The Choose Your Own Adventure button on this website leads students to a subject area page where they can choose to Level Up their Learning in multiple subjects. The content areas are arranged by age groups and include art, fitness, history, library, math, music, reading, and science activities.

Activities in each of the content areas are arranged into either specific difficulty levels or into bands. Generally, Levels 1 and 2 correspond with pre-K and kindergarten activities; Levels 3 and 4 = first and second grades; Levels 5 and 6 = third and fourth grades; Levels 7 and 8 = fifth and sixth grades; Levels 9 and 10 = seventh and eighth grades. Many activities are appropriate for more than one grade level, so they may be found at more than one activity level or the levels may be banded.

Teachers may recommend a specific level in certain content areas for students to begin work, which may or may not be based on their grade in school. Students may explore lower levels for easier activities and higher levels for more difficult activities. Students are encouraged to try a variety of activities to challenge themselves while having fun.

For all of the activities we have tried to balance on-screen and off-screen time for students. Click here for suggested guidelines for screen time from the American Heart Association.

Key Math Skills for Pre-K Students

• Sort​ objects into categories and count the number of objects in the category.
• Match numbers to objects for numbers 1-10.
• Count in order to 30.
• Identify if a number of objects is greater than, less than or equal to another set of objects.
• Demonstrate an understanding of addition and subtraction by using objects.

Everyday Ways to Support Your Student

• Sing songs that involve counting such as “The Ants Go Marching,” “This Old Man,” “Five Little Ducks Went Out to Play,” or “Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed.”
• Touch and count out objects together. At snack time, say, “1, 2, 3, 4, 5.  You have 5 crackers.” Move the crackers into a line or a circle and count again.
• Practice oral counting by making it fun. “Let’s count how many steps it takes to get to your room.”
• Use the illustrations in picture books to count as your read together. “I wonder how many vegetables Mr. McGregor planted in his garden. Let’s count them!”
• Ask for help with counting during everyday experiences. While cooking, say, “I need 6 mushrooms. Can you count out 6 mushrooms for me?”
• Look for numerals when walking, driving. “I see the number 10. Let’s clap 10 times.”
• Go on a shape hunt around your house. When you find a shape, ask your child to name the shape, count the number of sides and talk about its features.
• Go on a walk and let your child collect some objects from nature. Ask your child to sort the objects by categories and count to see how many there are in each group.
• Ask your child to help put clean dishes away. While sorting the eating utensils into their place, have your child count how many of each you have.
• Play with playdough and make shapes or numbers. (Grown-ups, you can make shapes and numbers for them to use as a guide).
• When having a snack such as goldfish, crackers, grapes, etc., put your snack into two groups. Is one greater than, less than, or are they equal?

Key Math Skills for Kindergarten Students

• Counting to 100 by ones and tens (ex: 1,2,3,4,5,6, 7...; 10,20,30,40...)
• Identifying numbers 0-20 (ex:1,2,3,4,5...15,16,17,18,19,20)
• Counting objects to 20 (ex: 1 car, 2 cars, 3 cars...)
• Composing (making) and decomposing (breaking down) numbers to 10 (ex: 4 and makes 6; 6 is 3 and 3)
• Composing (making) and decomposing (breaking down) numbers to 11-20 (ex: 10 and 9 is 19; 19 is 10 and 9)
• Addition and subtraction within 10 (ex: 5+3=8; 4-2=2)
• Finding pairs to make 10 (ex: 4 + ___= 10; 8 + ___= 10)

Everyday Wayt to Support Your Student

• Count everyday objects
• When eating snack practice subtraction as you eat
• Play board games
• Use playing cards, dice, or dominoes —
  • Greater than/Less than: flip over two cards and identify which is greater or less — winner keeps the cards
  • Addition: flip over two cards and add them together
  • Addition: flip over cards and find pairs to make 10
  • Subtraction: flip over two cards, subtract the smaller number from the bigger number
  • Number identification: play Go Fish or Memory
• Mystery Number: give clues about a number (ex: my number is less than 5)

Key Math Skills for First Grade Students

• Add and subtract within 20 (i.e., 8+5, 14-6)
• Use addition and subtraction to solve word problems (i.e., "There are 8 cookies left. We ate some for a snack. There are 3 cookies left. How many did we eat?")
• Understand that two-digit numbers are made of up tens and ones (i.e. 29 is 2 tens and 9 ones or 29 ones, 4 tens and 6 ones is 46)
• Measure lengths indirectly (i.e., How many pencils long is the table?)
• Tell time by half hours on both an analog and digital clock (i.e., 7:00, 8:30, 1:30)
• Add numbers in any order (i.e., 2 + 3 = 5 AND 3 + 2 = 5)
• Add three numbers together (i.e. 2 + 6 + 4 = 12)
• Name basic shapes and three-dimensional objects: circle, square, rectangle, sphere, cylinder, etc.
• Add ones to a two-digit number, understanding at times the need to make a new group of ten.
• Add a group of tens to a two-digit number.
• Click here to access KSDE Critical Areas for COHERENCE in Mathematics
• Click here to access KSDE Grade Level FOCUS Documents & Worksheets
• Click here to access Achieve the Core's Family Guide to Supporting Learning

Everyday Ways to Support Your Child

• Play games that practice addition (i.e. "I am thinking of a number. 6 more than my number is 13. What is my number?).
• Look for opportunities to practice solving problems with addition and subtraction (i.e., I have 5 popcorn pieces, but you have 11. How many more do you have than me?)
• Ask your student how many different ways they could make a two-digit number (i.e., 34 could be 3 tens and 4 ones, 1 ten and 24 ones, etc.)
• Practice adding or subtracting 10, 20, 30 etc. from any two-digit number (i.e. 54 - 30)
• Click here to access Achieve the Core's Family Guide to Supporting Learning
• Click here to access an educational publication on Addition & Subtraction Fact Strategies
• Click here to access an educational publication on Mastering the Basic Math Facts in Addition and Subtraction

Key Math Skills for 2nd Grade Students

• Fluently add and subtract within 100 using different strategies
• Add and subtract within 1000 (524 – 348, 78 +23)
• Solve one- and two-step word problems (One step: “Today we are going to spend 70 minutes reading and doing puzzles. 25 minutes will be for doing puzzles. How many minutes will we read?” Two step: “You gathered 60 vegetables from the community garden. You gathered 30 cobs of corn and 20 tomatoes. The rest of the vegetables were peppers. How many peppers did you collect?)
• Understand place value (Example: The number 342 refers to 3 hundreds, 4 tens, and 2 ones.)
• Divide basic shapes into equal shares

Everyday Ways to Support Your Student

• Play “I’m thinking of a Number” to practice addition. (I’m thinking of a number that has 6 tens, 2 hundreds, and 5 ones. What is the number?)
• Play “ I have, You Need” to partners of 10. (I have 4, you need ____ to make 10.)
• Use a deck of cards to practice addition and subtraction. Draw two cards at a time. Practice adding or subtracting the two numbers.
• Use a deck of cards to practice place value. Draw 2-3 cards at a time and make the largest number possible. (ex. I drew a 5, 7, 2 so I would make the number 752.)
• Look for opportunities to practice solving problems with addition and subtraction (Give your child a dollar to go buy something. Have your child tell you how much they should receive back. Discuss time and how long it will take to complete a task. Review shapes that you see in your house or on street signs.)

