompt additional ideas.

Handouts: Handouts are provided that are in a separate section at the end of the guide.

Practice What You Preach!

Walk the talk!

Integrate-Embed-Model

Experience-Practice-Reflect

Early Childhood Faculty Infusion Guide

Guide 3: Social Emotional Skills

This guide provides outcomes, topics, teaching strategies and assessments related to a

study of developmentally appropriate practices and the teacher’s role in supporting

development of young children ages birth through eight. The course covers an emphasis on

curriculum planning including goals, environment, roles of teachers and parents, materials,

and settings. (In Tennessee Community Colleges this correlates to ECED 2015)

Outcomes and List of Topics

Learning Outcomes

The student will be able to:

a) Explain the overall connection of the CSEFEL Pyramid model to the social

emotional aspects of this course

b) Describe the importance of building relationships with children, families and

colleagues

c) Identify strategies for their personal and professional social-emotional growth

d) Provide learning opportunities that support the social and emotional

development of young children

e) Identify specific positive guidance strategies for use in the early childhood

setting

Fundamentals

a. The Pyramid Model

b. Importance of Relationships with Children, Families, and Colleagues

c. Building Relationships and Community in the College Classroom

d. Becoming Emotionally Intelligent (Developing Self-Awareness)

Relevant Course Topics

a. Intentionality in Teaching Social Emotional Skills

i. Developing Friendship Skills

ii. Emotional Literacy – Identifying Feelings

b. Guidance

i. Teaching (Prevention) vs. Punishment

ii. Strategies

1. Problem-Solving Skills

2. Giving Directions

3. Promoting Engagement: Large and Small Group

4. Controlling Anger

Teaching Strategies

Fundamentals -- The essential areas for building an understanding of The Pyramid Model

Pyramid Model (overall connection to the CSEFEL Pyramid model as a framework for

social-emotional development in young children):

Team Tennessee CSEFEL Higher

Education Infusion Project

Introduction to the CSEFEL

Pyramid Model

For Instructor

Infusion Guides

o View the Power Point Presentation: Introduction to the Pyramid Model.

o Read article, ―The Pyramid Model: A Model for Supporting Social Competence and

Preventing Challenging Behavior in Young Children‖ (Young Children, 2003).

o Show and review the Pyramid Model one-page handout. Define each level and help

students make connections to prior experiences and the Pyramid as a whole.

o Show one of the videos from the ―Pyramid Model Stories‖ from the TACSEI website to

offer the perspective from those whose testimonies underscore the value they gained

from utilizing the Pyramid Model. Follow-up with group discussion.

o For additional excellent resources on learning about the Pyramid Model, go to

http://www.challengingbehavior.org/do/pyramid_model.htm.

Importance of Relationships with Children, Families, and Colleagues

o Have students take a few moments to think about and reflect on an important

relationship in their lives. Ask each student to think about what they gained from this

important relationship, and, if comfortable, to share those thoughts in a small group of

3-4; (for example, a grandmother who encouraged a hobby thus building feelings of

self worth, confidence, competency).

Building Relationships and Community in the College Classroom (rationales and

strategies for developing supportive relationships with students):

o Create a ―How Do You Feel Today‖ Chart/Graph, and have students respond on the

chart at the beginning of each class period. See sample chart below.

Print and place

a feeling face

on each line of

the

chart/graph.

o Provide play-doh or clay and have each student sculpt a representation of how they

are feeling. As students are comfortable, have them share their sculpture with the

class. A variation of the activity could be to have students create a hat that represents

how they feel.

Becoming Emotionally Intelligent -- Developing Self-Awareness; rationales and

strategies for supporting the emotional competence of students

o Definition -- ―Emotional intelligence‖ (EI): ―Emotional Intelligence refers to how you

handle your own feelings, and how well you empathize and get along with other people.‖

(Daniel Goleman, http://www.edutopia.org/daniel-goleman-emtional-intelligence)

o Student self-assessment of personal emotional literacy (view slide)

Emotional Literacy

Emotional literacy is the ability to identify, understand, and express

emotions in a healthy way.

