Social and Emotional Learning Integration

Tate J. Hedtke

Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota

Schools of Graduate and Professional Programs

Portfolio Entry for Wisconsin Teacher Standard 7&8

EDUW 693 Curriculum Assessment and Instruction

Ryan Ourada, Instructor

April 29th, 2018

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Selected Wisconsin Teacher Standard Descriptors

Wisconsin Teacher Standard (WTS) 7: Teachers are able to plan different kinds of lessons.

Knowledge.

The teacher knows when and how to adjust plans based on student responses and other
contingencies.

Dispositions.

The teacher values both long-term and short-term planning.

Performances.

The teacher creates short-range and long-term plans that are linked to student needs and

performance, and adapts the plans to ensure and capitalize on student progress and motivation.

Wisconsin Teacher Standard (WTS) 8: Teachers know how to test for student progress.

Knowledge.

The teacher knows how to select, construct, and use assessment strategies and

instruments appropriate to the learning outcomes being evaluated and to other diagnostic

purposes.

Dispositions.

The teacher values ongoing assessment as essential to the instructional process and

recognizes that many different assessment strategies, accurately and systematically used, are

necessary for monitoring and promoting student learning.

Performances.

The teacher uses assessment strategies to involve learners in self-assessment activities, to

help them become aware of their strengths and needs, and to encourage them to set personal

goals for learning.

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Pre-assessments

Self-assessment of Instruction Related to WTS and Targeted Student Learning Objectives

Danielson Domain I, Planning and Preparation

Element:

● Grouping of Students

● Self-assessment and monitoring of progress

As the researcher embarked on his goal of improving social and emotional learning skills

(SEL) and competencies, he began by reflecting on the Danielson Domain’s and identified the

two above elements he wished to focus on. Grouping of students has always been identified as a

difficult area by the teacher as his classes are typically small, and contain students with varying

abilities and limitations. Next, the researcher identified at the beginning of the research and

implementation process that he was “unsatisfactory” regarding having students perform self-

assessment in the classroom.

Targeted Student Learning Objective

As SEL is a relatively new focus by the Wisconsin Department of Instruction at the time

of research and implementation, and with mental health being a relatively new focus by the DPI

and school districts, there are no concrete standards that have been provided for educators in

Wisconsin. That being said, several researchers such as John D. Mayer and Maurice Elias, and

the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning group (CASEL) have identified

several areas that students with emotional disabilities lack, and successful students possess. The

researcher will focus on helping his students improve in the five areas identified by CASEL as

being most important to SEL skill development (Elias and Weissberg 2007)
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1. Self-awareness

2. Social awareness

3. Self-management and organization

4. Responsible decision-making

5. Relationship management

Assessment of Student Performance Related to Targeted Student Learning Objectives

The researcher teaches one section of pull-out US Government at Medford Area Senior

High School (MASH). He has been teaching special education for over four years, all at MASH.

Throughout his time teaching, his Individualized Education Plan (IEP) caseload of students has

shifted from students with primarily learning disabilities and other health impairments (e.g.

attention deficit disorder and dyslexia) to that of students with mental health concerns and

Emotional and Behavioral Disabilities (EBD). This shift in the researchers IEP students was

perhaps the first antecedent resulting in his interest in the topic of integrating social and

emotional learning in the classroom.

The high school has students in grades 9-12 and the researcher’s class consists of all

sophomores. The students are taught using the Wisconsin Model Academic Standards for social

studies which are antiquated and currently under review. While the students are able to achieve

at a proficient level as far as performance in the course curriculum is concerned, the researcher

grew aware of lack of character and social and emotional awareness of the students in his

classroom over the course of the school year.

Based upon how the researcher felt the students were behaving and treating one another

over the course of the school year, he began gathering anecdotal data and having conversations
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with fellow staff members about the group of individuals and their perceived lack of empathy

and social emotional development. As several of the students are on the researchers IEP

caseload, further discussions were had with families and former teachers that heightened the

researchers desire to address the perceived lack of character and emotional competencies in the

group of students. Upon initial assessments, there was a distinct discrepancy between student

awareness of their behavior and the researcher’s evaluations of their behavior as they pertain

towards their education as shown in Artifacts A and B.

