TALKING ABOUT GRIEVING

This thematic book set revolves around feelings of grief and loss. Loss is a common experience for children, ranging from loss due to death (sometimes of grandparents or older relatives and sometimes of friends or relatives close to their own age), loss of friends or family members due to moves and new family situations, loss of pets, or even the annual “loss” of classroom situations and teachers as students move through school. Children often experience big feelings of grief from loss and also are strongly affected by the grieving of those around them.

Reading and discussing this carefully selected set of books with children will help them to begin exploring universal reactions of grief and loss, in turn helping them to gain some understanding about these experiences and related emotions. This can support children in learning to be caring and supportive of others facing grief and loss. While the discussions and activities might help children begin to process their own experiences of loss, this thematic book set is meant as an introduction to learning about these complicated emotions and as a building block for more conversations in the future about loss, rather than as a way to engage in individual grieving or healing activities.
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Along with focusing on social-emotional standards (The CASEL 5), this thematic book set embeds English language arts standards that include having collaborative conversations with classmates, using text evidence to make inferences, and comparing themes and plots across several stories. Activities and discussion questions are suited for a 3rd through 6th-grade classroom audience and should be adjusted as appropriate for your grade level and students’ understanding.

To receive more information about the Grief and Loss book set and activity guide, please click here.

utah core standards for the grief and loss book set

Each of the book sets and its activities are aligned to specific standards within the Reading and Speaking & Listening strands of the Utah Core Language Arts Standards for grades 3-6 and specific CASEL's SEL Core Competencies for grades 3-6. 

see full list of standards by grade for this book set

english LANGUAGE ARTS STANDARDS
​for grade 4

ELA  ​Standard	Description
Speaking and Listening ​(4.SL.1)	Participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations Respectfully acknowledge and respond to comments and claims​
Reading ​(4.R.5)	Refer to details and evidence in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text
Reading ​(4.R.7)	​Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text
Reading ​(4.R.8)	​Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies
Reading ​(4.R.14)	​​​Compare the treatment of similar themes and topics and patterns of events in stories, myths, and traditional literature from different cultures

casel 5 social-emotional​core competencies ​for grade 4

Social-Emotional ​Competency	Description
Self-Awareness	Identifying one’s emotions Linking feelings, values, and thoughts
Self-Management	​Managing one’s emotions Identifying and using stress-management strategies Exhibiting self-discipline and self-motivation
Social Awarness	Taking others’ perspectives Demonstrating empathy and compassion ​Recognizing situational demands and opportunities
Relationship Skills	Communicating effectively Developing positive relationships Practicing teamwork and collaborative problem-solving
Responsible ​Decision-Making	Demonstrating curiosity and open-mindedness Identifying solutions for personal and social problems Reflecting on one’s role to promote personal, family, and community well-being​