Key Math Skills for 3rd Grade Students

• Solve two-step word problems with all four operations.
• Fluently multiply and divide with single digits.
• Fluently add and subtract within 1,000 using strategies.
• Solve real word problems involving area and perimeter given the side lengths.
• Partition a whole into equal parts, identifying and counting unit fractions.
• Explain equivalent fractions and compare fractions by reasoning about their size.

Everyday Ways to Support Your Student

• Ask your child everyday problems that involve addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Have your child solve the math problem as these problems arise throughout your day.
• Practice multiplication facts while driving, playing outside, swinging, or whatever daily activity you are doing. (2x2=4, 6x3=18, etc.)
• Play multiplication war with your child. Split a deck of cards in half. You each turn over a card, and the first person to say the answer to the multiplication fact gets the cards. The first person to get the entire deck wins!
• Invite your child to bake and cook with you. This is a great way for students to be exposed to fractions!

Key Math Skills for 4th Grade Students

• Understand and apply place value up to 1,000,000 (i.e. 560 is ten times more than 56)
• Add and subtract within 1,000,000 (i.e. 345,723 + 46,478; 999,999 – 23,789)
• Multiply up to 4-digit by 1-digit and 2-digit by 2-digit numbers (I.e. 35 x 64)
• Divide up to 4-digit by 1-digit numbers (i.e. 560 ÷ 5)
• Find equivalent fractions and compare/order fractions (i.e. ¾ = 9/12; 7/8 > 1/10)
• Add and subtract fractions and mixed numbers with like denominators (i.e. 56/100 - 12/100; 2/8 + 4/8)
• Change fractions to decimals (tenths and hundredths) and compare decimals (i.e. 62/100 = 0.62; 0.75 < 0.82)
• Draw and identify lines and angles and classify shapes by properties of their lines and angles (i.e. be able to identify acute, obtuse, and right angles)

Everyday Ways to Support Your Student

• Practice adding and subtracting (multi-digit numbers), multiplying (up to 4-digit by 1-digit and 2-digit by 2-digit numbers such as 32 x 68), and dividing (up to 4-digit by 1-digit such as 1,200 ÷ 9).
• Practice adding and subtracting fractions with the same denominator (4/10 + 3/10; 56/100 - 23/100).
• Encourage a positive mindset about mathematics in the real world. This can be done by cooking with your child and asking them to help you measure the ingredients for a recipe.
• Read books about division and talk about situations where students use division in real life. Visit the Best Children's Books website for ideas
• Invite your child to cook and bake with you!
• Integrate math on outings to the grocery store.
• Use everyday objects to allow your child to explore the concept of fractions. For example, use measuring cups so students see how many times you have to refill a ¼ cup to equal a ½ cup or how many 1/3s are in two cups. Have students describe two fractions that are equal using a measuring cup (filling a ¼ measuring cup twice is the same as filling one ½ measuring cup).
• Have your child write or describe fractions in different ways. For example, what are some different ways to make ¾? Answers could include ¼ + ¼ + ¼ or 3 x ¼
• Ask your child to create and describe equal fractions. For example, have students take a sheet of paper, fold the paper in half, and then unfold and shade 1/2. Then have students take the same sheet of paper and fold the paper in a half again. Unfold the paper and have students discuss the number of parts that are now shaded. Encourage your child to talk about ways to show that 1/2 = 2/4. (Students may continue this process creating other equal fractions.)
• Play a game where you have to add to a total score (i.e. Yahtzee), and have your child practice doing the math with paper/pencil.

Key Math Skills for 5th Grade Students

Fluency with Fractions 

• Developing fluency with addition and subtraction of fractions and developing understanding of the multiplication of fractions and of division of fractions in limited cases (unit fractions divided by whole numbers and whole numbers divided by unit fractions). 
• Students apply their understanding of fractions and fraction models to represent the addition and subtraction of fractions with unlike denominators as equivalent calculations with like denominators. They develop fluency in calculating sums and differences of fractions and make reasonable estimates of them. Students also use the meaning of fractions, of multiplication and division, and the relationship between multiplication and division to understand and explain why the procedures for multiplying and dividing fractions make sense. (Note: this is limited to the case of dividing unit fractions by whole numbers and whole numbers by unit fractions.)  

Division with Decimals 

• Extending division to 2-digit divisors, integrating decimal fractions into the place value system, and developing understanding of operations with decimals to hundredths, and developing fluency with whole number and decimal operations. 
• Students develop understanding of why division procedures work based on the meaning of base-ten numerals and properties of operations. They finalize fluency with multi-digit addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. They apply their understandings of models for decimals, decimal notation, and properties of operations to add and subtract decimals to hundredths. They develop fluency in these computations and make reasonable estimates of their results. Students use the relationship between decimals and fractions, as well as the relationship between finite decimals and whole numbers (i.e., a finite decimal multiplied by an appropriate power of 10 is a whole number), to understand and explain why the procedures for multiplying and dividing finite decimals make sense. They compute products and quotients of decimals to hundredths efficiently and accurately. 

Understanding Volume 

• Students recognize volume as an attribute of three-dimensional space. They understand that volume can be measured by finding the total number of same-size units of volume required to fill the space without gaps or overlaps. They understand that a 1-unit by 1-unit by 1-unit cube is the standard unit for measuring volume. They select appropriate units, strategies, and tools for solving problems that involve estimating and measuring volume. They decompose three-dimensional shapes and find volumes of right rectangular prisms by viewing them as decomposed into layers of arrays of cubes. They measure necessary attributes of shapes in order to determine volumes to solve real world and mathematical problems. 

Everyday Ways to Support Your Student

• Bake or cook with your child discussing fractional measurements. 
• Build or measure with your child discussing fractions of an inch. 
• Involve your child with grocery shopping and discuss money and decimals. 
• Find the unit cost of a group of items you purchase practicing dividing decimals using money as a model. 
• Build a rectangular prism out of blocks and discuss the volume. 

Key Math Skills for 6th Grade Students

• I can practice unit rate while reviewing ratios and ratio tables.
• I can apply order of operations to systematically solve multi-step problems.
• I can solve LCM and GCF of two whole numbers.
• I can multiply and divide fractional values.
• I can use equal representations of fractions, decimals and percents
• I can write and graph inequalities on a number line.
• I can solve one step equations involving whole numbers and inverse operations
• I can analyze data using range and measures of center including mean, median, and mode.
• I can find the area of triangles, parallelograms, and trapezoids.

Everyday Ways to Support Your Student

• Ask your student to determine unit rates. For example, if you purchased a 3-lb. bag of apples for $5, how much did each pound cost?
• Have you student help you with quantities while cooking. For example, if 4 cups of rice tend to feed 2 people, how many cups would be needed to feed 3?
• Ask your student to help with scaling recipes. If a recipe is meant to feed 6 people, how might quantities change if I was only making it for 1 or 2 people?
• Talk about where negative numbers occur in real life. For example, a sack or tackle for a loss in football or use of a debit card.
• When filling up your car with gas, ask your student, “Gas is $2.50 per gallon and I need 10 gallons. If I have a ten dollar bill and a twenty dollar bill, how much change should I expect to receive?”
• Have your student compare prices of grocery items at two different stores to discover the best unit price.
• Talk with your student about saving up for something of interest, ask your student, “If you make $5.75 per week and the new item you want is $55.00, how many weeks will you need to save?”
• Discuss with your students the ways you use integers in your everyday life. For example, "I am going to withdraw $45.00 from my bank today. Would this represent a positive or negative value?”

Key Math Skills for 7th Grade Students

• Add, subtract, multiply, and divide integers.
• Add, subtract, factor, and expand linear expressions.
• Solve 1- and 2-step equations.
• Unit Rates/Proportional Relationships between Quantities
• Find measures of center and variability of a set of data.
• Find surface area of rectangular and triangular prisms.
• Scale drawings of geometric figures.

Everyday Ways to Support Your Student

• Practice multiplication facts! While in the car, waiting for an appointment, going for a walk simply quiz your learner. Make a game of it and see who can say the product quickest!
• Encourage your learner to go shopping with you. Ask them to estimate the subtotal, then estimate the grand total with tax included.
• Ask your learner to calculate a tip when out to dinner at the end of a meal.
• Ask your learner to calculate how long a car trip will take when considering how many miles the trip is and what the speed limit is.
• When filling up your car with gas, tell your learner, “Gas is $2.50 and I need 10 gallons. How much money will I spend?”
• Have your learner bake or cook a meal, using measuring cups and spoons accurately. You can ask questions such as “Is there more white sugar than brown sugar in the recipe? How do you know?”
• While watching the news, ask your learner to calculate the percent of change in the temperature from the morning to the afternoon.
• Visit the PBS LearningMedia site for helpful information about middle school math.

Key Math Skills for 8th Grade Students

• Students solve linear equations and inequalities in one variable.
• Students understand the Pythagorean Theorem and apply it to determine unknown side lengths in right triangles.
• Students describe functions and use them to solve problems.
• Students define slope/rate of change and identify slope given a graph, table, or set of ordered pairs.
• Students identify and model linear relationships (y = mx + b).
• Students identify and solve problems using angle relationships.
• Students calculate the volume of a prism, pyramid, cylinder, cone, and sphere.

Everyday Ways to Support Your Student

• Replace numbers on a wall clock with the perfect squares. Using sticky notes, replace each number with its square root equation. For example, 6 is √36. Help your child memorize their perfect squares up to 400 so they will be ready to do more advanced work with square roots.
• Teach your child its usefulness of the number pi by having them measure around a clock, the circle on a basketball court, or a dinner plate.
• Look for shapes and patterns in real life and have them write a function to describe the pattern.
• Ask your child to find the volume of soup cans, cereal boxes, or other food items in the kitchen. Compare two different size containers’ volume.
• Solve “just for fun” algebra puzzles, such as: “I’m thinking of two numbers. The difference between the numbers is 40. Twice the smaller number is 20 more than the larger number. What are my numbers?”
• Play “war” using playing cards. The red cards are negative integers and the black cards are positive integers.
• Help your child recognize and identify real-world examples of right angles (e.g. the corner of a book) and parallel lines (e.g. railroad tracks).
• Ask your child to find the coordinates of places on a map.
• Ask your child to use the Pythagorean Theorem to find the distance between your house and other locations on a map.

Phonological Awareness

Phonological awareness is really a group of skills that include a child's ability to:

• Identify words that rhyme.
• Count the number of syllables in a name.
• Recognize alliteration (words with the same beginning sound).
• Identify the syllables in a word.

Some ideas for home:

• When driving in the car, waiting at a restaurant, etc ask your child to identify if two words rhyme (stop/hop). A harder skill is for a child to produce another rhyming word. What rhymes with car?
• Clap syllables — you can clap syllables with favorite toys, food, people’s names. Dinosaur (3 claps Din-o-saur)
• Say two words and ask your child if they have the same sound at the beginning. Boy/Bird, Pizza/Moon, Dog/Dot

Reading to Your Child

One of the best activities is to read to your child. Benefits of reading together include:

• Stimulates imagination and expands understanding of the world.
• Develops language and listening skills.
• Expands vocabulary.

Oral Language

Oral language is the foundation for reading and writing skills. Children who hear more words spoken at home learn more words and enter school with better vocabularies. This larger vocabulary pays off as a child progresses through school. It is also important to listen and respond to what young children are communicating. Here are some oral language ideas for home:

• Repeat what your child says indicating that you understand. Build and expand on what was said. If your child says "Want juice?” You could say, “I have juice. I have apple juice. Do you want apple juice?"
• Expand vocabulary. Name body parts and identify what you do with them. "This is my nose. I can smell flowers, brownies, popcorn, and soap."
• Sing simple songs and recite nursery rhymes which are full of rhythm and rhymes.
• While shopping for groceries, discuss what you will buy, how many you need, and what you will make. Discuss the size (large or small), shape (long, round, square), and weight (heavy or light) of the grocery items.

What is phonics?

Phonics is the connection between letters and the sounds that they represent. In the English language, there are 44 sounds, but only 26 letters. Therefore, it is critical for beginning readers to learn and practice these sound spelling patterns in order to become successful readers and writers. Phonics skills develop along a continuum, which means that a child must be proficient at a lower skill before moving on to a higher skill. Phonics skills are also cumulative, which means that all previously mastered skills are included when learning a new skill.

Kindergarten Phonics

• Phonemic awareness: Before students begin working with printed letters and even after, they can practice playing with sounds, such as rhyming, changing sounds to make new words, and segmenting (taking apart) the sounds in words.
• Letter names and sounds: It is critical that students have mastered their letter names and sounds. Even if students know letters and sounds, continue to practice as often as possible. This could be done almost anywhere, identifying letters on signs or other print and saying the sounds.
• Short vowels (rug, lip, hat): Words that have a vowel followed by one or more consonants follow the closed syllable pattern and make the short vowel sound. (Examples: a = bag; e = leg; i = sit; o = hop; u = gum) These are often called CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) or VC (vowel-consonant) words.

Reading and Writing Volume

One of the best activities for your child is simply to read books every day! This can be a combination of a child reading books independently as well as you reading to your child. Benefits of reading together include:

• Stimulates imagination and expands understanding of the world.
• Develops language and listening skills.
• Expands vocabulary.

Another important skill is to provide frequent opportunities for children to write. Writing is a skill we use on a daily basis and if adults encourage and support this skill in children, the more successful children are as writers later in life. Below are different ways adults write each day and we can encourage children to write for many of these purposes too:

• For practical purposes (like making lists or filling out forms).
• To communicate with others (texts, emails, letters).
• As a personal outlet (creative writing or journaling).

What is phonics?

Phonics is the connection between letters and the sounds that they represent.  In the English language, there are 44 sounds, but only 26 letters. Therefore, it is critical for beginning readers to learn and practice these sound spelling patterns in order to become successful readers and writers. Phonics skills develop along a continuum, which means that a child must be proficient at a lower skill before moving on to a higher skill. Phonics skills are also cumulative, which means that all previously mastered skills are included when learning a new skill.

