Utilizing Social Emotional
Learning in the Common
Core Classroom
Support Your People through the Common Core!
Ann Ottmar
NBCT MCGen, 4th grade teacher,
Cheney Public Schools
Supporting the Transition to Common
Core for students: The Major Shifts
Mathematics Shifts
O Regular focus with the
important standards, deep
not wide.
O Coherence: connect and
link within and across
grades, building
understanding over time.
O Rigor: develop a balance
among conceptual
understanding, procedural
skill/fluency, and
application.
ELA Shifts
O Regular practice with
complex text balanced
between fiction and nonfiction.
O Reading, writing and
speaking grounded in
evidence from text, both
literary and informational.
O Building knowledge and
academic language
through content-rich
nonfiction.
Habits Of Mind:
Practices and Capacities
How does the brain work?
What the brain needs to learn!
Choice:
Cognitive Environment
Problem
Solving and
Positive Brain
Growth
Challenge:
Accomplishment
& Self-Esteem
Choice:
Problem
Solving and
Positive Brain
Growth
Reflection:
Analysis &
Synthesis
Feedback:
Lowers Stress
and Offers Sense
of Well-Being
Ritual:
Framework
for Learning
Recreated from Differentiation through
Novelty:
Attention &
Learning
Reflect and Consider:
O You are familiar with the Common Core standards
and the major shifts for ELA and Math. You also
now have some information about how the brain
learns and what it needs.
Turn and Talk:
O Where do you see connections?
O What words or thoughts are swirling in your mind?
O What or how can you use this information to
change your practice?
In the face of Common Core what we
really need is a Mindset Shift!
Social Emotional Learning Success
Edutopia.org
Social Emotional Learning within the Common Core
Cognitive Environment
Social/Emotional Environment
Physical Environment
Now our
brains can be
ready to
LEARN!!!
Manage
Relationships
Be
Empathetic
Handle our
own Emotions
Understand
Emotions
Safety:
Everyone is safe here!
Nutrition:
Healthy food = a working brain & body!
Water:
Hydration is key!
Color/ Music/ Humor:
Brains can get what they need!
Lighting/ Temperature:
Not too bright or dark, too hot or cold!
Brennan 2011; compilation of Maslow and Sprenger
Reflect and Consider
O How do these key components of Social Emotional
Learning relate to the Habits of Mind and the
Practices and Capacities of the Common Core?
O From your role in your school, where do you see
yourself tackling these?
O Walk and Talk – Move through the room, share
what is on your post-it, keep moving and sharing!
What other skills are needed for
success?
O Cognitive Domain is the focus of critical thinking, reasoning,
creativity, processes, innovation, strategies and knowledge.
O Intrapersonal Domain (Metacognition = Thinking about our
thinking.) includes grit, perseverance, focus, work ethic,
passion, flexibility, positive self-evaluation, being open to
new ideas and appreciating diversity.
O Interpersonal Domain expressing ideas, communication,
collaboration, conflict resolution, leadership, and empathy.
Note: Intrapersonal expertise is the biggest predictor of lifelong success in applying the other two!
http://www.ocde.us/CommonCoreCA/Documents/The%2021st%20Century%20C
ompetencies%205Cs.pdf
Goal Setting and Affirmations
Building Language, Communication and Connections
Choose a word – WHO ARE
YOU IN THIS ROLE?
O What do you see as your role with teachers,
with students, with families, with the community?
O How can this role support the move to Common
Core?
O Choose a word, add it to a label, post it on the
poster.
How Social Workers can specifically assist
teachers with students who need more
O Executive Functioning – requires opportunities for projects and other
assignments that take time to complete, with the ability to plan out what
to do over time, employ study skills and long-range planning.
O Self-Regulation – play games to help build resilience in the face of
temporary set-backs (Germeroth and Day-Hess 2013). Help students
monitor their own learning and begin to reflect on their own progress to
help them track their own goals, learning strategies and success; support
them in noticing that they don’t always need someone else to provide
feedback on how they are doing.
O Emotional tolerance and stamina, build relationships, help students
connect their thoughts and actions, relate to point-of-view in literature,
promote growth mindset, seek out mentors in the community.
O Art with understanding emotions, acting our rolse of characters in books
and other resources to experience the feelings without having to own
them yet!
Your Turn
O Grab an index card from the
center of your table and write
down two goals and an
affirmation about what you have
learned here today and want to
implement.
A Last Thought – How to Start a Movement!
Derek Sivers Ted Talk
Thank you for listening!
Contact me at:
O aottmar@cheneysd.org
O breottmultiage@gmail.com
O www.themindsofbreott.blogspot.com
Resources
Orange County Department of Education website: http://www.ocde.us/Pages/default.aspx
http://www.ocde.us/CommonCoreCA/Documents/The%2021st%20Century%20Competencies%205Cs.pdf
Brennan, Celina (2011) What the Brain Learns graphic recreated from Differentiation through Learning Styles and
Memory, by M. Sprenger (2008)
Brennan, Celina (2011) Social Emotional Pyramid compilation of Maslow and Sprenger
The Learning Brain by the Learning Pod https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgLYkV689s4
5 Keys to Social Emotional Learning from edutopia http://www.edutopia.org/keys-social-emotional-learning-video
Dweck, C. (2007) Mindset: The Psychology of Success Ballantine Books; Reprint edition.
Germeroth, C. & Day-Hess, C. (2013) Self-Regulated Learning for Academic Success ASCD, Alexandria, VA. ASCD
Aria.
Goal Setting and Affirmation resource: http://sprinkleteachingmagic.blogspot.com/2014/01/student-goal-settinggold-standard.html
How to Start a Movement by Derek Sivers Ted Talk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V74AxCqOTvg