Practical Strategies for Teaching Social Emotional Skills

Female Teacher: Teaching social skills helps them become better adults. They are able to deal with problems in life if there are any. They have different strategies that they have learned on how to deal with situations and solve problems.

Social emotional is very important when it comes to children in their learning. Male Teacher: It's given me a way to solve conflicts between two children that will end up in a positive outcome. They will all feel good about themselves and they will learn a behavior that they can transfer to other situations.

This absolutely magnificent. Narrator: By using the core strategies of the teaching pyramid, teachers are accomplishing great things in their classrooms. The first two levels give teachers a solid foundation by creating positive relationships and supportive environments for children.

Then, teachers can begin to use strategies to help children develop skills they need to build friendships, solve problems, manage their emotions, and more. During this program we'll focus on the third level of the teaching pyramid, social-emotional teaching strategies. With these strategies in place it does not take long to see some amazing results.

Female Teacher: I don't have the block. She's got the block and you want to play with that block. What are you gonna say to her?

Boy: Take turns. Teacher: Ah. Take turns.

And then how do you ask her for the block? Girls: Please! Teacher: Please?

Boy: Please. Teacher: may. .

. may I have the block? Boy: (mumbles) Teacher: Very good!

Can Push, Misha-Lashandra? All right! That's good.

I like how you guys take turns. So can you hold the bottle and let Steven twist on the cap? That's how we help each other.

Steven, can you twist the cap onto the bottle while Malachi holds it? Uh. .

. Does that part go there? Malichi: Here, put the top on the baby bottle.

Teacher: Okay, twist the cap on, Steven. Thank you for letting him help you, Malachi. Vicki: As long as they're learning the skill all day long and using it and being reminded of it, they're gonna-- it's something that's going to become a part of their everyday life Girl #1: Can you give me a lid, please?

Give me a lid. Can you give me a lid quick, please? Girl #2: Here.

Boy #1: (unintelligible growl) Boy #2: Squeeze! Girl #2: Yes, sir! Teacher: You hear more of the children playing and laughing and they they take care of themselves and they regulate themselves where you don't have as much of the teacher jumping in to do things because the children will take care of it on their own.

Teacher: Take your uh. . .

oh ya'gonna share with Jamar, ah? Ah, good job! Good job Jamar.

You're gonna share it with Nova? Thank You Jamar for sharing. Now I'm going to share my swiss cheese with the caterpillar.

Girl 1: Okay, come on. Girl 2 (off screen): Can I be the teacher with you? Girl 2: No.

You have to be the kid. Girl 2: Okay, you can. Okay.

Girl 1: Come on. I'm the teacher Girl 2: Okay. Girl 1: Stand on the kitty.

Girl 2: What about this? You're supposed to have that with that. Girl 1: Nah-ah.

Look. (Giggles. Background child banter) Girl 2: A blue kiss.

Let's get ready to blow up our balloon. Now we need a (unintelligible) Blow it up! Teacher: All you all done with breakfast?

right that's the matter I'm sorry I'm sorry I need for you to crisscross applesauce because now we have a problem that's how she came to me crying do you know why what happened and what happened with Latasha you were laying down on her do you think that she liked that because we're supposed to help our friends how can you help Latasha right now what can you do that'll make her feel happy let's see go Latasha he wants to give you a hug stand up and give a hug that's fine that's a good job Molokai this child knows about me and I know about that child and that's how we work together to build and as we keep building on those skills that they're learning every day I love when the end of the term comes because they've actually grown from when they first came to me and that makes me proud how does it make you feel when she does that can you do something about it when you get married what can you do do you remember do the turtle think about why you're mad and think about it if someone tells them no at first it does hurt their feelings but in the end they learn that it's okay that it's okay to share that feeling and share that hurt and to discuss all these feelings that they have and learn from that very nice learning process for them and really that doesn't end after two weeks it's a whole year process but as the year goes along the need to prompt them diminishes you find they do it on their own teachers use three stages to introduce and practice skills in their classrooms Stage one is the introduction of a skill this is the show-and-tell phase and can be done in a variety of ways using a variety of tools like books puppets pictures even an ant farm and always help each other you know how we help each other in our classroom and we share or they share - and they help each other right now they're building their home I want to show you this look right here this is this little line once a skill has been introduced the teacher moves to stage 2 building the child's fluency and confidence with the skill throughout the day a teacher may use planned activities or situations to practice the skill or use teachable moments during play and center activities something as routine as getting water whose turn is it future well you know what we need to do friends a formal line so if you come right here look what we're gonna do buddy look what we're gonna do persuade our turn there we go we're gonna wait now it's Alex and then guess whose turn it's gonna be yeah Stage three helps children maintain the skill teachers learn to recognize when children are using a skill without being prompted then they can let them know you got it this can happen at any moment during the day and is real evidence that a new skill is taking home each time a new skill is introduced teachers can follow this basic three-stage approach introduce the skill using a variety of tools practice the skill through planned and unscripted activities maintain the skill by recognizing children for using the skill on their own now we're going to take a look at three classrooms and how each teacher use the three stage approach to build an important social emotional skill that it really really good is that an aunt this week out theme was insects and bugs I went out and I bought an ant farm do you see them Steven they're crawling all over what do you think they're doing in there I'm gonna eat each other they help each other ants always help each other you know how we help each other in our classroom and we share while they share too and they help each other right now they're building their home I want to show you this look right here this is this little line they're building down to the ground you know when you drop a piece of bread and you're outside yeah and before you know it it's all covered up and they take it back to where they live in their home so everybody can eat because they help each other when I teach the children a new skill I make sure that I set up in my centers how I want to see the skill learned if they've picked up what I've been teaching them and if they're interacting with the other ones in doing that I want you to try to get it off without twisting it do you think you can help me do that you can't twist but this top comes off do you think you can help me Mau at high let's see what do you have to do Malakai he asked you if he can help you can he help you but Stephen wants to help can Stephen help you okay let's Stephen help you all centers you can always integrate into the curriculum what concept you are trying to teach the children all throughout the day do you think YouTube can paint a bug together yeah okay what color paint would you like to use to paint the bug when I see them doing that talking about what I have taught them I comment on it and I let them know that doing a wonderful job and it makes them feel good we had cleaned up the circle time everybody came back to the carpet to sit on the carpet but they will block solo so I said who can help put those blocks up just like the ants work together can we work together to put the blocks up and all of them sit up and every one of them went and picked up a block and put it on a shelf just like the ants and it worked out fabulous I like the way everybody went to the block area and helped put away those blocks use it a good job you helped each other and everybody was sharing the blocks that was very nice of you give yourselves around yes you did she missed a a them sleep yeah where do you sleep Anthony yeah you sleep over here in the window Moloch has helped think Anthony's help what do we need to do with the bookshelf can you move it mr.