Maximise the impact of your Berry Street Education Model diary

Getting the most of your Berry Street Education Model diary for 2023

Using a structured tool like a diary can help set effective routines and rhythms for your and your students’ day. Diaries can be a great way to model time management skills and reinforce good learning habits for your students. Lorenz and colleagues (2022) recently explored the impact of guided use of student diaries and found evidence that the intervention positively influenced students’ perceived stress, resilience, negative affect and self-efficacy.

Berry Street Education Model (BSEM) diaries are designed to assist schools to implement trauma-informed, strength-based strategies by providing the models educators with lesson plans for students, and fresh ideas for consistent predictable routines. While it helps to have our diary, still read on if you don’t, as we have some great tips for you to apply our model, whichever diary you use!

Positive Primers

The Berry Street Education Model 2023 diaries have Positive Primers to try for each week of the year. It can be difficult coming up with new activities, so the diaries add to your repertoire. These activities can often be used multiple times over the year, and some may even become career-long favourites.

Don’t have a BSEM diary? Our Brain Break books have plenty of ideas for Positive Primers you could reference for each week of the year.

Brain Breaks

Brain breaks are intentional, short lesson interruptions that promote a sustained focus over a lesson. Our diaries have a new Brain Break to try for each week of the year. For example, the below video demonstrates the ear-nose switcheroo, which is a quick and easy challenge to reset the brain. Touch your left ear with your right hand and at the same time touch your nose with your left hand. Then switch hands and touch your right ear with your left hand and your nose with your right hand. Switch back and forth a few times then close your eyes, take a deep breath and blow it all out.

What went well

Celebrating success is a great motivator to look for more things that are going well. Each week in the diary, there is a space allocated for students and staff to reflect on what went well.

Don’t have a Berry Street Education Model diary? You and your students may want to find a space in your diaries each week to reflect on what went well.

Berry Street Education Model lessons

Probably the most unique and time-saving benefit of our student diaries are the weekly lessons and theory extensions. Each week has prompting questions for students, with age-appropriate imagery and layout to encourage engagement.

The student diary has space for students to complete each week’s lesson. The teacher' diary has a summary image of the lesson each week, and detailed teacher instructions at the start of the diary. The lessons are all created in alignment with the BSEM domains so they can be used as a whole-year curriculum.

Consultants are also available to assist you in creating a 12-month plan that assists with your implementation and delivery of BSEM lessons. Email us for more information.

Extension/student theory lessons

Each weekly lesson also has a theory or extension lesson at the back of the student diaries, and in the lesson plan section at the front of the teacher diaries. These lessons benefit students who may need to reinforce the content, and early finishers who can deepen their understanding of each strategy. These extensions effectively mean the diaries can provide you with 2 ready-to-use lessons per week to help you repeat and reinforce lessons related to Body, Relationship, Stamina, Engagement and Character.

Other great content from our diaries include:

• QR codes for uplifting songs, mindfulness videos, hooks for lessons and more
• quotes to use for provocations, to encourage us and our students to reflect and engage in learning activities.

Don’t have a Berry Street Education Model diary? Your domain books all have lesson plans you need to create your own curriculum, and don’t forget to check out our Brain Break books, and plan to try a new Brain Break each week. Also, keep an eye on the alumni portal for updated ideas and resources.

References

Lorenz, T., Algner, M., & Binder, B. (2022). A positive psychology resource for students? Evaluation of the effectiveness of the 6 minutes diary in a randomized control trial. Frontiers in psychology.

https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg....