Student Contributor: M. Lalley
Students write how they are feeling that morning on the back of a sticky note (i.e. the side with the sticky on it), and stick it on the white board, so the face of the sticky note is blank and their feelings are kept anonymous on the back. This tool gives the teacher the ability to know how their students are feeling that morning and can kind of gauge how the day will go.
This tool should be used as a preventative measure. Knowing how students are feeling coming into the classroom can help the teacher know who might be grumpy and will need a little extra love that day, and they can also know if any students who are known to be rough in the classroom will be extra tough that day or not. This gives teachers a kind of advantage to squash issues before they become conflict and recognize if someone is going to be triggered or not. If teachers choose to have students write their names on the sticky it can also be used as an attendance tool and morning routine.
I think this belongs in the preventative phase because it allows the teacher to know what they're walking into as the day begins. When teachers know how their students are feeling they are better able to adjust and work with those students who are going to be needing that extra attention and love. It can be used in the other two phases to know what is causing the behavior that might need to be corrected so the teacher can choose the appropriate corrective strategy, and it can also relate to support because the teacher can also know what is behind the behavior and how to support the student best so they are able to self-regulate and control their behavior. Letting students understand that it's okay to not be okay is huge because we've always been told that you behave in school and that's what you do, but when outside influences influences our ability to behave the way we are "supposed" to and no one knows why it makes it difficult to receive help and support, and also on the other side it makes it difficult to be able to give help and support that is appropriate to what is behind the behavior.
More Information –
Tool Source: https://themighty.com/2019/03/teacher-creative-student-mental-health-post-its-facebook/
https://www.upworthy.com/this-teacher-s-viral-check-in-board-is-a-beautiful-example-of-mental-health-support
I used this tool in a 5th grade class with 26 students at a suburban school. In terms of preparations, I am not artistically inclined, but it was very easy for me to create the poster needed for this activity. When I taught this activity to my students, they were very invested in it and wanted to participate. The only materials I needed was a poster, markers, and sticky notes, which makes this activity very accessible. This tool was very successful in my classroom. I had the students write why they were feeling the way they were feeling out of the four options: I’m great, I’m okay, I could be better, I’m struggling. Having students write why was very beneficial because it showed my mentor and I which students needed more support that day. The students understood their role very quickly; the directions were easy to follow. One adjustment that I made was to include pictures of faces next to the feelings. Some of my students are not strong writers, so I gave them the option to draw the face that related to how they were feeling rather than write why they were feeling that way. Overall, this tool was very successful and I want to use it in my future classroom.
This tool was used in a rural 2nd-grade classroom with 20 students. This tool is very easy to prepare for, all you need are some sticky notes! I taught this tool in the morning and we used it as part of our morning routine after students eat breakfast. This tool was also easy to use because once students had a sticky note and the directions were made clear it was easy for them to simply write their name and post it to the board when they were taking care of their other morning procedures. I noticed that this tool was a great success to help prepare for the day and realize what students are feeling and how the day may go. Students also tend to take notice of how each other are feeling and can have empathy towards one another. The students understood their role and adopted it into their regular morning routine. An adjustment that could make this tool even better would be a more anonymous way for students to share how they are feeling. If students don’t want to be around others when posting their answer (although it can build empathy as I mentioned) there could be an alternative to posting on the board.