The students will be instructed in character education as well as social and emotional

learning using the five domains identified by Harvard scholar, Stephanie Jones, and supported by

The Aspen Institute Education & Society Program (Johnsen & Wiener 2017). These five

domains are: emotional, social, cognitive, character, and mindset which are then further broken

down into smaller categories such as grit, curiosity, optimism, and ethics in the character

category.

Assessment of Learning Environment While Learning Targeted Objectives

The researcher’s classroom is on the first floor of MASH located in Medford, Wisconsin.

It is an exterior room consisting of two windows, two teacher desks for the researcher and

another certified teacher, three rows of four student desks, and large kidney bean shaped tables

with five chairs around them on either side of the room. The room is conjoined with another

special education teacher’s room which leads to frequent disruptions. The room is decorated

with plants, maps, photographs of inspirational Americans, and personal possessions,

photographs, and other effects.

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The city of Medford has 4,326 residents, but the school district draws from a much larger

area as it is the county seat and largest community for nearly an hour in any direction. The

Medford Area Public School District had 2,170 enrolled during the 2016-2017 school year with

654 of them enrolled at MASH. Medford High students reported a 95.4% graduation rate for

that same school year which is typical of recent years. The city of Medford is unique in the fact

that it possesses an unusually large number of manufacturing employers, banks, and other

industry for a community of its size. A large area of the school district and county remain

agricultural or forested land.

The students selected consist of nine sophomore students with various disabilities

including autism spectrum disorder, emotional and behavioral disabilities, labels including other

health impairment and specific learning disabilities. Eight of the students are male while one is

female. Seven of the students are assessed using the typical ACT state standardized testing while

two of the individuals are assessed using the Dynamic Learning Maps for those that suffer

intellectual disabilities.

The class is taught in the pull-out setting, meaning the students are removed from the

general education setting and are taught by a special education teacher using the same curriculum

and standards as the regular education students. This course meets five times a week for forty-

three minutes per meeting, with the exception of block schedule days which are eighty-three

minute class periods. Block schedule days only happen when the schedule is not otherwise

modified throughout the week for early-release, assemblies, or other calendar modifications.
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Assessment Conclusion and Essential Question to Guide Research

Through the researcher’s self-assessment, discussion with co-workers and administration,

as well as self-reported behavioral concerns of the students in his class, it was apparent to him

that something needed to be done in order to address the lack of SEL and character awareness of

the students. Also, the researcher is aware of the lack of time in the school day and the ability to

give every student individualized instruction or whole-class instruction in a dedicated social

skills type class. With this in mind, the researcher decided to focus on the following question:

“Can social skills instruction effectively increase student’s awareness of their own detrimental

behavior towards learning in the pull-out social studies classroom?”

Research Summary

Public education fills many roles for families in 21st century America. It is a wonderful

springboard for college-bound students and provides travel, athletic, and music education

opportunities for others. When asking businesses however, what they view the most important

trait for potential employees is, the answer is consistently this: “We want them to be able to get

along with other people” (Johns, Crowley & Guetzloe, 2005, p. 2).

Several meta-analyses have been conducted seeking to answer the question: does social

skills instruction work? Unfortunately, many of the analyses seem to contradict one another in

some regard. The one question that resurfaced in every article reviewed for this project reaches

far deeper, and that is “how can teachers increase social skills instruction to students, and which

practices are the most effective.” Social and emotional learning is not a new focus in schools but

is receiving more attention with the modern focus on addiction and mental health issues in

American schools. The awareness and philosophy of SEL in an individual are as old as
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philosophy and educational thought themselves when Aristotle wrote: “Anyone can become

angry- that is easy. But to be angry with the right person, to the right degree, at the right purpose

and in the right way- this is not easy” (Elias et al, 2007). The research and consideration of SEL

has been increased dramatically over the past two centuries as psychology began to take its

modern form by men such as Darwin, Gardner, and Piaget (Elias & Weissberg, 2007 p.248). As

the fire that drives education is constantly fueled by increasingly more difficult issues such as

school violence, drug abuse, and mental health issues, the onus is placed upon the educator to

help provide SEL not all American students have access to at home. The purpose of this

research paper is to not only prove the need for SEL instruction in the special education

classroom, but to identify effective methods to do so.

Social and emotional learning is a phrase used synonymously with character education.

Neither of these terms however have a universally accepted set of criteria which constitute the

phrase. Much of what is perceived as acceptable behavior by a student is dictated by their

culture, which can vary between religions, countries, states, school districts, and even between

neighbors. Ultimately, “social-emotional learning focuses on the skills and attitudes needed to

function in relevant social environments” (Elias & Weissberg, 2007, p.248). In other words,

SEL is needed to help create individuals who are capable of being independent, functional, and

able to contribute to the society which they belong.

Many of the skills identified as SEL, moral, or character education traits are those

historically taught by one’s direct caregivers, typically parents. When leading SEL scholar

Maurice Elias lead a discussion between educators and parents to create a list of necessary skills

needed by an individual to be successful, hundreds of skills and traits were brought into the

conversation. They were eventually summarized into the following five main categories (with
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selected descriptors for clarification) by the early founders of SEL, including CASEL, Mayer

and Salovey in 2001: (Kress & Elias, 2006, p.251)

1. Self- awareness

● Recognizing and naming one’s emotions

● Understanding the reasons and circumstances for feeling as one does

2. Social awareness

● Appreciating diversity

● Showing respect to others

3. Self-management and organization

● Verbalizing and coping with anxiety, anger, and depression

● Controlling impulses, aggression, and self-destruction, antisocial behavior

4. Responsible decision-making

● Analyzing situations perceptively and identifying problems clearly

● Exercising social decision-making and problem-solving skills

5. Relationship management

● Managing emotions in relationships, harmonizing diverse feelings and

viewpoints

● Showing sensitivity to social-emotional cues

The list, although not comprehensive, is intended to show the complexity of certain skills such as

self-management and organization which has ten subcategories, many of which a person could

argue are intrinsic from birth and may not be teachable to the secondary student.

Further proof for the need of SEL instruction in schools comes from Clayton Cook

(2008) and his research team when they noted that 48% of students identified as having
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emotional disabilities scored below the 16th percentile in the area of social skills. Eleven percent

of students with EBD are involved in the criminal justice system by the time they graduate, and

half are in trouble with schools. Cook went on to discuss that children with social competency

deficits are at greater risk for poor school adjustment and adult psychopathology than students

who are socially competent. Students who lack social competency are at higher risk of dropping

out of school, being arrested by graduation age, and having the inability to maintain employment

as a teen and adult. Unfortunately, there is an often shared belief that SEL training in secondary

students is not effective as their behaviors are likely entrenched in the adolescent by the time the

student reaches about 8 years of age. This belief contradicts an analysis research conducted by

Cook that about two-thirds of of EBD students who participate in SEL instruction experience

favorable outcomes when compared to controls. The need for social skills instruction in schools

is clear.

Identifying the need for SEL in the classroom is only one small hurdle, recognizing

effective and time-sensitive strategies is another difficulty. Johns et al. identified seven different

methods or areas in the school, where SEL can be approached (2005, p.3):

1. Direct instruction

2. The teachable moment

3. The teacher as a role model for appropriate social skills

4. Recognition of appropriate social skills throughout the day

5. Special group projects

6. Conflict resolution

7. Teaching self-management, including social skills strategies and anger

management
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Johns’ article acts as a handbook for how to identify and teach the different skills needed to gain

emotional competencies. The methods described are similar to instruction of other academic

skills, but with a heavy emphasis on rewarding and providing feedback on positive behavior, as

well as seizing the “teachable moment,” that moment when a student’s behavior is completely

unacceptable and they cannot identify in themselves the error in their behaviors. The teachable

moment is often underutilized or missed altogether by the ineffective teacher. Instead of simply

removing an agitated student from a classroom or reprimanding them verbally, teachers need to

have strategies in place in order to turn an unfavorable situation into a positive learning

experience.

