One of our goals was to explicitly connect our SEL goals to literacy. The strategies we learn while in engaging in reading, such as learning to "exchange ideas and perspectives to build shared understanding" of texts can be transferred directly to our SEL learning. We want students to be able to use the skills they use when they engage in literacy activities with their classmates in their interactions with each other on the playground and in other social situations as well.  Likewise, we can learn SEL strategies when we engage with texts that have SEL themes. This year, we made meaningful connections between Literacy and Social-emotional learning using several picture books, maximizing on the benefits of cross-curricular instruction. Recently, our teacher-librarian read all of our primary students Hey, Little Ant and then guided them through a lesson where they could discuss the book with classmates and see if their perspectives changed after learning from the book and from their peers. Students can learn from and listen to each other, something we are encouraging them to do when using SEL strategies during conflict.

Our next steps are to continue working on helping students make the connection between what they know to do when they are calm, or discussing a picture book and connecting it to what they do in real life challenging situations.

We will compare these to reading activities they do next year to look for continued growth in our ability to shift understanding in reading (transform) and in our peer interactions.