The Year We Met Sammy · Grades K–2 · direct-instruction curriculum
EditionUniversal Edition
CohortMs. Calloway · Sammy · Marcus · Amara · Sofia · Priya · Darius · Jordan · Maya · Theo · Mia · Kezia
RegisterK–2 register: simple sentence structures, named feelings, puppet-mediated, kinesthetic. The teacher reads the novel aloud; children rarely read it alone. Anchor charts use icons before words. The faith overlay, in Divine Mode, is delivered as a single sentence at the very end of a chapter, never as exegesis.
This is the universal edition: the full curriculum for this grade band, with no faith content. The crosswalk matrix, marker guide and Grace in Practice chart need no faith background. The Neuro-Affirming Adjustment column is core practice, not an extra.
★ HIGH RISK and ★★ HIGHEST RISK mark the chapters that carry
this band’s safety protocols — AFSP Safe Messaging, counselor co-facilitation, and the
permanently posted Crisis Resources page. The flags below are the curriculum’s own; read
each card’s full protocol before teaching the chapter.
01
Crosswalk Matrix
Each key scene, matched to its lesson, its anchor chart and a clear neuro-affirming adjustment. Print on cardstock and keep it at the front of your teacher binder.
Ch. 1
Who Am I?
First circle on the carpet. Each child names one thing. Maya does not speak; Ms. Calloway says: “Sammy already knows you are here. That is enough for today.”
Identity Web (K-2) — five branches: things I love / good at / care about / special / private. Sammy icon at center.
Neuro-affirming adjustment
Concrete rule: “You can pass. You can wave. You can stim. Being in the room is the answer to ‘who I am’ today.” Pre-teach the question; let the child draw the answer in advance.
Ch. 2
My Feelings Are Friends
Sofia’s stomach hurts before reading. Sammy: “Feelings are little messengers. If you yell at them they get louder. If you listen they tell you what they came to say.”
Four-Face Feelings Chart (K-2) — happy / sad / scared / mad with simple icons. Posted permanently.
Neuro-affirming adjustment
Replace abstract feeling-words with body locations: “stomach tight = the worry feeling.” Use a feelings-thermometer card on the desk. Never insist a child name an internal feeling without a body anchor.
Ch. 3
Everyone Makes Mistakes
The class learns that mistakes are part of being a person — adults make them, teachers make them, Sammy makes them.
KIND COACH vs. GRUMPY GUS (K-2) — two cartoon faces. Kind Coach: “You can try again.” Grumpy Gus: “You always mess up.”
Neuro-affirming adjustment
Externalize the two voices as concrete characters. Practice the Kind Coach script out loud, in unison. Do not require the child to detect which voice is internal — provide the script; they recite it.
Ch. 5
Oops vs. I Am Bad
Kenji (another classroom) says “I am a TERRIBLE person.” Marcus writes the first card on the Mistake Wall: “I knocked over a friend’s block tower. I said sorry. We rebuilt it. I walk slower past blocks now.”
OOPS vs. I AM BAD (K-2) — two cards: OOPS = what I DID (fixable). I AM BAD = who I AM (false). The Mistake Wall launches here.
Neuro-affirming adjustment
Sentence frame on a desk card: “I did ___. That is the OOPS. I am not bad. I am the same kid.” Three blanks, same order. Practice with low-stakes examples first.
Ch. 6
I Can Change and Grow
The classroom plants seeds and watches them sprout. Sammy: “You are growing the same way. A little bit every day. You cannot see it. But it is happening.”
I AM GROWING (K-2) — a seed → sprout → plant diagram with the child’s name beside it.
Neuro-affirming adjustment
Use a literal growth chart on the wall; mark the child’s height monthly. “You are growing in your body. The same is true for your inside.” The literal visual anchors the abstract.
Ch. 9
Carrying Too Much
Ms. Calloway puts on the blue backpack with the torn strap and drops stone after stone in until she is hunched over. “Some stones go in for a little while. But every stone has to come out eventually.” Each child gets a small gray-blue stone for their desk.
Core SEL themeSelf-Compassion · The Heavy Backpack
MY BACKPACK (K-2) — a drawn backpack with stones labeled worry, sorry, sad.
Neuro-affirming adjustment
USE THE LITERAL BACKPACK. Let the child hold the actual stones. Touch = comprehension. Build a sorting tray: KEEP / PUT DOWN / NOT MINE. The deepest concrete translation in the K-2 year.