Another important aspect noted by Johns et al. is simply a teacher modeling appropriate

social skills (2005). It is important for teachers to realize their place as role models and

understand not all students have positive role models in their lives to help them identify positive

social behaviors or effectively correct their negative social behaviors. The old adage “one must

give respect to earn respect” comes to mind when considering appropriate ways to act as an

individual, how to access the teachable moment, and how to facilitate direct instruction.

It is also interesting to note that some disciplines have social and emotional development

written into the college and career ready standards that have already been adopted by many

states. Wisconsin, for example, uses the Next Generation Science Standards that have language

deliberately added to facilitate the development of curiosity, grit, and ethics which have been

identified as key components of character development (NGSS 2013). Further, SEL outcomes

have been included in the 7th standard which promotes positive and constructive arguments

which are essential to the scientific method, development, and research process. As these

standards have changed, so too must educators. Gone are the days of simply teaching students to
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regurgitate facts and prepare for tests. As cultures change, educational outcomes change, and

educators need to be able to adapt to those changes. This may be one of the more difficult

variables to consider when it comes to promoting the instruction of SEL in schools: the veteran

and pedagogically rigid educator (Johnson and Wiener 2017).

The need for SEL instruction is obvious for the future success of students when

considering graduation rates, criminal activity, and the need for positive employability skills.

Also, it is quite clear that much research has been conducted on how to give this instruction in

the classroom. It also seems feasible that any educator can be a proponent of SEL instruction

based on the modern standards that have been written for the core academic areas, and the need

for every educator to be a positive role model in the lives of their students.

Research Implications

Can social skills instruction effectively increase students’ awareness of their own

detrimental behavior towards learning in the pull-out social studies classroom? The research

supports the idea that social skills instruction is necessary not only in pull-out special education,

but in all classrooms. This is evident when looking at how the current academic standards have

been written according to Johnson and Wiener, as well as the deficiencies reported by business

owners and graduation and law enforcement data.

Also, in order to address this skill deficiency in the researcher’s students he will have

ample opportunity to practice Wisconsin teaching standards 7 (teachers are able to plan different

kinds of lessons) and 8 (teachers know how to test for student progress). In respect of time, the

researcher understands that he will not be able to address all of the social and emotional learning
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needs of his students, but hopes that helping to bring awareness of their actions to their attention

will help facilitate growth in the five different areas identified by CASEL.

The researcher plans on integrating mini lessons over the course of several weeks to help

address CASEL standards 1, Self-awareness, and 4, Responsible decision-making.

Research-based Action Plan

Action Plan Summary Outline

1. Perform initial survey gauging students’ perceptions of how their own behaviors affect

their own learning as well as others.

2. Conduct introduction to the Social Emotional Learning unit using the Skittle/M&M

game to help teach awareness of SEL deficiencies.

3. The teacher will teach a mini lesson on Grit as a way of introducing CASEL’s Social

and Emotional Learning/Emotional Intelligence Skills.

4. Each student will complete a short presentation explaining one of the thirty-eight sub-

domains of the CASEL skills.

5. The teacher will focus on the “teachable moment” when it comes to students lack of

empathy and disrespect towards one another.

6. The teacher will have the students complete a self-assessment similar to the initial

survey to measure student growth.

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Targeted Student Learning Objectives

1. Standardized goal: Students will become more aware of CASEL’s standards for social

and emotional learning and will share proficiency of one of the sub-domains with the

group.

2. Targeted learning objective: Same.

Tasks and Essential Proficiency Criteria for Targeted Learning Objectives

1. Task: Students will complete surveys before and after the unit as well as present

a short project showing mastery on one of CASEL’s thirty-eight sub-domains.

2. Criteria that Prove Proficiency in Meeting Targeted Learning Objectives:

a. Students will show improvement between their pre and post surveys

showing they have greater recognition of their behaviors and how they

affect the learning of themselves and others.

b. Students will complete their presentation before the end of the unit.

Methods to Assess Progress of Proficiency for Targeted Learning Objectives

1. Rubric assessing mastery of CASEL’s thirty-eight sub-domains and social

emotional learning skills.

2. Survey results comparing data from pre to post unit.

3. Anecdotal data gathered by the researcher based upon observations made before

and after the unit.

