Patricia C. Broderick

Disruptive behavior in the classroom, poor academic performance, out-of-control emotions: if you work with adolescents, you are well-aware of the challenges this age group presents. What if there was a way to calm these students down and arm them with the mindfulness skills needed to really excel in school and life? Written by mindfulness expert and licensed clinical psychologist Patricia C. Broderick, Learning to Breathe is a secular program that tailors the teaching of mindfulness to the developmental needs of adolescents to help them understand their thoughts and feelings and manage distressing emotions. Students will be empowered by learning important mindfulness meditation skills that help them improve emotion regulation, reduce stress, improve overall performance, and, perhaps most importantly, develop their attention. The book also includes a website link with student handouts and homework assignments, making it an ideal classroom tool. The book integrates certain themes of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn, into a program that is shorter, more accessible to students, and compatible with school curricula. Students will learn to pay attention in the moment, manage emotions as they are perceived, and gain greater control over their own feelings and actions. These mindfulness practices offer the opportunity to develop hardiness in the face of uncomfortable feelings that otherwise might provoke a response that could be harmful (e.g. acting out by taking drugs, displaying violent behavior or acting in by becoming more depressed). This easy-to-use manual is designed to be used by teachers, but can also be used by any mental health provider teaching adolescents emotion regulation, stress reduction and mindfulness skills. The author is a graduate of the MBSR advanced practicum at the Center for Mindfulness in Massachusetts, led by Jon Kabat-Zinn. She is also a clinical psychologist and a certified school psychologist and counselor for grades K-12. In the book, Broderick calls on her years of experience working with adolescents to outline the best strategies for dealing with disruption in the classroom and emotions that are out of hand. The book is structured around six themes built upon the acronym BREATHE, and each theme has a core message. The program allows for themes to be delivered in 6 longer or 18 shorter sessions, depending upon time and needs of students. The 6 core lessons are: Body, Reflection, Emotions, Attention, Tenderness, and Healthy Mind Habits. Learning to Breathe is the perfect tool for empowering students as they grapple with the psychological tasks of adolescence.

A Mindfulness Curriculum for Adolescents to Cultivate Emotion Regulation, Attention, and Performance

Learning to Breathe

Meena Srinivasan

Patricia A. Jennings

Sara E. Rimm-Kaufman

Clark McKown

Catherine P. Bradshaw

Tracy Evian Waasdorp

A series of brief, effective books to help educators develop, support, assess, and sustain student social and emotional learning in Pre-K-12 classrooms.

Sel Solutions Series 6-Book Set

Edited by bestselling author and mindfulness expert Patricia A. Jennings, the compact volumes in this series will provide school leaders and classroom teachers with social and emotional learning tools and strategies that are grounded in research, yet highly accessible. Featuring recommended SEL practices from experts in the field, the books can be used confidently by PreK - 12 educators to transform school culture, improve student behavior, and foster student learning. This set includes 1-copy each of Mindfulness in the PreK-5 Classroom by Patricia A. Jennings, Mindfulness in the Secondary Classroom by Patricia C. Broderick, SEL Every Day by Meena Srinivasan, Assessing Students' Social and Emotional Learning by Clark McKown, and Preventing Bullying in Schools by Catherine P. Bradshaw and Tracy E. Waasdorp.

Sel Solutions Series Five-Book Set

Mindfulness includes qualities of mind and heart; it provides a strong foundation for other social and emotional skills. Mindfulness is making inroads into classrooms, as teachers seek ways to center and focus their own attention as well as that of their distracted students. Trish Broderick describes the particular relevance of mindfulness to the teaching of adolescent students, including its potential to alleviate stress, foster motivation, engagement, and compassion—and ultimately, to improve both learning and social relationships. Her book is a guide to applying mindfulness to day-to-day classroom challenges; every chapter contains authentic vignettes of secondary teachers and students, brief practices to try, and a set of takeaway points and reflection questions.

Mindfulness in the Secondary Classroom: A Guide for Teaching Adolescents (SEL Solutions Series)

The breakthrough book Learning to Breathe presents a research-based curriculum for teachers and clinicians who are seeking ways to help improve behavior and bolster academic performance in adolescents. Drawing on a combination of mindfulness-based therapies, the brief interventions outlined in the book have a strong theoretical basis in both education and psychology, and are proven effective when it comes to dealing with adolescent students who act out in the classroom.

Patricia C. Broderick

Books

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