SEL Daily Check-In: Quick, Efficient, Informative

As I map out the procedures in my small groups this year, one of the first things I will teach my students is how to check in with me.  Pre-COVID, I would always do an informal, "how are you?" or "tell me about your weekend."  However, during and after the pandemic, doing a social-emotional check-in became imperative.  It was important for me to know my students' mindset when coming to my small group, as well as connect with them positively at the beginning of our lesson.  But I only have a short time frame for my intervention lesson, so I needed something quick and efficient, yet meaningful.

Boom -- the daily check-in sheet was born.  And not only did it make my day easier, more importantly, the students couldn't wait to check in with me. 💝

Some more thoughts on doing a daily SEL check-in with your students:

Scaffold & Support: Making Inferences Anchor Charts

Are some of your students plateauing in the area of reading comprehension? They can give you a basic re-tell, but when it comes to developing ideas about the character or determining the author's lesson, they're struggling. How can we best support students in making good inferences?

Just like any phonics structured literacy lesson, we’re not leaving it up to chance: direct, explicit teacher modeling. Show students exactly how you figured out your new idea. And then provide students with many, many opportunities to practice with constructive feedback.

Let’s break down the process of making an inference: