Class Strategies

Each week on Monday, a variety of our students will be celebrated in the classroom newsletter sent out to households and administrators. On Wednesdays we review our “PACK-IT” skills: Passion, Ability, Collaboration, Kindness, Integrity, and Thoughtfulness. We think of at least three examples we have seen in the past week of each of these skills.

Once we have thought through these, we take a moment and use their personal journal to complete a personal graphic organizer of SEL. with a circle divided into 6 segments correlating to the above values. Each student takes a moment to assess their successes and challenges in these areas throughout the week. Students can decorate and indicate their feeling of connection to each value however they’d like. After students have completed their self-assessment, they will have the opportunity to share in “turn and talk” with their table groups any observations or circumstances that may have affected them.

Each week, at the end of this exercise, we will also practice goal-setting by choosing one or two values to focus on growth. We will set “SMART” goals: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-based. We will take a moment to reflect on our prior goal from the week before, and to either reframe the goal or choose a new goal.

On Fridays, we will review that Wednesday self-assessment, and nominate 2-3 classmates for each category. Students may nominate themselves, but cannot nominate the same person more than twice for any single category. Nominations that provide a rationale will be more strongly considered. Over the weekend, I will look at the nominations and select the students who will receive “PACK-IT” awards. Monday morning, before the newsletter goes out, we will take time to celebrate each of the students and the way that they met the target value.

The PACK-IT in strategy draws from a number of different principles. It integrates a Piagetian approach by asking students to reflect on their own understanding of the class values. This “meta-thinking” gives students an opportunity to deepen their understanding and participate in lateral thinking. It integrates numerous levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy while highlighting various Hattie techniques that run above .60 (strong success indicators. It also has a permanent thread of alignment built into the entire year. It allows the students to hold me accountable – are my targets aligning with at least one value? And it also allows the households and class to celebrate any wins in our community. This is a strong practice to create safe space for those with trauma (increasingly prevalent in youth) to feel seen and appreciated for what they are already doing. It integrates SEL through every stage.

Monday Map - Friday Wrap

Each Monday, I’ll lead the “Monday Map” to kick off the week by setting academic goals, introducing the SEL skill focus, and engaging students with relevant activities. This meeting begins with a welcoming greeting, establishes clear objectives, and includes a morning message to frame the week’s plan. Students will have an opportunity to rewrite the learning targets in their own words.

On Fridays, the “Friday Wrap” transitions to a student-led format where students reflect on their week, celebrate achievements, and discuss any challenges. This meeting features a positive greeting, a review of the week’s learning, and a group activity to honor progress.

Brain Breaks

In the classroom, brain breaks are quick, structured breaks using physical movement, mindfulness exercises, or sensory activities. These breaks can be done individually, such as through deep breathing exercises, or as a whole class activity like a short round of freeze dance. They are short, lasting only a few minutes, and offer students a chance to rest from academic tasks, helping their brains shift focus before returning to work and learn.

Talk Less - UDL (Universal Design for Learning)

My mentor during student teaching focused regularly on student voice and experience as the driver of instruction. More than just understanding their perspectives and backgrounds, she reminded me that unless students feel connected and invested, they have no onramp to the material. She told me to talk less, and invite student-led instruction more often. This can be challenging in classrooms where students have been conditioned into compliance for most of their educational lives, but if we want students to emerge from high school with the ability to self-advocate and innovate, we need to give them ample opportunity to not only receive instruction, but participate in instruction. One of the best methods for solidifying content learning is by teaching it to others. In our school district, we focused on principles in UDL (Universal Design for Learning), but this can be enacted in so many other ways as well. Group projects, student-led research and presentations, and cooperative and collaborative learning experiences are at the heart of this process for me.

CAST. (2024). The UDL Guidelines. CAST UDL GUIDELINES. https://udlguidelines.cast.org/

ABCs

All behavior is communication.

ABCs provide a rubric for investigating communication strategies within a student’s behavior. A = antecedent (a fancy word for “trigger”) – What happened *just before* this behavior. B = Behavior (the communication we are trying to understand) and C = Consequence – which literally just means what follows naturally from the behavior.

Discipline over Punishment

Most people associate “discipline” with punishment. Discipline in its original etymology is a method of instruction that creates “disciples” – or lifelong learning. in the light of understanding “discipline” as discipleship (the old school Greek method of didactic learning or the rabbinic tradition of following in your teacher’s “dust”), I believe that discipline is about helping students understand that their intention does not always match impact. Discipline is about helping students learn how to process emotions and surprises and challenges by reaching out to support systems and having strong self-awareness and being able to say “No” firmly.

Discipline is also about commitment to the process.

I do not get students in “trouble” or “punish” students EVER.

Truth & Reconciliation (Practices of Repair)

In order for an apology to move a relationship past conflict, it needs to include specific strategies addressed towards repair. There are numerous sites that provide ways to enact this kind of relationship repair, and my own strategy focuses on the following steps:

Listen actively to the report of the event – from all parties
Share your truth using “I-Statements” (I observed, I felt)
Identify Intentions – use “My intention in saying/doing that was…”
Identify Impact – use “Those words or actions impacted me by…” (make space for both positive and negative impact)
Look at the intentions and impact and use teamwork to build a strategy to first repair the harm (if you hit someone’s car, even by accident, you are responsible to pay for repairs), then prevent future disconnections.
Use an authentic apology framework to reinforce the agreements
I can see that my intention to… had the unintended impact of …
I am sorry that my actions/words had this impact, and moving forward I will work on repair by … and will work on prevention by …

Each week a newsletter goes out to students and parents with designated sections for learning targets, student recognition, important dates, and social-emotional strategies for the week ahead.

See Something Say Something Box

In our classroom, we have an anonymous suggestion box where people can comment on any aspect of class – celebrating others, noticing a violation of agreements, suggestions for topics or activities, or even just a “I hated this.” I also have an online suggestion box available here.

Rip It to Release It

The “Write down, rip up, and throw away your stress” strategy is a quick emotional check-in designed to help students release stress and improve focus in the classroom. At the beginning of class, students are asked to write down their expectations, anxieties, or insecurities on a piece of paper. Afterward, they rip up the paper and throw it away, symbolizing the release of these emotional or mental burdens. This simple, three-minute exercise acknowledges the emotional barriers students may have and creates a supportive, safe space for learning. By addressing students’ feelings in this way, teachers can help them feel more grounded and ready to engage, fostering a classroom environment that promotes emotional well-being and academic success.

To implement this strategy, I will introduce it at the beginning of the school year as a routine emotional check-in weekly or more frequently during peak stressful times to help students manage stress and prepare for learning. The initial introduction will involve explaining the purpose of the activity, emphasizing how it provides a tangible way for students to let go of distractions or stressors that could hinder their focus. We will practice it as a whole class, dedicating a few minutes at the start of each session to write down negative thoughts, rip them up, and dispose of them. Throughout the year, I will integrate this strategy during key moments, such as before exams, after school breaks, or when students seem particularly stressed or disengaged. For students struggling to focus or who are not in an optimal emotional state for learning, this non-confrontational activity will offer an outlet to release emotional barriers. I will also provide additional follow-up through individual check-ins or alternative coping strategies, ensuring all students have the support they need to fully engage in the classroom.

This strategy is grounded in research that highlights the importance of emotional regulation and stress management for enhancing learning outcomes. According to CASEL, developing social-emotional competencies like stress management leads to improved academic performance, behavior, and emotional resilience. Studies by Klein & Boals (2001) and Baikie & Wilhelm (2005) show that expressive writing reduces anxiety and improves cognitive function by clearing mental clutter. This strategy aligns with research-backed practices, fostering emotional self-awareness (OSPI SEL Standard 1A) by helping students identify and release stressors, and promoting social awareness (OSPI SEL Standard 3A) by creating an empathetic classroom environment that normalizes emotional expression, supporting overall student success.

References

Baikie, K. A., & Wilhelm, K. (2005). Emotional and Physical Health Benefits of Expressive Writing. Advances in Psychiatric Treatment, 11(5), 338–346. https://doi.org/10.1192/apt.11.5.338

Klein, K., & Boals, A. (2001). Expressive writing can increase working memory capacity. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 130(3), 520–533. https://doi.org/10.1037/0096-3445.130.3.520

Social Emotional Learning Standards, Benchmarks and Indicators. (n.d.).

https://ospi.k12.wa.us/sites/default/files/2023-08/selstandardsbenchmarksindicatorslongform_0.pdf

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PACK-IT

Our Values

Passion comes in so many forms, and we want to honor those robust, strong emotions as they emerge – and give them a healthy direction to flow into. If we understand all behavior as communication, then we can see moments of escalation as opportunities for deeper learning – instead of flash points for tempers and misunderstanding.

Ability is the structural framework of skills and technique that help our students thrive. Some of these are standards set by our state governing boards, and some of them are strategic “tricks” to help students navigate the new hybrid world of multiple forms of media. Not all students can learn from lectures – Ability helps diversify their skillset.

More and more, Collaboration is King in the broader world. These days, it is more often about *who* you know and not *what* you know. Companies talk about “right fit” and “team-building” in ways that show their importance. Our students not only work together on various parts of learning, but also learn better strategies for working together – delegation, communication, and more.

It is crucial to develop our “kindness” muscles as we grow. Kindness is not being “nice”or people pleasing. Kindness involves speaking truthfully and honoring the inherent dignity and value in the person in front of you. It reflects a desire for how we want treat one another, and how we want our world to be.

Integrity matches who we are on the inside to how we act and interact in public spaces. Every human being is a leader – even if they are only leading themselves. Leadership has its roots and stability in Integrity – the practice of showing up consistently, with different facets of personality, skill, communication, and relationships *integrated* into our identity. When we practice Integrity, we invite accountability and growth.

Thoughtfulness means being mindful of ourselves, our community, our environment. It can be a pause before replying, it can be a moment of curiosity or inquisitiveness, and it can also be applying knowledge in new ways. When we are “thoughtful” or mindful, we activate our “metacognition” – the place in our brain where we embed our values and beliefs. Thoughtfulness also indicates a level of learning in which we can apply the knowledge to more than just data points. We can make connections, draw conclusions, and apply these things to our life.