Ch. 10
Saying Sorry and Meaning It
Marcus role-plays a real apology with Sammy. The three parts: name what I did, say I am sorry, make it right.
REAL SORRY HAS THREE PARTS (K-2) — a finger pointing (“I name it”) + a heart (“I am sorry”) + a hand fixing (“I make it right”).
Neuro-affirming adjustment
Laminated three-step apology card in the desk; the child reads the steps in order. Do not require eye contact during apology — verbal completion of three steps IS the apology.
Ch. 11
Being Kind to Myself
★ HIGH RISK
The class practices saying to themselves the kind things they would say to a friend. Sammy: “Would you say that to a friend? If not, do not say it to yourself.”
TALK TO YOURSELF LIKE A FRIEND (K-2) — a child and their mirror image, both with kind speech bubbles.
Neuro-affirming adjustment
Pre-written kind-talk cards: “It is okay to mess up.” “You are still good.” “You can try again.” The child reads aloud in a quiet corner. Scripted self-talk beats improvised every time.
Ch. 12
Letting Go — The Practice
★ HIGH RISK
Each child takes the stone from their desk and, at day’s end, places it in a basket at the door. Ms. Calloway: “Put down the stone of one thing you are ready to stop carrying.”
PUTTING DOWN STONES (K-2) — a hand opening over a basket, releasing a stone. “It is mine to put down.”
Neuro-affirming adjustment
The literal action IS the lesson: hold the stone, walk to the basket, open the hand, hear the click. This sequence is the entire teaching. Do not require the child to verbalize what they release.
Ch. 13
When It’s Hard to Forgive Yourself
★★ HIGHEST RISK
Marcus brings up something he has told no one — a thing he said to Aaliyah, his three-year-old sister. He cannot let go of the stone.
Core SEL themeSelf-Compassion · The Hardest Forgiving
SOME STONES ARE HEAVY (K-2) — a child sitting next to a stone, Sammy beside them. “You do not put it down today. You sit with it. Tomorrow you try again.”
Neuro-affirming adjustment
Honor a NO. If the child is not ready, do not push. Provide a “holding box” with a lid: “It is still here. You are not carrying it on your shoulders anymore.” Containment as compassion.
Ch. 15
Your Hurt Is Real
Mia, whose feelings were hurt by something her cousin said, learns that hurts are real even when adults say “it was not a big deal.”
YOUR HURT IS REAL (K-2) — a small bandage on a heart. “Bruises you can see and bruises you cannot see — both are real.”
Neuro-affirming adjustment
Validate even when the hurt seems disproportionate. “You are not too sensitive. You are sensitive. That is your nervous system. The hurt is real.” Never minimize sensory-driven hurts.
Ch. 17
Forgiving Is Not the Same as Trusting
★★ HIGHEST RISK
Sammy explains: you can forgive someone in your heart and still not be best friends right away. Forgiving is for you. Trusting is between two people.
FORGIVING vs. BEING FRIENDS AGAIN (K-2) — two separate circles. One: “I am not carrying it anymore.” The other: “We play together again.”
Neuro-affirming adjustment
CRITICAL for autistic students vulnerable to bullying repeat offenses. “Forgiving = I put down the stone. Trusting = the other person earns it back, slowly, by acting safe.” Trust is a pattern, not a decision.
Ch. 19
My Story Is Not the Whole Me
★ HIGH RISK
Maya, whose story includes living with her grandmother instead of her mom, learns that her hard story is part of her — but not all of her.
I AM MORE THAN MY STORY (K-2) — a child inside a circle, a small story-bubble beside them, not above. “The story is part of me. It is not all of me.”
Neuro-affirming adjustment
For a child whose difference is centered in adult talk: “Autism is part of how you are. It is not all of you. You are also funny. You are also a builder. You are also kind.” Name the other parts concretely.
Ch. 22
What Does Grace Look Like?
Sammy: “Grace is when you give somebody something they did not earn. A second chance. A kind word when they were mean. A hug when they pushed.” The class makes a Grace List.
GRACE IS A GIFT (K-2) — a small gift box handed across, giver smiling. “Grace = giving good when good was not earned.”
Neuro-affirming adjustment
Concrete examples ONLY. Not “generosity of spirit.” Instead: “Grace is letting your sister play with your favorite truck even after she broke the other one.” Three observable examples beat one abstraction.
