Nothando’s Journey: A Unit of Study SEL Curriculum (K-1)

This unit of study for Nothando’s Journey contains five lessons that help meet the social and emotional standard requirements and needs of students and teachers. Each lesson is similar in structure and includes a pre-teaching component for the teacher. The lessons are designed to be adapted into a variety of educational settings and scheduling requirements. The unit can be completed in one week’s time or stretched out to once a week for five weeks, depending on the needs and demands of the class or school.

CASEL Core Competencies: This unit of study is aligned with the core competencies of Social Emotional Learning of CASEL, The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning. It is very important to have a clear understanding of the competencies of this unit. If you are not already familiar with these competencies, take the time to study them and see how they are met in each lesson and in the unit as a whole. They will guide and enrich your discussions as well as your everyday conversations with your students. The five core competencies are self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision making. The complete SEL chart and wheel can be found at casel.org.

Components: Each lesson contains instructional objectives, core competency alignments, materials, approximate times, vocabulary, a section called “Before You Begin” and the lesson itself with introduction, activity, closure, and assessment.

Vocabulary: Each entry word contains a definition as well as related words to help you and your students develop a richer social and emotional vocabulary and communication skills. We suggest that you review the vocabulary before you begin the unit, as some of the words, such as “feeling” might have multiple meanings.

Before you begin: This section has been included for the personal wellness of the teachers. Each exercise has been designed to prepare teachers? own mindfulness and well-being before they begin instruction.

Approximate time: The approximate times of each lesson, 20?30 minutes, will depend on the discussions that you lead and the age of the students. The lessons should be viewed as flexible and can be segmented into different parts of a day or even a week.