As a teacher in a Title I elementary school I serve students with a low socioeconomic status. My students are faced with several challenges both in and out of the classroom. Despite the many challenges they face, I am aiming to increase Social/Emotional intelligence, the understanding of feelings, and using them to inform actions. Children who exhibit healthy social, emotional, and behavioral adjustment are more likely to have good academic performance in elementary school.

The sharp distinction between cognition and emotion that has historically been made may be more of an artifact of scholarship than it is representative of the way these processes occur in the brain (Barrett and others 2007). From the minute they walk in the door of my classroom I focus on their potential and growth while they are with me. I may not be able to control their home lives, but I can certainly guide/influence their experiences during the school day.
Donors will be helping bring Children’s Fiction Social Issues Emotions Feelings Books in my classroom to help build
Social-emotional development including the child’s experience, expression, and management of emotions and the ability to establish positive and rewarding relationships with others.

My Project
As a teacher, I feel it’s important to recognize that social intelligence is different from just “getting along” with others or following rules. The books that I have selected will help students be able to find solutions during conflicts with others, demonstrate respect for the feelings of others, and adapting to different social situations.
Social/Emotional intelligence is the understanding of ones feelings and using them to inform actions.
Although there is some disagreement about the exact terminology to use, social and emotional intelligence both refer to the ability to understand your own and others’ feelings and emotions and then to use this understanding to inform your decisions and actions.
Socially/emotionally intelligent people solve interpersonal problems quickly by understanding what is upsetting others and being empathetic to these concerns. They tend to recognize when they’ve said something that made someone uncomfortable and know what makes others “tick.” Socially/emotionally intelligent people are able to thrive in many different relationships and settings because they quickly learn the social rules.

Teachers love to read books not only to invoke a students love of reading, but also to help them make connections. The books I have chosen were specific to the behaviors I have seen over the last three years of teaching the 5th grade. One example is the book “That Rule Doesn’t Apply to Me!” A lot of my students think they can get around the rules or they can bend the rules enough without breaking them so this book was perfect. Also, the students in 5th grade tend to ask why and challenge every rule so this book had great examples of why rules were needed in many different settings.

I still gather all my students to the carpet and read to them. With the book mentioned above I would read a few pages and then ask them to turn and talk to their shoulder partner about a time they, or someone they know broke the same rule and how it impacted the class or them directly. We then come back together to talk about a few whole class. We reference the book the entire year.

I have found that all of my students benefit from the books and they love the social stories. It makes learning “rules” or anything really much more fun. You are setting your expectations but through a funny social story. Almost all of them can relate to the stories I have chosen.

With gratitude,
Mrs. Orozco

Her letter she sent and surprises were the best gift! 

I received handmade cards from 50 students.They were funny, cute, some had pictures drawn on them, reading each one was quite emotional, these are 5th graders. Mrs. Orozco sent photos of the kids working on projects and a group photo. 

Donors.org post teachers across the states who need projects funded. There is a process of approval but there are so many teachers who need tools for their classrooms. Please think of Donors.org when you support charities.

Charity doesn’t require a dollar amount, anything is welcome. Their are times when $5 is all I can give to a new Charity. We have a core list of Charities we donate to each year. During the year I receive emails and occasionally will fund but on a smaller scale. 

Melinda  🙂