Ch. 23
Giving the Benefit of the Doubt
Theo notices that when Jordan does not say hi back, it might not mean Jordan is mad. Maybe Jordan did not hear. Maybe Jordan had a bad morning.
MAYBE-MAYBE-MAYBE (K-2) — three thought-bubbles, each starting with “maybe…” “Before I decide my friend is mean, I think of three maybes.”
Neuro-affirming adjustment
HARD for students who pattern-match on literal cues. Protocol: “If a friend does X, pause and think of three reasons it might NOT be about me, before deciding it is. Hungry. Tired. Did not see me. Then I check.” Make it a script, not a vibe.
Ch. 25
Grace With Hard People
Kezia talks about a cousin who is unkind. Ms. Calloway: “Grace can be quiet. Grace can be a kind thought even when you stay far away.”
GRACE IS NOT BEING A DOORMAT (K-2) — a smiling kid with a clear boundary line around them. “I am kind. I am also not for stepping on.”
Neuro-affirming adjustment
Safety teaching for students at higher risk of being taken advantage of. “If someone is unsafe — hits, breaks things, makes me scared — I do NOT have to be close to give grace. I can give grace by walking away and not saying mean things back.” Distance is a valid form of grace.
Ch. 27
Year-End Celebration
★ HIGH RISK
The class looks at the Mistake Wall — full of Oopses-and-Repairs from a whole year. Ms. Calloway puts Sammy back in the wooden box. “Sammy will be here next year too. But we have what we needed.”
ROOM 12 LEARNED THIS YEAR (K-2) — one chart with all the year’s icons: Sammy, the backpack, the stones, the Mistake Wall, the kind coach, the gift of grace.
Neuro-affirming adjustment
Provide a take-home review card with the same icons and rules. “You can take Room 12 home with you in this card.” Predictable summary = memorable summary.
02
In-Margin Teacher Marker Guide
Print on labels or sticky notes and put each one where it says in your classroom copy of the novel. Each note has a Teacher Script and a Neuro-Affirming Prompt.
▸ Ch. 1 · The moment Maya does not speak and Ms. Calloway crouches.
Teacher script
“Notice how Ms. Calloway did not make Maya talk. She made it okay to be quiet. Sometimes the most loving thing a teacher does is make space for a child to be quiet.”
Neuro-affirming prompt
If a child needs to be quiet today, what could WE do? Let’s list three ways to say “I am still here, but I cannot talk right now.” (Hand signal · index card · stim-toy on desk.)
▸ Ch. 2 · When Sofia’s stomach hurts before reading.
Teacher script
“Sometimes our bodies tell us how we feel before our words do. Sofia’s stomach was speaking for her. Where in your body do you feel feelings?”
Neuro-affirming prompt
Point to your body, not your face. Stomach = worry. Hot face = embarrassed. Tight shoulders = mad. Drawing my body and labeling where feelings live is a real way to know how I feel. (Use the Body Map worksheet.)
▸ Ch. 5 · When Marcus writes the first card on the Mistake Wall.
Teacher script
“Marcus did not just say sorry — he wrote down what he did, what he did to fix it, and what he is doing differently now. That is a whole sentence of growing up.”
Neuro-affirming prompt
Marcus’s card is a recipe with three parts: (1) What I did. (2) What I did to fix it. (3) What I do now. We can all write cards like this about real Oopses. You can keep it private if you want.
▸ Ch. 9 · The exact moment Ms. Calloway is hunched over with stones in the backpack.
Teacher script
“Look at her shoulders. This is what carrying too much looks like — not just in our bodies, but in our hearts. We carry stones we cannot see, and they bend us the same way real stones would.”
Neuro-affirming prompt
We are going to use REAL backpacks today. Put your hand in and pick up a stone. Hold it. Heavy stones in a bag = exactly how the heavy feeling lives in your body. The feeling is real because the weight is real. We can put it down because the stone is real.
▸ Ch. 12 · When each child walks to the basket at the door.
Teacher script
“Look at what they are doing. They walk a few steps. They open their hand. The stone drops. It makes a small sound. That is what putting down a stone looks like. It is small. It is simple. It is real.”
Neuro-affirming prompt
We are going to do exactly what they did. Each child walks up, holds the stone for a second, opens their hand, lets it drop. You do not have to say what your stone is. Just walk up. Just open your hand. The basket will catch it.
▸ Ch. 13 · When Marcus cannot put his stone down for Aaliyah.
