Social:
Author: Jaimie Piotrowicz
School/Organization:
Cayuga Elementary School
Year: 2017
Seminar: A Survey of Contemplative Practices Across the World's Religions
Grade Level: K-12
Keywords: Behavioral Therapy, Cognitive Therapy, Detention, Meditation, Mindful Suspension, Personal Growth, Suspension, Therapy
Research regarding “new age” in-school consequences has been appearing in news outlets at a rapid rate. Rather than the antiquated and traditional consequences of detentions and suspensions schools are turning to the historically, religiously contemplative practices of meditation and its progeny – mindfulness. Suspensions have been proven to be ineffective, inefficient, and potentially costly to society as a long-term solution to in-school problems. As with most antiquated educational practices we see the same type of “Band-Aid” procedure still happening with detentions and suspensions despite proven unsuccessfulness. Some scientists suggest that mindful meditation can improve focus and academic success, and others suggest that memory and emotional intelligence can be strengthened using these practices.
Mindfulness is defined as the practice of complete awareness to one’s cognitive and emotional state. This practice, when implemented correctly, can become a healthy and transformative habit. The results of prevailing research show that restorative discipline in the form of whole-school mindful meditation combined with focused practice or a private space for at-risk students has long-term, positive effects on behavior management and emotional coping.
Download Unit: 17.1.03-unit.pdf
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An article written by Deva Dalporto titled Restorative Justice: A Different Approach to Discipline opens with a statement about Bunch High School in a high-crime, low-income community in Oakland, California. Dalporto wites, “Suspensions at Bunche High School…dropped by 51% last year. Disrespect for teachers has declined; the school is safer. Students are more focused on their studies and many have stopped cutting class.” (Dalporto, 2013) This statement is the solution to a cyclical and everlasting problem for which teachers in similar communities have been searching for decades. To the educators at Bunche the solution was blaringly simple: restorative justice – respect, responsibility, relationship-building and relationship-repairing. Bunche achieves this through healing circles with counselors, but can it be done with mindful meditative practices? Mindful meditation is not, in most cases, a religious practice. It does share roots with some of our world’s contemplative religions but mindful meditation is an evolved form of focus on thoughts, feelings, and breathing. Mindfulness is the practice of “maintaining a nonjudgmental state of heightened or complete awareness of one’s thoughts, emotions, or experiences in the present moment.” (Contra Costa Times, 2015) It is also described as, “the awareness that emerges through paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally to the unfolding of experience moment by moment.” (KabatZinn, 2003 p145) This has been practiced for thousands of years and studies have proven its effectiveness. Some scientists suggest that mindful meditation can improve focus and academic success, and others suggest that memory and emotional intelligence can be strengthened using these practices. Several schools across the country have adopted mindfulness meditation in creative ways. The West Contra Costa Unified School District in California is a low-income, urban area where 97 percent of the students qualify for free or reduced-price lunches and 6.6 percent of the 7,000 students were suspended between 2013 and 2014. An elementary teacher in the school district described their students as minority youth who have “experienced a lot of intergenerational violence,” and in need of a “foundation of social and emotional learning instead of relying on the fight, flight, or freeze instinct.” (Contra Costa Times, 2015) This same teacher founded the Mindful Life Project which is an organization that brings meditation, yoga and mindfulness to the classroom and one-to-one practices with at-risk students. The program pulls the highest-risk students for an hour of mindfulness practices which has, according to the project’s founders, dramatically reduced the time teachers spend dealing with behavior issues. Visitacion Valley Middle School in San Francisco has a whole-school, in-class “Quiet Time” for twelve minutes in the morning and twelve minutes at the end of the day. This school is in a community with high-crime rates and previous suspension rates that rivaled those of high schools in neighboring communities. Since implementing “Quiet Time” practices the school’s principal has boasted his school’s low suspension rates on national media outlets and attributed their success to the adoption of mindful meditation. In a similar way, Robert W. Coleman Elementary in Baltimore, Maryland has adopted a whole-school mindfulness meditation practice at the beginning of the day, and a Mindful Moment Room created by a local nonprofit. In this room kids from pre-k through fifth grade are encouraged to meditate and practice yoga. The school gained national attention for replacing out-of-school suspension with in-school meditation and doing so in a way that is mutually beneficial for the students and the community. In an article by CNN the writer, Deborah Bloom, illustrates a scene in which a student is angrily entering the meditation room. She writes, “Into a room of pillows and lavender, an elementary student walks, enraged.” (CNN, 2016) This small vignette about anger by a young student is familiar to most teachers. Bloom goes on to state, “He’s just been made fun of by another student, an altercation that turned to pushing and name-calling. But rather than detention or the principal’s office, his teacher sent him to [the meditation room].” (2015) The student’s statement in the article describes his breathing