SEL and the Curriculum

Do we infuse SEL teaching into the curriculum or do we use the curriculum to
enhance SEL?

As a TLLP team, we have begun to more explicitly plan how SEL concepts such as Zones
of Regulation, mindset and mindfulness can be interwoven into the everyday tasks and
activities that students complete in all curriculum areas.

Religion

Students each had a paper heart. As students shared stories about times they were
hurt, teased or embarrassed, they made a fold in their heart. Once all the students
finished sharing, we tried to smooth out our hearts. Students realized that their heart
could never be  

Media Literacy

During our school Pizza box contest, the students designed mindfulness and family
activities. Each student contributed to the mindful colouring page, brainstormed ideas
for “Family Night Rules” and collected recycled pencil crayons to colour our mindful
colouring page.

Science
For their culminating Science task on their "Strong and Stable Structures" unit, grade 3
students had the choice to show their learning in a variety of ways. One such way was to
create a structure to match one of the zones of regulation. For example, a house in the
'green' zone might be strong and stable, while a house in the 'yellow' zone could be
wiggly and not as stable-looking. A red house (see below) was made to show the idea of
being spiky or prickly, as well as unstable - the roof caved in without the necessary
supports. Students were then asked to reflect on how their structure matched their
chosen zone.

Math - Telling Time and Making Connections to the Zones
Students were asked to create a clock to practise telling time to the 5 minute mark.
They were then asked to focus in on 3-4 times of day that they could connect to a
specific feeling and zone. For example, if they usually feel tired before lunch, they
would identify that as being in the blue zone. Students used time lapse technology
(the 'Stikbot' app) to show how their feelings change at certain times of the day.