{"id":6502,"date":"2022-07-14T08:45:00","date_gmt":"2022-07-14T12:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/teachersfirst.com\/blog\/?p=6502"},"modified":"2022-07-14T08:43:10","modified_gmt":"2022-07-14T12:43:10","slug":"fostering-social-wellness-in-the-classroom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/teachersfirst.org\/blog\/2022\/07\/fostering-social-wellness-in-the-classroom\/","title":{"rendered":"Fostering Social Wellness in the Classroom"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote has-text-align-center is-style-default is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>Educators don\u2019t just instruct on curriculum \u2013 they are extremely invested and intertwined with their students\u2019 lives and well-being. If an educator isn\u2019t prioritizing self-care and social wellness, they can experience burnout for themselves, their students, or both.<\/p><cite>~<em>Heather Ngoma<\/em><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">July is Social Wellness Month. The concept of incorporating self-care and social wellness practices into a classroom isn\u2019t novel. However, these past two years have shown just how vital these practices are and the impact they can have on both teachers\u2019 and students\u2019 well-being. Not only can they help your students better navigate relationships, they can also boost your social wellness skills because you get to participate in them alongside your students.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here are some examples of how you can include social wellness in your classroom:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-medium\"><a href=\"https:\/\/teachersfirst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/JUL-14-Fostering-Social-Wellness-in-the-Classroom-De-Los-Santos.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/teachersfirst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/JUL-14-Fostering-Social-Wellness-in-the-Classroom-De-Los-Santos-200x300.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-6517\" srcset=\"https:\/\/teachersfirst.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/JUL-14-Fostering-Social-Wellness-in-the-Classroom-De-Los-Santos-200x300.png 200w, https:\/\/teachersfirst.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/JUL-14-Fostering-Social-Wellness-in-the-Classroom-De-Los-Santos-683x1024.png 683w, https:\/\/teachersfirst.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/JUL-14-Fostering-Social-Wellness-in-the-Classroom-De-Los-Santos.png 735w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Check-In Reflection &#8211; <\/strong>Create an opportunity for students to reflect on what they are bringing to class that day. Discuss with students how their <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.edutopia.org\/blog\/neuroscience-behind-stress-and-learning-judy-willis\" target=\"_blank\">state of mind<\/a> can impact their ability to respond to challenges and affect their learning effectively. One way to integrate a check-in is by using a word cloud platform such as ABCya Word Clouds (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.teachersfirst.com\/single.cfm?id=12390\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reviewed here<\/a>). Students respond to a prompt like a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.panoramaed.com\/blog\/two-word-check-in-strategy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">two word check-in<\/a> that describes how they are feeling. The word cloud can create a sense of belonging and connection as students learn how their classmates feel and find that some have similar feelings. For emerging readers and writers, you could create a digital bulletin board using Google Jamboard (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.teachersfirst.com\/single.cfm?id=18901\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reviewed here<\/a>), allowing them to draw how they\u2019re feeling.<br><\/li><li><strong>Creating a Positive Counter-Narrative<\/strong> &#8211; Educator and author <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ready4rigor.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Zaretta Hammond<\/a> encourages educators to support students in shifting their internal dialogue by creating a counter-narrative. She states, \u201cWhen students accept this negative view of themselves, they are creating an internalized \u201cstory\u201d to explain to themselves why they struggle. As a result, they develop a fixed mindset.\u201d Giving students the space and tools to create a new self-narrative can increase their capacity for learning. You can give them a chance to practice their counter-narrative by adding opportunities for reflection at the end of a lesson or the day. For example, they can share something they were proud of as a learner or their successes for that day. These can be done as digital reflection portfolios in Seesaw (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.teachersfirst.com\/single.cfm?id=16443\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reviewed here<\/a>) or using a Google Doc <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/document\/d\/1s6GXp2tbOcqh1KvOlW_oQRL0rYaANY0Wy_3UNsmYJkU\/edit?usp=sharing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">digital template<\/a>.<br><\/li><li><strong>Do Nothing<\/strong> &#8211; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.suesmalley.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Sue Smalley<\/a>, Ph.D., says, \u201cScience is starting to show the value of spending time in silence, in nature, and in not engaging in constant external stimulation. We need time doing \u2018nothing\u2019 to be our best selves: well-rounded and creative human beings. The \u2018doing\u2019 side of our nature needs a \u2018being\u2019 side to be in balance.\u201d You may be saying to yourself, \u201cYeah, right, I don\u2019t have time to do nothing.\u201d Well, I certainly don\u2019t mean hours of doing nothing but consider taking a couple of minutes for you and your students to reset by just tuning in with yourselves. This can be done daily or weekly, whatever works for your classroom structure. You can use a web-based platform like Calm\u2019s Do Nothing for Two Minutes (<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.teachersfirst.com\/single.cfm?id=15853\" target=\"_blank\">reviewed here<\/a>) instead of a standard timer.\u00a0<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Acknowledging and focusing on your own and your students\u2019 emotional needs in your classroom can strengthen social wellness and help build meaningful relationships. What are ways that you foster social wellness in your classroom? We welcome you to share your ideas and stories in the comments below!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Educators don\u2019t just instruct on curriculum \u2013 they are extremely invested and intertwined with their students\u2019 lives and well-being. If an educator isn\u2019t prioritizing self-care and social wellness, they can experience burnout for themselves, their students, or both. ~Heather Ngoma July is Social Wellness Month. The concept of incorporating self-care and social wellness practices into &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/teachersfirst.org\/blog\/2022\/07\/fostering-social-wellness-in-the-classroom\/\" class=\"more-link\">read more &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[164],"class_list":["post-6502","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-classroom-application","tag-social-and-emotional-learning"],"modified_by":"Karen Streeter","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/teachersfirst.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6502","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/teachersfirst.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/teachersfirst.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teachersfirst.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teachersfirst.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6502"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/teachersfirst.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6502\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6520,"href":"https:\/\/teachersfirst.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6502\/revisions\/6520"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/teachersfirst.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6502"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teachersfirst.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6502"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teachersfirst.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6502"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}