The Collaborative for Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL) defines SEL as “the process through which we learn to recognize and manage emotions, care about others, make good decisions, behave ethically and responsibly, develop positive relationships and avoid negative behaviors”. The CASEL model emphasizes five broad skill areas: self-awareness (accurate self-perception, self-efficacy), self-management (managing emotions, coping with stress), social awareness (empathy, respect for others), relationship skills (making and keeping friends, working cooperatively), and responsible decision-making (ethical social problem-solving).
SEL programs can have long-term, positive effects on students’ social and emotional skills and attitudes toward self, others, and school, and can enhance pro-social behaviors and reduce conduct problems, emotional distress, and substance use. (Durlak, Weissberg, Dymnicki, Taylor, & Schellinger, 2011; Taylor, Oberle, Durlak, & Weissberg, 2017
Students who participate in SEL programming demonstrate significantly improved academic performance. (Durlak et al., 2011)
SEL programming improves students’ commitment to schooling, as well as their academic achievement. (Durlak et al., 2011)
SEL programs influence academic achievement through both intrapersonal factors (student academic motivation, self-efficacy, persistence and commitment to school, and developing executive functions) and environmental factors (fostering positive teacher-student relationships and a safe and respectful classroom climate, raising teacher expectations, and increasing student feelings of safety and belonging). (Taylor et al., 2017)
It’s never a good idea to spend too much time sitting in one position. So it is important for you to take a break and bring some flexibility back into your spines. Here is what you should do:
Stand with your feet shoulder-distance apart.
Put your left hand on their hip and raise their right-hand overhead.
Lean to the left and stretch your arm as far as you can to the left.
Repeat on the right side.
Then stand tall and slowly roll down one vertebra at a time until your hands reach the floor (or as far as you can get)
Take a deep breath then slowly roll back up.
Repeat as necessary.
Blink
Stand up and walk around for a moment (stretch, jump up and down or whatever works for reviving your energy) - you should do this before and/or after every brain break. Then do the following Brain Break:
Blink with your right eye and snap with your left hand
Switch
Switch again
Go back and forth go as fast as you can
Did you notice that after a while you end up blinking and snapping on the same side? Yup, that is normal. Hopefully that brain break helped revive your energy and gets you back into learning.
Cross Laterals
Ear-Nose Switch
Stand up (wiggle around, jump or do whatever before you start to get the blood flowing).
Take your right hand and grab your left ear. Keep your right arm close to your body.
Now take your left hand and touch your nose.
Uncross your arms and move your left hand to your right ear and your right hand to your nose. Your left arm should now be closest to your body.
Switch back and forth as fast as you can.
Figure Eight
Finger Aerobics
Focus Ball Breathing
Stand or sit with legs and feet together. Bring your palms together in front of your chest. Keep your fingertips together as you pull your palms apart, forming a ball with your fingers. Press your fingertips together until you feel the muscles in your hands and arms activating. See if you feel your core tighten too. Now close your eyes and as you breathe in, inflate your ball and as you breathe out, flatten the ball by pushing your palms together. (Then repeat these instructions for 60 seconds).
Fun Energy by Five
This is a very energizing and fun brain break, with lots of movement. In your own classroom you can choose any movement activity that works for your students and you can be spontaneous depending upon what kind of movement you think they need. By now, you have been concentrating for a long time so here are some big 5 movement 5s. Stand up and do the 5 following--each within 5 seconds (thus the 5x5):
5 jumping jacks in 5 seconds
Clap once in front of your body, once behind your body and clap above you head (repeat 5 times in 5 seconds)
5 high kicks with your right leg, and 5 high kicks with your left leg
Stretch your arms out to the side at shoulder height---twirl them forward 5 times and backwards 5 times...in 5 seconds of course
Jog in place in sets of 5--see how many 5's you can do in 5 seconds
Take a couple of minutes and play some music and move around and dance.
Squiggle Drawing
Start out by drawing a random squiggle on a piece of paper. Then, turn that squiggle into a work of art! Be creative and see what pictures you can come up with.
Stroop Test
Thumb & Pinkie
4-4-8 Breathing
The 4-4-8 Breathing technique is great to use when you feel stressed or tense because it can help to calm the nervous system, clear the head of distractions and reduce stress.
While sitting, breathe in through your nose for a count of 4, taking the breath into your stomach.
Hold your breath for a count of 4.
Release your breath through your mouth with a whooshing sound for a count of 8.
Without a break, breathe in again for a count of 4, repeating the entire technique 3-4 times in a row.
Focus on counting when breathing in, holding the breath, and breathing out.