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Post-assessments

Instructional Insights Related to WTS and Targeted Student Learning Objectives

This project has been extremely valuable for me as an educator. Not only did it give me

the opportunity to focus on unit planning and student assessment, but it allowed me the

opportunity to research an entire field of education that I had been unfamiliar with prior: social

and emotional learning. As a special education teacher, I have a much better understanding of

the need for SEL instruction in the classroom, and how it can be incorporated into the general

curriculum. This project helped me develop a plan of action that I will be able to integrate in the

future and help answer the question I am asked by parents all too often: “how can you help get

my kid ready for the real world?” This is a plan I intend to share with the rest of my special

education staff as I feel these standards are tangible and accessible for all of our students.

Through this process I learned that the majority of my students came into the unit with a

general idea of socially appropriate behavior on “good” days, but have difficult times making

correct decisions or exemplifying positive SEL skills when they are agitated or worked up. I

believe the only thing that can help break the cycle for a lot of these students is frequent

instruction and reminders, positive reinforcement and support when students exhibit positive

SEL skills, and to take the opportunity to seize the teachable moment.

Reflecting on the first Danielson Domain regarding preparation and planning, I feel that I

have grown in the area of using self-assessment with students to facilitate data driven discussions

and instruction. Using the results of the student survey and teacher comparison survey, I found

some students reported adequate understanding of their SEL deficiencies and maintain adequate

control over their behaviors in class.

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I have also grown as an educator in regard to Wisconsin teaching standards 7 (teachers

are able to plan different kinds of lessons) and 8 (teachers know how to test for student progress).

This unit was unique in the fact that I was not able to simply gather objective data of student

performance. I needed to gather anecdotal data, as well as student submitted surveys of their

own performance, and then compare the information. Integrating student-driven assessment

forced me to create lesson plans I have not created before based on student perceived needs

rather than curriculum directives.

Comparison of Student Performance Related to Targeted Student Learning Objectives

My students showed adequate performance toward the recognition of their SEL abilities

over the course of the three month research and implementation process. When comparing the

survey results given at the beginning of the unit, and after the unit (results shown in Artifacts A

and E), out of a possible score of 15, scores increased from a 7.89 to 8.89 when concerning an

individual's behavior and involvement in the classroom and meeting learning objectives. After

reflecting on the implementation process and my initial goals, I realized I was unable to

incorporate as many mini lessons as I would have liked with the frequent disruptions caused by

my job description: students in crisis, absences for school functions, standardized testing, to

name a few. I was unable to effectively address the five areas I had hoped to have my students

master.

Comparison of Learning Environment While Learning Targeted Objectives

I have noticed growth in my students throughout this process, their affect towards one

another, and responsiveness towards my social instruction. They became more aware of the
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similarities of their life situations and schemas, and because of this, have started treating one

another with more respect. I noticed less disruptive, rude, and disrespectful behaviors between

students in the classroom and have found students more willing to participate in classroom

activities and discussions. I think the self-awareness activities I built into place helped increase

the positive learning culture in my classroom.

Reflection of Entire Learning Process

What Worked and Why

1. Most students participated in discussions and in class activities.

2. Students participated in surveys with fidelity and seemed to take the surveys seriously

to my surprise. I was not anticipating high school-aged students with emotional and

behavioral issues to engage in the activity willingly and in a reflective manner.

3. All students presented their projects on CASEL’s sub-domains of positive social

emotional learning.

4. Simply by making students aware and reminding them of the CASEL doctrine made

the students more aware of their own actions and cognizant of their demeanor in classes.

What Did Not Work and Why

1. Two students identified as having the greatest discrepancy between their initial survey

results and the teacher reports did not participate well in classroom discussions and

activities.
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2. Several students did not take the activities serious and were not able to make the

comparison between their success in school and lack of fluency and recognition of the

CASEL standards.

3. I had hoped to make each student a master of at least one of the SEL areas, which

ultimately did not happen. Some students did not have the interest or academic ability to

demonstrate mastery in one of the areas.

4. I also realized my research did not focus on the two areas of self-awareness and

responsible decision making. I should have focused my instruction and assessment on

these two areas seeing as how I identified those as my target areas before the

implementation process began.

