e list and discuss how Alexander could change his response to these incidents so that he feels better. With the example above, Alexander might think of a time when his teacher really liked his picture, be happy that the teacher gave his friend a compliment, or draw a castle that his teacher could actually see.
To close the lesson, students create a class book called Pretty Good Day with drawings and descriptions of something challenging that happened to them that felt less painful after they changed how they thought about it.
The middle school science educators looked to Humpty Dumpty to help them set up lab group roles and norms at the beginning of the school year. Equipped with straws, plastic wrap, cotton balls, aluminum foil, and paper, students are given one minute to individually engineer a wall with protective devices so Humpty Dumpty won’t fall and break.
Following this challenging task, students discuss their experience and what they might change about it, cultivating their social awareness of individual versus group strengths. Next, students form groups of at least two and try the task again, but this time in three minutes. In the subsequent discussion, the teacher may bring up SEL topics such as problem-solving skills, how current choices affect the future, cooperative working, and conflict resolution.
The activity closes with the students trying the task once more in specific lab roles (e.g., project director, materials manager, data recorder, time keeper), and then reflecting on how these roles made the task easier or more difficult.
Since middle school is a developmental time when students begin questioning rules, social norms, and the like, educators could extend this lesson by asking their classes some thought-provoking questions.
For instance, why did Humpty Dumpty choose to climb the wall and why was he all by himself? Where were his friends? Was he allowed to climb the wall or was he breaking rules? Who made the rules and are they fair? And what about the stability of the wall—whose responsibility is it to make sure the wall is safe? Why might the wall not have been safe for Humpty Dumpty to climb? Finally, did Humpty Dumpty receive adequate care after he broke? If not, what might be done to make sure future Humpty Dumptys are cared for?
High school educators created an interdisciplinary approach to the topic of health care in the United States. In math, students use ratios and graphing to consider the amount of federal money spent on health care per capita. Then, in history, students review the history of health care in the United States in the 18th, 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries.
Armed with the results of their inquiry, students are then challenged to consider the larger ethical questions about health care in the United States. Is health care a moral imperative or is it a social convention? In other words, does the government have a moral obligation to provide health care to every one of its citizens because lack of health care is harmful to people, or does it provide health care only because the law says it must?
Acknowledging that these questions may surface disparate views, the educators incorporated a mindful moment into the lessons, along with SEL skills such as active listening, non-judgment, and perspective-taking.
Viewing curricula through a social, emotional, and moral lens is like a habit of mind: the more you do it, the easier it gets. Perhaps the greatest benefit of teaching lessons like these is that students will start to examine their education, their decisions, their interests, and their relationships through this lens, helping them to cultivate a more thoughtful and discerning approach to life.