Week One: A Children's Book with a SEL theme

 

    Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson is a wonderful story for teaching SEL in any grade from Kindergarten through upper elementary. The story is about a little girl, Maya, who is new to the school. The students can tell by her appearance that her family doesn’t have much money. Maya ends up sitting by the young girl who is narrating the story. Maya smiles, but the girl doesn’t smile back. As the weeks go on, Maya continues to reach out to her classmates at recess; they continue to shun her. One morning, Maya didn’t show up. The teacher, Ms. Albert, holds a lesson about kindness. The narrator realizes she missed out on the opportunity to show kindness to Maya. 

    One of the moments that spoke to me was when the teacher introduced Maya and asked the class to greet her; most of the class didn’t. This situation speaks volumes about their classroom culture. If the teacher had established clear expectations about acceptance from the beginning of the school year, the entire issue could have been avoided. During recess, the teacher could have made it a point to notice that no one was playing with Maya. Teaching involves so much more than educating students academically. We also have the responsibility to make our students feel loved and accepted. If a child has a psychological need that isn’t being met, then the likelihood that learning will occur is slim. 

    Each time I read this story I like to reflect on my classroom climate. Does the environment seem inviting at first glance? Do my students look happy and excited to be there? What sounds would someone hear as they pass my room? Giggles and merriment, or silence and solemnity? As teachers, we set the climate and the expectations in the room by how we respond, verbally and nonverbally, to situations that arise. Each Kindness helps to keep that in the forefront of my mind. I would use this book in a whole class setting and introduce it by asking about a time that students had witnessed a situation of unkindness. Did they later regret not intervening? Were they the person being unkind? How did they feel after they reacted unkindly? I would give personal examples of this as well. I have seen and heard of many different ways to teach this lesson. You could use an apple. Have the students drop it several times, and then cut into it to show the students that it may not show on the outside, but words can leave a lasting imprint on the inside. You could also squeeze toothpaste from a tube, then try to put it back in to show how once words are said, you really can’t take them back. You could even use a piece of paper. Have students say a few mean things as they crumble the paper, then tell them to apologize and straighten the paper back out. Hopefully when students can see a physical representation of how much of an impact words can have, it will have a longer-lasting impact on them.