Social Emotional Learning Competency
Self-Awareness, Social Awareness, Relationship Skills
 
Skill Development:  Compassion, Empathy, Communication

First Grade

To be self-aware, you must be able to:
Identify your emotions. Your students need to be able to identify their feelings. Learning the difference between frustration and anger will help students navigate their emotions. By recognizing the link between their feelings, thoughts, and actions, they can then address these feelings and react to them appropriately.  This knowledge contributes to their ability to create and maintain positive relationships.
Learning Objectives 
~to be used as a supplemental to a  literacy lesson

Speaking & Listening
1.SL.1a With guidance and support, follow agreed-upon rules for discussion.
1.SL.1 Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 1 topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.  
1.SL.1b Build on others’ talk in conversations by responding to the comments of others through multiple exchanges. 

Social Emotional Learning competencies:        
Self-awareness,  Social Awareness  & Relationship Skills 

Skill Development:  Empathy, Compassion, relationship skills

Introduction:

Using the LETS format, introduce the following pneumonic:

L - Listen - Look at the speaker
E - Equal participation
T - Take turns
S - Show respect by sitting up straight and responding to the speaker when appropriate.

Students must understand how body language, conversational turns (simple back-and-forth verbal interactions emphasizing turn-taking), and projecting their voice help establish self-awareness, social awareness, and relationship skills.

Read Mac’s Big Wish aloud, pausing to ask, “how do you think each main character (Mr. Puddleton, Mac, Roxy, Emma, Virginia) feel?”  Model the add-on strategy to enhance student responses and clarify answers:
Add on: Sentence stems like:
•	“I would like to add on to that,” 
•	“Adding on to what [another student] said, ___,” and 
•	“Can I push that idea a bit further?” 
help students work together to build upon their prior knowledge.

Independent working time (10 minutes)
●	After listening to “Mac’s Big Wish,” think of three questions you could ask about how the main characters (Mac, Mr. Puddleton, Roxy, Emma, Virginia) feel at different times in the book.  (see the study guide for meaningful conversations attached)

Diﬀerentiation

●	For more advanced students, in addition to three questions and responses, ask them to “add on”, continuing the conversation based on three or four “turns.” 
(e.g. I think ___ feels___ because _______;  
         I (agree/disagree) because _______.  
●	For Emerging Bilingual students, provide sentence frames 
(i.e. I wonder how Mac feels when ______).
●	Students can have the option to express their understanding of how characters feel using a provided sheet of emotions, indicating by pointing at the appropriate emotion (see attached)

Assessment (15 minutes)
●	Pair students to “interview” their partner using a turn & talk strategy.  Have each student ask their questions and record their partner’s responses. (question/response sheet attached)

Review and closing (15 minutes)
Whole group - Have each student share what their partner told them in response to their questions.  Each student should share one question and answer, continuing with additional responses if time allows.

Reflection:   Depending on how your classroom is structured, having a consistent “turn & talk” partner can enrich relationships.  Turn & talk can help 1st graders work on their conversational skills on a small scale.  They have to use positive body language and engage with only one person.  For many students, especially those whose culture for having a conversation may have variations, it can be less intimidating to listen and talk to only one person.  As time progresses, partners will become more open, learn to ask questions, take conversational turns and add to each other’s thoughts.

Question/Response Sheet  - Mac’s Big Wish

My Questions:

1.	

2.

3.

My partner's responses to my questions:

1.

2.

3.

Extra Challenge:

Is it easy to identify the feelings others are having?  Is it hard?  Why?

Teaching Support Resources

Competencies				Questions	
Self-awareness		Think about a time you had to make a hard decision that didn’t end up as you expected. How did you feel?	
		
Social-awareness		How is Mac feeling? How do you know?