Teacher script
“Marcus is not failing. Marcus is doing one of the hardest things — sitting next to a stone he is not ready to put down. The not-ready is okay. The sitting is the work.”
Neuro-affirming prompt
Sometimes I cannot put a stone down today. That is okay. I have a “holding box” — a small box in my desk where the stone can live, with a lid, until I am ready. It is not on my shoulders. It is held. That is enough for today.
▸ Ch. 17 · When Sammy says “forgiving is not the same as trusting.”
Teacher script
“This is one of the most important sentences in our whole year. Forgiving is something you do INSIDE you. Trusting is something the OTHER person earns. They are two different things. They live in two different places.”
Neuro-affirming prompt
Draw two circles, far apart. One says FORGIVING — that is in MY heart. The other says TRUSTING — that is between TWO PEOPLE. Some people I forgive. Some of those I trust again later. Some I do not. Both are okay.
▸ Ch. 25 · Kezia’s cousin and the quiet-grace teaching.
Teacher script
“Grace does not always look like hugs. Sometimes grace looks like saying, in your heart, “I am not going to think mean things about you,” while you walk to a different part of the playground. That is grace with strong shoes on.”
Neuro-affirming prompt
If somebody is hard to be around — too loud, too rough, says mean things — I can still be kind by NOT saying mean things back. That is grace. I can also walk away. That is wisdom. I can do both. Grace + wisdom = me being okay.
▸ Ch. 27 · The Mistake Wall at year-end.
Teacher script
“Look at this wall. Every card is somebody who did an Oops, and then made it right. The wall does not say who. The wall does not point fingers. It just says: we did Oopses, and we fixed them. That is what a whole year of Room 12 looks like.”
Neuro-affirming prompt
Find your card on the wall (or any card). Just look at it. Notice: you are still here. The Oops did not eat you. It became something we fixed. Next year there will be a new wall. We know how to build it now.
03
Grace in Practice
What grace LOOKS like in a K-2 classroom
Grace is giving a kid a gift they did not earn — and not telling everybody you did it.
1
SHARE WHEN YOU DID NOT HAVE TO
Observable
A child gives a turn, a snack, a crayon, or a seat to a peer when no rule required it. The peer did not earn it. No adult prompted it.
Teacher cue
Name it: “That was grace. You gave Maya a turn nobody told you to give. That counts.”
Not this
Sharing because the teacher said so = following directions. Grace is the SURPRISE share.
2
DON’T LAUGH WHEN SOMEONE TRIPS
Observable
A child resists the social pull to laugh at a small public mishap. They look away, ask “are you okay,” or say nothing.
Teacher cue
Name it: “Marcus, when Sofia dropped her lunchbox, you did not laugh. You asked if she was okay. That was grace.”
Not this
Pretending not to notice and then telling other kids later = not grace. Grace happens IN THE MOMENT.
3
LET A MISTAKE GO QUIETLY
Observable
A child sees a peer make a small mistake (wrong answer, knocked-over block) and does NOT correct them publicly. They let it pass.
Teacher cue
Name it: “Priya, when Jordan said the wrong number, you did not say anything. He fixed it himself. That was grace.”
Not this
Correcting kindly is good. The highest grace is choosing not to correct at all when the mistake is small and correction would only embarrass.
4
INCLUDE THE KID WHO IS ALONE
Observable
At recess or partner work, a child walks toward the kid sitting alone and invites them in — by name, with a question, or by making room.
Teacher cue
Name it: “Theo, you went over to Kezia at lunch when she was by herself. She did not ask you to. You did it anyway. That was grace.”
Not this
Telling the teacher to fix it = good adulting. Walking over yourself = grace.
5
SAY THANK YOU TO A GROWN-UP
Observable
A child says thank you, by name, to a cafeteria worker, bus driver, custodian, or aide. Unprompted. Looking at them.
Teacher cue
Name it: “Amara, you said thank you to Mr. Lopez today. He drives our bus every morning. You saw him. That was grace.”
Not this
Forced thank-yous chanted in unison are politeness, not grace. The unprompted thank-you is grace.
Five things. Each small. Each observable. Each a real thing a real first-grader can really do. Add them up across a year and you have a child who has practiced grace a hundred times by June. Practiced grace becomes grace.
— ◆ —
Practiced grace becomes grace. — Room 12
ARCHITECTURE OF GRACEARCHITECTURE OF GRACEARCHITECTURE OF GRACE