Nurturing Social-Emotional Development in Primary Kids

1. Chapter 11 Developmentally Appropriate Social/Emotional Environments for Primary-Aged Children © 2007 Thomson Delmar Learning. All Rights Reserved.

2. Social/Emotional Issues for the Primary Years • Self-esteem • Peer relationships and group skills • Games with rules • competition versus cooperation • Mixed-age grouping • Moral development • Emotional growth © 2007 Thomson Delmar Learning. All Rights Reserved.

3. Planning for Social/Emotional Environments Teachers will • Become aware of each child’s individual style of interacting with others • create informal physical arrangements that allow children to work together • create specific pairings of children • teach social skills directly • encourage appropriate behaviors • mediate and teach children negotiation skills • support children as they learn to take a social perspective • plan group activities • not tolerate exclusion or unkindness © 2007 Thomson Delmar Learning. All Rights Reserved.

4. Self-Esteem • Children • are able to succeed • participate in “democratic discipline” • think that teachers expect and believe that they are capable of learning • use social comparison to define themselves • are encouraged to be independent and self-reliant • participate in games and activities to build self-esteem © 2007 Thomson Delmar Learning. All Rights Reserved.

5. Games with RulesCompetition versus Cooperation • Allow children to organize their own games • Allow children to manage their games and rules without adult interference • Take competition out of the classroom • Plan cooperative games for classroom and after school © 2007 Thomson Delmar Learning. All Rights Reserved.

6. Mixed-Age Groupings • Re-create family and neighborhood settings • Interaction between children with different abilities benefits all • Social development is enhanced • Rigid curriculum demands must be relaxed © 2007 Thomson Delmar Learning. All Rights Reserved.

7. Moral Development • Develop perspective-taking abilities • Focus on independent decisions about correct actions • Let children find their own answers and solutions in interpersonal situations • Use authoritative guidance systems • Present issues of responsibility and morality © 2007 Thomson Delmar Learning. All Rights Reserved.

8. Emotional Growth • Allow children to identify feelings in themselves and others • Create a low-stress classroom that promotes self-worth • Help children focus on understanding feelings and their influences on people’s actions • Encourage children to express their feelings in positive, constructive ways • Develop partnerships with parents • Limit exposure to frightening or disturbing events © 2007 Thomson Delmar Learning. All Rights Reserved.