What is emotional literacy?

Ask each student to create a list of the top ten ―feelings words‖ that they most often use to

describe their feelings or the feelings of others. Invite the group to share the words they

listed, and encourage students to add to their own lists -- those words they would like to

add to their own vocabulary.

Intentional Teaching of Social Emotional Skills:

Emotional Literacy

Readings

Practical Strategies Flyer for Teachers -- distribute this resource guide to students; it explains access

to the CSEFEL website and some of the tools students may find helpful.

Understanding Your Child's Behavior: Reading Your Child's Cues from Birth to Age 2 – Family Tools

Article

Enhancing Emotional Vocabulary in Young Children – G. E. Joseph and P. S. Strain

Teaching Your Child About Feelings – Family Tools Article

“You Got It!” Teaching Social and Emotional Skills, Young Children, November 2006 )

Multi-Media

Understanding the Relationship between Challenging Behavior and Social Emotional Development (view slide)

Key Social Emotional Skills Children

Need as They Enter School

• Confidence

• Capacity to develop good relationships with

peers and adults

• Concentration and persistence on challenging

tasks

• Ability to effectively communicate emotions

• Ability to listen to instructions and be attentive

• Ability to solve social problems

What do children do when they don’t have each of

these skills?

Describe how several national reports (e.g., Eager to Learn, Neurons to Neighborhoods, A Good Beginning, the Kaufmann Report on Social-Emotional Development) have discussed the importance of social emotional development in children’s readiness for and success in school. These publications have identified a number of social emotional skills that help children be successful as they transition

into kindergarten, including the skills listed below. Read through the list of skills:

• Confidence • Capacity to develop relationships with peers and adults • Concentration and persistence on challenging tasks • Ability to effectively communicate emotions • Ability to listen to instructions and be attentive • Ability to solve social problems

1. Ask students to explain how they know when a child doesn’t have a specific skill ( for example, ―What do children do when they can’t persist at a challenging task and they are faced with something that is hard for them?‖). 2. Make the point that children often use challenging behavior when they don’t have more appropriate behaviors or skills to accomplish the same goal or to communicate the same message. This means that our focus has to be on ―teaching children new skills‖ rather then ―trying to get them to stop using challenging behaviors.‖ We need to teach children what to do rather than what not to do.

The Importance of Teaching Social Emotional Skills (Show Slide)

What Is Social Emotional

Development?

• A sense of confidence and competence

• Ability to develop good relationships with peers and adults/make friends/get along with others

• Ability to persist at tasks

• Ability to follow directions

• Ability to identify, understand, and communicate own feelings/emotions

• Ability to constructively manage strong emotions

• Development of empathy

Show Slide and ask students why they think it is so important for us to ―teach‖ children social emotional skills. Add to their comments by sharing that these are some of the skills that we know that children need in order to be more successful and to prevent challenging behavior—not only in early care and educational settings, but also in all future settings. While we tend to be very thoughtful and intentional about teaching literacy, cognitive, and other skills, we need to be just as intentional about teaching social emotional skills.

Identifying Teachable Moments (Show Slide)

Identifying Teachable Moments

Show the slide and use the graph to illustrate the following: 1. Describe a typical situation that might happen in a classroom or child care setting. For example, Trey is building a castle in the block area. Blair comes to the block area to play and decides that she needs the block that is right in the middle of Trey’s castle. Blair grabs the block, and Trey’s castle crumbles. Trey hits Blair and takes the block away. Blair starts crying (red arrow). 2. Ask students to generate ideas about what teachers or child care providers might say to Trey and Blair at this point (e.g., ―Use your words.‖ ―Hitting is not okay.‖ ―Say you’re sorry.‖ ―Ask nicely if you want something.‖ ―Get an adult if you need help.‖ ―Calm down.‖). 3. Point out that it is often at the crisis (red arrow) point that teachers try to teach new social skills. Discuss that while this is a teachable moment, and can be a social skills lesson for Trey and Blair, this might not be the most effective teachable moment because:

a. The incident has already happened. b. Both children are upset. c. Blair may find the teacher reinforcing (―Wow, I might do this again so I can get the teacher’s attention!‖)

4. Discuss effective teachable moments (referring to the green arrows at the left-hand side). The main point here is that we want to make sure that these ―crisis moments‖ are not the only time that we are ―teaching‖ social skills! Social skills can be embedded into almost any part of the daily schedule—Intentional, planned times as well as taking advantage of naturally occurring moments throughout the day.

Define Emotional Literacy Show slide and discuss the definition of Emotional Literacy

Emotional Literacy

Emotional literacy is the ability to identify, understand, and express

emotions in a healthy way.

What is emotional literacy?

Video -- Promoting Social and Emotional Competence (available online and on DVD)

Book Nook

On Monday When It Rained (Kachenmeister)

I Have a Problem (Janisch)

Sometimes I’m Bombaloo (Vail)

My Many Colored Days (Seuss)

Activities

Charades /Reading Emotions

Divide the class up into small groups of 4-5. Without revealing the words, give each group index

cards with distinct emotions written on them --- (furious, ashamed, ecstatic, shy, proud, bewildered,

tense, peaceful, and delighted). One at a time, in each small group, students privately read a word

card then act out the written emotion without using words. Others in the group guess until they

correctly guess the word or until the ―actor‖ passes. Each group member can ―act out‖ as many words

as time allows. To wrap up, discuss the non-verbal cues that are often used to communicate, and

brainstorm with the group the non-verbal cues that children might use when experiencing diverse

emotions.

Making A Feeling Wheel

Feeling Dice/Feeling

Wheel

Show the slide which depicts a ―Feeling Wheel‖. Children spin the wheel and then label the ―feeling face‖ that the spinner lands on. Additionally, children can be encouraged to talk about a time they felt the way the character on the board might be feeling. Share with students that the Feeling Wheel can be downloaded from the CSEFEL web site or that they can make their own with photos from magazines, clipart, or drawings. For this activity, divide the class into pairs and have each team work together to sketch out a feeling wheel on paper. Ask each pair to brainstorm at least ten different emotions that might be labeled by children. Encourage students to include feelings that might be relevant to young children and that may expand children’s emotional literacy vocabularies. After 10 to 15 minutes of work time, invite teams to share a few of the feelings they included on their draft of a feelings wheel.

Additional Materials and Resources

Games to Play With Children

Sample Game

• How does your

face look when

you feel

proud?

• What makes

you feel

proud?

Sample Game

Make a _____ face.

Sample Game

Show these slides as fun examples of emotion games. Note that two of the games use feeling faces from the CSEFEL web site. The Bingo game would be appropriate for a wide range of children. If each feeling face is done in a different color, children who might not be able to ―read‖ the words could match the colors. Children might also be able to match the faces by the expressions. Children who are starting to read can match the words as well as the faces. Be sure to choose words that you are teaching and talking about in class.

Intentional Teaching of Social Emotional Skills:

Friendship Skills

Readings

―You’ve Got to Have Friends‖

―Enhancing Emotional Vocabulary in Young Children‖ (Handout 2.6)

Promoting Positive Peer Interactions (WWB 8)

Multi-Media

Giving Compliments Video (video 2.5) Suggested follow up -- Giving Compliments Activity

Setting the Stage for Friendship (video 2.1)

Show the video; ask students what helped the children in the clip to be successful or unsuccessful

playing together as friends. Discuss observations and write list on chart paper.

Setting the Stage for Friendship

Setting the Stage for Friendship

• Inclusive setting

• Cooperative use toys

• Embed opportunities

• Social interaction goals and

objectives

• Atmosphere of friendship

Show the slide and discuss the following points. Prior to ―teaching‖ friendship skills, adult caregivers need to set the stage by including the five elements in their early childhood settings:

o An inclusive environment where all children are meaningfully included in natural proportions is critical to setting the stage for friendships. (Guralnick, M. J. (1990). Social competence and early

intervention. Journal of Early Intervention, 14(1), 3-14 ) o Having cooperative use toys and materials increases the opportunities for social interaction.