First Grade Phonics

The phonics patterns emphasized in first grade are (in order from simplest to most complex):

• Short vowels (rug, lip, hat): Words that have a vowel followed by one or more consonants follow the closed syllable pattern and make the short vowel sound. (Examples: a = bag; e = leg; i = sit; o = hop; u = gum)
• Consonant blends (clock, frog, hunt): After readers are proficient with CVC or VC words, they begin to include consonant blend patterns with short vowels. A consonant blend is two letters together that make two different sounds. Consonant blends can be found at the beginning and/or ending of a word. (Examples: cl in clam; st in lost; fl in flat; sl and mp in slump)
• Consonant Digraphs (chip, shop, bath): The next phonics pattern added to short vowel sounds is consonant digraphs (ch, ck, ph, th, sh, wh). A consonant digraph is two letters that represent one sound. (Examples: ch in chin; sh in shop; th in bath, ck in tack)
• Long vowel silent e (cake, bike, flute): This skill increases the amount of difficulty as words with long vowel sounds are now included. In these words, there is a vowel, one consonant, and then the letter e. The letter e is not pronounced — silent e — but does change the vowel sound of the preceding vowel.

Reading and Writing Volume

One of the best activities for your child is simply to read books every day! This can be a combination of a child reading books independently as well as reading to your child. Benefits of reading together include:

• Stimulates imagination and expands understanding of the world.
• Develops language and listening skills.
• Expands vocabulary.

Another important skill is to provide frequent opportunities for children to write. Writing is a skill we use on a daily basis and if adults encourage and support this skill in children, the more successful children are as writers later in life. Below are different ways adults write each day and we can encourage children to write for many of these purposes too:

• For practical purposes (like making lists or filling out forms).
• To communicate with others (texts, emails, letters).
• As a personal outlet (creative writing or journaling).

What is phonics?

Phonics is the connection between letters and the sounds that they represent. In the English language, there are 44 sounds, but only 26 letters. Therefore, it is critical for beginning readers to learn and practice these sound spelling patterns in order to become successful readers and writers. Phonics skills develop along a continuum, which means that a child must be proficient at a lower skill before moving on to a higher skill. Phonics skills are also cumulative, which means that all previously mastered skills are included when learning a new skill.

Second Grade Phonics

The phonics patterns emphasized in second grade are (in order from simplest to most complex), as follows. (If the first skills are too difficult for your student, begin with first grade phonics skills.)

• Long vowel silent e (cake, bike, flute): This skill increases the amount of difficulty as words with long vowel sounds are now included. In these words, there is a vowel, one consonant, and then the letter e. The letter e is not pronounced — silent e — but does change the vowel sound of the preceding vowel.
• Vowel Teams (coat, rain, light): Vowel teams are two vowels side by side that make one sound. Occasionally, a consonant is included as part of the vowel team — most often y or w. Some vowel teams are very consistent and almost always make the same sound. The following vowel teams are highly consistent:
  • ai = rain
  • igh = sight
  • ee = feet
  • oi = broil
  • au = pause
  • ay = say
  • oa = boat
  • oe = doe
  • oy = boy
  • aw = straw
• Other vowel teams make two or more sounds. The following vowel teams are less consistent:
  • ie = field or pie
  • oo = moon or cook
  • ou = house or touch
  • ea = beach or bread
  • ow = grow or owl
  • ew = few or flew
• Vowel-r (car, bird, short): When the vowel is immediately followed by the letter r, the sound of the vowel changes. These are ar in far, er in perch, ir in third, or in for, and ur in burn. Notice that er, ir, and ur all make the same sound. Students will need a lot of practice reading and writing words with these patterns in order to remember which vowel is used.

Reading and Writing Volume

One of the best activities for your child is simply to read books every day! This can be a combination of a child reading books independently as well as you reading to your child. Benefits of reading together include:

• Stimulates imagination and expands understanding of the world.
• Develops language and listening skills.
• Expands vocabulary.

Another important skill is to provide frequent opportunities for children to write. Writing is a skill we use on a daily basis and if adults encourage and support this skill in children, the more successful children are as writers later in life. Below are different ways adults write each day and we can encourage children to write for many of these purposes too:

• For practical purposes (like making lists or filling out forms).
• To communicate with others (texts, emails, letters).
• As a personal outlet (creative writing or journaling).

What is phonics?

Phonics is the connection between letters and the sounds that they represent. In the English language, there are 44 sounds, but only 26 letters. Therefore, it is critical for beginning readers to learn and practice these sound spelling patterns in order to become successful readers and writers. Phonics skills develop along a continuum, which means that a child must be proficient at a lower skill before moving on to a higher skill. Phonics skills are also cumulative, which means that all previously mastered skills are included when learning a new skill.

Third Grade Phonics

The phonics patterns emphasized in third grade are (in order from simplest to most complex) as follows. (If these skills are too difficult for your student, begin with second or first grade phonics skills.

• Vowel Teams (coat, rain, light): Vowel teams are two vowels side by side that make one sound. Occasionally, a consonant is included as part of the vowel team — most often y or w. Some vowel teams are very consistent and almost always make the same sound. The following vowel teams are highly consistent:
  • ai = rain
  • igh = sight
  • ee = feet
  • oi = broil
  • au = pause
  • ay = say
  • oa = boat
  • oe = doe
  • oy = boy
  • aw = straw
• Other vowel teams make two or more sounds. The following vowel teams are less consistent:
  • ie = field or pie
  • oo = moon or cook
  • ou = house or touch
  • ea = beach or bread
  • ow = grow or owl
  • ew = few or flew
• Vowel-r (car, bird, short): When the vowel is immediately followed by the letter r, the sound of the vowel changes. These are ar in far, er in perch, ir in third, or in for, and ur in burn. Notice that er, ir, and ur all make the same sound. Students will need a lot of practice reading and writing words with these patterns in order to remember which vowel is used.
• Six Syllable Types: Once students have mastered these phonics skills at the single syllable level, they begin to work on using their phonics knowledge to decode multi-syllable words. The first step in decoding a multi-syllable word is to identify the vowels. Then, look for vowel patterns, such as silent-e, vowel teams, consonant-le, or vowel-r. Determine where to divide the syllables in the word. Each syllable will only have one vowel sound, which may be represented by more than one vowel letter. Words may have more than one type of syllable.
  • Closed Syllable — The closed syllable is the most common syllable type in English. It makes up over 50 percent of syllables in text. In a closed syllable, the vowel is followed by one or more consonants and makes a short sound. (Examples: nap/kin, in/flict, bath/tub)
  • Silent-e Syllable — The silent-e syllable is spelled with one vowel, followed by one consonant, then a silent-e. These syllables make the long vowel sound. (Examples: ad/vice, con/fide, home/made)
  • Open Syllable — The open syllable is spelled with one vowel letter at the end of the syllable. There are no consonants following the vowel. The vowel will make the long sound. (Examples: ro/bot, lo/cate, so/lo)
  • Vowel Team Syllable — The vowel team syllable has a vowel team, two or more vowels side by side that make one sound. (See above description.) (Examples: book/case, rain/drop, day/break)
  • Consonant-le Syllable — This syllable type is unique. It can only be found at the end of a word in English. This syllable is spelled with a consonant followed by -le. The vowel e does not make a vowel sound. (Examples: ta/ble, ap/ple, wig/gle)
  • Vowel-r Syllable — A vowel-r syllable is spelled with a vowel immediately followed by the letter r. (See above description). This changes the vowel sound. (Examples: per/form, birth/day, pur/ple)

Reading and Writing Volume

One of the best activities for your child is simply to read books every day! This can be a combination of a child reading books independently as well as you reading to your child. Benefits of reading together include:

• Stimulates imagination and expands understanding of the world.
• Develops language and listening skills.
• Expands vocabulary.

Another important skill is to provide frequent opportunities for children to write. Writing is a skill we use on a daily basis and if adults encourage and support this skill in children, the more successful children are as writers later in life. Below are different ways adults write each day and we can encourage children to write for many of these purposes too:

• For practical purposes (like making lists or filling out forms).
• To communicate with others (texts, emails, letters).
• As a personal outlet (creative writing or journaling).

What is phonics?

Phonics is the connection between letters and the sounds that they represent. In the English language, there are 44 sounds, but only 26 letters. Therefore, it is critical for beginning readers to learn and practice these sound spelling patterns in order to become successful readers and writers. Phonics skills develop along a continuum, which means that a child must be proficient at a lower skill before moving on to a higher skill. Phonics skills are also cumulative, which means that all previously mastered skills are included when learning a new skill.

Fourth Grade Phonics

Using phonics skills to figure out longer words is the emphasis in fourth grade. If your student struggles with multi-syllable words, begin with phonics skills at third or second grade at the single syllable level.

Six Syllable Types

Once students have mastered these phonics skills at the single syllable level, they begin to work on using their phonics knowledge to decode multi-syllable words. The first step in decoding a multi-syllable word is to identify the vowels. Then, look for vowel patterns, such as silent-e, vowel teams, consonant-le, or vowel-r. Determine where to divide the syllables in the word. Each syllable will only have one vowel sound, which may be represented by more than one vowel letter. Words may have more than one type of syllable.

• Closed Syllable — The closed syllable is the most common syllable type in English. It makes up over 50 percent of syllables in text. In a closed syllable, the vowel is followed by one or more consonants and makes a short sound. (Examples: nap/kin, in/flict, bath/tub)
• Silent-e Syllable — The silent-e syllable is spelled with one vowel, followed by one consonant, then a silent-e. These syllables make the long vowel sound. (Examples: ad/vice, con/fide, home/made)
• Open Syllable — The open syllable is spelled with one vowel letter at the end of the syllable. There are no consonants following the vowel. The vowel will make the long sound. (Examples: ro/bot, lo/cate, so/lo)
• Vowel Team Syllable — The vowel team syllable has a vowel team, two or more vowels side by side that make one sound. (See above description.) (Examples: book/case, rain/drop, day/break)
• Consonant-le Syllable — This syllable type is unique. It can only be found at the end of a word in English. This syllable is spelled with a consonant followed by -le. The vowel e does not make a vowel sound. (Examples: ta/ble, ap/ple, wig/gle)
• Vowel-r Syllable — A vowel-r syllable is spelled with a vowel immediately followed by the letter r. (See above description). This changes the vowel sound. (Examples: per/form, birth/day, pur/ple)

Reading and Writing Volume

One of the best activities for your child is simply to read books every day! This can be a combination of a child reading books independently as well as you reading to your child. Benefits of reading together include:

• Stimulates imagination and expands understanding of the world.
• Develops language and listening skills.
• Expands vocabulary.

Another important skill is to provide frequent opportunities for children to write. Writing is a skill we use on a daily basis and if adults encourage and support this skill in children, the more successful children are as writers later in life. Below are different ways adults write each day and we can encourage children to write for many of these purposes too:

• For practical purposes (like making lists or filling out forms).
• To communicate with others (texts, emails, letters).
• As a personal outlet (creative writing or journaling).

What is phonics?

Phonics is the connection between letters and the sounds that they represent. In the English language, there are 44 sounds, but only 26 letters. Therefore, it is critical for beginning readers to learn and practice these sound spelling patterns in order to become successful readers and writers. Phonics skills develop along a continuum, which means that a child must be proficient at a lower skill before moving on to a higher skill. Phonics skills are also cumulative, which means that all previously mastered skills are included when learning a new skill.

Fifth Grade Phonics

Using phonics skills to figure out longer words is the emphasis in fourth grade. If your student struggles with multi-syllable words, begin with phonics skills at third or second grade at the single syllable level.

Six Syllable Types

Once students have mastered these phonics skills at the single syllable level, they begin to work on using their phonics knowledge to decode multi-syllable words. The first step in decoding a multi-syllable word is to identify the vowels. Then, look for vowel patterns, such as silent-e, vowel teams, consonant-le, or vowel-r. Determine where to divide the syllables in the word. Each syllable will only have one vowel sound, which may be represented by more than one vowel letter. Words may have more than one type of syllable.

• Closed Syllable — The closed syllable is the most common syllable type in English. It makes up over 50 percent of syllables in text. In a closed syllable, the vowel is followed by one or more consonants and makes a short sound. (Examples: nap/kin, in/flict, bath/tub)
• Silent-e Syllable — The silent-e syllable is spelled with one vowel, followed by one consonant, then a silent-e. These syllables make the long vowel sound. (Examples: ad/vice, con/fide, home/made)
• Open Syllable — The open syllable is spelled with one vowel letter at the end of the syllable. There are no consonants following the vowel. The vowel will make the long sound. (Examples: ro/bot, lo/cate, so/lo)
• Vowel Team Syllable — The vowel team syllable has a vowel team, two or more vowels side by side that make one sound. (See above description.) (Examples: book/case, rain/drop, day/break)
• Consonant-le Syllable — This syllable type is unique.  It can only be found at the end of a word in English. This syllable is spelled with a consonant followed by -le. The vowel e does not make a vowel sound. (Examples: ta/ble, ap/ple, wig/gle)
• Vowel-r Syllable — A vowel-r syllable is spelled with a vowel immediately followed by the letter r. (See above description). This changes the vowel sound. (Examples: per/form, birth/day, pur/ple)

Reading and Writing Volume

One of the best activities for your child is simply to read books every day! This can be a combination of a child reading books independently as well as you reading to your child. Benefits of reading together include:

• Stimulates imagination and expands understanding of the world.
• Develops language and listening skills.
• Expands vocabulary.

Another important skill is to provide frequent opportunities for children to write. Writing is a skill we use on a daily basis and if adults encourage and support this skill in children, the more successful children are as writers later in life. Below are different ways adults write each day and we can encourage children to write for many of these purposes too:

• For practical purposes (like making lists or filling out forms).
• To communicate with others (texts, emails, letters).
• As a personal outlet (creative writing or journaling).

What is reading fluency?

The most common understanding of fluency is tied to how many words are read correctly in one minute. However, fluency is more than speed.  It is about accuracy and reading with expression (prosody). Reading fluently aids in the comprehension of text. When we read fluently, we read at a comfortable pace, accurately pronouncing the words, and with expression that reveals our understanding of the text.

Why build vocabulary?

Understanding the words on the page is critical to unlocking the meaning of the text. Our vocabularies grow in a multitude of ways: listening, reading, and studying are just a few. If we build our vocabulary, our reading comprehension will strengthen. Our written work will also benefit, allowing us to communicate our thoughts more effectively with others.

Key areas of social emotional development in preschool aged children:

• Begin to express and label basic emotions (such as happy, sad, or mad) for both themselves and others.
• Be able to practice social rules, like taking turns.
• Initiate prosocial behaviors and interactions, like saying "hello."

Activities to help SEL in these areas:

Breathe, Think, Do! Frustration is a normal part of life, but it can overwhelm kids and bring up a lot of big feelings. You can help them to use the "Breathe, Think, Do" strategy to calm down, identify their feelings, and work to solve their problem. Click here to access the Sesame Street Breathe, Think, Do! website.

