As educators, we teach more than academic standards. We arrive at school with our “invisible backpack” that we carry around with us all day. Worries, anxieties, fears, and frustrations make it seemingly impossible to focus on new learning. If we do not address the immediate needs of our students and provide useful coping strategies, we are not teaching to whole child. Our staff has spent a lot of PD time this year discussing ways to help our students regulate and be prepared for learning. Over the past month, I have been developing lessons to use with my students in the library to reinforce these strategies… and of course, they include robots!
Please share your resources for teaching SEL lessons! Even if you have not integrated robots, I would love to see the great stuff you are using. Another teacher shared this website created by a district in Minnesota and I have used a lot of their resources to create my lessons… Please visit their website for MANY more resources!
Check out these VEX 123 STEM Labs to get started:
Robot Role Play
Calm Down Robot
In our first SEL lesson, we used the book
Listening to My Body by Gabi Garcia as our anchor text for discussion. This book highlights how we can notice the sensations in our bodies and the thoughts in our heads to identify our emotions. After the story, we outlined clear steps to follow to use this strategy in our lives. Then, the students programmed VEX 123 robots to navigate from scenarios to emotions that they would feel. Below you will find the links to the lesson slides, printable field tiles, and photos of the activity:
Lesson Slide Deck
Printable Field Tiles (print on 11 x 17 paper)
If you teach elementary students, you will definitely find the value in this book,
My Mouth is Volcano by Julia Cook! This story follows a child with very important words who is always ready to “erupt” at the wrong times. We used this story as a springboard to discuss strategies for self-control. After our class discussion, students practiced several breathing strategies alongside their VEX 123 robot. Below you will find links to the lesson slides, printable field tiles, and photos of the activity:
Lesson Slide Deck
Printable Field Tiles (print on 11 x 17 paper)
Box Breathing Field Tiles
Five Finger Breathing
Belly/Balloon Breathing
Wow - @James_Nesbitt These are GREAT! I am actually at the Univ of Auburn right now working with the team at the Southeaster Center of Robotics Education on K-2 Computer Science. CS is now a mandated subject is Alabama. They will be doing teacher training this summer. I shared with them your resources on Literacy with VEX 123 - just amazing stuff. Thank you for all of your contributions.
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Thanks, @Jason_McKenna! Feel free to pass along my contact information. I am always happy to help and share resources for teacher trainings!
Coding breathing exercises with 123 is brilliant! I love these ideas so much.
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