All Learning Is Social And Emotional: Helping Students Develop Essential Skills For The Classroom And Beyond

While social and emotional learning (SEL) is most familiar as compartmentalised programs separate from academics, the truth is, all learning is social and emotional. What teachers say, the values we express, the materials and activities we choose, and the skills we prioritise all influence how students think, see themselves, and interact with content and with others.

If you teach kids rather than standards, and if you want all kids to get what they need to thrive, Nancy Frey, Douglas Fisher, and Dominique Smith offer a solution: a comprehensive, five-part model of SEL that’s easy to integrate into everyday content instruction, no matter what subject or grade level you teach. You’ll learn the hows and whys of

• Building students’ sense of identity and confidence in their ability to learn, overcome challenge, and influence the world around them.
• Helping students identify, describe, and regulate their emotional responses.
• Promoting the cognitive regulation skills critical to decision making and problem solving.
• Fostering students’ social skills, including teamwork and sharing, and their ability to establish and repair relationships.
• Equipping students to becoming informed and involved citizens.

Along with a toolbox of strategies for addressing 33 essential competencies, you’ll find real-life examples highlighting the many opportunities for social and emotional learning within the K–12 academic curriculum. Children’s social and emotional development is too important to be an add-on or an afterthought, too important to be left to chance. Use this book’s integrated SEL approach to help your students build essential skills that will serve them in the classroom and throughout their lives.

Table of Contents

1. Learning That's Worthwhile 1
2. Identity and Agency 18
3. Emotional Regulation 42
4. Cognitive Regulation 67
5. Social Skills 89
6. Public Spirit 116
7. Creating an SEL School 142

Appendix: Literary Resources for Social and Emotional Learning 157

References 178

Index 188

About the Authors 193