Practice melting away that icky frozen feeling you get when you're scared, frustrated, or angry. Watch a YouTube video on Melting That Frozen Feeling.

Explore gratitude by going back and forth with your child (for as long as you can!) to name as many things possible that you are grateful for.

Sit down with your child and "color your feelings" together depicting each emotion with a new color.

Try "buddy breathing" and invite your child to grab a toy/stuffed animal to place on their tummy while they lay down and take slow breaths, in through the nose and out through the mouth.

Key areas of social emotional development in elementary aged children:

• Use thinking and problem solving to regulate emotions.
• Recognize and label their own emotions.
• Understand the different intensities of emotions.

Activities to help SEL in these areas:

Using crayons, colored pencils, or markers, I have the child choose what colors match each emotion for them. For example, angry might be red or sad might be blue. Then the child colors in how much of their heart is feeling that emotion right now. This information is then used as a conversation starter. Click this link to access the What Feelings are in Your Heart website.

Work on breathing through big feelings by practicing five-finger breathing. Put your fingers out to make the number 5. Take your other hand and use your "pointer" finger to trace the outline of hand, while practicing breathing in for 5 seconds, breathing out for 5 seconds. Repeat until you have made it all the way through. Click here to watch a YouTube video showing the Finger Breathing technique.

Most of the time, we know how our kids are feeling by the look on their face or from their body language. Not only is it important for children to learn how to properly express their emotions, it’s also important for them to pick up on others' emotions by reading body language. Review feelings by practicing them on our own face of how others may look and have your child guess the emotion, or learn from a video called the "feelings song."  Click here to watch The Feelings Song

Have your child practice "seeing the good in themself." Stand in front of a mirror and have them tell you at least three positive things they like about themselves. You may prompt them by saying something like "I appreciate how helpful you are. An example of this was yesterday, when you picked up your dinner plate and put it in the sink when you were finished."

Create a gratitude jar to fill each week with things that make the family happy. After the jar fills, make a special time to sit together and read them out loud.

Key areas of social emotional development in elementary aged children:

• Use thinking and problem solving to regulate emotions.
• Recognize and label their own emotions.
• Form friendships with others and have stable peer relationships.
• Purposely hide or express emotions.

Activities to help SEL in these areas:

Create a Calm Jar with activities to do to handle big emotions when they arise. You can add things to for the child to pull out like "Take five deep calming breaths" or "close your eyes and count to 10 slowly." Come up with at least 10 activities together and practice them before adding to the jar.

Have your child draw an "anger" thermometer to keep in their room. They can label the thermometer with "small," "medium," and "big" as well as how they may look when having this intensity of feelings. They can also come up with ways to cope at each level. Click here to read an article on making a Feelings Thermometer.

Spot Kindness... We know that acts of kindness and small gestures can bring joy to others, and by helping others, we in turn benefit especially in these stressful, uncertain times. In fact, by thinking about and doing things to help others, we can reduce our own anxiety. Come up with five ways to spread kindness to those around you (family, neighbors, or community helpers.) It can be as simple as writing a little note or drawing a picture to say "thank you." Click here to watch a YouTube video called A Little Spot of Kindness - a Children's Book about Being Kind (to help kids cope with bad news).

Work on "think before you speak..." and practice self-control. Your child can give you a thumbs up if it is something to say, or a thumbs down if you need to think before you speak. You can also practice empathy by asking how they may feel if they heard these words said to them.

• "Your glasses look weird."
• "You did a great job on your art project."
• "I don’t want you on my team."
• "I really like your shirt."
• "I can run faster and beat you."

Think Before You Speak is a printable worksheet that students can use to help filter their thoughts. Click here to watch a YouTube video called “Think Before You Speak”.

Discuss emotions verse mood with your child. Emotions can make us feel a variety of ways (see how many emotions you can name). Our mood may be affected by our emotions. For instance, if you get mad at a friend or have a problem you cannot figure out how to solve, it may put you in a bad mood. If you find your child is in a bad mood, it is good to explore with them why they are feeling that way so that they can decide how to find solutions.

Here are some things to try when your child may be in a bad mood:

• Ask them to use their words to express how they are feeling.
• Remind them to not take their bad mood out on others.
• Ask them to identify a person they trust to talk to about what is going on.
• Tell them it is okay to cry or have other healthy ways to cope when feeling upset.
• Give them some time alone until they feel better.

Key areas of social emotional development in elementary aged children (age 7-8):

• Are more aware of others’ perceptions.
• May complain about friendships and other kids’ reactions.
• Want to behave well, but aren’t as attentive to directions.
• Try to express feelings with words, but may resort to aggression when upset.

Activities to help SEL in these areas:

Learning to Express Emotions with Words: Emotion Wheel Activity

1. Talk to your child about different emotions.
2. Ask them to name one moment in their day when they felt the following emotions: happiness, boredom, love, anger.
3. Explain that everyone experiences different emotions on different days. Help them understand that there are no "good" or "bad" emotions.
4. Explain to your child that we notice emotions in our body. Remind them that emotions don't last forever; they are always changing.
5. Explain to them that they will be creating an Emotions Wheel to use as a tool to check in with how they are feeling in any given moment.
6. Follow the instructions on the My Emotions Wheel worksheet to help your child create their own wheel.
7. Find time to practice using the wheel throughout the day.

Click here to download and print the Emotion Wheel PDF.

Work on Mindfulness, Coping Skills, Self-Regulation:

Try Mindfulness 5-4-3-2-1. Explain that kids will be practicing mindfulness, which is a skill that helps us stay calm and in control. Have kids look around their room to find 5 things they can see, 4 things they can touch, 3 things they can hear, 2 things they can smell, and 1 thing they can taste. This is a grounding exercise that can help manage tough emotions and provide a mental reset when needed. After giving it a try, you can move to another room and try the same.

Work on Attention and Mindfulness:

Try I-SPY. This is probably a game you’ve played before, but it’s important to mention because SEL skills can be easily integrated! Start by saying, "I spy with my little eye….". For example, you might spy something green. Have kids stay just where they are and look around for the item. Instead of just guessing, it’s helpful to have them ask questions that really cause them to think. For example, they might say, "Is it something you can play with?" and "Is it something you can write on?" After giving some time for questions, allow the child to guess what it is. Whoever guesses it right can by the next to spy something.

Work on Empathy:

Try Perspective-Taking. Spend some time watching a show or movie. At any given time, pause and discuss how the characters are feeling. You might ask: "How are they feeling?" and "How would you feel if that happened to you?" Use this conversation to build on considering how others feel, discussing social cues, and caring about their emotions.

Key areas of social emotional development in elementary aged children (8-9)

• Are more aware of others’ perceptions.
• May complain about friendships and other kids’ reactions.
• Want to behave well, but aren’t as attentive to directions.
• Try to express feelings with words, but may resort to aggression when upset.

Activities to help SEL in these areas:

Keeping a Gratitude Journal

This helps children increase their self-awareness and self-management; this daily time to express gratitude allows children to reflect on their lives and focus on positive aspects.

Create a gratitude journal - somewhere that your child can write something for which they are feeling grateful that day. Your child can decorate the front or even create the book themselves for added ownership and fun. Rather than write broad gratitudes like “family” or “food,” try to encourage more specific aspects of their lives. Use questions to help encourage deeper thinking and more precise gratitudes:

• Who is one person that makes you feel grateful today?
• What was one thing you ate today for which you feel grateful?
• What is one thing you/ your body is able to do right now that makes you feel grateful?

