High Five
Supporting High Ability Students through our five goals
Program Goal: Social-Emotional Learning focus
Students will participate in an environment that intentionally addresses social/emotional skills.
Students will set a social/emotional goal for the year that includes a reflection at the beginning and end of the year.
Interpersonal skills will be assessed quarterly through observation, peer/self -ratings, or focus groups.
Product Criteria Cards
Identification Spotlight
Communication
Notes from Parenting Gifted Kids, Chapter 10, by James. R. Delisle:
In the movie The Incredibles, the character Dash is told to go slower in a race, so he doesn't make others look bad. "Everyone's special, Dash" says his sister, in an attempt to mollify his disdian for not being able to display his talents fully. "Which is another way of saying no one is," Dash responds, strongly, yet dejectedly. (Walker and Bird, 2004)
The author discusses "elitism:"
"By singling out some children as gifted, you will be told, you are downgrading the personal worth of anyone who doesn't meet your high, high standard. ...To which I'd respond, "horsefeathers." Now if by elitism you think I advocate that gifted children and adults are somehow inherently worth more than those to who this label is not ascribed, then you have it all wrong. The brand of elitism that pegs some races or classes of people as being superior to others is absurd and offensive; such beliefs hold no place in my personal repertoire. However, if it is elitist to believe in the sanctity of human differences and to state unequivocally that an IQ of 145 does earmark a 10-year old child as different from other fourth graders in some important ways, then elitist I am. If it is elitist to take a child aside and tell her that her giftedness is a lifelong quality that will allow her to experience and interpret life situations in ways that are more sophisticated and complete than many, then I will proudly wear the label." "On the other hand...For as individualistic as they are, with needs and quirks that mark them as unique even in relationship to other gifted children, they also share many commonalities with other kids their age. This is the underlying reason that many gifted advocates, myself included, espouse the mantra that gifted children are children first and gifted second."
This chapter goes on to share a gifted student's thoughts on how others are turned off by his recognition, being judged before known because of his intelligence, and the battle he has between those worries and his personal pride. The author continues with valuable insight that can help us see the importance of how we see gifted children in the context of their classmates, but how our gift children see themselves AND OTHERS in the context of their giftedness. The tricky part may be creating a sense of pride, accomplishment, positive self-esteem, etc, AND working to make sure students understand the varying abilities of those around them- not only so they appreciate their giftedness, but so they remain humble, empathetic, and understanding as they continue to work with others.
Procedures
What are affirmations? They are short, powerful statements aimed to affect both the conscious and the subconscious mind. They are intended to help with focus, motivation, and influence behaviors and mindset.
What are some easy ways to build affirmations into my day?
- Display a daily affirmation for the students as they enter for the day
- Create an affirmation wall on which both students and staff can interact
- Affirmation discussion--share an affirmation and discuss it's meaning and potential impact
- Notice and restate--when a child makes an "I can't" statement, help him/her restate
- Create a list of class affirmations and recite them daily
- Seek out and recommend uplifting apps that provide daily affirmations
How do I incorporate SEL supports into lessons?
1. One way to build relationships is helping students name their emotions. One way to do that is using Plutchik's Wheel of Emotions. Using the Wheel of Emotions paired with empathy, "Wow, that is frustrating, I am here for you." (mirroring) is a tool for your SEL toolbox.
2. Reduce competition in the classroom. Competition is threatening for students with a trauma background.
3. Have them do the research. HA students can often talk their way out of anything. Instead of taking things away to try to get them to perform a desired behavior, have them research the why with guiding questions.
Environment
Write your goals down, if they’re not written down they’re just dreams.
Writing goals is not an easy task for kids. They are going to struggle, they won’t always write perfect“SMART” goals, but we can at least get them started down the path of goal writing.
In my classroom we write and celebrate goals during morning meeting. At the beginning of the school year I teach students how to write SMART goals.
The students can pick an academic/school related goal or a personal goal. Some students have set goals for something they are passionate about, such as writing a goal to recycle more or helping a classmate organize their desk. I think it is important for the students to be invested in what they are working to achieve.
You could also work with specific students who might need a social/emotional goal or academic goal.
In my class when a student completes their goal they:
Share their goal with the class and tell how they completed it.
