POP Check
Who: All ages can practice! (Script is for adults)
Why: A POP Check is a Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) strategy that allows students and adults to experience and practice Self-Awareness and Self-Regulation. Doing so ensures students and adults have space to accept and voice their personal experience and meet their physical, social, intellectual, and emotional needs.
The self-awareness emphasized in this activity is important as a first step in seeing through an anti-bias and anti-hate lens, as being aware of our feelings and beliefs is key to understanding our implicit and unconscious biases. A POP Check provides a simple structure in which to notice and own feelings and practice a mindful activity to meet the moment.
Tip: Build POP Checks into your student’s day! Practice together after waking up and again before bed. It is also a great practice to help your students notice what is happening in their bodies when they are upset and use mindful practices to calm down.