6 Word Stories & SELs

 This week we learned a lot about incorporating global awareness and global education into STEM courses.  One of our assignments was a presentation to administration, school board, parents, etc. regarding globalizing a classroom.  While I was preparing it, I was thinking about how much prep time that would take for educators individually which made choosing my "Professional Learning NOW" unit through Discovery Education easy.  I chose: Empowering Educators: Teaching Social Emotional Learning in Content Areas.

My three 6 word stories about this unit are from different perspectives across the school.

As a Librarian: Provide social awareness resources for all!

As a Teacher: Identify CASEL competency before planning lesson.

As any Educator: SELs are not separate learning opportunities.

The lesson as a whole was outlined in a way to help a teacher insert one of CASEL's five competencies (self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making) into lesson plans.  SELs (social and emotional learning) do not have to be separate from core competencies.  Instead, we can combine them to create fulfilling and enrichening lessons for students.

For each of my 6 word stories, I reviewed the unit again with that perspective in mind.  What I found was that it was, perhaps obviously, more geared towards teachers than for librarians.  However, as a librarian I did also find some helpful information because this is not an area I would have known needed support without reviewing this content.

When thinking about an SOS to help teachers with SELs, I think the "They Said What?" SOS provides an excellent framework.  Students can explore any event -- historical, present, or entirely fictional -- to role-play or create dialogues.  Acting as another not only helps students explore issues such as social awareness, but it also lets them learn about a different time or place and experience it creatively.

One way I would love to incorporate 6 word stories with students in an online class is through one of the English classes I am frequently embedded in.  Students have to choose a human rights issue from somewhere outside of the USA to research for their final paper.  It could help them empathize or become passionate about their chosen subject if before deciding they wrote 6 word stories for three or four different ones and then chose the one that spoke to them the most.  Perhaps that is something I can suggest incorporating this year, with the added bonus that by helping them with this I am helping them become globally aware citizens!