and eating a snack before independently deciding to walk to class and apologize to his peers. The article goes on to describe situations, data, statistics, and stories that could be about any low-income, urban environment in the United States; however, this school, like many schools in Baltimore, has decided to focus on preventative and self-reflective means of combating violence and promoting calm, safe spaces and coping mechanisms rather than forcing students to serve detentions and suspensions. The school’s principal reports that she did not write any suspension paperwork for the 2015-2016 school year, the first year of the Mindful Moment Room. There is sparse conclusive, evidence-based and sponsored research on this practice of replacing out-of-school suspensions with mindfulness or meditative[i] practices but the inquiry-based nonprofit and school-based research is plentiful. Mindfulness-based interventions are clinically effectual but innovative studies are necessary to substantiate the field and give value to the practice’s growth. (Kabat-Zinn, 2003) The results of existing research show that restorative discipline in the form of whole-school mindful meditation combined with focused practice or a private space for at-risk students has long-term, positive effects on behavior management and emotional coping.
Teaching empathy, self-awareness, and fostering social and emotional intelligence are not new ideas or new solutions to the behavioral difficulties of students. I’d argue that most, if not all, teachers attempt to help students understand the actions of healthy relationships and their effects on communities, though the perspectives from which they teach these skills are shaped by their own, usually dissimilar, experiences. While their intentions are optimistic, teachers are also people who have emotions and their priority is to keep students safe. In a situation when a student compromises the safety of others it is the habitual reaction to have a student removed from the situation and the school setting until he/she or they have realized the wrongdoing and learned the appropriate way to handle emotions; this is the expectation but not the reality. Individuals will not be able to realize the erraticism of their behavior if they have never been taught, witnessed or practiced self-control of their emotions or regulation of their actions. Rather than detaining or expelling students from their schools and, for some, the only safe environment in which they’re familiar, some schools are utilizing the classical spaces of in-school suspension rooms but changing the practices from sitting in silence to mandatory meditation, yoga, or general mindfulness; thus, eliminating the need for an out-of-school suspension procedure. These techniques have been proven to reduce juvenile delinquency, “strengthen impulse control, build resilience and to optimize stress management and self-regulation.” (Epstein-Molter, Baltimore Sun, 2016) Children, who experience stress and trauma, as students in low-income, inner-city communities often do, lack impulse control due to inhibited executive functioning; they are more likely to display anxious behaviors, extreme emotions, and opposition to authority.
This unit is anticipated for students in grades K-12. While this curriculum unit was created for teaching in an in-school suspension space it can be used, modified or adapted to suit the needs of the teacher and classroom. The time range of the activities and lessons is at the discretion of the instructor. Students will begin to develop mindfulness practice in a variety of activities. The additional objectives of the unit are as follows:
This general unit is intended for use in an in-school suspension space, one that should appropriately be renamed “Reflective Room,” which would both require and invite attendance from students. Though that is the intended use of the activities below they may also be used in any classroom for students of any age. The research study “A School-Based Mindfulness Pilot Study for Ethnically Diverse At-Risk Adolescents” revealed that there are a few factors necessary for an effective mindfulness program including a physical space where students feel safe and accepted, a school personnel designated as a class assistant, informal quality time outside of the classroom for the purpose of establishing trust, inviting students to participate without judgement for participation, and flexibility and responsiveness to curriculum adaptations to suit students’ needs. The Mindful Teachers (found at http://www.mindfulteachers.org) suggest a few additional guidelines for teaching mindfulness. They state that, first, teachers should establish their own person mindfulness practices prior to teaching meditation or formal mindfulness to children. Secondly, the Mindful Teachers suggest that teachers do not push any individuals beyond their comfort levels; they advise that teachers allow students to “buy in” to the practices on their own. For example, if students do not wish to close their eyes or share personal information teachers should not push them to do so. The Mindful Teachers remind educators that teaching mindfulness and compassion can provoke strong emotions in students and preparedness is the best way to aid in this journey. They also suggest eight principles for teaching mindfulness which they adapted from Sam Himelstein’s book, “A Mindfulness-Based Approach to Working with High-Risk Adolescents.” The eight principles are clear goals, non-attachment to logistics, effective techniques, time, facilitator’s role, metaphors, process to the experience, and self-disclosure. (Himelstein, 2013) When implementing mindfulness activities in the classroom or in an in-school suspension space it is crucial to abide by the principles and research-based suggestions. It is also important to adhere to the essential elements of a mindful space such as a clean and neat room, dim lighting, comfortable floor space, and optional seating for necessary accommodations.
