In this learning module, the focus is on promoting well being in kindergarten students. They learn about emotions, relationships, a growth mindset and diversity through studying picture books and animations, participating in role plays, and carrying out acts of kindness.
Growth Mindset, Giving, Emotions, Social Skills, Cooperation, Belonging.
Theme 1: Social and emotional learning
Social and emotional learning is the process through which children and adults understand and
manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions
Topic 1. 1 Self-awareness (See Activities 1, 2 and 3)
The ability to accurately recognize one's own emotions, thoughts, and values and how they influence behaviour. The ability to accurately assess one's strengths and limitations, with a well-grounded sense of confidence, optimism, and a growth mindset.
Goal 1: to identify and label basic and complex emotions
Goal 2: to develop self-confidence, self-efficacy and self-esteem
Goal 3: to understand the relationship between emotions, thoughts and behaviours
Topic 1.2 Self-management (See Activities 3 and 5)
The ability to successfully manage one's emotions, thoughts and behaviours in different situations effectively motivating oneself. The ability to set and work toward personal and academic goals.
Goal 1: to improve effective strategies to manage emotions
Goal 2: to develop persistence, motivation and commitment toward personal and academic goals
Topic 1.3 Social awareness (see Activities 4 and 6)
The ability to take the perspective of and empathize with others, including those from diverse backgrounds and cultures. The ability to understand social and ethical norms for behaviour.
Goal 1: to develop perspective taking and empathy
Goal 2: to appreciate and value individual, social and cultural diversity
Learning Intention: To understand what a bucket filler is.
Success Criteria:
Activity:
Learning Intention: To understand the reading strategy connecting and what it means to be a bucket filler.
Success Criteria:
Activity:
Listen to the teacher explain and model what the strategy 'connecting' means.
Make personal connections to the story in a circle time using the sentence starter 'I was a bucket filler when I....'
Purpose: The purpose of this activity is to introduce students to the concept of bucket filling and its effects through the focus text, 'Have you filled your bucket today?'Teaching Tips
Teaching Tips:
The open-ended questions are designed to encourage students to think about the text and respond.
Making personal connections to the text is an important reading strategy to use when comprehending new texts
Ask students questions:
Explicitly teach the cooperative learning strategy of Think-Pair-Share: Give students sufficient thinking time and encourage students to close eyes. Model how to turn knee to knee to someone near them and show partner you are listening. Model how to share with partner.
Resources
Learning Intention: To understand the difference between a bucket filler and a bucket dipper.
Success Criteria:
Activity:
Purpose: The purpose of this activity is for students to deepen their understanding of bucket filling by identifying the difference between filling and dipping and discussing the positive impact that bucket filling has on themselves and others.
Activity:
Teaching Tips
Resources:
Learning Intention: To understand the author's message in a text.
Learning Intention: To understand how being a bucket filler and/or dipper makes you feel and how it makes others feel .
Success Criteria:
Activity:
Purpose: The purpose of this task is for students to understand that authors write for real purposes and that books can hold a special message for us. It is also to identify that there are only winners when it comes to acts of bucket filling; both the person doing the bucket filling and the person being bucket filled.
Activity:
Teaching Tips
Resources
Learning Intention: To understand how to BE a bucket filler.
Success Criteria:
Activity:
Purpose: The purpose of this activity is for students to put into practise their understanding of 'Bucket Filling' and to learn how to fill their friends buckets and hopefully extend this to all other students, class, unit, wider school community and at home.
Teaching Tips:
Resources:
Learning Intention: To understand that not giving up when things are hard can help my learning.
Success Criteria:
Setting goals and achieving them can be hard sometimes. If you wanted to become better at throwing a ball or roller skate, but found it too hard, would you give up? Watch this video to see what happens on Sesame Street.
Think-Pair-Share: With a partner, discuss:
The Learning Pit
Whole class activity: When you are facing a hard problem, it's like you are in a learning pit. Look at the picture of the learning pit and talk about the words you think should go in the speech bubbles.
Now watch Giraffes Can't Dance by Giles Andreae.
Think-Pair-Share:
Learning Pit
Cut out the sentence strips and paste them on your picture of Gerald in the learning pit. Show your drawing to a partner. Be a bucket filler and tell them one thing you liked about their picture.
Whole class reflection: Why is not giving up and trying hard important at school? Why is it important at home? When else is it important?
Purpose: In this update students learn about not giving up and about the learning pit where challenges are faced and overcome.
Teaching Tips:
There are lots of resources and images of learning pits - also see Pinterest. Once you have co-created a learning pit with the class, display it so it can be referred to throughout the year. At any time, use the diagram to reflect on strategies students can use to help them climb out of the learning pit. For example, when struggling with maths, reading or spelling, identify specific mathematical, comprehension or spelling strategies to help them. Focus could also be made on personal qualities such as perseverance or changing mind sets. Use the following template as a guide to co-construct images of learning pits for Gerald and for students to complete individually.
Learning Intention: To understand how people all over the world are the same and different.
Success Criteria:
Look at Whoever you are by Mem Fox.
With a partner in a Think-Pair-Share, talk about:
Now listen to a reading of the story:
After reading, discuss:
Now find out how people in our class are the same and different.
Favourite | you | another student | another student |
game | |||
food | |||
clothes | |||
book | |||
day of the week | |||
what makes you special? |
When you interview other students, make sure ask politely and smile. After they tell you, say thank you.
Now look at your interview sheet and share it with another student.
Now let's learn how to say hello in different languages:
Purpose: To appreciate and value individual, social and cultural diversity.
Teaching Tips
Whoever you are
Children all over the world are very different, but they also have much in common. This book by author Mem Fox, celebrates the diversity in our world and the fact that, inside, we are all the same, wherever and whoever we are.