NEWCOMER TOOL KIT

CHAPTER 4:
How Do We Support Newcomers’
Social Emotional Needs?
ABOUT THIS CHAPTER
Educators are becoming increasingly aware of the link between social emotional competencies and academic
achievement. To help newcomers develop the social emotional knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviors
needed for success in school and beyond, schools may provide formal and informal supports for social
emotional learning (sometimes referred to in the literature as SEL). This chapter discusses why and how
schools can contribute to the development of newcomers’ social emotional well-being. Topics include the
relationship between social emotional well-being and student success, culturally appropriate supports for
newcomers, ways to develop their social emotional skills, the role of informal social interactions, safe learning
environments, adult- and student-led supports, and integration of social emotional and academic programs.
Special Features
• Overview of stressors for newcomers: Includes unique aspects of the immigrant experience and
examples of how these experiences can affect students.
• Ideas for conflict resolution and problem solving: Both are important to the development of
newcomer students’ social emotional skills.
• Five concepts central to social emotional development: These concepts are present in four
frameworks for SEL program standards.
• Examples of four types of social emotional supports: Formal and informal supports led by adults
or students.
• Five approaches to integrating social emotional and academic programs: Illustrative examples
from successful programs.
• Classroom tools: A description of 10 instructional practices that support social emotional learning,
a basic approach to modeling and teaching conflict resolution skills, and a lesson plan for addressing
discrimination.
• Schoolwide tools: A graphic organizer and accompanying chart with core stressors for newcomers,
and ideas for preventing or responding to hate crimes that target particular racial or ethnic groups.
• Professional reflection and discussion activities: Instructions and handouts for professional
learning communities or staff meetings. (Each activity takes about an hour if participants read the
chapter in advance.)
• Resource list: Annotated list of references to resources cited in this chapter, as well as links to
relevant federal guidance, policy, and data, and other helpful resources on supporting newcomers’
social emotional needs.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION • NEWCOMER TOOL KIT • CHAPTER 4 • 1
No official endorsement by the Department of any product, commodity, service, enterprise, curriculum, or program of instruction
mentioned in this publication is intended or should be inferred. For the reader’s convenience, the tool kit contains information about
and from outside organizations, including URLs. Inclusion of such information does not constitute the Department’s endorsement.