Cooperative use toys are those that naturally lend themselves to two or more children playing together. Some examples of cooperative use toys are balls, puppets, wagons, two telephones, dramatic play materials, rocking boats, and board games;

o Examine daily routines and embed friendship and social interaction instruction and practice opportunities throughout the day (refer back to the stages of learning discussed earlier).

o In order to ensure that friendship and social interaction instruction gets the necessary attention, teachers and caregivers need to include related goals and objectives on a child’s IEP/IFSP. Although these goals are likely to be the most critical for the child’s later development;

o Most importantly, teachers and caregivers need to devote energy toward creating an atmosphere of friendship. When you walk into a classroom, child care, or home day care setting where an adult has successfully created this climate, you see adults giving time and attention to children when they engage in friendly behaviors, you hear adults talking nicely to one another, and you hear children supporting one another’s friendly behavior. Overall, you get a sense that friendship is the ultimate goal. Ask students what else they can do to promote this atmosphere of friendship.

Book Nook

Using Children’s Literature to Support Social Emotional Development

This can be used with all Book Nook Listings as an activity/assessment tool.

I Can Share (Katz)

Pat Them Gently (O'Brien)

No Biting (Katz)

Hands are Not for Hitting (Agassi)

Activities

Reframing Activity (Handout:: Reframing Activity

Review the four examples listed then have individuals add two to three of their own and restate the problems to make them more manageable. Do not generate solutions at this time. Make the point that there are individual and culturally based beliefs that affect our attitudes about challenging behavior. Most children don’t come to school knowing what teachers expect them to do. This could be due to the child’s lack of experience in group care settings or to differences in families’ and teachers’ expectations of children’s behavior. Studies show that parents and teachers sometimes have differences in their expectations about children’s behavior, which may influence children’s understanding about expectations in the classroom.

Setting the Stage for Friendship (Show Slide to reference)

Setting the Stage for Friendship

• Inclusive setting

• Cooperative use toys

• Embed opportunities

• Social interaction goals and

objectives

• Atmosphere of friendship

Discuss the importance of the following 5 elements in the early childhood setting:

o Inclusive Setting

o Cooperative Use Toys

o Embed Opportunities

o Social Interaction Goals and Objectives

o Atmosphere of Friendship

Using chart paper, create a list of concrete examples of what early childhood educators can do to

provide the 5 elements.

Intentional Teaching of Social Emotional Skills:

Guidance

Readings

Teaching Your Child Discipline and Self-Control

Teaching Your Child To Cooperate with Requests

Buddy System Tip Sheet

Helping Young Children Control Anger and Handle Disappointment

Multi-Media

Using Puppets Video (video 2.6)

This video clip shows a teacher using a puppet to discuss what happened in a challenging situation; it provides a good example of activities and interventions that teachers can do to build friendship skills in young children.

Supporting Young Children with Problem Solving in the Moment

Supporting Young Children with

Problem-Solving in the Moment

• Anticipate problems

• Seek proximity

• Support

• Encourage

• Promote

Adult caregivers can keep in mind the following five steps as they assist young children in the problem-solving process:

1. Anticipate problems

o Expect problem situations to arise in your classroom. When over a dozen children are in a room with few adults and limited materials, it is natural for problems to occur.

o There will also be certain situations when the teacher can predict that there will more likely be a problem. For example, there is a new dinosaur toy in the block corner, and the teacher anticipates many children will want to play with it. Or the teacher notices that a boy in her class has a scowl on his face when he gets off the bus— which last time meant a very troublesome day.

o When teachers anticipate problems, they are available to support children when a problem occurs.

2. Seek proximity o When a teacher is aware that a problem may ensue, seeking proximity is key. o This strategy is not necessarily to prevent the problem from occurring, but to ensure that the

teacher is close enough to begin prompting a child through the problem-solving steps. o When the teacher notices a child getting agitated and upset, she can cue the child to ―calm

down‖ by remembering the Turtle Technique (Joseph, G. E., & Strain, P. S. (2003). Helping young

children control anger and handle disappointment. Young Exceptional Children 7(1), 21-29.).

o Once a child is calm and the teacher is in proximity to support, the child will be ready to problem solve.

