Tier 1 Practices | Teaching Behavior Expectations & Skills
Freestanding SEL Instruction
Providing regularly scheduled explicit instruction on SEL skills using an evidence-based curriculum, a sequence of connected and coordinated activities, and active forms of learning (e.g., modeling, practice, and feedback).
Back to Tier 1 practices
Our schools use Be Good People and/or Second Step as their core/Tier 1 SEL curriculums. The sequence of skills/topics that each grade level covers are selected so that — throughout the course of the year — core instruction covers grade-level SEL benchmarks.
In response of class- or grade-wide behaviors of concern, teachers may choose to supplement (i.e., add to, not replace) their core SEL instruction by teaching a specific skill or set of skills that are relevant to the problem pattern of behavior. The Be Good People curriculum is ideal for this because it is "modular" and the materials are designed to be used in any order. That said, it is perfectly reasonable to re-teach Second Step lessons that were presented earlier in the school year.
Sources and Further Learning
Framework Alignment
Supporting and Responding to Students' Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Needs (Center on PBIS)
PBIS Classroom Practices (Florida PBIS Project)
Guide to Schoolwide SEL Rubric (CASEL)
Restorative Practices Implementation, Trainers and Training: An Administrator’s Checklist (Minnesota Department of Education)
Trauma-Sensitive School Checklist (Lesley University and Massachusetts Advocates for Children)
How can instruction intensify at the Tier 2, Tier 3, or Special Education level?
Not all students will make sufficient progress when provided with our core instruction and supports, and that is why our schools offer Tier 2, Tier 3, and Special Education interventions. Students still receive Be Good People (Core Edition) and/or Second Step, but we provide additional instruction that targets specific needs and provides more explanation, repetition, instructor feedback, etc.
The curricular materials we use for supplemental instruction often aren't "special" — in many cases they're SEL curriculums that could be used school-wide at Tier 1. The difference is how we use them. Instead of covering a broad swath of skills, interventionists narrow in on skill gaps and repeat.