Elementary school is a busy time for young children. They are learning many new skills. Children might be learning to read, to write, tie shoelaces, to help out at home, and want to do things by themselves. These are important tasks for young children to learn.
Children are also learning how to understand and manage their feelings. They are learning how to make friends and solve problems with other children. These skills are taught and reinforced throughout the day in the classroom, on the playground, and at home. Social/Emotional skills just like reading and writing, need to be directly taught. We will be using a program called Second Step to learn and practice these social-emotional skills. Research indicates that children who learn and use these skills are more likely to get along with other people and to do better in school.
Second Step has four units of 5 lessons each for a total of 20 lessons for the school year.
Other social/emotional lessons are provided to classrooms based on class needs, data from PBIS, as well as topics relevant to important days throughout the year (Bully prevention, World Kindness Day, Red Ribbon Week, holiday lessons, etc.). Each grade level is presented with information from Second Step lessons weekly.
Kindergarten-5th Grade:
Unit 1: Growth Mindset/Goal Setting
Unit 2: Emotion Management
Unit 3: Empathy and Kindness
Unit 4: Problem Solving
Preschool (Early Learning Resource):
Unit 1: Skills for Learning
Unit 2: Empathy
Unit 3: Emotion Management
Unit 4: Friendship Skills/Problem Solving
Scope and Sequence of Lesson Topics - Early Learning (PreK)
Olympia has also purchased a Child Protection Unit for Early Learners. Child Protection Unit
The social emotional learning standards are also used at the middle school level to address social emotional needs that surface in grades 6 - 8. The RULER curriculum is an approach to social and emotional learning (SEL) that teaches emotional intelligence to people of all ages, with the goals of creating a healthier, more equitable and compassionate society. The RULER curriculum is delivered during student's advisory. The RULER acronym is for the five skills of emotional intelligence:
R - recognizing emotions in oneself and others
U - understanding the causes and consequences of emotions
L - labeling emotions with a nuanced vocabulary
E - expressing emotions with helpful strategies
R - Regulating emotions with helpful strategies