1. Decreasing Anxiety …
Increasing Engagement
How to incorporate Social and Emotional Literacy in
the classroom to increase student success.

2. Teachers Learning and Leadership
Program (TLLP)
“Our anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, but only empties
today of its strength.”
~Charles Haddon Spurgeon
Our Team:
Whitefish Valley Public School – 475-3181
Keri Kelly – Grade 2/3 Teacher
(keri_kelly@lakehead schools.ca)
Tammy Holmes – Educational Assistant
(tammy_holmes@lakeheadschools.ca)
Sherri Lankinen – Grade 5 Teacher
(sherri_lankinen@lakeheadschools.ca
Darryl Fawcett – Grade 3/4 Teacher
(darryl_fawcett@lakeheadschools.ca)

3. Goals of this Kit
• be more aware of the characteristics of
childhood anxiety;
• identify evidence-based strategies used in the
classroom for reducing anxiety;
• have a place to collect information or resources
that pertain to Social and Emotional Learning for
students and teachers
“If there is anything that we wish to change in the child, we
should first examine it and see whether it is not something that
could better be changed in ourselves.”
~Carl Jung

4. “Anxiety … (lowers) our functional I.Q.
Being alarmed affects our ability to focus
and to remember. Anxiety makes it
difficult to read the cues and follow
directions. A child simply cannot learn
when feeling lost and alarmed.”
~Gabor Mate and Gordon Neufeld Hold Onto Your Kids

5. Characteristics of Anxiety
• Strong sense of responsibility
• Need to please others
• Oversensitivity to criticism
• Perfectionism
• Overachievement or low achievement
• Tendency to worry

6. Dr. B. Duncan McKinlay
Key Messages:
Click on the picture above to go to the
CPRI website – FAQ about anxiety
disorders and other mental health issues
facing students
Click CPRI logo to go
to a video of Dr.
McKinlay
*You are not your disorder.
*Those with the right information, the right attitude, the willingness to educate
others, and the support of knowledgeable people around them can be very
happy and successful people – no matter HOW severe their symptoms are!

7. "Of great concern to many researchers is the
fact that childhood anxiety often precedes other
mental illnesses including depression,
substance abuse, obsessive-compulsive
disorder and other internalizing conditions.”
~Statistics Canada, 2004; Bienvenu & Ginsburg, 2007; Barrett, Lock &
Farrell, 2005.

8. Alarming Statistics
• Suicide accounts for 24% of all deaths among 15-24
year olds (it is the second leading cause of death for this
age group)
• 90% of people who die by suicide have a diagnosable
mental illness.
• Half of all lifetime cases of diagnosable mental illness
begin before age 14...
• Mental-health problems in children are expected to
increase by 50 per cent by 2020.
• Seventy per cent of childhood mental-health problems
can be solved through prevention, early diagnosis and
intervention.

9. The Toolkit

10. Gabor Mate – Creating Empathy
and Establishing Attachment
(Rapport)
“What we call “temper” is only an automatic anxiety response. It is
the reaction of a person who cannot tolerate the feeling of anxiety.
Self-regulation is not the absence of anxiety … but a person’s
ability to tolerate (his) her own anxiety.”
~Gabor Mate Scattered Minds
Key Messages

11. Ross Greene – Developing Positive
Communication
Lost at School – Collaborative Problem Solving
Key Messages:
“Kids do well if they can.”
~Dr. Ross Greene
*Click each book
to see examples
of Collaborative
Problem Solving
(livesinthebalance
.org)
A child is likely to misbehave “when
the demands being placed on a kid
exceed his capacity to respond
adaptively.”
~Dr. Ross Greene

12. Read Alouds to Increase Emotional
Literacy
• The Way I Feel (Primary)
• A Teaspoon of Courage (Junior)
• Hot Stones and Funny Bones
(Intermediate)
"Emotional literacy is one of the best predictors of school performance and career
success ..."
Christine Carter "Introduction: Emotional Literacy and Raising Happy Kids" - Oct.
2007 University of California Berkeley
Key Messages:

13. Brain Based Exercise
The Smart Fitness Workout
Key Messages:
Exercise helps the body get rid of excess adrenaline
and increases the natural brain chemicals called
endorphins. Endorphins help create that feel good
feeling and sense of well being.
For example, the exercise “Cross
crawl” stimulates movement
between the right and left
hemispheres of the brain. It helps
reduce anxiety and prepares the
brain for optimal learning.

14. Anxiety Interventions
Relaxation Techniques
Research shows that relaxation techniques, like deep breathing, increase energy
and focus, heighten problem-solving and boost motivation and productivity.

15. Social Stories, Bit Strips and Other
Programs
• http://www.bitstripsforschools.com/login/
*Click on picture to go to
website
We have a board license for this program. Your IST can give your login and
password.

16. 1000
- 698
999 +1
-698
“No matter who you are, be different sometimes.”
~Marian Small