Words Can Help Manage Emotions: Using Research-Based Strategies for Vocabulary Instruction to Teach Emotion Words to Young Children

One of the key objectives of childhood education is to build empathy and understanding in students. Young children with the ability to comprehend and regulate their own emotions—and empathize with the emotions and experiences of others—go on to achieve greater learning outcomes and more positive relationships than children who do not develop these skills. Global citizenship education, which is being touted around the world as critical to a positive human future, emphasizes the role of empathy and compassion in students\u27 leadership and decision-making. However, respect for and public display of emotions varies widely across cultures. In cultures known as “low-context” (i.e., Germany, U.K.), emotions are deemphasized in decision making and public life, whereas “high-context” cultures, as in Japan and Egypt, consider emotions to be an important part of all interactions. In this article, the authors present research on emotion words and emotional literacy for children and provide suggestions for practical application

Creating Environments of Success and Resilience: Culturally Responsive Classroom Management and More

Creating safe and productive environments with a diverse student population requires more than the strategies recommended in the original classroom-management literature. Drawing from the literature on culturally responsive classroom management, psychologically supportive classroom environments, and building resilience, the authors describe the practices used by three effective novice teachers in urban elementary classrooms during the first 2 hours of the first day of school. The study was based on videotape and interview data that were qualitatively analyzed using an inductive approach. The novice teachers focused on developing relationships and establishing expectations through the use of “insistence” and a culturally responsive communication style. The study provides clear pictures of the ways in which teachers teach and insist on respectful behavior and establish a caring, task-focused community. As such, it demonstrates how teachers create environments of success and resilience for students who have historically floundered in school