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:

Quick book review: Extra Yarn

Before this winter comes to an end, I would encourage you to try to squeeze in Extra Yarn as a read aloud.  I really LOVE this book.  Last year, I used it as a way to talk about doing great things for the New Year, but this book can be used for so many different lessons.  It is a great piece of children's literature as well as work of art.  Simple yet amazing.  Let's just go through the checklist...it has it all:

• A great plot structure {characters, setting, problem, solution}? Check.
• A couple author's lessons, ranging from simple to more sophisticated? Check.
• Characters with defined character traits? Check.
• Can be read over and over again for new ideas and meanings? Check.
• Mentor sentences?  Check.
• Mentor text for writers workshop?  Check.
• Suspense? Check.
• Humor? Check.
• Sweet and sassy? Check.
• A hint of magic? Check.
• The beauty of kindness? Check.
• Multiple opportunities to change your voice during the read aloud? Check {a very important reason to pick a read aloud 😍}.

I can't say enough about this book, but Lane Smith, the illustrator of many cool books, called this book "perfect." And I agree with him.