Description and Scope of Emotional ABCs Classroom
UNIT A: AN INTRODUCTION TO EMOTIONS
SELF-AWARENESS, SOCIAL AWARENESS, RELATIONSHIP SKILLS
Workshops 1-8 introduce emotional skills. Children will learn how to define an emotion (Workshop 1), observe their own, and other's emotional responses (Workshops 2, 3), develop an expanded emotional vocabulary within a context (Workshops 4, 5, 6), observe that emotions can be complex and change easily (Workshop 7), and as a summary, use their expanded emotional vocabulary to tell stories (Workshop 8).
At the completion of Unit A, students should have:
UNIT B: SKILLS TO INCREASE EMOTIONAL UNDERSTANDING
SELF-AWARENESS, SOCIAL AWARENESS
Workshops 9 - 12 bring attention to non-verbal clues to help students interpret their own and others’ emotions. In this Unit, children consciously focus on face and body visual clues (Workshop 9), develop a method of breathing that helps them self-evaluate their emotional state (Workshop 10), become aware of sensations, which are often a physical manifestation of emotional clues (Workshop 11), and learn how idioms can be used to express sensations (Workshop 12).
At the completion of Unit B, students should be able to:
UNIT C: SELF MANAGEMENT OF EMOTIONS
SELF-MANAGEMENT, SOCIAL AWARENESS, RELATIONSHIP SKILLS
Workshops 13 – 15 teach techniques to manage emotions. This Unit introduces students to the Emotional ABCs Toolbar, a mental ‘short-hand’ to help remember three essential emotional skills and to use them in the proper sequence. These skills are:
In this Unit, students are introduced to the Emotional ABCs Toolbar and learn how to use it (Workshop 13), learn how, why, and when impulsive reactions to emotional situations occur (Workshop 14), and observe the benefits of using the Emotional ABCs Toolbar technique to make thoughtful choices (Workshop 15).
At the completion of Unit C, students should have skills to:
UNIT D: RESPONSIBLE DECISION-MAKING
RESPONSIBLE DECISION-MAKING, SELF AWARENESS, SOCIAL AWARENESS
Workshops 16 – 19 reiterate how to use the Emotional ABCs Toolbar, present several choices of action that can help manage intense emotions, and create opportunities for students to practice responsible decision-making skills.
In this Unit, students review the Emotional ABCs Toolbar and learn The Talk Play - a choice to ‘use your words’ (Workshop 16); they observe the Toolbar being used with other intense emotions and learn The Fix-It Play – a choice to fix a problem yourself (Workshop 17); students learn additional Plays in the Emotional ABCs Playbook, which contains 10 ‘Plays’ that can help students quickly make good choices of action (Workshop 18). Teachers can create more Workshops to teach and practice good choices of action by using Workshop 18 and 19 as templates.
At the completion of Unit D, students should:
Workshop 20 celebrates the knowledge and skills learned throughout the curriculum. Each student’s Self-Reflection pages from the Workshops are combined with additional support pages to create individualized, take-home reference books. Support pages can include printables, vocabulary, Moody Cards, The Playbook, etc. All of these materials are available within EmotionalABCs.com.
SELF-AWARENESS, SOCIAL AWARENESS, SELF-MANAGEMENT, RESPONSIBLE DECISION-MAKING, RELATIONSHIP SKILLS
Unit A reviews and expands emotional skills learned in the Year 1 curriculum. Educators begin by assessing students’ retention of an emotional vocabulary and knowledge of self-management skills. Students review the Self-Management skills of the Emotional ABCs Toolbar (Workshop 1), revisit concepts regarding the nature of emotions (Workshop 2), and verify understanding of an expanded emotional vocabulary (Workshops 3, 4). All Workshops build teamwork, leadership, and relationship skills through small group activities with designated responsibilities for team members and rotating leadership positions.
After the completion of Unit A, students should:
UNIT B: Transformative Self Awareness
SELF-AWARENESS, SELF-MANAGEMENT, RESPONSIBLE DECISION-MAKING, RELATIONSHIP SKILLS
Unit B focuses on transformative self-awareness: inspiring students to begin to independently shape their own identities and envision their most powerful selves by learning skills that help create and maintain optimal mental, emotional, and physical environments. Students revisit physical sensations and become aware in more detail of the impact of emotions on the mind and body (Workshops 5, 6). They are encouraged to increase their personal awareness of and responsibility for their own self-care (Workshop 7) and learn ways to shape their exterior learning and living environment (Workshop 8). Finally, students create an imaginary mental and emotional Empowered Place that serves as an emotional safe harbor and inspiration (Workshop 9).
After the completion of Unit B, students should:
UNIT C: Beyond Self-Management: Shaping Your Relationships
SELF-AWARENESS, SOCIAL AWARENESS, SELF-MANAGEMENT, RESPONSIBLE DECISION-MAKING, RELATIONSHIP SKILLS
Unit C expands the use of Self-Management skills to emphasize forward-thinking and relationship-oriented considerations while making choices. Students review Self-Management skills and observe the social consequences of unthoughtful reactions (Workshop 10). Persistence and Empathy skills are introduced that can lead to stronger relationships and more opportunities for personal success (Workshops 11, 12), and students learn new perspective-taking tools to develop awareness of other personalities and cultures (Workshop 13).
After the completion of Unit C, students should:
UNIT D: Shaping Your Neighborhood
SOCIAL AWARENESS, SELF-MANAGEMENT, RESPONSIBLE DECISION-MAKING, RELATIONSHIP SKILLS
Unit D creates hypothetical opportunities for students to practice newly acquired social emotional skills and see the transformative impact that thoughtful decisions and actions can have on their life and neighborhood (Workshops 14, 15). In summary, students recognize their own power to shape their identities and communities. Skills of self-management, imagination, persistence and sensitivity to others are practiced by students.
After the completion of Unit D, students should:
UNIT A: REVIEW OF SOCIAL EMOTIONAL SKILLS
SELF-AWARENESS, SOCIAL AWARENESS
Unit A, Workshop 1, helps teachers evaluate students’ retention of social emotional skills from the Years 1 and 2 curriculums. Before continuing further into the 3rd year curriculum, students should be able to demonstrate an understanding of their body’s sensations and how sensations connect to their own emotions, be able to express themselves using an expanded emotional vocabulary, and understand how to use the Emotional ABCs Plays in emotionally charged situations. Students should show the ability to imagine the impact of different emotions on their own and others’ physical and mental states.
Workshops that can help review these concepts include:
Vocabulary: Year 2, Workshops 3, 4
Sensations: Year 2, Workshops 5, 6
Emotional ABCs Plays: Year 2, Workshop 10, 11, 12
Empathy: Year 2, Workshops 13, 14
After the completion of Unit A, students should:
UNIT B: DEVELOPING PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS
SELF-AWARENESS, SELF-MANAGEMENT, RESPONSIBLE DECISION-MAKING
Unit B expands on problem-solving skills first introduced in Year 2, Workshops 11 and 12. The ability to set and achieve personal goals and also contribute to a community helps develop a sense of self-worth and a healthy emotional foundation. Knowing how to face inevitable setbacks and reframe perceived failures gives students room for a positive and hopeful growth mindset. Students learn to recognize when a situation is “not right” for them and therefore needs to be adapted or changed (Workshop 2), they become aware of the value of role models to help with persistence and motivation (Workshop 3), and they develop skills to reframe a perceived failure as a way to move forward (Workshop 4).
After the completion of Unit B, students should:
UNIT C: THE POWER OF THE STORY - EMPATHY, KINDNESS, AND CAREFUL LISTENING
SOCIAL AWARENESS, RESPONSIBLE DECISION-MAKING, RELATIONSHIP SKILLS
Unit C reviews the Social Toolbar and emphasizes the traits of active listening, empathy, kindness, and healthy relationship skills. After understanding the importance of listening to someone else’s story and reviewing the Story Play (Workshop 5), students review the components of the Social Toolbar (Workshop 6), and work to develop flexible, in-the-moment ways to better approach social situations. If needed, additional work with the Social Toolbar, empathy, and relationship skills can be reviewed using Year 2, Workshops 13 and 14.
After the completion of Unit C, students should:
UNIT D: INCLUSIVITY AND COOPERATION
SOCIAL AWARENESS, RESPONSIBLE DECISION-MAKING, RELATIONSHIP SKILLS
Unit D introduces skills to create a more inclusive and cooperative environment. During the three years of the Emotional ABCs curriculum, students have developed foundational social and emotional skills. The previously learned skills can now support more complex social decision-making tasks such as noticing if someone is being excluded, making an effort to build an inclusive community (Workshop 7), and learning how to work in groups for a common goal (Workshop 8).
After the completion of Unit D, students should: