The “Respect Reset” works. Why?

• Student knowledge and experience are validated.

• Students are actively participating.

• Questions guide deep reflection.

• Connection is created.

• Hope is generated.

Students feel a sense of agency for improving their class culture.
Reset Respect sets a new trajectory for classroom culture and success. By implementing the steps outlined in the book, educators can restore hope, positivity, and connection in their classrooms. Whether you are a seasoned educator or just starting out, the Reset Respect formula provides a blueprint for bringing respect back to your community so that everyone can succeed and flourish.

For 20 years, poetry transformed my classroom. Reading poetry validated students’ individual relationships to meaning. Writing poetry invited students to be vulnerable and expressive. Self-confidence increased, trust was built, and a palpable sense of community was established.

Teaching poetry achieved every social and emotional learning standard. Self-awareness was met by having students connect to what was individually meaningful to them. Self-management was met by discovering and regulating one’s emotional experience in reading and writing poetry. The standards for social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making were met by creating poetry collectively, peer editing, and respectful listening.

Although teaching poetry achieves social-emotional learning standards intrinsically, the lessons in this book help students reflect upon and articulate their social-emotional experiences. This crucial step allows teachers to track and nurture social-emotional skills side by side with academic instruction. By engaging in SEL-specific dialogue at the end of a lesson, the opportunity for SEL flourishes by naming it and giving it space to grow.

You do not need to be an SEL expert to implement the lessons in this book. Social Emotional Poetry was written for teachers who are unfamiliar with SEL curricula, but want social-emotional results. By just teaching the student-centered lessons, which are all constructed around reflection, exploration, and collaboration, you will be teaching social-emotional skills. You only need to facilitate a discussion about the social-emotional experience at the end of each lesson.

The book is divided into eight units. Every unit provides a lesson structure that can be repeated and expanded upon by using different poems or by introducing a new poetry element.

• Unit 1 introduces the form and structure of poetry.

• Unit 2 explores what poetry sounds like.

• Unit 3 considers poetic topics.

• Unit 4 investigates poetic tools.

• Unit 5 is a blueprint for analyzing poetry.

• Unit 6 is a blueprint for teaching a specific social-emotional skill.

• Unit 7 is a blueprint for a social-emotional approach to editing and presenting.

• Unit 8 showcases students’ poetry in a final celebration.

Enjoy the beautiful boundless experience of social-emotional poetry. Your class will be forever transformed.

Social Emotional ELA Games teaches communication, perspective taking, and responsible decision-making alongside theater games, dialogue, and experiential learning. This combination is the secret sauce to create transformational results in your classroom. Students will learn critical thinking skills, self-management, relationships skills, agency, effective self-connection, and all the tools necessary for ELA and SEL success.

What can SEL/ELA games do for you?

Your students will be happy and feel connected. The games are fun, engaging, and add energy for everyone.The positive experience will translate into better relationships and less conflict.Students will develop and nurture ELA skills that will improve academic performance.The class will build emotional and intellectual safety, creating the foundation for a supportive academic community.You will find more enjoyment in teaching!

Why prioritize emotional skills?

As students develop their own emotional literacy, they can navigate their reading and writing experiences with more effectiveness.As students become self-connected, they can understand and analyze fictional characters and the lives of other people.

Why prioritize social skills?

SEL/ELA games create engagement, perspective taking, meaning-making, and belonging. The problem with socializing in school is that it is often associated with off-task behavior and anti-academic pursuits. However, when we can effectively integrate socializing with academic content through group work and class discussions, we exponentially improve intellectual capacity and classroom culture.Communication is at the heart of ELA. There is no better way to practice communicating than doing activities that prioritize communication.

Why do these games work?

Students have a need to be seen, valued, and learn with purpose and relevance. The games validate all of these needs,At all ages, people learn best when they learn through play.

Life Goals not only serves as a transformative approach for learning goal achievement in schools, but also lays the foundation for lifelong skills that extend far beyond the classroom. 

Socially, the curriculum fosters a sense of community by encouraging authentic sharing, facilitating experiential learning, and incorporating community building games. 

Emotionally, the curriculum delves into the exploration of feelings, thoughts, beliefs and inner experiences, empowering students with a deeper understanding of their emotional well-being.  

Social Emotional Field Day provides you with a blueprint to create an extraordinary social emotional experience with your school community. Block one contains 10 proven team building games for bonding, moving, and practice social emotional skills. 

Block two contains 15 group problem-solving activities to highlight teamwork and dialogue. Block three is a mindfulness immersion for students to practice curiosity and presence.

Games transform classrooms. Ice breakers melt isolation and social anxiety. Energizers awaken dormant minds and bodies. Fun activities create engagement and cohesion. Group challenges spur leadership, collaboration, and belonging. The best games bring out the best in students to build community in the classroom. This book contains fifty of those best games.

The book is written for teachers, by a teacher, with clarity, brevity, and effectiveness in mind. Whether you choose to use a few lessons to brighten up your classroom on a slow day, or utilize the entire book in a comprehensive curriculum, you will see instant energetic change every time you facilitate a game. 

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50 Community Building Activities:

• Approved by 1000s of students

• Tested in the classroom

• Meets all Social Emotional Learning Standards

• Over 100 variations

• Perfect for advisory, social emotional learning, and all group settings

Welcome to the amazing world of goal setting and achieving your dreams!

In Family Life Goals,

1. Goals will be fun and doable.

2. You get to work towards making your dreams a reality.

3. You will get support from your family without any additive pressure.

4. Everyone will go through the same process, adults included.

There are 10 family meetings that progress from easy goals to hard goals. Everyone will learn how to break their big goals into small steps while staying motivated, accountable, and focused. These techniques will last you a lifetime and can be used again and again. Get ready to achieve something that you have always wanted. It’s close to becoming a reality.