This unit will be taught using a variety of strategies from reading, writing, exploratory learning and blended learning. Students will engage in physical activities such as meditation, modeling compassion and empathy, and facilitating peer-to-peer problem solving. Students will journal their thoughts, feelings, and actions and use blended-learning methods to achieve their goals. Lessons taught in the classroom can follow the format of the examples below, starting with the question, “Why be mindful?” (Srinivasan, 2014). Lessons taught in a Reflective Room, or in-school suspension space, can be taught in any order depending on the needs of the students involved. The three example lessons below are not specific to students who have behavior issues but lessons that have been adapted from a variety of successful mindfulness lessons across grade-levels and school settings. o Ensure the room is set-up in a way that suits the needs of the students. o Invite students to sit on the floor or carpet in a circle. o “Today we are going to learn about a practice called mindfulness. Raise your hand quietly if you’ve ever heard of mindfulness. Mindful means you are aware of your thoughts and emotions and how they affect your actions. Mindfulness is a way to help us calm down when we are experiencing a negative emotion and even when we experience overwhelmingly positive emotions. Mindfulness helps us have talks with ourselves on how to be better people, athletes, students, siblings, and friends.” o Ask students to stand where their bodies are and then ask them to sit down. o “Who would like to tell us what they were thinking when I asked them to stand up?” Allow a student to respond. “How did that feeling affect your actions?” Allow the student to respond. “When I’ve been in your position and I’ve been asked to stand up, sometimes I don’t feel like doing it so I feel angry. When I feel angry about being asked to stand up I do it in a way that is lazy and sometimes I roll my eyes. When I learned about mindfulness I realized that I don’t want to feel angry when someone asks me to stand up, so when I’m asked to stand up I do it happily and consider it to be exercise for my body. When I think of standing up as exercise I feel better about doing it and I don’t feel angry or frustrated and I’m able to feel happy about something so simple.” o Ask students to walk outside of the classroom and walk back into the classroom and sit in the circle. Ask them to do this using mindful practices. o “One of the most important things we can do to have the best mindfulness practices is to have a still and quiet body. Let’s try right now to be as still as possible.” Allow students time to get still. “This is a mindful body. A quiet body is a mindful body. What else do you think needs to be quiet?” Allow students to respond. “We must have quiet eyes and mouths. Let’s practice this.” Give students time to get quiet. o Wait until the room is a totally silent room. Use non-verbal cues to get students to sit quietly. o “This was an excellent practice of a mindful body and brain. We’re not going to have to do this all the time, but it is something that is important to do sometimes. Let’s practice one more time. When I say, ‘get your mindful body ready’ I want to see you sit quietly with your eyes closed and your mouths quiet as best as you can. Ready? Get your mindful body ready.” o Ring bell when quiet time is over. o “The bell I just rang will always be used to signal that quiet time has ended. This doesn’t mean that you can’t practice quiet time throughout the day, it just means that we’ve run out of our time together.” o “Can someone share with us how they felt when they were sitting quietly?” o Allow every student to share if they wish to share. o “I want to thank all of you for sharing today and practicing with me. Anytime you feel like you need a moment, if you’re angry or upset, just get your mindful body ready and listen to your brain. What is it telling you? It’s important to be your own best friend. Thank you so much.” o Ensure the room is set-up in a way that suits the needs of the students. o Invite students to sit on the floor or carpet in a circle. o “The last time we met we discussed mindful bodies. We realized that mindful bodies look like still and quiet bodies with closed eyes. Can you all show us what a mindful body looks like? Why is it important to have a mindful body?” Allow students time to answer. o Using the SmartBoard, chalkboard, or white board write down some of the students’ responses under the headline “A mindful body is important because…” o “Some of the things that I heard were _____ and _____. I feel like you are really understanding the importance of a mindful body and mind. I’m going to give you/ask you to take out your Mindfulness Journal/Notebook. This is the first time some of us are using our journals so I want to give everyone time to label their journal and write their name inside.” Give students time to do this. o “Okay put your pencils down. I want to share a story with you about when I used mindfulness this week. [Use this story or your own example.] Yesterday I was in a meeting with a few teachers, and, just so you know, I’m the leader of the meeting; about half-way through the meeting some of the teachers start to disagree with an activity that I wanted to do. I felt myself getting really frustrated and angry. I was about to yell when I thought about our discussion about mindfulness and a mindful body. I thought to myself, ‘you know what? Let me just give this a try. This would be a good time to just see if it even works in real life.’ So, I did. Before I could yell I just stopped, closed my eyes, and took a deep breath. I thought about how angry I was and then I told myself that if I sit here quietly the anger will pass. You know what? It did. The anger passed and my head was clear of frustration so I could think of a better solution. Instead of yelling, I asked the teachers why they disagreed with me. They gave me their responses and we had a great discussion about a better idea with which we all agreed. When I came in today I was wondering if anyone else had an opportunity like mine to practice mindfulness or a time they wish they would have practiced mindfulness? For example, if you got into an argument in the school yard or during recess, what could you have done instead?” o Allow all the students to share. Wait for a few minutes until someone is comfortable sharing an example. o “Thank you so much to everyone for sharing their stories. It’s not easy to be mindful, in fact it’s harder to do the right thing than it is to do the wrong thing. When you practice mindfulness you’re not just doing it for everyone else; you’re doing it for yourself and for your own peace of mind and happiness.” o “Please take out your pencil again. Today, before we practice using our mindful bodies again, I want to record our reflection. I want you to write at the top of a blank page [model this on the board] ‘I was mindful when…’ or “I could have been mindful when…’ I’m going to give you about twenty minutes to write about a time when you practiced or could have practiced mindfulness or having a mindful body.” o Ring the bell after 20 minutes. o “Would anyone who has not shared a story like to share now?” o “Now that we’ve shared our stories I’d like to collect our notebooks. When your notebook is collected, you may join the circle on the floor and get your mindful body ready.” o Sit in the circle and model a mindful body. o “Okay, I’m going to give us about five minutes to sit in our mindful bodies. I want you to try to clear your mind. The way we’re going to do this is by counting backward from ten very slowly in our heads. When you get to one, count back up to ten even slower. I’ll start us off and then ring the bell when we’re done.” o Model the practice for five minutes. Ring the bell when you’re done. o “Thank you so much for practicing mindfulness today. I want you to practice it once outside of our group, at any time, and come back to us with a story about when you used mindfulness this week. Thank you for joining us.” [1] A tone chime, or hand chime, is designed for all musical settings and crafted with tempered aluminum alloy for the purpose of providing tonal diversity and vibrant sound. [i] Tone chimes can be purchased at any music store or on Amazon. [ii] Student journals or notebooks should not share subject matter. [iii] Any large, board space will suffice for these activities. It is most important that there is a large visual for which students to refer. o Ensure the room is set-up in a way that suits the needs of the students. o Invite students to sit on the floor or carpet in a circle. o “I’m extremely grateful that we’re almost experts on having a mindful body. I want us to start off today sitting in our circle. Get your mindful body ready. While you’re sitting here I want you to listen to the sounds around you. I know we’re diving in today but there is a reason we’re doing this first.” Sit quietly and listen to the sounds. o “Today we are going to pay close attention to sound and practice mindful listening. What are some of the sounds that you heard while you were practicing mindful listening a few moments ago?” Write the students’ responses on the board. “There were a few of these sounds that I did not hear, but there are a few sounds that I did hear that no one mentioned. This shows us that we all value sounds differently.” o “If you are truly mindful of sound than you’ll be able to tell me the sound you hear every day when we finish our lessons.” Allow them to share that they hear the bell every day. o “You are all already mindful. I want us to get our mindful bodies ready and add your mindful ears. Now your mindful body is still, quiet, and listening. I’m going to ring the bell. I want you to listen.” Ring the bell a few times. o “About how many times did you hear me ring the bell?” Allow some students to respond. “Let’s try this one more time.” Ring the bell a few times again. “How many times did I ring the bell that time?” Allow the students to respond. o “I want us to practice mindful listening for about ten minutes. We’ve sat with our mindful bodies for five minutes up to this point, but as we grow in our skills to be mindful I want us to add five minutes each time. When I start the timer, we’re going to sit for ten minutes and listen, mindfully. Okay, get your mindful bodies ready. Let’s begin.” o Give students ten minutes to listen to sounds. Sit quietly and practice with them while monitoring the room. Do