Social Emotional Learning

This week our Lower Elementary students worked on RULER, which helps guide our social-emotional curriculum.

RULER is an evidence-based approach to social and emotional learning (SEL) developed at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence. RULER supports entire school communities in:

• Understanding the value of emotions
• Building the skills of emotional intelligence
• Creating and maintaining positive school climates

In the classroom, each lesson is introduced by asking the students how they're feeling using a mood meter, and if they're comfortable sharing why they feel this way. Then the class moves into reading a book and/or watching a video about the emotion that's being highlighted and ends the lesson with a discussion about what was just learned. The class expressed interest in more in-depth learning about certain emotions this semester so they are working through active listening, friendship, inclusion, empathy, body safety, bullying, and the difference between tattling and reporting. They will end the semester recapping what was learned and how they can fill their buckets over the summer break. For more information on the Mood Meter chart that is used, check it out here.

RULER is an acronym for the five skills of emotional intelligence:

• Recognizing emotions in oneself and others
• Understanding the causes and consequences of emotions
• Labeling emotions with a nuanced vocabulary
• Expressing emotions in accordance with cultural norms and social context
• Regulating emotions with helpful strategies