5. The rubric I created for my project was not as descriptive as I thought it was, and

although I modeled an example of my expectations for the project, many students seemed

unmotivated to prove mastery of the project and learning outcomes.

My Next Steps

1. I will continue teaching mini lessons on the thirty-eight identified sub-domains by the

CASEL group on a weekly basis and use reminders throughout the week of the focus.

2. As there are almost an equal number of sub-domains for SEL standards identified by

the CASEL group as there are weeks in the school year, I will make a plan to incorporate

one of these a week with my future classes throughout the entire school year. I will start

by teaching a mini lesson on the first day of the school week, and then offer frequent

reminders, positive feedback, and capture the teachable moment in order to facilitate

understanding and acceptance of the standards.

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References

Cook, C. R., Gresham, F. M., Kern, L., Barreras, R. B., Thornton, S., & Crews, S. D. (2008).

Social skills training for secondary students with emotional and/or behavioral disorders.

Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 16(3), 131-144.

Elias, M.J., Parker, S.J., Kash, M., Weissberg, R.P., & O’Brien, M. (2007). Social and emotional

learning, moral education, and character education: A comparative analysis and a view

toward convergence.

Johns, B.H., Crowley, E.P., Guetzloe, E. (2005). The central role of teaching social skills.

Focus on exceptional children, 37(6), 1-8.

Johnson, H., & Wiener, R. (2017). This time, with feeling: Integrating social and emotional

development and college- and career- readiness standards (pp. 2-21, Rep.). Washington,

DC: The Aspen Institute.

Kress, J.S., & Elias, M.J., (2006). Implementing school-based social and emotional learning

programs: Navigating developmental crossroads. In I. Siegel &A. Renninger (Eds.),

Handbook of Child Psychology (rev. ed., pp.592-618). New York: Wiley.

Mayer, J.D. (2001). A field guide to emotional intelligence. In J. Ciarrochi, J.P. Forgas, & J.D.

Mayer (Eds.), Emotional intelligence in everyday life (pp. 3-24). Philadelphia: Taylor &

Francis.

NGSS Lead States. 2013. Next Generation Science Standards: For States, By States.
Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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Artifact A

Artifact A shows the results of an initial survey taken to gather the students perceptions of their
own behaviors and how they influence the learning of themselves and others. Several questions
were asked, but three were selected to assess the students’ awareness of their behaviors: “My
behaviors affect my learning,” “My behavior affects the learning of others,” and “I say or act
towards others in a disrespectful way.” This data was gathered using a survey on Google Forms
and compiled into a spreadsheet. The green bar shows a composite score of the survey
questions. The survey was a self assessment using a sliding scale of scores between one and
five, one meaning “almost never,” and five meaning “almost always.”
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Artifact B

Artifact B shows a comparison between the teachers assessment of the students behaviors in the
social studies classroom before the in class instruction began. The red bar is the teachers
assessment of student behavior based on the same three questions as shown in Artifact A,
compared with the composite score of student reported behaviors in Artifact A. Some students
self assessment scores were very consistent with the assessments of the teachers, while others
were vastly different.
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Artifact C

Artifact C shows the survey students took at the beginning of the unit. They took the quiz on
their own chromebooks in class without any prompting as to what the results would be used for.
They were only directed to answer the questions as their behavior pertains to US Government,
the class they took the survey in.
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Artifact D

Introductory Lesson to Social and

Emotional Learning Unit Artifact D shows the lesson I used to introduce the
SEL unit to students in my 10th grade US
Why don’t kids like coming to school?
Government Class.

Student Outcomes: Students will have a

better awareness of the things that agitate
them in schools, as well as their own actions that may make learning difficult for others.

Essential Question: What types of behaviors by students create a negative learning

environment in schools?

Materials:
● Several different types of candies, Skittles, M&M’s
● List of questions “what do bullies do?”

Time: 20 minutes

Procedure:
1. Spread desks around the room facing outwards so students are not within eyesight of one
another
2. Give each student a piece of paper towel, plate, etc and a handful of the candy, instruct
them to not eat the candy yet
3. Go through the list of questions pertaining to what bullies to to hurt others, or why kids
might not like going to school.
4. Instruct the students to move one piece of candy to a separate pile for each statement that
is true for them.
5. Tell students that there are many reasons by the time they reach high school years they
might not enjoy attending school, but that these issues do not simply disappear when you
walk out of school at the end of the day, year, or even graduation. All of your
experiences are inside of you, they follow you, positive and negative. Often, we dwell on
the negative and they have a tendency to eat away at us. We need to learn to deal with
the negative experiences so they do not define us as individuals, and allow ourselves to
focus on our positive traits and experiences.
6. Go over the reasons why individuals bully others.
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Example questions to use in the Lesson

Reasons kids don’t like coming to school
Are going to turn into the reasons adults can’t handle going to work

1) Someone has said something to me that makes me feel bad

2) Someone has done something using social media or a cell phone that has made me feel
bad
3) I’ve been physically attacked in or outside of school
4) I think my parents make less money then other people’s parents
5) I live in a non-traditional home, i.e. married mother and father
6) I’ve been picked on because I have some type of disability physical/ mental/ learning
7) I’ve been picked on for trying to do well in school
8) I’ve been picked on for trying to be good at sports
9) I’ve been picked on or teased because of who I hang around with

10) I’ve picked on someone because of what they wear

11) I’ve picked on someone because who their friends are
12) I’ve done something on social media or via cell phone
13) Sometimes, I feel like others are better than me.
14) I feel jealous of how smart other people are
15) I don’t always feel great about myself

There’s a lot of reasons kids get picked on, there are a lot of reasons an individual might get
singled out and made fun of. Clothing, they try hard at school, involved in band, sexual
orientation, ethnicity, hairstyle, weight, glasses, disability, the amount of money their parents
make, whether or not a family member is in jail

But why do we do these things to others? Why do bullies do it at all. All too often, it is because
they have their own issues they are trying to hide, trying to cover up, trying to deflect. They do
it because they get lack of attention from parents, teachers, or friends. Often times, if a kid is a
younger sibling and they have been picked on by an older sibling, they can develop into a bully.

● Bullied bullies get relief from feeling helpless and overpower others
● Social bullies have poor self-esteem and manipulate others through gossip and
being mean
● Detached bullies plan their attacks and always likeable to everyone but their
victims
● Hyperactive bullies don't understand how to socialize and acts inappropriately and
sometimes physically.
●
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Artifact E

Artifact E shows a the results of a follow up survey at the end of the instructional unit. The
survey contained the same questions as the initial survey and shows six students reporting a total
score at or above a nine, where as during the initial survey only four students score dat or above
a nine. This shows a greater awareness of the individual’s SEL skills in the classroom.
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Artifact F

The following project shows the rubric used to assess a final presentation students had to give
focusing on one of the different areas of SEL.

CASEL Project

Your job is to make a one page “poster” presenting one of the following areas of social understanding,
and competencies. You need to include the following information. You will have to present this
information to the class. Make sure you reflect on why these skills are important to you currently, and
hypothesis why they might be important to you in the future workplace.

What is your SEL topic and did you present to 0 5

the class?

Why is this important to be successful in 0 5

school?

Why is this skill important to be successful in 0 5

your profession?

How can you tell if someone has mastered this 0 5

skill?

How can you improve this skill? 0 5

Total 25
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Artifact G
The following is an example of high student performance on the final presentation project. This
student used multiple clear examples to define each category and did an excellent job presenting.
This student is labeled as student one, so they can be compared to their surveys at the beginning
and end of
unit (Artifacts
A, B, and E).
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Artifact H
The following is an example of median student performance on the final presentation project.
The student used adequate examples for some of the categories, and lacked sufficient definition
of the SEL category. The label of student 4 coincides with the student survey in Artifacts A, B,
and E.

Good examples for

familiar category, lack of
examples and research
for unfamiliar topics.
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Artifact I
The following is an example of low student performance on the final presentation project. The
student used little example and detail describing any of the areas of SEL and life application, and
did not present. This student is student 5 as mentioned in Artifacts A, B, and E.