not worry about students who are adjusting to the new practice. Give them time to get better at these practices. o Ring the bell after ten minutes. o “I’m going to hand out our notebooks and we’re going to write down the sounds that we heard.” o Give students about five minutes to write down the sounds. o “Let’s share some of the sounds that we heard.” o Write down the sounds that students heard on the board. o “I am very impressed by all of the diverse sounds that you heard. Some of them were very silent, which shows how mindfully you were listening. Some of them were very loud or the vibrations were loud, which shows your mindful bodies were feeling and hearing. These skills are necessary not just for listening to nature, but for listening to each other. When I give you the signal, we are going to quickly share one fact about ourselves with a person next to us. Are you ready? Go ahead.” Let them have two minutes to share a fact. o “I’m going to go around the room and you’re each going to tell me the fact you learned about your partner.” o “Every single person in this room practiced mindful listening when their partner talked. Despite all the other sounds in the room, you focused on what the other person had to say and stored it in your brain. I want you to remember this exercise and practice doing this with every person with whom you speak.”
Get Your Mindful Body Ready
Objectives: SWBAT understand that time for mindfulness is important and sacred. SWBAT recognize that mindfulness is a practice and requires patience and commitment. SWBAT to sit with quiet and still bodies. SWBAT Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and communicative tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate.
Standards: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.SL.6
Materials: Quiet Bell or Tone Chime
Lesson Plan:
Reflecting on Mindfulness
Objectives: SWBAT understand the importance of deep listening. SWBAT show their ability to practice deep listening. SWBAT write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content. SWBAT write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details and well-structured event sequences. SWBAT prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively. SWBAT produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
Standards: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.SL.5, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.2, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.3, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.4
Materials: Quiet Bell or Tone Chime[i][1], Student Notebook[ii] or Journal, Chalkboard/White Board or SmartBoard[iii]
Lesson Plan:
Listening with Mindful Ears
Objectives: SWBAT understand the importance of deep listening. SWBAT show their ability to practice deep listening. SWBAT write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content. SWBAT write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details and well-structured event sequences. SWBAT prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively. SWBAT produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
Standards: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.SL.5, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.2, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.3, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.4
Materials: Quiet Bell or Tone Chime, Student Notebook or Journal, Chalkboard/White Board or SmartBoard
Lesson Plan:
Reading List Bluth, K., Campo, R.A., Pruteanu-Malinici, S. et al. (2016). Mindfulness 7(90). doi:10.1007/s12671-014-0376-1 A Guide to Outpatient Behavioral Health Services for Philadelphia County’s Children and Adolescents Enrolled in Medical Assistance and CHIP. Retrieved June 26, 2017, from http://www.pccy.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/BHGuidePhilaEnglish2012.pdf PCCY. (n.d.). A Guide to Outpatient Behavioral Health Services for Philadelphia County’s Children and Adolescents Enrolled in Medical Assistance and CHIP. Retrieved June 26, 2017, from http://www.pccy.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/BHGuidePhilaEnglish2012.pdf WeAreTeachers Staff on June 4, 2013 .contest-social .share-links svg, .share-links svg { top: 50%; left: 0px; } #atftbx p:first-of-type { display: none; } .entry-content .addthis_toolbox, .entry-content .addthis_button, .entry-header .addthis_toolbox, .entry-header .addthis_button { margin: 0 !important;} .at-style-responsive .at-share-btn { padding: 0 !important;}. (2017, May 22). Restorative Justice: A Different Approach to Discipline. Retrieved June 26, 2017, from https://www.weareteachers.com/restorative-justice-a-different-approach-to-discipline/ Youth United for Change. (2011). Zero Tolerance in Philadelphia. Retrieved June 26, 2017, from http://thenotebook.org/sites/default/files/YUC-report.pdf
Epstein-Molter, J. (2016, May 19). Mandatory mindfulness, the antidote to Baltimore violence? Retrieved June 26, 2017, from http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bs-ed-mindfulness-molter-20160519-story.html
Henneberger, A. (2008). Subthreshold symptoms of depression in preadolescent girls are stable and predictive of depressive disorders. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 47(12), 1433–1442.
Ioffee, K. (2015, Nov 2). EMBRACING MEDITATION – MINDFULNESS, NOW PART OF SCHOOLS’ CURRICULUM, SAID TO CUT SUSPENSIONS. Contra Costa Times (Walnut Creek, CA), p. 1A.. Retrieved from http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/doc/nb/news/158F0C10DBDD9F08?p=AWNB
Jmcmahon@syracuse.com, J. M. (2016, September 28). U.S. schools turn to yoga, meditation instead of detention, suspension. Retrieved June 26, 2017, from http://www.syracuse.com/schools/index.ssf/2016/09/schools_turn_to_yoga_meditation_instead_of_detention_suspension.html
Joyce, A., Etty-Leal, J., Zazryn, T., & Hamilton, A. (2010). Exploring a Mindfulness Meditation Program on the Mental Health of Upper Primary Children: A Pilot Study. Advances in School Mental Health Promotion,3(2), 17-25. doi:10.1080/1754730x.2010.9715677
Kabat-Zinn J (1994) Wherever you Go, There You Are: Mindfulness meditation in everyday life. New York: Delacorte.
Kabat-Zinn J (2003) Mindfulness-based interventions in context: past, present, and future. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice 10 (2) 144–56.
Srinivasan, M. (2014). Teach, breathe, learn. Retrieved from https://proxy.library.upenn.edu:7976
Wolf, Christiane, and Serpa, J. Greg. A Clinician’s Guide to Teaching Mindfulness. Oakland: New Harbinger Publications, 2015. Accessed June 26, 2017. ProQuest Ebook Central.
[1] Meditation is a practice that accompanies mindfulness; however, they are not synonymous and meditation is not a required practice. I was hesitant to include meditative practices in this unit as there are many schools which believe that meditation is a religious practice. I advise teachers to explore their options regarding meditation and utilize the resources which I’ve provided in the “Resources” section if they decide to pursue meditation. [1] Tone chimes can be purchased at any music store or on Amazon. [1] Student journals or notebooks should not share subject matter. [1] Any large, board space will suffice for these activities. It is most important that there is a large visual for which students to refer.
This unit covers a multitude of standards required of each grade level. For example, these are some of the 4-8 grade level standards this unit will cover: (MSLS13) Use argument supported by evidence for how the body is a system of interacting subsystems composed of groups of cells. (MMSDSELS.68) Students will use language to interact with others and communicate effectively in activities and discussions. (MMSDSELS.68) Students will evaluate how external influences affect their ability to follow expectations. (MMSDSELS.68) Students will analyze factors that create stress and apply coping strategies. (MMSDSELS.68) Students will analyze ways their behavior may affect the feelings of others and adjust accordingly. (MMSDSELS.68) Students will show respect for other people’s perspectives. (MMSDSELS.68) Students will demonstrate an ability to be a leader as well as a group member in achieving group goals. (MMSDSELS.68) Students will generate multiple problem solving strategies, a variety of solutions and possible outcomes to a problem. (MMSDSELS.68) Students will recognize and label a variety of emotions and describe how they physically respond to them. (MMSDSELS.68) Students will identify how others are feeling based on facial expressions and body language. (MMSDSELS.68) Students will associate words and gestures with a variety of emotions expressed by others. (MMSDSELS.68) Students will recognize multiple points of view/perspectives of others. (Literacy.RI.6.7) Integrate information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in words to develop a coherent understanding of a topic or issue. (Literacy.WHST.68.4) Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Literacy.WHST.910.5) Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach.