1. Ready for Big School
A Cinematic Introduction to the Pyramid Model for Social and Emotional Development
Melissa Binkley
Team Tennessee Program Coordinator
Beth Vorhaus
Team Tennessee Assistant Program Coordinator 1

2. What is this Pyramid Model I keep Hearing about?
The whos, whats, & whys of: The Pyramid Model for Supporting Social Emotional Competence in Infants and Young Children

3. The Who ( )
The Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning (CSEFEL)
National resource center funded jointly by the Office of Head Start and the Child Care Bureau for disseminating research and evidence-based practices to early childhood programs.
Focus is the promotion of social emotional development and school readiness of young children birth to age 5.
Technical Assistance Center for Social Emotional Intervention (TACSEI)
National resource center funded by the Department of Education, Office of Special Education.
Creates FREE, research-based, products & resources to improve social emotional outcomes for young children.
Team Tennessee
Represents Pyramid Model implementation in Tennessee with group of 11 members representing Statewide departments (DOE, DHS, CCR&R, Higher Ed, DCS, TDMH, TEIS, DOE,
Four staff members work to promote Pyramid Model implementation in Tennessee.
Statewide: Currently14 sites implementing the Pyramid Model, with support from over 25 trainers & coaches.

4. The What
PROMOTION
PREVENTION →
INTERVENTION → ←
Pyramid Model

5. The What Important Questions about Challenging Behavior
What is Challenging Behavior?
What is the child’s behavior “saying”?
What is the child trying to tell us?

6. The What Examining Our Attitudes about Challenging Behaviors:
What behaviors push your buttons?
How do these behaviors make you feel?
How does this impact your relationship with a child and his/her family?

7. The Why Some Basic Assumptions:
Challenging behavior usually has a message- I am bored, I am sad, you hurt my feelings, I need some attention.
Children often use challenging behavior when they don’t have the social or communication skills they need to engage in more appropriate interactions.
Behavior that persists over time is usually working for the child.
We need to focus on teaching children what to do in place of the challenging behavior (Replacement Skills).

8. “If a child doesn’t know how to read, we teach.
If a child doesn’t know how to swim, we teach.
If a child doesn’t know how to multiply, we teach.
If a child doesn’t know how to drive, we teach.
If a child doesn’t know how to behave,
we…… …….teach? ……punish?
Why can’t we finish the last sentence as automatically as we do the others?”
Tom Herner (NASDE President ) Counterpoint 1998, p.2)
This sums it all up for me.
When children do not have these skills, they often exhibit challenging behaviors
We must focus on TEACHING the skills!

9. What do children do when they don’t have each of these skills?
The Why
Key Social Emotional Skills Children Need as They Enter School:
Confidence
Capacity to develop good
relationships with peers
and adults
Concentration and
persistence on challenging tasks
Ability to effectively communicate emotions
Ability to listen to instructions and be attentive
Ability to solve social problems
What do children do when
they don’t have each of these skills?

10. The Why Promote Children’s Success:
Create an environment where EVERY child feels good about coming to school. (RELATIONSHIPS)
Design an environment that promotes
child engagement. (ENVIRONMENT)
Focus on teaching children what To Do!
Teach expectations and routines.
Teach skills that children can use in place of challenging behaviors. (TEACHING SOCIAL SKILLS AND REPLACEMENT SKILLS)

11. Ready for Big School
Children with Social Emotional Skills Behave Better and Learn More

12. Introduction to the Film:
Ready for Big School tells a story through the eyes of teachers and coaches who have experienced the successes and powerful effects of the Pyramid Model.
Documentary Film
Roundtable Discussion
Featuring Tennessee teachers in their classrooms using Pyramid Model strategies and discussing their experiences teaching Social Emotional Skills.
Featuring Tennessee teachers and administrators discussing implementation of Pyramid Model Practices.
Introduce the Ready for Big School DVD:
How it came about: Earnhardt Pirkle, inc. and a grant from the DOH.
Who it featured: Tennessee Teachers and Administrators who have been implementing CSEFEL practices for the last 2-4 years. Featured staff were located in Chattanooga and Oak Ridge, TN. We’re observing Head Start (4yr) and Toddler (2-3yr) classrooms for the purposes of this film, but we are in those centers in the younger and older age groups
What’s the purpose: This film serves two capacities, 1) Training; using the Discussion guide, which each of you have in electronic form on your jump drives, and 2) Promotional; using the brochure, which you also have on your jump drives.
Part 1: Documentary Film
Follows teachers and coaches in their classrooms as they apply the Pyramid Model teaching strategies.
Teacher & Administrator interviews about the impact and importance of Pyramid Model implementation in the classroom.
Designed to be show in entirety (28 min) with, or without the roundtable, depending on purpose and audience.
We’re going to watch the Trailer…
Questions?
Part 2: Roundtable
Teachers and administrators discussing their experience with the pyramid model, and their personal views on the importance of implementation, as well as their experiences with implementation.
Broken into 6 pieces. Designed to be shown either in its entirety (12 minutes) or as individual segments.
We’re going to watch one of the segments to give you an idea of what we’re talking about… (Watch segment 4)
Using the Discussion Guide
Meant as a starting point, not the complete consolidated volume on the video.
Questions are designed for three audiences (Parents, Teachers, Administrators) and are marked as such
We hope you’ll be able to find uses for the video within your programs. At this point we’ve used it with parents, private childcare teachers and administrators, mental health professionals, public school systems, family child care providers, head start teachers and administrators, and higher ed professionals.

13. While We’re Watching the Film….1
You will see some children exhibiting challenging behaviors in this film. What do you think they are trying to communicate by using those behaviors? 3
When, and in what ways, did you see teachers intentionally teaching social emotional skills throughout the day? 2
One of the teachers in the documentary says, “I think that a child that feels out of control, in some ways, feels trapped.” Why would a child with challenging behavior feel trapped? 4
Sometimes changes in a classroom or environment cause behaviors to become worse before they improve. Why do you think this happens?

14. Tell me about all that Neat stuff I Just saw...
Materials for teaching social emotional skills

15. Classroom Materials to Teach Social Skills

16. Checking In
Teachers and children can “check in” each morning by choosing a feeling face that best describes their affective state and putting it next to their name.
Children can be encouraged to change their feeling faces throughout the day as their feelings change.
How do you feel today?

18. CSEFEL Book Nooks Controlling Anger and Impulse …and many, many more!
Glad Monster/Sad Monster
When Sophie Gets Angry
Sometimes I’m Bombaloo
Being a Friend
The Rainbow Fish
Big Al
I Can Share
Family Relationships
No Matter What
Guess How Much I Love You
The Kissing Hand
Tucker Turtle

19. On Monday When It Rained Book Nook Activity Example
“I feel excited when I get to go to my friend Coby’s house to play.”
“I feel upset when my mommy didn’t get me anything.”

20. Created for Tab by Lisa Grant & Rochelle Lentini
I Can Be a SUPER FRIEND!
Created for Tab by Lisa Grant & Rochelle Lentini
2002

21. Super Friends use: Use nice talking, Gentle hands and feet,
Look with their eyes,
Listen with their ears, &
Take turns with toys, &
Go with the flow.

22. The Solution Kit Say, “Please.” Share Trade toys/item
Wait and take turns
Get a teacher
Ask nicely
Ignore
Play
Say, “Please stop.”

23. Tucker Turtle Takes Time to Tuck and Think
A scripted story to assist families with teaching the “Turtle Tuck”
By Rochelle Lentini
Adapted for Families September 2006

24. Tucker Turtle in the Classroom24

25. CSEFEL Website: www.csefel.vanderbilt.edu

26. TACSEI Website: http://www.challengingbehavior.org/

27. Team Tennessee Website:
Here’s where you can find out about upcoming trainings & events.
Here’s where you can get in touch with us or send someone else to get in touch with us!
Here’s where you can download documents & look for new resources from us!
Here’s where you can chat with each other about implementation progress.

28. Questions? Melissa Binkley Team Tennessee Program Coordinator
Tennessee Voices for Children
(615) x115
Beth Vorhaus
Team Tennessee Assistant Program Coordinator
(615) x124