Instructional Playbook

Social-emotional Skill Development

Social-emotional skill development provides a framework for students to understand, manage, and be successful with social interactions and emotional regulation. It also provides the skills to problem solve and handle difficult emotions and social situations. These skills are essential to student success at school and help build college and career readiness. Social-emotional skill development is best taught through effective classroom instruction with high student engagement, skills reinforced inside and outside the classroom, and broad parent and community involvement. Social-Emotional Skill Competencies Respecting Self and Others: Establishing and maintaining positive relationships with others are central to success in school and in life, and require the ability to recognize the thoughts, feelings and perspectives of others. Building Resilience: Understanding your emotions, how to manage them, and ways to express them constructively, enables one to handle stress, control impulses, and persevere in overcoming obstacles to achieve goals. Making Responsible Decisions: Accurately defining decisions to be made, generating solutions, anticipating the consequences of each, and evaluating and learning from one’s decisions are critical skills for solving complex problems and working with others. Resolving Conflict: Resolving conflicts requires skills in cooperating, communicating respectfully, and constructively working toward a solution with others. Setting Goals for Personal Growth: Goal setting for academic and personal growth areas can enhance self-confidence and resilience, create self-awareness, and foster a sense of accomplishment. Understanding One’s Community: Being part of a community involves learning to work with and support others with kindness, compassion, and respect, regardless of differences.

Critical Actions for Educators

Build Community: use morning meeting or advisory time to create a safe space in your classroom for students to feel comfortable sharing their feelings and opinions Point Out Examples in Learning Activities: take time to highlight examples in learning tasks that demonstrate social-emotional skills and strategies Point Out Examples in Daily Life: take time when possible to conflict resolution - debrief what happened, could have happened, or what should happen next time Act as an Model: students learn from models; monitor your own emotions for intensity and model healthy coping skills when needed apply social-emotional skill learning as needed, such as

Thrive Time , a Canyons District created and adopted curriculum, provides teachers with the lessons and resources needed to teach a full scope of social-emotional skills for students in grades K-8.