3. Support o Young children will need support from the teacher to remember the problem-solving steps and

to stay in the situation. o Children who feel they are not skilled at problem solving will be prone to flee the situation. o So, sometimes support means keeping the child physically in proximity to the other child or

children involved. o Support also means prompting the child through the problem-solving steps. This prompting

can be done with the added support of visuals depicting the problem-solving steps. These visuals can be placed strategically around the room to remind children of the steps when an adult is not available.

4. Encourage o It is almost a certainty that even good solutions don’t work all of the time. So, children need to

be encouraged to keep trying at generating alternative solutions. o When children cannot think of any more solutions, they can be prompted to look through a

―solution kit.‖ The solution kit provides children with picture cues of various solutions to interpersonal problems. Show examples of some solution cards. Cards are available on the CSEFEL Web site at csefel.uiuc.edu/practical-ideas.html.

o Children will need support to remain in the situation and to keep trying in the face of adversity. After each try, it is essential that an adult acknowledge a child’s efforts (―Wow! You have thought of two really good solutions! I know you have some other ideas.‖) and encourage them to go on (―Boy, this is a tough problem, and you have thought of so many good solutions. You are such an amazing problem solver. What else can you think of?‖).

5. Promote o The last task to supporting a child’s ―in the moment‖ problem-solving efforts is to reinforce the

child’s success. This kind of promotion can be done in informal and formal ways. o Informally, teachers can give children high-fives, thumbs-up, a wink, verbal acknowledgement

of positive behavior, hugs, and so on. o Formally, teachers can plan mini-celebrations when a child has done a great job of problem

solving. These mini-celebrations send a clear message to all of the children in the class that peaceful persistence at problem solving is valued.

o It is not long after a teacher focuses on promoting problem solving before you see children supporting, encouraging, and promoting each other’s efforts.

Book Nook

Glad Monster Sad Monster (Emberley & Miranda)

Quiet LOUD (Patricelli) -- This is a good book for talking about expectations for behavior. Follow up

activity (after reading the book to the class): Divide the class into small groups and to each group

assign a typical classroom learning center (creative art, music, reading/language, science, blocks,

dramatic play, water/sand, etc.) Ask groups to discuss the expectations of behavior of the children in

their assigned center. Ask them to record specific ways that they can communicate those

expectations to the children.

Activities

Giving Compliments: Handout: Some Starters for Giving Positive Feedback and

Encouragement for Effort, Thinking, and Problem Solving

Divide the class into small groups and provide each group with a large sheet of chart paper. Allow

each group 5 minutes to jot down as many positive and concrete statements that might be used with

children to shape behavior. After 5 minutes, invite each group to share a few of the phrases they

listed. (For example, ―You were extremely careful placing your papers in your cubby.‖ or ―I noticed

how gentle you were when you helped your friend Alex when he fell; that showed lots of kindness.‖)

Pulling it All Together Activity (Handout: Putting It All Together)

Pulling It All TogetherActivity

What is the

behavior?

Why might Jack

be doing this?

What can I do to prevent this

behavior?

What new skills can

we teach?

Jack keeps getting

up and leaving circle

He is boredGive him a job during circle

Find out something he really likes and

embed it into circle time

Make a choice board for who he sits by,

what songs to sing, what books to read

Make a picture schedule that shows

him when his favorite part of circle will

happen

Have an adult sit next to him and

encourage him for participating in circle

How to indicate when he is

finished with an activity

Ability to attend for longer

periods of time

He doesn’t know

what to do

Make a picture schedule that shows

him the order of activities within circle

Prior to circle, use the picture schedule

to explain to him what will happen in

circle

Refer to the picture schedule during

circle

Have an adult sit by him and talk to

him about what is happening

Provide descriptive feedback for him

while he is at circle

How to ask for help when he

doesn’t know how to do

something

The first page of the handout shows an example of the activity that they will be completing. Review Jack’s behavior, why he might be doing these things, what we can do to try to prevent the behavior, and what new skills we can teach him so he doesn’t have to use that behavior. After reviewing the example, divide students into groups of 5-10 and have them complete one of the handout forms using the teaching pyramid (building relationships, creating supportive environments and intentionally using social emotional teaching strategies) as their guide. There are two behaviors on each form. If you have a large group, you might have each group address one of the behaviors. Once groups have completed their form, they can report back and share ideas.

