Maurice J. Elias

Reinvigorating Classroom Climate offers educators practical, reliable guidance for fostering more inspiring environments. Teachers and students alike need to show up to school feeling like they have a sense of purpose and will be welcomed, cared for, and nourished. Full of immediately actionable mini-solutions, this book gives frontline educators the everyday tools they need to establish the conditions that support positive mindsets, relationship-building, and social-emotional learning. These strategies cover it all: motivation and engagement, human dignity and purpose, moral and character development, bullying and absence, and much more. School teachers, teacher leaders, student support staff, and other K-12 professionals will come away with a wealth of action steps designed to fit into and enhance, rather than replace, their existing learning culture and climate.

Reinvigorating Classroom Climate offers educators practical, reliable guidance for fostering more inspiring environments. Teachers and students alike need to show up to school feeling like they have a sense of purpose and will be welcomed, cared for, and nourished. Full of immediately actionable mini-solutions, this book gives frontline educators the everyday tools they need to establish the conditions that support positive mindsets, relationship-building, and social-emotional learning. These strategies cover it all: motivation and engagement, human dignity and purpose, moral and character development, bullying and absence, and much more. School teachers, teacher leaders, student support staff, and other K-12 professionals will come away with a wealth of action steps designed to fit into and enhance, rather than replace, their existing learning culture and climate.

A field-tested, classroom-based approach for developing the critical thinking, social-emotional, problem-solving, and discussion skills students need to be good citizens and effective changemakers.We often hear that a key purpose of schooling is to prepare students for informed and active citizenship. But what does this look like in practice? How do teachers pursue this goal amid other pressing priorities, including student mastery of both academic content and social-emotional competencies? Students Taking Action Together, based on a program of the same name developed at Rutgers University, clarifies that the way to prepare young people for life in a democracy is by intentionally rehearsing democratic behaviors in the classroom.This field-tested program ("STAT" for short) is built on five research-backed teaching strategies that work with existing social studies, English language arts, and history curriculum in the upper-elementary, middle, and high school levels. Incorporating these strategies into your lessons is a way to meet students' natural desire to be heard with skill-building that empowers them toAdhere to norms of civil conversation, even when topics are controversial and emotions are high;Speak confidently and listen actively;Engage in respectful debate aimed at understanding issues rather than winning points;Target communication to different audiences, needs, and contexts; andExamine problems from many sides, considering potential solutions, drawing up action plans, and evaluating these plans' effectiveness against historical examples.In addition to vignettes that show the five STAT strategies in action, you'll find practical teaching tips and sample STAT lesson plans. For school leaders, there is a road map for schoolwide STAT implementation and guidance on communicating the program's value to stakeholders.Are you ready to help students understand complex content, confront pressing social issues, and engage with the structures of power to advocate for change? This book is for you.

Get students thinking and learning by getting them talking! Transitioning from home to school can be chaotic—but it doesn’t have to be. When you make Morning Classroom Conversations (MCCs) a regular part of your homeroom or advisory period, you give students a safe space to practice critical and creative thinking, build active listening skills, learn to respectfully disagree with others, and strengthen peer relationships… all while improving overall classroom climate. Written by expert practitioners in the area of SEL, this book provides teachers, school counselors, and other conversation leaders with a wealth of tools to guide successful MCCs from start to finish—in just 10-15 minutes! Features include: Three calendar years’ worth of thought-provoking prompts and themesAn overview of the underlying structure and goals of MCCsSample scriptsVignettes and student and teacher voices Adolescents need to feel heard and understood—by adults and by their peers. MCCs teach them to channel scattered thoughts and strong feelings into dynamic discussions while also strengthening social, emotional, and character development and building the skills they will need to achieve their goals as they transition to adult life.

Nurturing Students’ Character is an easy-to-use guide to incorporating social-emotional and character development (SECD) into your teaching practice. The links are clear—elementary and middle school students have better odds of academic success if you nurture their social and emotional skills. Drawing on broad field experience and the latest research, this book offers intuitive techniques for infusing your everyday teaching and classroom management with SECD opportunities. With topics ranging from self-regulation and problem solving to peer communication and empathy, these concrete strategies, practical worksheets, and self-reflective activities will help you foster a positive classroom culture.

Nurturing Students’ Character is an easy-to-use guide to incorporating social-emotional and character development (SECD) into your teaching practice. The links are clear—elementary and middle school students have better odds of academic success if you nurture their social and emotional skills. Drawing on broad field experience and the latest research, this book offers intuitive techniques for infusing your everyday teaching and classroom management with SECD opportunities. With topics ranging from self-regulation and problem solving to peer communication and empathy, these concrete strategies, practical worksheets, and self-reflective activities will help you foster a positive classroom culture.

Develop emotional intelligence and strengthen social emotional skills in adolescents with this practical, hands-on resource.Helping students develop emotional intelligence (EQ) and social emotional skills is essential to preparing them for success in college, careers, and adult life. This practical resource for educators explains what emotional intelligence is and why it’s important for all students. Boost Emotional Intelligence in Students lays out detailed yet flexible guidelines for teaching fundamental EQ and social emotional skills in an intentional and focused way. The book is split into three modules, which correspond to three main skill areas: Self-awareness and self-managementSocial awareness and relationship skillsResponsible decision-making and problem-solving Each module features ten hands-on, research-based lessons, which are focused on a critical EQ concept and centered around productive and respectful discussion. All lessons are designed to take approximately 35 minutes each but can easily be adapted to meet the specific needs of a school or group as they work to develop emotional intelligence and social emotional skills in their students. Digital content includes reproducible forms to use with students.

Have you, as a parent, ever found yourself treating your children in a way you would never tolerate from someone else? The authors of Emotionally Intelligent Parenting call for a new Golden Rule: Do unto your children as you would have other people do unto your children. And most important, they show us how to live by it. Based upon extensive research, firsthand experience, and case studies, Emotionally Intelligent Parenting breaks the mold of traditional parenting books by taking into account the strong role of emotions -- those of parents and children -- in psychological development. With this book, parents will learn how to communicate with children on a deeper, more gratifying level and how to help them successfully navigate the intricacies of relating to others. The authors take the five basic principles of Daniel Goleman's best-seller, Emotional Intelligence, and explain how they can be applied to successful parenting. To this end, the book offers suggestions, stories, dialogues, activities, and a special section of Sound EQ Parenting Bites to help parents use their emotions in the most constructive ways, focusing on such everyday issues as sibling rivalry, fights with friends, school situations, homework, and peer pressure. In the authors' extensive experience, children respond quickly to these strategies, their self-confidence is strengthened, their curiosity is piqued, and they learn to assert their independence while developing their ability to make responsible choices.