I have a single student in my class with Autism Spectrum Disorder. This student demonstrates needs in developing empathy. At this time, I do not have outside support in addressing these needs for this student so any efforts will be my own, alone (hoping to look into additional services soon). My content area is language arts and finding time to address these specific needs is a challenge.

How might I support this student’s social emotional needs with so little time to invest?

How can I integrate social-emotional learning (SEL) into my daily lessons without it feeling forced or out of place?

How can you teach empathy in your classroom?

How can I weave in quick SEL check-ins with my students during small group intervention?

As I was reading an educational article recently, I saw this idea, and I loved it! I will definitely implement it at the start of next year:

Have students write down (or tell you if they are little ones) what they want to hear on hard days. Collect those notes and hand them back out to students when you feel like they need to be reminded.

What are some ways you help students persevere on hard days?

In my role as a math interventionist (although looking back I did it as a homeroom teacher, but I don't think as intentionally as I do it now), I have found that many of my students can do the math, they just don't believe they can. As educators, we wear so many hats and one of them is helping students see their potential. I now ask students when they answer a question for me: "Are you asking me or are you telling me?" This questions prompts students to be more convicted in their answer to me. Or if they aren't sure about their answer, it prompts them to go back and recheck it. I have the conversation with students that if they aren't sure of their answer then they need to take a second look at it. They should always answer confidently if they did the work. If it's wrong, we will figure out what happened. It has been so rewarding to hear teachers say that their students are more confident in their answers when sharing in class.