North Dakota Department of Public Instruction - Special Education, has recently released “Improving Literacy through Self-Regulation: On the 5’s,” a free resource guide to use with children of all ages.

“On the 5’s” provides brain breaks to help youth calm, focus, and engage in learning. For some youth, self-regulation and social-emotional skills can be very difficult to master. This resource guide can help adults and children interact through calming activities that can be done in 5 minutes or less.

 “On the 5’s” is made possible through the North Dakota Striving Readers Comprehensive Literacy Grant for children ages birth through grade 12. Please feel free to distribute this resource to anyone who helps your child: family, friends, daycares, coaches, teachers, etc. 

Reopening and transition plans will take shape differently in every district. However, with everything that students and adults across the country have been through over the past year, it's clear that social-emotional learning (SEL) must be prioritized due to the impacts of the pandemic.

Social-emotional learning can foster a safe, supportive, and equitable environment that grounds students. It can also create the conditions for students to be able to access academic learning when they're back in the physical classroom.

Here are six principles to ensure that SEL takes a front seat in the transition to in-person learning.

1. Educator resilience must come

first.

2. Check on students' SEL and

well-being - early and often.

3. Build and strengthen Tier 1

SEL supports

4. Every child deserves

individualized support from a

caring adult.

5. Help students heal and cope

through trauma-responsive

SEL.

6. Partner with caregivers and

community organizations to

smooth the transition for

students.