Additional Materials & Resources

Solution Kit Examples – (Video clips)

Point out the teacher’s strategies to keep the children engaged in the problem-solving process (lots of encouragement to keep trying, asking other children to help). Ask students if they have any other suggestions of what the teacher might have tried or any ideas that they have tried to support problem solving.

Solution Kit Cue Cards from Tools for Developing Behavior Support Plans

Problem-Solving Steps Poster from Tools for Developing Behavior Support Plans

“The Turtle Technique” (eleven slides beginning with this one)

Turtle Technique

Recognize Recognize

that you that you

feel angry.feel angry.

““ThinkThink””

Stop.Stop.

Go into shell. Go into shell.

Take 3 deep Take 3 deep

breathes. breathes.

And think And think

calm, coping calm, coping

thoughts.thoughts.

Come out Come out

of shell of shell

when calm when calm

and think of and think of

a solution.a solution.

This technique was developed to teach anger management skills and to teach young children social

skills.

Assessment Strategies

1. Exam questions

a. Give an example of a situation you experienced as a teacher where you supported

children’s problem solving behavior. Describe the children’s behaviors and your

intervention strategies. Reflect upon this experience. How might you improve on your

skills as a teacher on helping children solve problems related to behavior?

b. Use the ―Putting It All Together‖ activity above and create new behaviors that can be

analyzed using this chart.

c. Explain why it is important to be intentional in teaching children emotional literacy,

friendship skills, and guidance/problem-solving.

2. Projects

a. Teacher-Made Book Project: Emotional Literacy: Have students make a children’s book

on emotions to support emotional literacy, using photos of children in their care. See

attached set of instructions and grading rubric.

b. Book Nook Project: Have students select one of the Book Nook books used in this

―instructional guide‖, read the book to children, implement several of the strategies offered

in the ―Nook‖ and reflect upon this experience. Have each student in the class choose a

different book or work in pairs and report their experiences to the entire class.

c. Children’s Friendship Skills Book: Have students choose one children’s book to support

friendship skills and develop an activity plan and implement with children. Have students

complete the ―Activity Plan, Implementation, and Reflection‖ to turn in for grading. See

attached instructions and rubric.

d. Booklist: Create an annotated list of children’s books for each category: emotional

literacy, friendship skills, guidance/problem-solving.

Children’s Friendship Skills Book Project

Choose one children’s book to support friendship skills and develop an activity plan and implement with children. Complete the ―Activity Plan, Implementation and Reflection‖ to turn in for grading. See attached instructions and rubric.

Activity Plan Format

Develop an Activity Plan for using the book and include the following elements:

1. Name of Activity

2. Children

3. Learning Outcomes

4. Connections to TN-ELDS: Tenn. Early Learning Developmental Standards

5. Location/Format

6. Materials and/or Equipment Needed

7. Procedures

8. Adaptations for Children with Special Needs

9. Assessment

10. Family Engagement

Activity Plan Reflection (Adapted from: Kolakoski, Dawn L. (2004). Write It Down! A Guided Journal of

Ideas, Strategies, and Reflections for Beginning Teachers. Clifton Park, NY: Delmar, p. 188.)

Implement the activity plan with a small group of children. Write a reflection that includes the following elements.

Activity Summary Summarize the experience. Record what happened. What did you do and say? What did the

children do and say? Include as much detail as possible and note children’s responses, both

positive and negative.