We clap and congratulate them on completing their goal.
They get their card back to keep and receive a new card to write a new goal.
They show me their new goal and place it on the board.
They also receive a star to place on our “Super Improver Board”.
The Super Improver Board is a system of moving up in rank by improving on anything. This is awesome because everyone has the ability to improve at something. This rewards improvement as opposed to rewarding just the high achieving students.
The link below gives some suggestions for implementing SMART goals into your classroom.
https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/blog-posts/genia-connell/setting-almost-smart-goals-my-students/
Smart Goals
Goal Board
Super Improver Board
Focus on Social Skills Through Academic Feedback
John Hattie, a researcher in education, considered the effect of feedback on learning. There is some significant data from his research that tells us when meaningful and specific feedback is exchanged with learners, the gains in learning are significant.
The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) defined social emotional learning (SEL) more than two decades ago and through decades of research, CASEL maintains that intentional social and emotional learning in the classroom leads to higher academic achievement and improved behavior.
Most teachers agree that their most precious resource is time. Finding ways to include all of the components that make a good lesson and include all the needs of daily classroom life is one of the biggest challenges teachers face. One way to meet the challenge time brings for teachers is to combine intentions and meet more needs at once.
In this case, we will combine academic feedback with intentional social emotional learning with our students.
Tips for peer to peer feedback:
Students should only give peer to peer feedback when they know the specific criteria for success. It should not be student opinion of the work but another set of eyes comparing the work to a success criteria checklist. It is essential that you have this specific checklist for them to use as the basis of their feedback.
Students must only speak of the work, not the author. One suggestion to emphasize this is to remove names to keep the assignment anonymous. The feedback is about the work, not the human.
Students should reflect on the feedback they are given and be given the opportunity to improve their work. Without the opportunity to make changes, the feedback is meaningless. Try adding moments of peer feedback at the beginning and middle of the lesson, not the end.
Teachers should follow these same tips when giving feedback (including grades) to students and should open themselves to receiving feedback from their students. This is one way to promote a safe environment for giving and receiving feedback in the classroom.
Tips for teaching intentional social emotional skills during peer to peer feedback:
Teach students to be an active listener while receiving peer feedback. Teach students to be active listeners by demonstrating body language. Before a peer to peer feedback moment, model what active listening and non-active listening looks like. Discuss how showing signs of an active listener also shows confidence.
Use conversation stems for students to use while giving feedback and model what NOT to say prior to a feedback session.
Model a peer feedback session when students give the teacher feedback on your work. Have them give you feedback in a rude or incorrect manner. Write down this wrong way to give feedback on a large post-it and throw it away in front of the students. This dramatically shows this is not how peer feedback should be given.
Give them sentence starters or question stems for them to use to practice good ways to give feedback. Here are some stems to get you started:
According to the success criteria, this has done_____ well, but it looks like the project does not include _________.
I’m not sure I understand what part of the success checklist this part of the project covers. Can you explain why this part is included?
I feel like this part about ______ from the checklist is missing in this work. Do you see it anywhere or does it need to be added?
Find more academic conversation stems from these ready-made posters or this academic conversation placemat. (Thanks to Stephanie Deeter, guidance director from PMMS, for locating these resources.)
Model helpful and unhelpful thoughts when receiving feedback. When students give you feedback on your work, tell them what you are thinking out loud. Write the possible thoughts you could be having on the board and have them label the thoughts as helpful or unhelpful. Unhelpful thoughts do not lead to constructive changes but may lead to anxiety, depression, or bad choices. Helpful thoughts are more positive and lead to better choices and positive outcomes. After a peer feedback session, ask students to write down the unhelpful thoughts they are or could be having about the feedback they received and turn those unhelpful thoughts into healthy, helpful, and productive thoughts. For older students, use this resource to bring awareness about the types of unhelpful thoughts and lead them to find ways to overcome those negative thoughts.
Providing more opportunities for feedback increases academic achievement. Intentionally focusing on active listening, giving and receiving constructive feedback, and considering how helpful or unhelpful thoughts affect our behaviors are much needed social and emotional skills that do not need to be taught in isolated lessons. They can be taught while increasing academic achievement through peer feedback. It’s a win win!