Welcome to
The Open
Session*
*The Open Session format created by The Institute for Social and Emotional Learning.
Open Session- Purpose
•
think about and talk about choices and decisionmaking
•
a source for alternative ways for participants to look at
real life issues and build resilient, healthy responses
•
mirror for insights about one’s actions, thoughts, and
feelings
•
build trust, respect, and empathy
Checking In
(The “Emotional Thermometer”)
● Awareness of Self (recognize how you are feeling)
● Awareness of others (understand that everyone is in
different state)
● Just notice without judgement or action. No questions
or advice.
Open Session Structure
● Meet in circle so all are included and can see each other (no desks or extra
materials).
● Use check in and openings for emotional awareness
● Set ground rules
● What should the “I agree” gesture be?
○ Provide sentence frames for the 3 kinds of responses.
○ Encourage a variety of responses.
○ No need to raise hands. Take turns.
● Discussions are student driven… teacher as facilitator.
● Reminder: Teacher is a mandated reporter
● If I don’t get to your card, it doesn’t mean it isn’t important.
● Closure of a student summarizing the discussion.
Ground Rules
1) Respect each person's turn (no interrupting while someone is speaking)
2) Respect the content of the discussion by not talking about it after with classmates.
Keep the discussion in the room.
3) If someone shares that he or she is being emotionally, physically or sexually hurt
by someone or that he or she shares that they are hurting themselves or others, the
teacher is mandated by law to report the incident.
4) Hand signal for agreement. (A wave meaning “I hear ya! Or “I feel ya!”)
5) Only use pronouns or generalizations (friend or teacher not people’s names)
6) Do not call out names or try identify the person with the issue.
Note Carding
You are now invited to write down any issues that you’re
experiencing that relate to the following…(every student must
write something)
•
personal decisions and challenges
•
social and friendship struggles
•
upcoming events, family dynamics
•
celebrations, personal triumph, joy
Examples of Issues:
“I have two tests and an essay coming up that I’m nervous about. I don’t know if I
have enough time to get all of my studying done”
"I am nervous about the I search project."
“I have two best friends. One of them invited me to go to the dance but doesn’t
want to include my other friend. What should I do?”
“My friend has been making a lot of jokes lately that don’t really feel like jokes. I
don’t know how to tell him that it actually makes me feel bad when he messes
around like that.”
“My parents are divorced. I live in two households and switch every other week. I
am having trouble staying organized. My schedule is a mess.”
Extra Note Card Symbols
If you…
Then…
Don’t put your name on your
card
You stay anonymous
Put your name on your card
I might tell the class that this is your card
Put your name in a circle
I will know you want me to know, but I
won’t tell the class.
Put a star in the corner
I will try to get to it today
3 Ways to Respond:
1) Ask for clarification (Yellow Question Mark)
2) Offer support and encouragement (Red Heart)
3) Give Ideas, wisdom, and/or possible solutions
(Purple Arrow)
Clarifying Questions
(Anything that provides the listener with a better scope of the issue)
• "I wonder what the person meant by 'out of control'?"
• "Have you told anyone else about this problem"
• "Do you need to make this decision now?"
• "I wonder how many times this has happened?"
• "I wonder what actions the person has done so far?"
• “How do know X is true?”
• “I wonder if there are some assumptions the person is making about…”
• “Is it possible that... What is meant by…”
Support and Encouragement
● "I hope things get better"
● “That must be/feel very _____ (adjective)”
● "I am sorry that you are feeling that way"
● "Sounds like that is really hard, and you are really worried"
● “My heart goes out to this person”
● “That is a tough situation.”
Wisdom, Solutions, Ideas
• “One thing that has helped me is..."
• "I had a similar problem last year and..."
• "You might want to..."
• “In my experience it helps to...and then…”
• “I wonder if you could try…”
• “I have heard that some people have tried...”
• “It worked for me when…”
WARNING: Be sure to focus on the issue on the card and not talk about yourself too much!
Now… Let’s try it!