IN THIS ISSUEIdentifying emotionsPracticing empathyTeaching self-regulation strategies EDITION 3 POSITIVE BEHAVIOR SUPPORTTEACHING EMOTIONAL LITERACY & REGULATION2TEACHING EMOTIONAL LITERACY – EDITION 3CONTENTSCreator: Gail JosephManaging Editor: Tamarack O’DonnellAuthors: Angela Notari-Syverson, Heather Floyd, Tamarack O’DonnellDesigner: Ceci SkolrudCircle Time Magazine, Edition 3Teaching Emotional Literacy and Regulation, 2018.For questions or comments contactThis document was prepared with support from the Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF)For more great resources on this topic, and to watch the Circle Time Magazine professional development talk show series, check us out at:©2019 Cultivate Learning at University of WashingtonTeaching Emotional Literacy and Regulation: Highlights and Key Ideas Equity MattersPositive Behavior Support and Emotional IntelligenceLearning About My WorldInfants: Early On• Put It Into Practice• Try It Out• Talk About It• Partner with FamiliesToddlers: Emerging Skills• Put It Into Practice• Try It Out• Talk About It• Partner with Families • Put It Into Practice• Try It Out• Talk About It• Partner With FamiliesIt’s All About You: Building Resilience3445667889910111112131515163TEACHING EMOTIONAL LITERACY – EDITION 3 PRACTICE EMPATHYYoung children calm more quickly when they feel accepted and understood. Supportive educators validate children’s feelings and help them determine what may have happened to trigger those feelings. When children make these connections, they are more likely to understand their own emotions and have empathy for others.IDENTIFY CHILDREN’S EMOTIONSEmotions start in the body. Children need help from experienced adults to learn how to recognize and eventually describe these physical sensations such as energy level, body tension, and variation in breathing and heart rate. Educators can increase children’s self-awareness by using a wide variety of words to label and describe the emotions they see infants and young children experiencing.TEACHING EMOTIONAL LITERACY AND REGULATION Highlights and Key IdeasAcross all agesEmotional literacy is the ability to monitor the emotions of oneself and others, respond to those emotions in healthy ways, and use them to guide thinking and action. Educators can help children grow socially and emotionally by teaching them how to recognize, label, and understand emotions, as well as ways to express and regulate emotions productively.TEACH SELF-REGULATION STRATEGIESAs young children better understand their emotions, they become more capable of emotional regulation. Infants manage emotions by co-regulating through warm interactions with responsive caregivers. As children develop, they begin to self-regulate. Educators can help children maintain positive feelings—or shift unwanted feelings—by modeling safe and culturally respectful ways of expressing emotions and teaching a variety of regulation strategies. Positive Behavior Support (PBS) is a positive approach to challenging behavior that focuses on building social and emotional skills. PBS recognizes that all behavior communicates a message or need. Once educators understand the meaning of a child’s behavior they can, together with the family, teach the child more effective ways to communicate their needs.The way emotions are expressed and valued differs across cultures. In some cultures, overt expression of emotions is encouraged while in others, people are more reserved. Sometimes subtle biases that we might not be aware of can interfere with our ability to interpret and respond to children’s emotions, especially when children come from backgrounds and traditions that are different from our own. The process of uncovering these implicit biases takes time and reflection. Reflection Questions• What emotions are you comfortable expressing?• How do you manage strong emotions?• How do you expect children to express and manage emotions?• Do you respond to all children’s range of emotions with the same amount of patience and guidance?TIP: Focus on a different child in your care each day. Notice the emotions you feel with each child. Are you showing empathy and responding to each child’s unique needs?4TEACHING EMOTIONAL LITERACY – EDITION 3EQuitymattersPOSITIVE BEHAVIOR SUPPORT AND EMOTIONAL LITERACYA Continuum of SupportThe Pyramid Model is an established PBS framework for addressing the social and emotional development and challenging behavior of young children. The framework offers a continuum of evidence-based teaching practices that are organized into four levels of support.One critical set of practices in the third level of the pyramid focuses on teaching children how to understand and manage their emotions.Adapted from Fox, L., Dunlap, G., Hemmeter, M., Joseph, G. E., & Strain, P. S. (2003). The teaching