Incorporate SEL into Routines & Rituals: Open Class and Meetings With a Welcoming Inclusion Activity

Social and emotional learning (SEL) is the process through which children and adults acquire and effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions.

– CASEL

INTRO

The benefits of Social Emotional Learning (SEL) are far reaching and include better academic performance, improved attitudes and behaviors, fewer negative behaviors, and reduced emotional stress. Educators and OST providers understand and believe in the power of SEL, but often seek clarity about how to demonstrate and observe SEL in action.

According to CASEL, there are 3 Signature Practices to encourage SEL learning:

Welcoming Inclusion Activities (focus of this resource)
Engaging Strategies
Optimistic Closures

The below activities are practical ways to introduce and broaden the use of SEL practices in classrooms, schools, and even workplaces. These are meant to be examples to help educators understand and practice the goals of an overall systemic SEL plan, and not specific SEL curriculum.

OBJECTIVES

Set the tone for learning and interactions as you launch the school day, run a staff meeting, etc.

RESOURCES

PDF: SEL 3 Signature Practices Playbook (CASEL)

These activities are designed with everyone in mind. Students and adults alike are a part of the lifelong learning process for developing and using strong SEL skills that foster a collaborative environment, in which the fullness of each person’s identity is acknowledged and elevated.

Welcoming / Inclusion Activities, Routines, Rituals

Open each class period, meeting, or professional learning experience with an activity that builds community and connects to the work ahead.

Welcoming Activities: These activities are brief, interactive experiences that provide opportunities for every voice in the room to be heard. The more people fully share, and are fully received and understood by others, the stronger and safer learning environments become.

Welcoming Routines: A system of actions or series of tasks that contribute to an expected rhythm that starts an event. Practicing these steps is an investment in creating a calm, orderly space.

Welcoming Rituals: A routine imbued with special meaning such as a warm greeting with every student at the door.

See below for two sample Welcome Activities.

Four Corners

Time: 5-7 minutes

Overview:
Participants reflect on a statement, image, or prompt and move to a “corner” that matches their choice. Then they share their rationale for choosing that corner with others before the whole group reconvenes.

When and Why:
“Corners” is helpful in promoting the importance of divergent perspectives and the value of having all voices heard. Participants have the opportunity to connect with others, while hearing a variety of reasons for being drawn to the common category. The activity also incorporates movement and injects energy into the room.

Steps:

Before the activity, mark four to five areas in the room with a large image, number, or word that corresponds to the choices you will be giving.
Ask participants to silently reflect on a statement or question prompt that is aligned to the content of the engagement.
Share response choices with the group on a poster/slide (quotes, pictures, etc.).
Instruct participants to choose one of the responses, then ask them to move to that designated “corner” of the room, find a partner or trio within the group that forms in that area, and share what drew them to that choice.
Debrief by inviting two or three participants to share their choice and rationale with the whole group (or one person from each “corner” area, if time permits). You may also ask what they notice about the size and composition of the groups and/or what SEL skills and competencies came into play during the activity.

Synectics

Time: 4-7 minutes
Overview:
Participants take part in brainstorming and metaphorical thinking that allows for a high level of inclusion and encourages the acceptance of offbeat or novel ideas.

When and Why:
This activity promotes creative and fluid thinking. It sparks conversation, establishes readiness for further exploration of a topic, and can be explicitly connected to a literacy objective.

Steps:

Project an image on a screen or supply picture card(s) on each table.
Explain that the task is to complete the sentence stem:
- “[Given topic] is like this [image] because…”
Participants generate and record as many comparisons between the image displayed and the topic presented as possible in one to two minutes.
Debrief: Invite two or three participants to share their completed sentence stems with the whole group.

TIPS

Little Things, such as the above activity, are smaller efforts you can do tomorrow, or within the next week.

Establish a shared agreement that it is always okay to pass. Encourage participants to verbally say “Pass” or “Please come back to me” if that is their choice today.
- Equity of voice: All participants are encouraged to speak and are respectfully heard.
  - Inclusion: All degrees of participation are welcomed and acknowledged.
  - Collectivism: All engage in and contribute to a “for the good of the group” experience.