Experiencing Emotions

When we experience strong emotions, our body responds. Certain practices, such as breathing exercises or stretching routines, can help children increase self-awareness and self-management of their emotional responses. There are many child-friendly breathing and stretching exercises that guide children and help them visualize their practice.

You may choose to do such breathing or stretching exercises at scheduled time of the day (perhaps before bedtime or as a daily break from homework). You may also choose to use these practices when at moments you and your child feel it could be helpful. Try some of these prompts as you and your child navigate good times to reset your bodies:

• I notice you seem (insert: upset, distracted, tired, experiencing strong emotions…). Would you like to do a breathing exercise with me?
• It’s been a long day. Why don’t we get our bodies and minds ready for bed with some stretches.
• I think we can focus on this better after we reset our bodies. Would you prefer to focus on our breathing or stretching?

Better Kids has developed a website with "5 Easy Social Emotional Learning Activities for Kids to Do at Home". Click here to access the Better Kids website.

Healthy Friendships

It can be hard to make and keep good, quality pals, whether you’re 8, 28, or 58. Elementary or middle school kids who are just learning this concept may struggle to recognize when they’ve fallen in with a bad crowd. Some students may be worried about not being in the “cool” group, or may be nervous of the unknown of seeking out a new group.

• It’s also easy to think that usually having fun with someone means they’re a good friend.
• But does this friend also break promises or lie when it’s easier, or constantly insist on their own way?
• Is this friend a sore loser, or often brag about winning?

Being a good friend doesn’t just mean having a good time. Good friends are kind, keep promises, tell the truth, respect differences, and cooperate, among other traits. Good friends can make you feel happy and loved, while bad friends may disappoint you and make you sad.

Talk with your child about the friendship traits in a good friend and bad friend. Then have them list what is important to them in a friend and what are what some traits that are not okay. Talk with them about some of their current friends and have them reflect on where those friends fit each category, then ask them to think about what they should do if they feel like one or more of their friends does not have the traits that they feel are important in a good friend. How can they advocate for themselves? How can they strengthen the friendships they want to keep?

Adapted from Friendship Traits: Making and Keeping Friends Activity. Click here to access the Friendship Traits Activity.

Key areas of social emotional development in elementary aged children (9-10)

• Share secrets and jokes with friends.
• May start to develop own identity by withdrawing from family activities and conversations.
• Are affectionate, silly, and curious, but can also be selfish, rude, and argumentative.

Activities to help SEL in these areas:

Emotional Check-In: Your child may start spending more time alone, or with their friends, and it can feel like you are losing touch with how and what they are feeling. Consider scheduling some time to check in with your child so you can continue to communicate about how they are feeling about the things that are happening in their life, especially during the pandemic.

To help you better understand what your kids are dealing with, we have created a simple emotional check-in worksheet. This feelings check-in asks:

• How they are feeling.
• What are their favorite new activities.
• What they miss.
• And things they are looking forward to.

Centervention is the source of this helpful worksheet. Download the Emotional Check-In worksheet or click this link to visit the Centervention website.

Healthy Relationships (by Scholastic)

• Managing Emotions: Think about a time when you felt your heart beating faster and your face getting flushed (red and hot). These physical signs give you clues about your feelings. Once you know how you are feeling, you can use these helpful strategies to manage your emotions.
• Breathe: You know that breathing is necessary to stay alive, but did you know that it can have emotional benefits too? For example, negative emotions often cause your heart rate to increase. When you feel this way, take deep breaths in a steady rhythm — count to five slowly as you inhale (breathe in), then exhale (breathe out) for five counts. This will bring your heart rate down and reduce stress.
• Talk to Yourself!: Self-talk can help calm you down. (Self-talk means the things that you say to yourself in your mind.) When you’re stressed or upset, ask yourself questions like “Why are you feeling sad?” or give yourself encouraging tips like “You can handle this.” You can even try talking in your mind in the third person, using words like he, she, or they instead of I: “She knows she’s prepared for the test even though she feels nervous.” Researchers have found that using third-person selftalk may help people think
• Talk to an Adult: When you’re having a strong feeling, discussing it with an adult can be a useful strategy. This person could be a family member, a teacher, a coach, or another person that you know well and trust. It’s normal to have a lot of different types of emotions in a day. Try the strategies above to make those emotions easier to handle

Click here to learn more about Healthy Friendships on the Scholastic website.

Consent and Boundaries in Friendships (by Scholastic)

Talking to your children about consent and boundaries is very important, especially with access to social media. Here are some talking points to discuss with your child:

Ask: What is a boundary? Share examples like a state boundary or the boundary of a soccer field. Explain that, in a friendship, a boundary is a distinction between what’s OK and what’s not OK, so that both people are comfortable. Have students brainstorm examples (e.g., it’s not OK to hit a friend, even if you’re joking; it is OK to borrow a friend’s game as long as you ask first, etc.).

Ask: What is consent? Explain that consent means to agree or give permission. Prompt for examples (e.g., getting a permission slip from a parent to go on a field trip). Then ask: What is consent in a friendship? Examples: Your friend asks to hug you and you say yes; you ask to borrow a friend’s sweatshirt and they give you permission. Explain that consent can change: Even if a friend gave permission at one point, it doesn’t mean that you always have consent. They can change their mind at any time.

Have your child consider consent in this scenario: Lucy wants to pull Anaiza into the pool, and she thinks Anaiza will like it, but she doesn’t know for sure. How can Lucy find out if it’s OK? How can Anaiza answer clearly?

• Lucy can ask a question, and Anaiza can give a clear yes-or-no answer.
• Lucy should respect Anaiza’s answer, no matter what it is.
• Anaiza should give a truthful answer, not the answer she thinks Lucy wants.
• If Anaiza seems too nervous to say no, Lucy should assume the answer is no.

Additional Talking Points:

• What it looks like when someone is uncomfortable.
• What it looks like when someone is comfortable.
• Ways to say you don’t want to do something or you feel uncomfortable.
• Ways to respond when someone says they don’t want to do something.
• Things to say in order to set a boundary.

Click here to learn more about Healthy Friendships on the Scholastic website.

Key areas of social emotional development in elementary aged children (10-11)

• Share secrets and jokes with friends.
• May start to develop own identity by withdrawing from family activities and conversations.
• Are affectionate, silly, and curious, but can also be selfish, rude, and argumentative.
• Start thinking more logically.
• Value friends’ and others’ opinions more and more.

Activities to help SEL in these areas:

Healthy Relationships (by Scholastic)

• Managing Emotions: Think about a time when you felt your heart beating faster and your face getting flushed (red and hot). These physical signs give you clues about your feelings. Once you know how you are feeling, you can use these helpful strategies to manage your emotions.
• Breathe: You know that breathing is necessary to stay alive, but did you know that it can have emotional benefits too? For example, negative emotions often cause your heart rate to increase. When you feel this way, take deep breaths in a steady rhythm — count to five slowly as you inhale (breathe in), then exhale (breathe out) for five counts. This will bring your heart rate down and reduce stress.
• Talk to Yourself!: Self-talk can help calm you down. (Self-talk means the things that you say to yourself in your mind.) When you’re stressed or upset, ask yourself questions like “Why are you feeling sad?” or give yourself encouraging tips like “You can handle this.” You can even try talking in your mind in the third person, using words like he, she, or they instead of I: “She knows she’s prepared for the test even though she feels nervous.” Researchers have found that using third-person selftalk may help people think
• Talk to an Adult: When you’re having a strong feeling, discussing it with an adult can be a useful strategy. This person could be a family member, a teacher, a coach, or another person that you know well and trust. It’s normal to have a lot of different types of emotions in a day. Try the strategies above to make those emotions easier to handle

Click here to learn more about Healthy Friendships on the Scholastic website.