Questions to Ask Yourself

Review the summary and write several questions you have about the event. Think about

―how, what, and why‖ types of questions. Think about what your expectation for the activity

was and what actually happened. Ask yourself why?

Reflective Thoughts

Your Thoughts: Using your own ideas, try to answer the questions posed above. Analyze your

planned learning experience, and try to figure out what went wrong or why something worked

so well. Think of this section as ―talking out loud.‖

Decision Making

After summarizing, inquiring, and analyzing your learning experience, you will come to some

decisions about changes you want to make. How will you implement the activity differently

next time? How will you meet the needs of all the children in the class? How can you apply

what you learned from the experience?

Children’s Friendship Skills Book: Grading Rubric

Student Name_____________________________

Criterion Activity Plan

Standard 4b. Use developmentally effective approaches

Descriptor Book does may not meet required criteria. Activity plan is very brief or incomplete. Some strategies may be developmentally inappropriate.

Book meets criteria. All areas of the plan are fully development and offer developmentally appropriate approaches. Includes at least a few specific strategies for using the book to support children's development of friendship skills. Plan demonstrates beginning understanding of the social skills that can be supported with use of this book.

All areas of the plan answered thoroughly and book meets criteria. Plan includes details and offers specific strategies for using the book to support children's development of friendship skills. Plan demonstrates strong understanding of social skills that can be supported with use of this book.

Possible Points 0-6 7-8 9-10

Criterion Implementation and Reflection

Standard 4b. Use developmentally effective approaches

Descriptor Incomplete or very brief offering little information about book and its uses with children. Little reflection included. Lacks reflective thinking about how to use this experience for future improvement.

All required questions answered and sections included. Report demonstrates some evidence of use of reflection as a component of effective teaching and knowledge of developmentally effective approaches. Includes at least one or two ideas for improvement.

All questions answered thoroughly and sections included. Report includes details and is thoughtful. Report demonstrates strong evidence of use of reflection as a component of effective teaching and knowledge and use of developmentally effective approaches. Includes detailed ideas for improvement and use of this experience for growth as a teacher.

Possible Points 0-6 7-8 9-10

Criterion Format

Standard SS. Written and oral communication

Descriptor Poorly organized or may have numerous spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors making it difficult to read

Fairly well-organized. May have a few writing errors, but overall easy to read and follow.

Well-written and organized. Only 1 or 2 minor writing errors.

Possible Points 0-3 4 5

Scores : Activity Plan_________ Implementation and Reflection ________ Format ____________ Total _____________________

Teacher-Made Book Project: Emotional Literacy Instructions

You will create a teacher-made book to support children’s development of emotional literacy. using the following criteria. After creating your book, you will read it to the child or children for whom it was made. You will write a reflective summary of the experience and complete a self-graded rubric. The project is worth 70 points. The Topic:

Your book should focus one of the following topics: a. Photos of children (or one child) related to emotions. Children are really engaged in books in which they can see themselves, therefore, the book should include photos of the children and/or their families in a classroom or home-care or of the specific child. If you are not currently in a classroom, you can visit one and make a book for that group within the age range of 2 to 6 years old. (You must have a photo release form signed by parents/guardians before using a child's photo. Keep the release form for your records.

Criteria for the Book:

a. The topic/purpose of the book is creative, original, age-appropriate, engaging for the children, and based on children’s emotions.

c. The text is a block-style font (see rubric for suggestions) and is large enough for children’s viewing.

d. The text coincides with the pictures, is age-appropriate, and supports the development of print awareness skills (repetitive, simple, age-appropriate, short sentences, simple words, easy to memorize).

e. The pictures (photos) are clear, large enough to keep children’s interests, support the meaning of the text and are used as the main illustrations.

f. The book is neat, eye-catching, organized, attractive, very durable, easy to handle, and well-constructed.

g. The book includes a title and an author.

Reflection and Summary:

There are two parts to your reflection and summary.

Self-graded Rubric:

Evaluate your book and summary using the teacher-made book project grading rubric. Score yourself. Submit your graded rubric as part of the project. Although your project grade may differ from the score submitted, your instructor will use your self-graded rubric to compile your final project grade.

Reflective Summary:

Write a reflective summary of your experience that includes: o detailed description of the book o thorough explanation of the how the book was introduced to the class or child o description of how the book is displayed in the classroom or home care environment o several examples of how the child (children) reacted to the book

o in-depth reflection of what you learned from the experience of making, using, and evaluating your book

o the reflective summary should be more than one page. Photo Release Form:

You must have parent/guardian permission to photograph children for your book. Use the release form provided

in class. Keep the completed form for your records.

Teacher-Made Book Project Grading Rubric

Good

9-10

Meets Expectations

7-8

Does Not Meet

Expectations

0-6

Topic

Score

___The topic meets all of the

specified criteria (for ages 2-6,

includes photos of the child or

children, and relates to

emotions of young children.

___The topic is especially

original and creative

___The topic meets all of the

specified criteria (for ages 2-6,

includes photos of the child or

children, and relates to emotions

of young children.

___The topic does not meet the

specified criteria (see good

column).

Text

And

Pictures

Score

___The text is in a block-style

font (ie. Calibri, Century Gothic,

Arial, Tahoma), font size is

large enough for children’s

viewing, and supports the

development of print awareness

skills.

___The pictures are clear and

are large enough to keep

children’s interest.

___Photos of the child

(children) are the main

illustrations and strongly

support the meaning of the text.

__The text is typed and large enough for children’s viewing. ___The pictures are large enough to keep children’s interest.

___Some photos of the child

(children) are included and

adequately support the meaning

of the text.

____The text may not be typed, may be too small to support the development of print awareness skills. ___The pictures are not clear and/or too small to keep children’s interest.

___Photos of the child (children)

may not be included or may not

support the meaning of the text.

Presentation

Score

___The book is neat, eye-catching, organized, attractive, and less than 2 writing errors. ___The book is very durable, easy to handle, and well-constructed.

___The book includes a title and an author.

___The book is neat, attractive, and may have a few writing errors children. ___The book is durable and easy for children to handle.

___The book includes a title and an author.

___The book may be messy, handwritten, include misspellings, poor grammar. ___The book is not made from durable materials and may not be easy for children to handle. ___The book lacks a title and/or author or does not support the topic of book.

Language

used

Score

___The language used in the book coincides with the photos or pictures and is age-appropriate. ___The language is simple and could be ―read‖ independently by children who have read the book on numerous occasions.

___The language used in the book coincides with the photos or pictures. ___The language is simple and might be ―read‖ independently by children who have read the book on numerous occasions.

___The language used in the book does not coincide with the photos or pictures. ___The language may be too

complex and does not lend itself

to be ―read‖ independently by

children who have read the book

on numerous occasions.

Good

Meets Expectations

Does Not Meet Expectations

23-25 17-22 0-16

Summary

Score

___The summary is more than one page. Summary includes: - a detailed description of the book - a thorough explanation of how the book was introduced to the class (or child) - a description of how the book is displayed in the classroom or home care environment - several examples of how the child (children) reacted to the book - an in-depth reflection of what you learned from the experience of making, using, and evaluating your book with the rubric criteria. -provides strong evidence of how to use a teacher-made book to support children’s emotional literacy skills

___The summary is one page. Summary includes: - a brief description of the book - an explanation of how the book was introduced to the class (or child) - a description of how the book is displayed in the classroom or home care environment - an example of how the child (children) reacted to the book - a reflection of what you learned from the experience of making, using, and evaluating your book with the rubric criteria.. -provides beginning evidence of how to use a teacher-made book to support children’s emotional literacy skills

___The summary is less than one page. Summary omits several of the following: - a brief description of the book - an explanation of how the book was introduced to the class (or child) - a description of how the book is displayed in the classroom or home care environment - an example of how the child (children) reacted to the book - a reflection does not offer what you learned from the experience. -provides little evidence of how to

use a teacher-made book to

support children’s emotional

literacy skills

___ out of 70 Submit self-grading rubric and scoring along with project.