pyramid: A model for supporting social competence and preventing challenging behavior In young children. Young Children, 58(4), 48-52.PBS TEACHING PRACTICES Teaching Emotional Literacy:All children need guidance to learn emotional literacy skills, though some will need more frequent and intensive instruction. When children are able to manage their emotions, they are more equipped to establish healthy relationships, focus better on learning tasks, and engage in positive behaviors. Give children feeling words and help them learn to recognize, accept, and express their emotions in productive ways.IntensiveInterventionSocial and Emotional Teaching StrategiesHigh-QualitySupportive EnvironmentsNurturing and Responsive Relationships5TEACHING EMOTIONAL LITERACY – EDITION 3 LEARnInG ABOUT MY WORLDINFANTS EARLY On Children at an early stage of development are ready to learn how to: • Express a variety of emotions.• Respond to support from familiar adult (e.g., calm down after grasping an adult’s finger).• Comfort self by cooing, babbling, sucking, holding a blanket or favorite toy.TODDLERS EMERGING SKILLS Children who are at an emerging stage of social and emotional development are ready to learn how to:• Use words to describe some feelings.• Ask about emotions of others.• Use different ways to calm or comfort self, with adult support.PRESCHOOLERS INCREASING MASTERY Children who are increasing their mastery of social skills and emotional development are ready to learn how to:• Identify and describe more subtle and complex emotions.• Express feelings in ways that are appropriate to a situation.• Use a variety of coping strategies to self-regulate, with adult support.For more guidance on how young children interact with their environment, learn behavioral expectations, and respond to adult guidance, refer to the following resources: • Washington State Early Learning and Development Guidelines (https://www.del.wa.gov/helpful-resources/washington-state-early-learning-and-developmental-guidelines)• Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework (https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/interactive-head-start-early-learning-outcomes-framework-ages-birth-five)The ability to recognize, understand, and respond to a wide range of emotions develops gradually and is closely tied to a child’s developmental age.6TEACHING EMOTIONAL LITERACY – EDITION 3INFANTS early onPUT IT INTO PRACTICEInfants express a variety of emotions through facial expressions, vocalizations, and body movement. Responsive caregivers notice, identify, and interpret infants’ expressions and cues. Infants will engage in positive ways with caregivers and their environment when in a calm, alert state. Identify Infants EmotionsEducators who carefully observe infants and learn about how each child expresses feelings can accurately label and understand infants’ emotions and cues.Teaching Practices Describe how you think infants are feeling. Label infant’s emotions. Match or mirror the infant’s affect.Teach Regulation StrategiesInfants use some self-calming strategies to calm themselves when tired or distressed. When they experience new or stronger emotions, however, they need trusted adults to assist them in managing their body and returning to a calm, alert state.Teaching PracticesProvide physical comfort and talk or sing softly (cradle in arms, gentle rocking).Respond to cues for hunger or fatigue appropriately.Provide a comforting object to suck (infant’s hand, pacifier) or hold (adult hand or finger, blanket, stuffed toy).Decrease stimulation (dimming lights, decreasing noise, removing some toys from sight).• Express a variety of emotions.• Respond to support from familiar adult (e.g., calm down after grasping an adult’s finger).Practice EmpathyInfants are more likely to be calm when caring educators validate their feelings. Educators practice empathy through warm interactions and words that communicate understanding how the child feels. Teaching Practices Respond calmly to emotional expression. Use culturally respectful language. Use gentle touches to soothe. Interpret cues and talk out loud about why you think the infant is feeling a certain way.Putting these strategies into practice helps infants learn to:• Comfort self by cooing, babbling, sucking, holding a blanket or favorite toy.7TEACHING EMOTIONAL LITERACY – EDITION 3 Try out these materials and activities to increase infants’ awareness of emotions and self-regulation.When I Am/Cuando EstoyBy Gladys Rosa-Mendoza and Dana ReganThis bilingual English and Spanish book describes emotions and suggests ways to deal with feelings. Look at the pictures together with an infant. Encourage the infant to hold and manipulate the book. As you read the book, talk about the pictures the infant is most interested in. Label each emotion and make comments that relate the emotion to the infant’s own experiences. Try it outBubblesWhen an infant shows signs of early distress, blow bubbles nearby. Focusing on the bubbles and tracking where they go often helps infants self-soothe and calm.Emotion DiceTo make your own emotion dice, print a dice template on card stock, or use a small square package with all sides taped shut, and put one emotion picture on each side. Use your own photos or drawings or download free Emotion pictures from the Head Start Center for Inclusion (HSCI) website*.Roll the dice and talk with infants about the emotions they see. Ask families how they express and label the different emotions.BOOKSSharing stories and books together in a quiet, comfortable area can be a calming experience for both children and adults. MIRRORHelp infants become familiar with their own faces and expressions with a baby-safe mirror. As infants look at their reflection, describe the facial expressions you see and what you think the infant may be feeling. Do the same with your own reflection. Model different expressions and emotions and label them out loud.*HSCI visual supports and teacher tools: http://headstartinclusion.org/teacher-tools#visualPartner WITH FAMILIESFamilies have the greatest impact on their child’s emotional well-being and development. Build solid, trusting, and reciprocal relationships with families. Talk with families to learn more about their child and work together to support their child’s learning. Be sure to validate each family’s perspective, though it may be different from your own, and be open to trying new ideas.• Notice how families talk about and show emotions with each other.• Invite families to share how they talk about and express their emotions.• Ask families to share labels for emotions in the child’s home language and use those familiar words with children.• Find out from families how their infant communicates distress and what they do to offer comfort.8TEACHING EMOTIONAL LITERACY – EDITION 3TALK ABOUT ITMeaningful back-and-forth conversations with trusted adults help infants better understand their feelings and emotions. Make comments, ask open-ended questions, and use novel words as you talk about feelings and emotions with infants during daily caregiving activities.CommentsOpen-ended QuestionsNovel WordsYou’re smiling. You seem so happy to play with your friend!What a big yawn. You look like you’re feeling tired. I see that you’re crying. It looks like you’re upset by all of the noise. Let’s move to a quieter space.What are you telling me with your big smile?You look sad. I see a frown and tears on your face. What happened?Look at you, waving your arms and kicking your legs! Why are you so excited?HappyCalmExcitedTiredUpsetBored9TEACHING EMOTIONAL LITERACY – EDITION 3 Putting these strategies into practice helps toddlers learn to:TODDLERS emerging skillsPUT IT INTO PRACTICEToddlers are experiencing an increasing range of emotions. They continue to need caring and supportive adults to help them identify, understand, and express their emotions. Identify Children’s EmotionsToddlers are expanding their emotional awareness. They benefit from learning a variety of emotion words to identify their feelings and the feelings of people in their world. Teaching Practices Be attentive to each toddler’s expressions and behaviors. Give labels to the child’s emotions and those shown by other children. Help children identify and communicate their own emotions by using visuals showing a variety of emotions. Label and talk about your own emotions throughout the day.Practice EmpathyEducators can help toddlers understand that all feelings are OK—neither good or bad. They can help toddlers describe what they are experiencing, and possible reasons, through conversations and simple activities.Teaching Practices Use a warm, calm voice to show empathy and convey acceptance. Talk about why the child or a peer might be having a certain feeling. Read books, sing songs, and use puppets to help toddlers explore emotions and their causes.Teach Regulation StrategiesToddlers are beginning to play a more active role in managing their emotions. Educators can help toddlers practice and expand their regulation skills by modeling and providing gentle reminders. Teaching Practices Teach regulation strategies such as taking deep breaths, reading a book, hugging a soft toy, finding a safe and quiet space, or pushing on a wall. Model or use puppets to show safe emotional expression and self-regulation strategies. Guide toddlers through a regulation strategy when you notice a strong feeling. Help toddlers remember strategies by modeling and using visual reminders.• Use words to describe some feelings.• Ask about emotions of others.• Use different ways to calm or comfort self, with adult support.Next >