Managing Healthy Friendships (by Scholstic)

Help your child learn how to develop and maintain heathy friendships by using the following talking points for discussion:

• How do you act and speak with a close friend? (e.g., listen to what they have to say, laugh together, do nice things for each other, etc.).
• Have your child explore four words that describe parts of a healthy relationship (independence, communication, respect, and equity).
• Help child to define those words in the context of a healthy friendship (e.g., independence: both people have time to themselves).
• Have your child describe the conflict or issue that they have faced.
• Brainstorm at least three strategies your child can use to help manage the conflict in the future.
• Talk about a time you were in an unhealthy friendship and what you did that helped you.

Talk about a good friend that you have and why your relationship is a healthy friendship.

Click here to learn more about Healthy Friendships on the Scholastic website.

Online Privacy and Security: It's in our children’s' nature to share and connect with others. But sharing online comes with some risks. How can we help kids build strong, positive, and safe relationships online? Help your child learn the difference between what's personal and what's best left private.

Talking Points:

• Identify the reasons why people share information about themselves online.
• Explain the difference between private and personal information.
• Explain why it is risky to share private information online.

Common Sense Education provides this helpful information. Click this link to visit the Common Sense Education website.

The Power of Words: As kids grow, they'll naturally start to communicate more online. But some of what they see could make them feel hurt, sad, angry, or even fearful. Help your students build empathy for others and learn strategies to use when confronted with cyberbullying.

Taking Points:

• Understand that it's important to think about the words we use, because everyone interprets things differently.
• Identify ways to respond to mean words online, using S-T-O-P.
• Decide what kinds of statements are OK to say online and which are not.

Common Sense Education has produced a helpful video on this topic. Click here to watch the YouTube video called The Power of Words.

Key areas of social emotional development in middle school aged children:

• Understand feelings of simultaneous “mixed” emotions.
• Build upon earlier understanding of others to comprehend more complex emotional situations in self and others.
• Form a largely group-based identity with increasing independence from adults.
• Become able to resolve conflicts within dyadic and group situations.

Activities to help SEL in these areas:

Managing emotional responses is difficult for many adolescents, who are still developing neurologically — the emotional centers of the brain develop more rapidly than the executive centers. Discuss “what sets you off” with your child. Have them come up with something that recently upset them. Reflect on the WHO, WHAT, WHERE, and WHY of the situation. Finally reflect on “don’t REACT... RESPOND!” What is the first thing you want to do to react to your anger? How can you respond to the situation instead that may be more helpful to resolving the problem.

Scholastic has developed a helpful worksheet to help children develop their thoughts. Click here to download the PDF worksheet "What Sets You Off?"

Vision boards can help a child think about longer term goals, aspirations, and dreams. Given the uncertainty we are all facing, a vision board can be a helpful reminder of what is possible and what they can look forward to. Help your child create a vision board with goals they would like to complete both short and long term. They can cut out pictures or draw the answers to some of these questions:

• I would love to visit...
• This brings me joy...
• I am proud of myself for...
• I would love to be this when I am older...
• This color makes me feel happy...
• Some of my dreams and goals are...

Centervenion has a helpful website to help elementary and middle school students develop vision boards. Click here to access the Centervention website.

Children who are taught the benefits of praise, experience more positive emotions and show more grateful attitudes and behaviors than other children, both immediately and months later. Ask child to identify a someone who did something they feel grateful for.

Ask them to reflect on:

• What did this person do that makes you feel grateful?
• Why did this person do these things? What was the intention behind this person’s actions?
• What can you do to let this person know that you feel grateful for their actions?
• Do you think that you have ever done something to make someone feel grateful (and if so, what?)

Key areas of social emotional development in middle school aged children:

• Understand feelings of simultaneous "mixed" emotions.
• Build upon earlier understanding of others to comprehend more complex emotional situations in self and others.
• Form a largely group-based identity with increasing independence from adults.
• Become able to resolve conflicts within dyadic and group situations.

Activities to help SEL in these areas:

Discuss with your child what "stress" means to them. Ask them what are one or two things that cause stress for them. Ask them to identify three or four ways in which they can cope with stress. Counselors have developed a list of over eighty self-care activities for teens. Click here to visit a website and learn more.

Talk about the four communication styles with your child: assertive (standing up for yourself and respecting others), passive (doing anything to avoid conflict), aggressive (standing up for yourself and not caring who gets hurt), and passive-aggressive (secretly angry). It may be helpful to give examples of how you have handled conflict yourself. Discuss who "wins" and who "loses" in each type of communication style, as well as if the problem gets solved or could get worse.

Scholastic has developed a worksheet to help students to develop effective conflict resolution skills. Click here to download their Conflict Resolution PDF.

Help create a "feel good file" with your child. On a sheet of paper, have them write out at least five positive statements about themselves. Then have them identify another three people they could ask that would also have positive affirmations to say about them. Have them write down those on the same piece of paper to save. Ask them to reflect on those statements anytime they may need a positivity boost.

Work on self-awareness, by helping your child identify self-improvement. One of the best ways to improve is to have a growth mindset. Discuss what habits of having a growth mindset may look like, at home, during sports, and at school. Review what having an "I can do" attitude looks like and sounds like in a variety of settings for your child.

Habits of a Learning Mindset is a helpful mini-poster that helps students develop a healthy growth mindset. Click here to download a PDF of this mini-poster.

Key areas of social emotional development in middle school aged children:

• Begin to understand that emotions experienced may depend on one’s experiences and personality traits.
• Form an individuated personal identity (first group-based, then individuated).
• Acquire an articulated set of values and an ethical system to guide behavior.

Activities to help SEL in these areas:

Discuss forming healthy relationships with "connect, check, reflect." Connect with your child by asking them who are some important people in their life. Check with your child by asking them what healthy relationships look like, sound like and make you feel. Have your child reflect on if these current relationships are healthy ones and why or why not.

Amaze has produced a video to help students develop an understanding of healthy and unhealthy relationships. Click here to watch "Healthy vs Unhealthy Relationships" on YouTube.

Create a gratitude journal. Cultivating gratitude is one of the most potent and important mindfulness exercises, and thankfulness has proven to have a positive effect on a person's mental health and general well-being. Each evening before bed, state or write down three positive things about the day.

Write down, rip up, and throw away your stress! Have your child write down their expectations and insecurities, rip them up, and throw them away. This emotional check-in takes about three minutes. By acknowledging how your child is feeling, you’ll acknowledge their barriers and can help create a safe space for your child to overcome them.

Consider having a weekly family meeting time set aside. During this time, challenge your kids to communicate about the positives and challenges of their week. Have them problem-solve about what they could to do to help solve disagreements or conflicts they may have going on with friends or family. Together, reflect on some things that are going well. Listen and encourage your child to speak up for how they are feeling and help problem-solve together.