social emotional learning presentation for teachers

Virtual Lab School

Installation staff login.

• Reset your password

Social Emotional Learning for Teachers: An Introduction

Your ability to manage stress and to take care of your own social-emotional health influences your ability to model appropriate emotional expression, to build and maintain effective interpersonal relationships, and to support productive social skills for children. This course introduces the concept of resilience and offers strategies you can use to promote and sustain your emotional and physical health. As you move through the course, identify strategies that work well for you and try others that have the potential to be a good fit. Like most things in life, regular practice will equip you with helpful skills for growth.

• Reflect on challenges that affect your work as an early-childhood teacher or caregiver.
• Understand the links between stress and physical health and emotional wellness.
• Define resilience and identify its importance in promoting health and well-being.
• Discuss the brain’s role in managing stress and fostering resilience.

Take a moment to think about your work with young children and youth. What are some of the emotions that you feel? Do you feel energized and resourceful, or maybe frustrated and overwhelmed by some of what you face? 

Teaching and caring for young children is important work. Teachers shape the tone of the classroom, model kindness and problem solving, and help children learn to manage emotions and gain the social skills needed to form healthy relationships.

Teaching and caring for young children is also emotionally demanding work. Classrooms provide opportunities for joy and laughter, but they also involve responding to children’s negative emotions, managing relationships between children and with parents, and dealing with the need to be constantly “on” and vigilant when it comes to children’s safety and learning. Many early-childhood teachers report feeling stressed, and some report feelings of depression.

It is not surprising that researchers find that, beyond education and professional development training, there is a link between teachers’ social-emotional well-being and the development of children in their care. Researchers also have found links between teachers’ coping strategies—how they manage stress—and job burnout.

Thus, as a teacher and caregiver, you have two powerful reasons for taking care of yourself: It makes a difference to your own physical and mental well-being, and it makes a difference for the children in your classroom.

One way to think about strategies for attending to your social-emotional health is to divide these strategies into two categories: practices that are preventive and those that are helpful in situations that are more acute. Much like the daily brushing and flossing of our teeth and what we do when we crack a tooth, both are important to our health.

The Social Emotional Learning for Teachers course is designed to equip you with both types of strategies as well as an understanding of how stress, and the coping strategies you use to deal with stress, affect your social-emotional and physical well-being. 

The Nature of Stress

Stress is defined as a physical or emotional factor that causes bodily or mental tension. It is a normal part of human life—a little stress keeps us from being bored and checked out. But too much stress in a short amount of time or stress that is constant or chronic has a negative impact on our physical and mental health. In care and education settings, stress can affect how we interact with children and families, how we treat our colleagues, and how much satisfaction and commitment we feel when it comes to our work.

When we experience stress, our body reacts as a whole—both mentally and physically. And it makes no difference if the source is personal or professional, as both are intertwined and mutually influential. Stress is accompanied by changes in our physiology and our behavior.  Stressors , those things which cause this response, may be experienced differently by each person. Think about giving a speech at a community meeting. You might be comfortable in front of a crowd and welcome the opportunity to share your thoughts about a particular issue, or you may be someone who experiences a near panic attack at the very thought of speaking in front of a group. This individual variation in responding to the event highlights two very important aspects of stress. First, its meaning is unique to the person experiencing it, and this interpretation drives a particular response. Second, the thought alone of a stressful event can be enough to trigger a stress response. Anticipating a difficult conversation with an angry parent or some worrisome personal circumstance can bring about a wide range of reactions.

Stress and Health

“The diseases that plague us now are ones of slow accumulation of damage—heart disease, cancer, cerebrovascular disorders. … We have come to recognize the vastly complex intertwining of our biology and our emotions, the endless ways in which our personalities, feelings, and thoughts both reflect and influence the events in our bodies…extreme emotional disturbances can adversely affect us…stress can make us sick.” —Robert M. Sapolsky, 2004

From an evolutionary perspective, stress provides us an advantage that can be traced back to our ancient ancestors when life in a cave came with lots of threats. We evolved so that when faced with immediate danger, the brain prepares a reaction: muscles are primed, attention is diverted away from distractions and narrowed toward the source of danger, and all our systems are steeled for the fight or flight response. Mission critical—survive the threat!

In our modern world, survival has moved beyond overcoming the physical threats of our ancestors. Psychological stressors common across workplace settings (e.g., managing difficult behaviors in the classroom) and home life (e.g., arguments with romantic partners or children) confront us daily and challenge our ability to remain relaxed and focused on day-to-day tasks, and our brain responds to the perceived “threats” as if our lives depend on surviving them.

Although evolution has positioned us to react to danger, both physical and psychological, with a sophisticated set of bodily reactions, this state of readiness is not without consequence. Continued engagement in the “stress struggle” depletes physiological resources of the body and may lead to physical and mental health issues and accelerated aging. On the physical side, stress has been linked to lowered immune system functioning, cardiovascular diseases, respiratory problems, problems with weight control, sleep dysfunction, gastrointestinal disorders, and chronic muscle tension. Psychologically, stress is linked to mental health concerns such as anxiety and depression. Furthermore, stress affects perception, cognitive processing, role functioning, morale, job satisfaction, and performance. Stress affects your body, mood, and behavior and, therefore, it affects those around you as well.

Typical Reactions in Response to Ongoing Stress

Physical domain: body.

• Muscle Tension/Pain
• Change in Sex Drive
• Stomach Disturbance
• Sleep Problems
• Jaw Clenching

Emotional Domain: Mood

• Restlessness
• Lack of Motivation
• Feeling Overwhelmed
• Irritability or Anger
• Sadness or Depression
• Attention/Concentration Difficulties
• Feeling Out of Control
• Feeling Incompetent

Behavioral Domain: Behavior

• Overeating or Undereating
• Angry Outbursts
• Drug or Alcohol Use
• Tobacco Use
• Social Withdrawal
• Exercising Less Frequently
• Avoidance of Stressor
• Absenteeism
• Lack of Punctuality

Stress and the Brain

Neuroscientific research has identified the various ways the brain directs our bodily responses, how the brain responds to the environment, and how it is shaped by it (neuroplasticity). This information has helped us understand the brain’s role in both conscious and nonconscious processes involved in behavior.

The brain works as the master organ that controls bodily functions and behaviors through a complex system of electrochemical signals distributed throughout the body via the various parts of the nervous system. In a sense, it is the air-traffic controller of our behavior.

One part of the nervous system, the autonomic nervous system, has two parts: the sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic system. These two systems are complementary and work in opposition to keep the body functioning and to preserve life. Your sympathetic nervous system is activated by perceived threats in the environment (your brain interprets events as threatening or nonthreatening) and through a series of messages that call into play the “fight, flight, or freeze” response. When you experience fear, this system shuts down functions that are not necessary so the body systems can be engaged for defense. Typical sympathetic nervous system reactions include increased blood flow to muscles, increased heart rate, sweating, and pupil constriction. Bodily functions such as digestion are temporarily stopped as they are not needed for survival at that moment. The goal of the sympathetic nervous system is to protect your life from some immediate threat. It is a system that is designed for strategic short-term engagement and has been perfected through evolution.

The parasympathetic system is often referred to as the “rest and digest” portion of the autonomic nervous system. Once the immediate threat is removed, the sympathetic system functions slowly fade into the background and the parasympathetic system takes over. The body returns to a calm state and restarts the functions that rebuild physical health and wellness. Functions return, such as digestion, muscle repair, and cognitive processes, including creative thinking and problem solving. The body is free from stress and is able to relax.

The autonomic nervous system is an elegant, evolutionary design that has been perfected to maximize survival. Both humans and other mammals have this instinctive brain-initiated response, which occurs outside of consciousness. Humans and other mammals respond to physical threats in the immediate environment and are equipped to evade or fight-off a threat and eventually return to a pre-stressed state within minutes. Human brains are far more sophisticated than those of other mammals, and we are able to use the power of thought and reason to identify a stressor, evaluate its level of threat, and determine how we should respond. Changing your mind changes your biochemistry, your physical and emotional feelings, and possibly, your behavior. How we view a situation matters.

With higher brain power comes the ability not only to consider immediate threat events but also to consider those in the past and the potential for threat events in the future. Whether the threat is real or imagined, psychological or physical, in the present, past or future, our stress response may be the same. And it may start automatically without our conscious recognition of it.

Prolonged stressors lead to a prolonged stress response; in turn, the physiological stress response may be activated repeatedly or the system may fail to turn off the unnecessary reactions. In this way, humans overuse a system that was designed for short-term use. Scientists now believe that an individual’s personal vulnerability to heightened or prolonged stress reactions may be related to how one views external events. Research supports the notion that variability among people in perception of experiences as stressful is linked to the way individuals view the thing, event, or threat. One’s view of the world and events in it influences physiological responses. Through the use of resilience strategies, we are in a stronger position to identify stressors and diminish their impact on our daily functioning.

Stress and Teachers, Caregivers

Teachers and caregivers working with young children often report a common set of stressors, and researchers have linked teacher stress to their behavior in the classroom. You may be facing some of those stressors that others often experience, or you may be experiencing stressors that are unique to your circumstances. This course will guide you through how to recognize, identify, and deal with stressors that you are experiencing. Some common sources of stress are:

• Personal life challenges
• Working conditions, such as pay, promotion opportunities, and facilities
• Relationships with administrators, co-workers, families, and children
• Children’s challenging behaviors
• A lack of autonomy, control, and motivation
• A lack of stress-reduction resources and strategies

What is Resilience?

Resilience is often thought of as the ability to bounce back from adversity and to overcome obstacles in moving toward one’s goals. Within the world of teaching and caregiving, resilience is a personal quality that allows one to remain committed to teaching despite ongoing challenges in the workplace. It is a sense of personal control and the abilities to commit to learning outcomes and to manage our emotions and behaviors.

Teachers’ and caregivers’ resilience also includes the ability to manage the uncertainties that present themselves in the course of teaching and to maintain social-emotional balance in the classroom and beyond. Building and maintaining this resilience involves several principles. First, resilience is composed of many strategies that can be learned, and what strategies work is uniquely personal—not all strategies work for all people. Second, resilience waxes and wanes across the life span and across careers, making it important to build a personal collection of strategies that can be used during times that are particularly challenging. Third, culture influences the choice of appropriate strategies within various contexts —another reason for a broad collection of strategies. Fourth, resilience strategies support social-emotional learning in teachers and caregivers and in students. Finally, recent research finds that job-related stress in teachers is related to stress reactions among students in the classroom, which suggests a “contagion” effect. Thus, modeling personal resilience may reduce the likelihood of stress-related behaviors being mimicked and increase the likelihood of resilient behaviors being adopted through a modeling effect.

Watch this brief video for a better understanding of why stress affects you.

Stress Response: Savior to Killer

Stanford University

Body-Mind Review Exercise

As you begin to work on managing your stress, it is helpful to have a baseline of stress-related symptoms that you experience. The frequency with which you experience symptoms is related directly to your ability to use resilience strategies and positive coping methods when needed. While it is impossible to control all stressful events and circumstances that face you, it is possible to identify how you react and under what circumstances those reactions occur. This review takes the first step of identifying how you are responding to typical stressors in your life and the different ways in which your body or mind is coping with those challenges. Keep in mind that each person’s response to stress is unique and may vary over time. The exercise here is designed to capture a snapshot of your functioning within the last month.

Review the statements below and reflect on whether each statement is accurate regarding your experience of stress in either your personal or professional world within the last month . You may not necessarily connect the following experiences with stress or with particular events, but recognizing that you experience them is the first step in managing their impact on your wellness and vitality.

Within the last month,

• I experienced tension in my head, shoulders or other body part.
• I felt tired most of the time.
• I often felt as if I hadn’t slept well.
• I experienced some problems related to eating.
• I felt tense and wound up.
• I noticed that I don’t seem to enjoy things as I used to.
• My self-care suffered because of other responsibilities.
• I noticed that my attitude is not as positive as it once was.
• It seemed to take me longer to complete even easy tasks.
• I wondered if I am competent in my role.
• I felt there was not enough time in the day to complete all the tasks on my “to-do” list.
• I relied on alcohol or other drugs such as aspirin to relieve tension.
• I observed that I was short-tempered or expressed frustration.
• I noted that my eating habits had changed.
• I attempted to avoid any stress-related issues or situations.
• I wanted to be left alone.

Having identified the ways in which you typically respond to stressors, keep these in mind as you move through the various activities of this course. Work to implement strategies when you notice that tension headache or feel tense when you face challenging behavior in the classroom. While no one can live a stress-free life (and as you learned, that would not be very adaptive), we can minimize the impact of stressors that are essentially psychological in nature and disruptive to positive functioning and self-enjoyment.

Completing this Course

For more information on what to expect in this course, and a list of the accompanying Learn, Explore, and Apply resources and activities offered throughout the lessons, visit the Focused Topics Social Emotional Learning for Teachers  Course Guide .

Please note the References & Resources section at the end of each lesson outlines reference sources and resources to find additional information on the topics covered. As you complete lessons, you are not expected to review all the online references available. However, you are welcome to explore the resources further if you have interest, or at the request of your trainer, coach, or administrator.

How do you define stress? What are your views about your own abilities to manage stress? Download the  Thinking About Stress  handout. Take a few minutes to read and respond to these questions. Then, discuss your responses with a supportive colleague, friend, or family member.

Thinking About Stress

A great deal of research suggests the importance of managing stress and building resilience. Here you can find a resource from the National Institute of Mental Health. Use this as a resource to learn more about the importance of recognizing and managing stress.

5 Things You Should Know About STRESS

Demonstrate.

Friedman-Krauss, A. H., Raver, C. C., Morris, P. A., & Jones, S. M. (2014). The Role of Classroom-Level Child Behavior Problems in Predicting Preschool Teacher Stress and Classroom Emotional Climate.  Early Education and Development ,  25 (4), 530-552.

Hall-Kenyon, K. M., Bullough Jr., R. V., MacKay, K. L., & Marshall, E. E. (2014). Preschool Teacher Well-Being: A review of the literature. Early Childhood Education Journal, 42 (3), 153-162. doi:10.1007/s10643-013-0595-4

Huebner C.R. (2019). Health and Mental Health Needs of Children in US Military Families. AAP Section on Uniformed Services, AAP Committee on Psychosocial Aspects Of Child And Family Health. Pediatrics. 143(1). Retrieved from http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/pediatrics/143/1/e20183258.full.pdf  

Jennings, P. A., & Greenberg, M. T. (2009). The Prosocial Classroom: Teacher social and emotional competence in relation to student and classroom outcomes. Review of Educational Research, 79 (1), 491-525. doi:10.3102/0034654308325693

Sapolsky, R.M. (2004). Social Status and Health in Humans and Other Animals. Annual Review of Anthropology, 33 , 393-418. doi:10.1146/annurev.anthro.33.070203.144000

SEL 101 Sample Introductory Presentation

This presentation can be adapted and used to introduce SEL to staff, families, and community partners. It gives an overview of what is SEL, why it’s important, and the process for schoolwide SEL. Talking points and activity instructions are provided in the notes section.

• My Downloads

SEL for Teachers

Social and Emotional Learning in your classroom

Engaging & Simple

Your students will love the SEL stories, games, role-plays, and discussion prompts. Reflection journal prompts available for every lesson. Easy-to-use lesson plans include scripts, outlines, and suggestions for customization and variation. Classroom-ready slide decks included (K-8).

Free Presentationsfor Elementary Social Emotional Learning

These PowerPoint / Google Slides presentations are ready to post for your next social emotional learning lesson. Discover presentations on topics in empathy, honesty, and more social emotional topics to come.

Create an SEL Lesson

Our presentations can be used alone, or together with our other social emotional learning teaching resources, including books, worksheets, and lesson plans. Explore teaching resources . Our presentations are free to share for non-commercial use.

Empathy Presentation

What is empathy, why it's important, and how to build empathy.

Presentation Info

Honesty Presentation

Explore several aspects of honesty with this picture-based presentation.

Responsibility Presentation

Explain what responsibility is and why it's important.

Respect Presentation

Teach how to show respect for people, places, things.

Empathy Presentations

Using stories and a presentation, help students learn to identify others' emotions.

You may also like:

Practice Makes Perfect

Cultural Proficiency

Global youth summit, teacher training powerpoint for students who are new arrivals, mentor training kick-off session, using restorative justice to repair harm and facilitate reentry of students after a disciplinary issue, restorative reentry.

SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING

SUPERINTENDENT’S COFFEE

OCTOBER 10, 2019

PHYLLIS ALPAUGH & JAMIE ARGENZIANO

What is SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING (SEL)?

• Defined by experts as “the process in which both adults and children develop the self-awareness, self-control, and interpersonal skills that are vital for school, work, and life success”.
• Research show that people with strong social emotional skills are better able to cope with everyday challenges and benefit academically, professionally and socially.
• Also SEL is best accomplished through effective classroom instruction, student engagement in positive activities in and out of the classroom and broad parent and community involvement.

The Five (5) Competencies

• Self-Awareness —Involves understanding one’s own emotions, personal goals, and values
• Self-Management —Requires skills and attitudes that facilitate the ability to regulate one’s own emotions and behaviors
• Social Awareness— The ability to understand, empathize and feel compassion for those with different backgrounds or cultures
• Relationship Skills —Helps establish and maintain healthy and rewarding relationships to act in accordance with social norms
• Responsible Decision Making— Learning how to make constructive choices about personal behavior and social interactions across diverse settings.

WHAT are the SHORT and LONG term benefits?

• Students are more successful in school and daily life when they:
• Know and can manage themselves
• Understand the perspectives of others and relate effectively
• Make sound choices about personal and social decisions
• ALSO, students with strong SEL skills frequently demonstrate :
• More positive attitudes towards themselves, others and tasks
• More positive social behaviors and relationships with peers and adults
• Reduce conduct problems and risk-taking behaviors
• Decreased emotional stress
• Improved test scores, grades and attendance

HOW is the Best Way to Teach Social Emotional Skills?

• School is one the primary places where students learn SEL skills with integrated programs considered the most effective
• Effective programs should incorporate the following elements:
• S equenced, connected and coordinated sets of activities
• A ctive forms of learning to help students master skills
• F ocused emphasis on developing personal and social skills
• E xplicit targeting of specific social and emotional skills

Building Upon School Programs

• Effective SEL programming not only involves school and district wide coordination, but relies on Family and Community Partnerships to both strengthen and reinforce the impact of school approaches.
• This involves bringing the learning into both the home and the neighborhood
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2d0da6BZWA&t=289s

WHAT is the Borough doing to promote SEL?

• It is a district goal for the 2019-20 school year that is reflected in building and individual staff Professional Development Plans
• There is training and professional development in place for administrators, staff and STUDENTS including motivational pep rallies and programs
• There is a Teacher Resource Platform with a plethora of resources
• We as a district have a made a pledge to infuse and integrate all aspects of SEL into the curriculum and daily instruction

Thank you for coming !

How to Apply Social-Emotional Learning Activities in Education

Now in the classroom, you face the challenge of implementing social-emotional learning (SEL) to help children build the social-emotional skills needed to be “ready to learn.”

But how can you embed SEL skill building into existing classroom routines and lesson plans with efficiency? How do you know if your efforts are working? How do you make adjustments?

We all want to support student learning from a position of safety, responsiveness, inclusion, and connectedness. Strong social-emotional skills, including our own, provide the foundation.

In this article, we will navigate through the skills that we as teachers need, social-emotional learning activities that can make a difference, and assessments that can show if we are on track.

Before you continue, we thought you might like to download our three Positive Education Exercises for free . These ready-made tools are perfect for enhancing your teaching approach, making it easier to engage students in meaningful, student-centered learning.

This Article Contains

• 3 Interventions & Skills for Teachers in the Classroom

8 SEL Activities, Worksheets, and Games for Kids

5 online games and sel activities for virtual classes.

• Best Assessments: 3 Questionnaires & Questions for Students

Building an SEL Curriculum and Lesson Plans: 3 Tools

Ideas for social emotional learning activities for adults, resources from positivepsychology.com, a take-home message, frequently asked questions, 3 interventions & skills for teachers in the classroom.

For a refresher on SEL theory, the five core competencies of social emotional learning, examples of evidence-based SEL curricula, and training and certification opportunities, check out our article What Is Social-Emotional Learning? + Training Courses by educator Dr. Tiffany Sauber Millacci.

In your classroom, you are the driver of SEL. This is true whether you are implementing an SEL program selected by your state or school district, or independently integrating SEL into your lesson plans.

The Social, Emotional, and Ethical (SEE) Learning (2019) framework encourages teachers to approach learning experiences with a three-role mindset. You are a facilitator, you are a model for students, and you are also a learner.

1. Build your own social-emotional competence

Your interactions with students are one of the most powerful contexts in which SEL skills develop. Use the strength of your own social-emotional competence to create an emotionally healthy classroom for students.

Start by reflecting on your own SEL skills. Identify your strengths and challenges with this Personal Assessment and Reflection Tool developed by the Collaborative for Academic and Social Emotional Learning.

Complete the tool individually for self-reflection or with a group of colleagues to discover school-level patterns and attitudes that may influence interactions with students.

Brainstorm ways to model your strengths for students throughout the day. Analyze how your strengths can be leveraged to solve specific challenges in the classroom. Continually problem-solve your own self-care practices as you deepen relationships with students.

If you’d like to start out more gently, listen to this Audio-Guided Mindfulness Practice from Panorama designed specifically for educators focused on self-compassion and building relationship skills.

2. Build trauma-informed skills

Early childhood adversity in the form of poverty, racism, psychological maltreatment, parental depression and addiction, and exposure to violence can cause excessive activation of the stress system that interferes with learning (National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, 2020).

Schools and educators play a vital role in supporting children who face adversity, from identifying children in need who may otherwise be overlooked to creating healthy classroom environments where children feel connected and safe.

Extending trauma-informed practices into schools is part of a multi-tiered system of support for children (Chafouleas et al., 2016; Thomas et al., 2019). Intentionally building schools into trauma-sensitive and trauma-informed environments is one way to address the effects of adversity on learning and long-term health.

Trauma-informed training may also alleviate teacher burnout and stress associated with chronic behavior problems in the classroom. Teachers who received trauma-informed training alongside a mindfulness-based SEL program reported feeling more capable of meeting the demands of students who have experienced trauma and had more favorable attitudes about managing their own personal wellness in order to help their students (Kim et al., 2021).

Take a moment to watch this TED talk by educator Syndey Jenson as she describes the powerful role teachers play in the lives of their students and the secondary trauma teachers may experience.

Find actionable steps to support children experiencing trauma in the Trauma Toolkit for Educators available for download by the National Education Association. To build your trauma-informed skills, review these 11 trauma-informed practices used by educators .

Keep SAMSA’s Understanding Childhood Trauma handout readily available to recognize the signs of trauma in children of different ages and how to respond supportively to a child in the moment.

3. Build an SEL community of practice

Communities of practice (CoPs) are groups of people who share a common interest and choose to learn together on a regular basis as they pursue that interest (Merriam, 2017).

Connect with like-minded colleagues with a shared passion for using SEL in the classroom. Dedicate a set meeting time and set objectives. CoPs are rich resources for encouragement and team-oriented problem-solving about social-emotional learning activities that benefit the entire group.

As a start, download this CASEL playbook designed to support teams in building and sustaining powerful SEL-focused CoPs.

Download this CASEL Circle Discussion Guide to create a safe space for collaboration in initial team meetings.

To identify colleagues who share your interests or to ensure everyone in your CoP shares the same understanding of SEL, consider enrolling in the free Introduction to SEL course from CASEL.

What is the purpose of the activity? Is there a challenge in the classroom you would like to address by building SEL skills in your students?

Identify the specific SEL skills you want to target in order to meet your purpose. Operationalize them to communicate them to students and measure them. To get you started, this video describes the five key competencies common to SEL along with specific SEL skills you may choose to target.

Transparency

What do you want students to know about your purpose or about the SEL skills you are targeting?

Determine who is the focus of the activity. Student-to-student interaction, pairs, triads, teacher-to-student interaction, an independent activity, or a mix?

Based on the results of the PATT method, consider these SEL activities as potential starting points:

• Wish, outcome, obstacles, plan (WOOP) This method helps to build self-control in kids to achieve personal goals. Students specify a wish , identify and imagine the best outcome , identify potential obstacles , and form a plan . Watch the WOOP video introduction and download the educator facilitation guide, exercise templates, and social-emotional learning activities from Character Lab .
• Emotions and feelings games Use this crossword puzzle, pairing emotion words to their definitions. Also from Better Kids , use this word search to introduce new emotional words, followed by a circle-time discussion about different intensities of particular emotions.
• Emogometer In this embodied activity, children identify an emotion they are feeling, how big they are feeling the emotion, and demonstrate to others the emotion they are feeling. It is an ideal activity to start the day. Watch a video demonstration of the emogometer from Move This World .
• Flower worksheet Children identify people in their lives who support them and describe how they feel supported. Each petal of the flower represents a person in their support system. Learn more about the benefits to children of knowing who to count on, along with activity instructions and a downloadable flower worksheet from Better Kids .
• Community-building circle Circle discussions provide a physical setting and a structured process to improve communication and build community among students in the classroom. Step-by-step instructions for opening the circle, doing the work, and closing the circle along with sample scripts are provided by CASEL .
• Focusing on me and you Children engage in mindfulness practice, active listening , and perspective-taking exercises to learn to appreciate differences in others and build empathy.
• Problem, options, outcomes, choices (POOCH) protocol The POOCH protocol is a method for walking through the steps of making tough decisions that require judgment, assessing risk, or may not have an answer that benefits everyone equally.
• Time to play Children explore responsible decision-making in the context of building a board game with others. Educator instructions and presentation slides are available for download from Soar with Wings .

As you select, facilitate, and adapt SEL activities to meet the needs of your students, use four characteristics of effective and evidence-based approaches to SEL that align with the acronym “SAFE” (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning, n.d.).

• Sequenced Connect and coordinate multiple social-emotional learning activities to strengthen targeted skills.
• Active Keep learning active with physical movement, conversation, and learning materials.
• Focused Establish dedicated time and attention for developing social-emotional skills.
• Explicit Communicate to students the specific SEL skills you are teaching as you are teaching them.

Download 3 Free Positive Education Exercises (PDF)

These detailed, science-based exercises will equip educators with tools to foster student well-being and boost academic performance.

Download 3 Free Positive Education Exercises Pack (PDF)

By filling out your name and email address below.

• Email Address *
• Your Expertise * Your expertise Therapy Coaching Education Counseling Business Healthcare Other
• Name This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

You can also teach SEL skills in virtual classes with online games and apps. Options range from simple SEL games played in small groups to interactive games with avatars and built-in SEL assessment tools for teachers.

1. How we feel

Track emotions throughout the day, find the words and feelings to describe emotions, and try strategies to help regulate emotions. This app was developed by researchers at the Yale University Center for Emotional Intelligence .

Available on iOS .

2. Wisdom: The World of Emotions

3. MyPeekaville

Available on Google Play .

4. Classcraft

Available on iOS and Google Play .

5. Virtual read-alouds

Use video call software for interactive class read-alouds . Pause to allow students to identify, imitate, and predict character emotions, propose solutions to social problems, and take different perspectives. Recommended SEL-focused books:

• The Dot : Self-awareness for pre-kindergarten to fourth grade
• Decibella and Her 6-inch Voice : Self-management for kindergarten to fifth grade
• All Are Welcome : Social awareness for pre-kindergarten to second grade
• Enemy Pie : Relationship skills for kindergarten to third grade
• The Empty Pot ; Responsible decision-making for kindergarten to third grade

World’s Largest Positive Psychology Resource

The Positive Psychology Toolkit© is a groundbreaking practitioner resource containing over 500 science-based exercises , activities, interventions, questionnaires, and assessments created by experts using the latest positive psychology research.

Updated monthly. 100% Science-based.

“The best positive psychology resource out there!” — Emiliya Zhivotovskaya , Flourishing Center CEO

Best Assessments: 3 Questionnaires & Questions for Students

The best student assessments are selected with purpose. To guide your selection, ask yourself:

• Is the assessment informational to track student progress?
• Is the assessment going to be used to communicate with parents, other teachers, or school administrators?
• Will the assessment be used to track accountability required of your school, district, or funding organization?

Ideally, an assessment should be selected before implementing the activity or intervention to ensure you are measuring the student skill or outcome you intend to improve.

1. Panorama Social-Emotional Learning Survey

Questions for students in grades 3–5 and 6–12 to assess:

• Competencies and skills (e.g., grit, growth mindset, self-regulation, self-efficacy)
• Student support and environment (e.g., sense of belonging, school safety, engagement)
• Student wellbeing (e.g., positive feelings, supportive relationships)

Response format is Likert scale and free-response.

Access the survey here .

2. EPOCH Measure of Adolescent Wellbeing

This is a free student report assessment of five positive characteristics that support higher levels of wellbeing in adolescents: engagement, perseverance, optimism, connectedness, happiness.

Modified from Seligman’s (2018) five-pillar PERMA model of adult wellbeing, this assessment can be used as a before-and-after intervention measure of adolescent wellbeing and happiness (Kern et al., 2016).

Access the assessment here .

Use prompts, questions, and check-ins individually or in a group setting as an informal assessment of social-emotional competence and student wellbeing.

• Describe a time when you felt really proud of yourself.
• Describe a behavior you are working to improve.
• What is something you take for granted that someone else may not have?
• Where is a place you would love to visit?
• If you could have any superpower, what would you choose?
• What is something that calms you down?
• How have you been sleeping lately?
• How included in class did you feel today?
• What emotion are you feeling the most today?
• What would you be known for if you were famous?
• If you could travel back in time to X grade, what advice would you give yourself?
• If you could make one rule everyone at school had to follow, what would it be?
• What does a typical morning look like for you?

For additional assessments of SEL and student wellbeing by grade and outcome, review this comprehensive SEL assessment toolbox from the American Institutes for Research.

1. CASEL Program Guide

The Collaborative for Academic and Social Emotional Learning (CASEL) provides a comprehensive program guide to walk you through the selection of an effective SEL program from start to finish.

All CASEL-recommended SEL programs are evidence-based. The end-to-end tool involves three steps:

• Identify your SEL goals.
• Identify features of SEL programs you want to prioritize to meet your goals.
• Explore SEL programs and compare your top selections.

Filter programs by approach (such as free-standing lesson, integrated lessons, or classroom management), outcome (such as improved academic performance, social behaviors, reduced problem behaviors, or reduced emotional distress), student characteristics (such as low-income, multi-race, Hispanic/Latinx), school characteristics (such as urban, suburban, or Midwest) program support offered, and training offered.

Download the Quickstart Guide for a summary of the CASEL tool.

2. Navigating SEL From the Inside Out

This comprehensive SEL guide (Jones et al., 2021) includes an evaluation of 33 evidence-based programs for kindergarten through elementary school-aged children. Get a birds-eye view of each program individually and collectively on three metrics in easy-to-read tables.

Once you have a few programs in mind, dig into the snapshot summary of each program, which describes program effectiveness, grade range, duration of program, and unique features.

3. Explore SEL

Explore SEL is an evidence-based interactive tool to navigate widely used nonacademic frameworks of SEL. Begin by browsing through the different SEL frameworks to see which you recognize. Get a feel for the complexity of SEL that comes from differences in how we define, teach, and measure it.

Next, use the tool to select the framework that will guide your SEL work and reduce the complexity.

• Compare frameworks across different domains of learning (e.g., cognitive, emotions, social, values, perspective, identity).
• Compare SEL skills targeted by different frameworks (e.g., overlapping SEL skills targeted by the CASEL framework vs. P21’s 21st Century Learning framework).
• Identify related SEL skills used across frameworks,

Play! Games and group SEL activities are rich contexts for adults to practice a wide range of social-emotional skills. Most involve some form of active learning about yourself and others, embodied action, social interaction, competitiveness, and creativity.

1. We’re Not Really Strangers

We’re Not Really Strangers is a multiplayer card game to learn about yourself, strengthen your relationships, and get to know new people. Check out versions for first dates, couples, families, and self-awareness.

2. The Hygge Game

This multiplayer card game has interesting and entertaining questions to bring more joy to your life based on the Danish concept hygge.

3. Organized group activities

Get involved with a group that meets regularly for a specific purpose. For example, join a choir, knitting group, running club, book club, dance group, volunteer group, or recreational sports league. For older adults, participating in choir and group exercise predicts positive emotional wellbeing (Maury et al., 2022).

4. Self-reflection

As adults, we may not be aware of the SEL skills we already use to nurture relationships, calm ourselves, and manage emotions. Bring awareness to your own SEL strengths and challenges with this Personal SEL Reflection tool. Use individually or as a community of practice activity.

Top 17 Exercises for Positive Education

Use these 17 Positive Education Exercises [PDF] to enhance student engagement, resilience, and wellbeing while also equipping students with valuable life skills.

Created by Experts. 100% Science-based.

We have a variety of resources that can supplement your academic learning, all well worth checking out.

As a start, you may be interested in our article filled with training resources: Social Skills Training for Kids .

You can also identify SEL strengths and weaknesses through self-awareness. Check out our blog on How to Increase Self-Awareness: 16 Activities and Tools .

Another brilliant article filled with activities and games: 16 Activities to Stimulate Emotional Development in Children .

Besides our blog articles, here are two worksheets that can be used in the classroom.

Increase awareness of the different emotions experienced throughout the day through simple observation with our Emotional Awareness worksheet .

Use this Conflict at School worksheet with children to bring awareness to different relationships they have at school and difficulties they have with individual friends.

If you want to integrate the evidence-based principles of positive psychology into the classroom, consider this collection of 17 validated positive education exercises . Use them to enhance student engagement, resilience and wellbeing while also equipping students with valuable life skills.

So much of academic learning relies on feeling safe and accepted at school, recognizing and managing emotions, cooperating and working well with others, resolving conflict, and understanding emotions and perspectives of classmates.

The classroom is rich with opportunities to build and actively practice these SEL skills, and they go hand in hand with academic learning.

Academic mastery alone cannot lead to “student success”. We must be brave enough to believe that for each child, lifelong success is a unique combination of social, emotional, cognitive, and academic skills.

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Don’t forget to download our three Positive Education Exercises for free .

Examples of social-emotional learning activities include brain breaks, daily teacher–student greetings, journal writing, partner work, emotion check-ins, class agreements, and gratitude lists.

Activities that can help child development include pretend play, labeling emotions in self and others, joint book reading, perspective taking, mindfulness, asking for help, offering help to others, and identifying goals.

Yes, SEL can be implemented outside the classroom. Adults, parents, and caregivers can embed SEL into after-school programs, organized sports, during dinner, and at the grocery store.

• Chafouleas, S. M., Johnson, A. H., Overstreet, S., & Santos, N. M. (2016). Toward a blueprint for trauma-informed service delivery in schools. School Mental Health , 8 , 144–162.
• Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning. (n.d.). Adopt an evidence-based program for SEL . https://schoolguide.casel.org/focus-area-3/school/adopt-an-evidence-based-program-for-sel/.
• Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning. (2019). Social emotional learning: 3 Signature practices playbook . https://casel.org/casel_sel-3-signature-practices-playbook-v3/
• Jones, S. M., Brush, K., Bailey, R., Brion-Meisels, G., McIntyre, J., Kahn, J., & Stickle, L. (2021). Navigating SEL from the inside out: Looking inside and across 25 leading SEL programs: A practical resource for schools and OST providers. Preschool and elementary focus  (2nd ed.). The Wallace Foundation.
• Kern, M. L., Benson, L., Steinberg. E. A., & Steinberg, L. (2016). The EPOCH Measure of Adolescent Well-being. Psychological Assessment , 28 (5), 586–597.
• Kim, S., Crooks, C. V., Bax, K., & Shokoohi, M. (2021). Impact of trauma-informed training and mindfulness-based social–emotional learning program on teacher attitudes and burnout: A mixed-methods study. School Mental Health , 13 , 5–68.
• Maury, S., Vella-Brodrick, D., Davidson, J., & Rickard, N. (2022). Socio-emotional benefits associated with choir participation for older adults related to both activity characteristics and motivation factors. Music & Science , 5 .
• Merriam, S. B. (2017). Theories of adult learning: Evolution and future directions. PAACE Journal of Lifelong Learning , 26 , 21–37.
• National Scientific Council on the Developing Child. (2020). Connecting the brain to the rest of the body: Early childhood development and lifelong health are deeply intertwined . https://developingchild.harvard.edu/resources/connecting-the-brain-to-the-rest-of-the-body-early-childhood-development-and-lifelong-health-are-deeply-intertwined/
• SEE Learning. (2019). The SEE Learning companion: Social, Emotional, and Ethical Learning . Emory University.
• Seligman, M. (2018). PERMA and the building blocks of well-being. The Journal of Positive Psychology , 13 (4), 333–335.
• Thomas, M. S., Crosby, S., & Vanderhaar, J. (2019). Trauma-informed practices in schools across two decades: An interdisciplinary review of research. Review of Research in Education , 43 (1), 422–452.

Share this article:

Article feedback

Let us know your thoughts cancel reply.

Your email address will not be published.

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Related articles

Ensuring Student Success: 7 Tools to Help Students Excel

Ensuring student success requires a multi-faceted approach, incorporating tools like personalized learning plans, effective time management strategies, and emotional support systems. By leveraging technology and [...]

EMDR Training & 6 Best Certification Programs

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy has gained significant recognition for its effectiveness in treating trauma-related conditions and other mental health issues (Oren & [...]

Learning Disabilities: 9 Types, Symptoms & Tests

Albert Einstein, Winston Churchill, Sylvester Stalone, Thomas Edison, and Keanu Reeves. What do all of these individuals have in common? They have all been diagnosed [...]

Read other articles by their category

• Body & Brain (52)
• Coaching & Application (39)
• Compassion (23)
• Counseling (40)
• Emotional Intelligence (21)
• Gratitude (18)
• Grief & Bereavement (18)
• Happiness & SWB (40)
• Meaning & Values (26)
• Meditation (16)
• Mindfulness (40)
• Motivation & Goals (41)
• Optimism & Mindset (29)
• Positive CBT (28)
• Positive Communication (23)
• Positive Education (36)
• Positive Emotions (32)
• Positive Leadership (16)
• Positive Parenting (14)
• Positive Psychology (21)
• Positive Workplace (35)
• Productivity (16)
• Relationships (46)
• Resilience & Coping (38)
• Self Awareness (20)
• Self Esteem (37)
• Strengths & Virtues (29)
• Stress & Burnout Prevention (33)
• Theory & Books (42)
• Therapy Exercises (37)
• Types of Therapy (54)
• Email This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Download 3 Free Positive Psychology Tools Pack (PDF)

3 Positive Psychology Tools (PDF)

Tip: Use @ to search articles by an author

Follow us at:

UNESCO MGIEP, ICSSR Building, First Floor 35 Ferozshah Road, New Delhi-110001 Phone: +91 11 23072356-60

We use cookies on this site to enhance your user experience. For more information on how we use cookies, read our privacy policy .

Fill in your details to receive updates from us:

• Search Search Search …

Free Templates for SEL for PowerPoint and Google Slides

Make your presentations and lessons stand out with these free templates for Social-Emotional Learning. 

Download them to use with PowerPoint or edit them in Google Slides and start creating!

Captivate your audience and transform your presentation on early childhood development with this free template!  Playful illustrations like children’s handprints, whimsical doodles, paper airplanes and windmills bring a touch of childlike wonder to your slides. This engaging template is the perfect backdrop to share your valuable insights on this crucial […]

Early Childhood free presentation template for Google Slides and PPT.

Flowers and Ladybugs free Spring Season template for google slides and PowerPoint. This free template for Google Slides and PowerPoint is the perfect way to add a touch of springtime cheer to your lessons. It features adorable graphics of flowers, bees, and ladybugs – a charming combination that’s sure to […]

Spring has sprung and it’s time to bring some floral fun to your classroom!

Valentine’s Day Gnomes: A Free Template for Google Slides and PowerPoint. As Valentine’s Day draws near, it’s time to start planning your classroom activities. This cute and free template is perfect for celebrating the holiday with your students. It features adorable Valentine’s Day gnomes, hearts, balloons, and messages to spread […]

Valentine’s Day Gnomes, spread love with this cute free template.

Daisy playful and groovy free PowerPoint Template and Google Slides Theme. Daisy, a playful and groovy free presentation template for PowerPoint and Google Slides, features green and orange curved shapes alongside daisies. Its chubby font and muted colors make it a playful and eye-catching choice for any presentation. If you would […]

Daisy, playful groovy slides for PowerPoint and Google Slides.

A Little prince, a paper cut style free template for Google Slides and PowerPoint inspired by The Little Prince. This template features a boy, a fox and a rose and everything is designed to look like it’s made with pieces of paper. Use this theme to talk about friendship, human […]

A Little Prince free slides theme.

Autumn Stickers free Fall PowerPoint Template and Google Slides Theme This new autumn theme features fall leaves, acorns and mushrooms presented as digital stickers. Perfect for back to school or to present different outdoor activities to experience during fall. I’ve included a morning meeting / daily agenda slide and a […]

Autumn stickers, a fall theme for Google slides and ppt.

Fun and colorful free PowerPoint Template and Google Slides Theme Add a touch of fun and creativity to your presentations with this beautiful Google Slides theme and PowerPoint template! This template features beautiful colors and a paper-like background that will make your presentations stand out. It is perfect for use […]

Joyce, fun and creative free slides theme.

Crumpled Paper Texture Background with Cute Succulents, Cacti and Flowers Stickers free PowerPoint Template and Google Slides Theme This free PowerPoint template and Google Slides theme features a crumpled paper texture background with cute succulents, cacti and flowers stickers. It’s the perfect way to add a touch of cuteness and […]

Cute Succulents, Cacti and Flowers Stickers free template.

Free colorful Google Slides and PowerPoint template. Get ready to add some fun and color to your presentations with Maeve, it features hand-drawn shapes, stars, rainbows, abstract shapes and lines to make your presentations more engaging and professional. This template includes a morning meeting layout and a certificate template. Match […]

Maeve, joyful and creative slides theme.

Free template with cute aesthetic little notes for Google Slides and PowerPoint. Cute template with little notes, flowers and leaves that includes a daily agenda slide, a certificate and a multifunctional board that works well with Jamboard or as a background for collaborative assignments. Colors can be customized by editing […]

Cute Little Notes, free slides theme.

Free interactive choice board and mini theme + morning meeting / daily agenda slide for Google Slides and PowerPoint. This free interactive choice board and mini theme with morning meeting / daily agenda slide is perfect for the little ones. Let’s learn about the importance of bees with this black […]

Bees are awesome. Interactive choice board and mini theme.

Free PowerPoint template and Google Slides theme. Spilsbury free slides theme can be used in the classroom or for a presentation about psychology, mental health, education and more. I used theme colors, so you can edit the master (theme) and change the accent colors for any colors you like. I’ve […]

Spilsbury, puzzle slides theme. Updated Template.

Airmail Free PowerPoint template and Google Slides theme. Updated version of Edwin free template. These free slides look like airmail envelopes to send letters and pictures. You can use it for a presentation or a lesson. For example: “Write a letter to your future self”. #Letters #Envelopes #Postal #Trips #Mail […]

Edwin, airmail free presentation theme. Updated Template.

Cute sunflowers Template for PowerPoint and Google Slides Cute illustrated PowerPoint template and Google Slides theme with sunflowers. You can use it to talk about wellness, for example. It includes a morning meeting layout in case you want to use it in your classroom! DOWNLOAD POWERPOINT OPEN IN GOOGLE SLIDES

Cute sunflowers, Google Slides and ppt template.

Boho chic slides. Free template for Google Slides and PowerPoint. Delaney was such a success that I decided to work on a similar template with a boho style. It features rainbows, clouds, stars, moons and suns. And for those who use morning meeting slides or certificates, I’ve included both layouts […]

Boho chic rainbows presentation template.

Teach Starter, part of Tes Teach Starter, part of Tes

Search  everything  in all resources

Social Emotional Learning Teaching Presentations for Teachers

• Teaching Resource 470
• Resource Pack 5
• Templates 99
• Worksheets 79
• Classroom Posters 78
• Mini Books 36
• Colouring In Pages 36
• Mindfulness Colouring 31
• Classroom Decor 28
• Task Cards 25
• Teaching Slides 21
• Interactive Games 20
• Craft Activities 15
• Sorting Activities 14
• Classroom Bulletin Boards 12
• Writing Templates 10
• Flipbooks 9
• Student Awards & Certificates 8
• Board Games 8
• Tracker Templates 7
• Cut and Paste Worksheets 6
• Checklist Templates 5
• Active Games 5
• Inquiry Based Learning Activities 5
• Printable Bookmark Templates 5
• Word Searches 5
• Matching Games 4
• Classroom Labels 4
• Graphic Organisers 4
• Flashcards 4
• Desk Name Plates 4
• Motivational Posters 3
• Chatterbox Templates 3
• Fact Sheets 2
• Dice Games 2
• Printable Card Templates 2
• Word Walls 1
• Exit Tickets 1
• Preschool / Kindergarten 43
• Foundation Year 170

availability

• Premium 409

file formats

• Printable PDF 418
• Google Slides 256
• Microsoft PowerPoint (.pptx) 45
• Microsoft Word (.docx) 23
• Adobe Reader (.pdf) 15
• Microsoft PowerPoint Template (.potx) 2
• Google Sheets 1
• Microsoft Word Template (.dotx) 1
• Teach Starter Publishing 486

Dealing with Bullying Teaching Slides

Teach your students about bullying and how to deal with it with this comprehensive teaching presentation.

Gratitude Journal Writing Prompts for Kids - Daily Slides

Project and inspire reflective writing with 50 gratitude journal writing prompts in one handy slide deck.

Growth Mindset PowerPoint

Help your students develop a growth mindset with a Growth Mindset Teaching Slide Presentation.

Social Emotional Learning - Question of the Day Morning Meeting Prompts

Download 180 days of morning meeting questions to foster communication and positivity while building relationships in your classroom.

How To Be a Good Friend – Teaching Slides

Learn how to form healthy and long-lasting friendships with this set of teaching slides.

Wellbeing Self-Reflection Prompts PowerPoint

Make mental wellness check-ins a regular part of your day with our collection of 50 student self-reflection prompts.

30 Mindful Drawing Tasks

30 drawing tasks to promote mindfulness in your classroom.

Stress Management Techniques for Kids Teaching Slides

An editable PowerPoint presentation to use when teaching your students about stress management.

Kindness Teaching Slides—The Magic of Kindness

Guide students through understanding the importance of kindness with this set of teaching slides.

Introduction to Emotions Teaching Slides

Teach your students to understand and manage their emotions with this comprehensive teaching presentation for your social-emotional learning lessons.

What Is Resilience? Teaching Slides

Teach your students the meaning of resilience with this age-appropriate slide deck perfect for your social-emotional learning lessons.

Building Self-Esteem Teaching Slides

Explore how to build up self esteem with this set of teaching slides perfect for social emotional learning lessons.

Understanding and Managing Anger Teaching Presentation

Teach your students about angry feelings with this comprehensive guide to understanding and managing anger.

Choose Empathy Teaching Slides & Note Guide

Help your students understand the difference between empathy and sympathy while learning how to be empathetic with this set of teaching slides and note guide.

Coping Strategies for Managing Stress Teaching Slides

Use this informative set of 21 teaching slides to introduce or revisit coping strategies for students to manage stress.

My Personal Identity Teaching Slides (What Makes Me Me?)

Explore what makes each student an individual and help them explore their own identity with this set of teaching slides.

What Is Perseverance? Teaching Slides

Teach your students perseverance strategies with this comprehensive slideshow perfect for your social-emotional learning lessons.

Showing Empathy Teaching Slides

Transform your classroom into a hub of empathy and kindness! Elevate your students’ social awareness with this set of SEL teaching slides.

Understanding and Communicating Consent - Teaching Presentation

Introduce your upper years students to the concept of consent, the steps of seeking, giving, or denying consent, and how to communicate in familiar scenarios.

Understanding and Managing Anxiety Teaching Presentation

Teach your students about anxious feelings with this comprehensive guide to understanding and managing anxiety.

Examining Female Gender Stereotypes PowerPoint

A 14 slide editable PowerPoint template to use when examining female gender stereotypes with your students.

• Social Emotional Learning Templates
• Social Emotional Learning Worksheets
• Social Emotional Learning Posters
• Social Emotional Learning Games
• Social Emotional Learning Labels, Signs & Decorations

30 Of The Best SEL Resources For The Classroom

This list of the best SEL resources for teachers and students include apps, prompts, activities, lessons, and more.

What Are The Best SEL Resources For Teachers?

by TeachThought Staff

Social and emotional learning (SEL) involves creating opportunities within the school day to support students in developing positive behaviors and mindsets, such as goal-setting, showing empathy, cultivating relationships, making responsible choices, and managing their nervous systems.

While educators typically won’t find these skills prioritized in state standards for their content areas, they are essential for success in school, work, relationships, and life.

See also What Is Social-Emotional Learning?

Over 25 states have developed SEL standards and found innovative ways to integrate SEL into the school day. For example, many high schools have redesigned weekly advisory/homeroom sessions to incorporate SEL curriculum. When implemented systematically, SEL programs yield overwhelmingly positive benefits for students of diverse backgrounds, including:

• Improved self-concept and perception of others
• Increased connection to the school community
• More positive social behavior
• Stronger academic performance
• Reduced behavioral problems and emotional conflict

Below, we’ve identified 30+ effective SEL resources that educators and schools can implement to help students grow in the affective domain.

Grateful is an app that provides prompts for students to document little ‘events’ or thoughts throughout the day that contribute to their physical and psychological well-being.

Growth Mindset Prompts For The Classroom are sentence stems to help students nurture a less rigid, more flexible state of mind.

Common Sense Media SEL Resources is a collection of activities, videos, and lessons to promote SEL in your classroom.

Moodnotes is an app that allows students to document and reflect on the relationship between their thoughts and their feelings

Empatico connects students ages 6-11 with learners around the globe. Educators choose a partner class based on similar student ages, class schedules, and SEL goals; next, they schedule an exchange on universal, approachable topics. The tool includes a vast library of activities to help students build relationships, foster empathy and curiosity about other cultures, identify similarities and differences, practice respectful discussion, consider new perspectives, and think critically.

Creating Community: Team-Building Games To Help Students Make Friends

SuperBetter engages the benefits of gameplay to help students become resilient. Students challenge themselves, collect and initiate power-ups, battle ‘bad guys,’ complete various quests, and team up with allies to increase their emotional control, mental flexibility, interconnectedness, self-efficacy, and positive outlook.

Waking Up by Sam Harris is an app that is an introductory meditation and mindfulness app with conversations.

See also Meditation Apps For Children

Sown To Grow is a goal-setting platform that fosters metacognition and reflection.  Students set learning goals, track their progress, and write reflections on the best strategies. Teachers can gain insights into the emotional well-being of their students and identify the ones they should check in with. In taking ownership of their learning, grades become less of “what a teacher gave me” and more of “what I earned.”

KazuTime features a sweet Husky puppy and friends who support early elementary school students in managing tasks like getting ready for school and completing homework. Students gain a better grasp of time by using visual and auditory cues. The social-emotional learning resource app allows students to anticipate the end of an activity, reducing their anxiety about completing challenging tasks in a specific timeframe.

Classcraft encourages student participation through a game-based approach. Teachers can set up separate classrooms where students can participate in three roles:  guardians, mages, and healers. Teachers can reward points to students for working hard, collaborating effectively, or demonstrating leadership skills. Students can use their points to characterize their avatars and earn privileges in the classroom.

CASEL (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning) 

CASEL is a widely respected organization offering teachers and students comprehensive social-emotional learning (SEL) resources. Their evidence-based frameworks, research-backed curricula, and implementation guides empower educators to foster self-awareness, self-regulation, empathy, and responsible decision-making skills. 

CASEL provides professional development tools for teachers to effectively integrate SEL into the classroom. Their website hosts a treasure trove of free resources, including lesson plans, assessment tools, and strategies for creating a positive and supportive learning environment.

Second Step 

Second Step is designed specifically for schools to promote social-emotional development and improve student behavior. They offer a range of resources tailored to different age groups, from early childhood to middle school. 

Second Step’s comprehensive curriculum includes engaging lessons, videos, and interactive activities that help students develop essential skills such as emotion management, problem-solving, and communication. Additionally, the program provides teacher training, family resources, and implementation support to create a holistic approach to SEL.

RULER Approach by the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence 

The RULER approach focuses on the five key emotion skills: Recognizing, Understanding, Labeling, Expressing, and Regulating emotions. Developed by the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, this evidence-based program offers tools and strategies for educators to integrate emotional intelligence into their classrooms. 

The RULER approach helps students and teachers develop a shared emotional vocabulary, fostering a more emotionally intelligent and empathetic learning environment. The program includes lesson plans, activities, and professional development resources for educators seeking to enhance their SEL practices.

Minecraft: Education Edition is an open-world game that fosters exploration, tinkering, creativity, collaboration, and critical thinking. Students develop these skills through building their own world, which enhances their understanding of community and leadership. It includes a special component called Code Builder, which allows students to learn how to code using JavaScript or blocks of code.

Peekapak’s learning game myPeekaville uses interactive storytelling and a game-based approach to reinforce empathy, respect for others, and self-regulation. Students create avatars and interact with characters in the open world to solve problems using SEL and literacy skills. Teachers can track student progress and check in with students on an emotional level, which is particularly helpful when students are learning remotely.

In Apology, Applause, Awareness , the teacher gathers students in a circle near the close of the school day for an opportunity to foster group discussion. Each student shares an apology, applauds a peer, or offers an insightful comment. These comments can elicit strong reactions from other classmates and help students come to view the classroom as a community where their words and actions have consequences.

Roadtrip Nation gives students full access to a large library of interactive career stories and interviews that they can browse by interest or theme. Middle and high school students develop goal-setting skills by building a roadmap to their career(s) of interest and considering the logistics of reaching their goals. Roadtrip Nation programs have also been shown to significantly increase students’ self-efficacy and grade point averages, making this a worthwhile social-emotional learning resource to consider.

Daily Dedications prompt students to share stories about people close to them in a daily 30- to 60-second presentation. Educators can encourage students to use visuals, music, and other interactives to tell brief vignettes of the special people in their lives. In sharing, students discover that they have more similarities than differences with their classmates. This activity is particularly helpful for building relational capacity in a hybrid or remote course.

FUNecole helps students develop critical thinking skills through prompting real-world challenges. In working together to achieve common goals, students learn to communicate with diverse audiences, evaluate information from various sources, and make socially responsible decisions. The app includes ready-to-teach lesson plans that educators can customize to their specific content areas.

The Fast Friends activity helps students get to know each other quickly. Students sit in two rows facing each other. One row of students takes a turn describing themselves in under 30 seconds, and then the other row goes. Once students from both rows finish, they move one chair to the right and repeat the process with a new partner. This rapid-fire activity helps establish relational capacity, particularly at the start of a new course.

The Wheel of Emotions helps students identify their feelings within the realm of eight primary emotions: joy, sadness, acceptance, disgust, fear, anger, surprise, and anticipation. There are three layers for each emotion that become more intense as you move from the outer layer to the innermost layer. For example, a student could feel apprehension, fear, or terror; distraction, surprise, or amazement; pensiveness, sadness, or grief. As a social-emotional learning resource, this wheel helps students develop an emotional vocabulary and more accurately pinpoint what they are feeling in any given context.

The Mood Meter is an app that helps students build their emotional vocabulary, identify the root of their feelings, and regulate their emotions. Students plot their current feeling on a grid using specific descriptors, type why they believe they’re experiencing that feeling, choose a regulation strategy to alter their feelings, track their emotions over time, and even share their insights with friends. In distinguishing between different intensity levels of moods, students can determine appropriate responses to potentially triggering stimuli.

Class Catalyst aims to help every child feel seen and supported. The platform connects students with caring adults who are there to help them practice mindfulness strategies. Class Catalyst can help students build trust with adults, reach out when they need support, and de-escalate interpersonal conflicts or overwhelming situations.

These five resources are also great platforms and activities for engaging students in social-emotional Learning.

25. KidConnect

26. This I Believe personal essay

27. If-Then plans

28. SmilingMind

29. Middle School Confidential

More Social Emotional Resources For The Classroom

30. The Privilege Walk enables students to understand the complexities of privilege in American society. Students start in a straight line facing the teacher, who reads statements like, “I received a car for my 16th birthday” or “My parents are married and live in the same home with me.” Students take a step forward for each statement that applies to them. As gaps naturally appear between students, the teacher creates opportunities to foster discussion about why those gaps exist and what they might signify.

31. Positive Penguins helps students develop resilience through understanding how their negative feelings stem from disempowered thoughts. Four positive penguins accompany students on a journey to distinguish between thoughts and facts, consider the larger picture, envision possible responses and consequences, and offer support.

Most of these tools and activities can be implemented at the classroom level. It is important to remember that students stand to gain more skills and receive more benefits when SEL is integrated into the school-wide culture.

TeachThought is an organization dedicated to innovation in education through the growth of outstanding teachers.

50 Activities That Support Social-Emotional Learning

Return to Learn with The Art of Education University 

Teaching our students how to understand and process their emotions is incredibly important now, more than ever. Art teachers are perfectly equipped to start conversations about identifying, expressing, and accepting all kinds of emotions with lessons specifically geared toward Social-Emotional Learning.

What is Social-Emotional Learning (SEL)?

Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) is the process through which children and adults understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions.

There are 5 main components of Social Emotional Learning:

• Self Awareness: Understanding yourself
• Self Management: Controlling impulses, stress, and emotions
• Social Awareness: Understanding the perspectives and feelings of others
• Relationship Skills: Communication, Cooperation, and Conflict resolution with others
• Responsible Decision Making: Identifying problems and brainstorming solutions

Once you are aware of the components that make up Social Emotional Learning, it’s time to make some art! Creating art that engages and strengthens your social and emotional muscles is a great way to make connections between feelings and creativity.

15 Art Lesson Ideas to Support SEL:

1. Partner Art Trade- Making something for someone else is a great way to encourage students to think about others. Have students create a small artist trading card, mini-masterpiece, or positive portrait of a friend. Intentionally taking the time to focus on creating something for another person specifically strengthens the social awareness and relationship skills of students.

2. Mantra Paper Beads- Have your artists think inward about what kinds of character traits make them special and strong. Using long strips of paper, instruct students to write and decorate each strip with a positive sentence about themselves. Then, tightly roll each strip of paper around a pencil, securing the strip together with glue or tape at the end. Once they have created a handful of positive rolled paper beads, students can make necklaces, banners, or decorations to remind them what makes them special.

3. Paper Chains- This classic lesson is a tried and true way to add positivity to the daily routine of a child. Using strips of paper, have students write a positive trait or a task to spread kindness. Then, loop the strips together to make a large paper chain. Each day, have students tear off a link to guide their SEL check-in for the day.

4. Scribble Art- Sometimes, we just need to “get the scribbles out!” Teach students how to hold one or many drawing tools and scribble all over a blank sheet of paper, letting their emotions come out on the paper. Artists can use the scribble paper to create something else, such as a sketchbook cover, bookmarks, or a decorative hanging banner.

5. Circle of Control- Start by discussing situations you can or cannot control. Create a piece of art with a circle on it. Then, inside the circle, draw and write things you can control. Outside the circle, draw and write situations that you cannot control. This can help calm children and adults who experience anxiety during uncertain times.

6. Personal Mantra- Discuss specific words that encourage and lift you up. Have your artists decorate a poster, or even write on a window or mirror to be reminded of their daily positive mantra.

7. Repetitive Motion Projects- Incorporating the therapeutic nature of art, try having your students do repetitive drawing such as a Zentangle project or calming coloring.

8. “I am” Self Portrait- Having students reflect on their own amazing character traits will allow them to have a better understanding of what makes them unique. Using their own creativity, draw an outline of the profile of their face and write powerful statements about what makes them amazing.

9. Wrinkled Hearts- Have students cut out a paper heart then wrinkle it all up. Then, start a conversation about thinking first using the phrase, “Before you speak, think and be smart, it’s hard to fix a wrinkled heart.”

10. Intuitive Abstract Art- Let students create explorative abstract creations using inspiring artists. Model how to follow your heart to create abstract art .

11. Emotional Color Wheel- Speak to students about the connection between colors and emotions. Ask: “How does the color red make you feel? What about blue?” Using these emotional connections, have students create an artistic representation of a color wheel or rainbow that addresses these emotional connections.

12. Vision Board- Have students create a vision board of things they want to do in the future. Suggest thinking ahead in a day, a month, and in years. Have students decorate their vision boards to reflect their goals and interests.

13. Hidden Hearts and Positive Phrases- Hearts are a classic symbol to represent feelings. Have students cut out paper hearts and write a positive phrase on each heart. Then, have students secretly hide their hearts around their living space to spread positivity and joy with the people around them.

14. Helping Hands- Encouraging students to think about others can make them realize how much control they have over the feelings of others. Have students trace or draw their own hands and reflect or write what their helpful hands can do for others.

15. Calming Weaving- weaving has a naturally calming effect on students. Try having students create paper weavings with positive self-affirmations woven together. Or, if students are using yarn to weave, encourage them to make connections to the emotions tied with the colors they are choosing.

A great way to start a conversation about SEL is also by simply reading a book to your students.

25 books to read with students to address sel:.

1. A little SPOT of Anxiety by Diane Alber 2. Be You by Peter H. Reynolds 3. Charlotte and the Quiet Place by Deborah Sosin 4. Chocolate Milk, Por Favor by Maria Dismondy 5 . Even Superheroes Have Bad Days by Shelly Becker 6. Exactly You! The Shape of Your Feelings by Sarah Krajewski 7. Grumpy Dinosaur by Michael Gordon 8 . I Am Enough by Grace Byers 9. I Can Handle It by Laurie Wright and Ana Santos 10 . I Think, I Am!: Teaching Kids the Power of Positive Affirmations by Louise Hay 11 . I Will Be Okay by Laurie N. Wright 12. MySELF – Self Control & Self Esteem by Newmark Learning 13. The Boy with Big, Big Feelings by Britney Winn Lee and Jacob Souva 14. The Color Monster – A Story About Emotions by Anna Llenas 15. The Don’t Worry Book by Todd Parr 16. The Invisible String by Patrice Karst 17. There’s Nothing to Do by Dev Petty 18. Those Shoes by Maribeth Boelts 19. Train Your Angry Dragon by Steve Herman 20. Waiting is Not Easy by Mo Willems 21. We’re All Wonders by R.J. Palacio 22. What Should Danny Do? by Adir Levy and Ganit Levy 23. What Were You Thinking? by Bryan Smith and Lisa M. Griffin 24. When You are Brave by Pat Zietlow Miller 25. Worry Says What? by Allison Edwards

Playing interactive games with your students is also a great way to start conversations about their feelings. It can make the conversation more centered around fun and less stressful.

10 games to play that explore sel:.

1. Anger Slayer- Kids Anger Slayer Board Game 2. Feelings & Choices Flip Book 3. Don’t Go Bananas Card Game 4. StrongSuit – The Tower of Self Esteem 5. Match Master Card Game—Social Emotional Learning Game 6. Emoji Stories Dice Game 7. Mad Smartz Card Game 8. Love Language: Kids Conversation Starters 9. Mindfulness Therapy Games: Mindfulness Cards 10. Totem: The Feel Good Game

Our connections to our students are essential during this unprecedented time of teaching. Strengthening our SEL curriculum is a great way to start building even deeper connections with our artists.

What SEL lessons do you like to create with your students?

Why do you feel it is important to make SEL connections?

What do you feel may be an untapped resource in your school regarding SEL?

Magazine articles and podcasts are opinions of professional education contributors and do not necessarily represent the position of the Art of Education University (AOEU) or its academic offerings. Contributors use terms in the way they are most often talked about in the scope of their educational experiences.

Sarah Krajewski

Sarah Krajewski, an elementary school art educator, is AOEU’s Social Media Content Creator and a former AOEU Writer.

How to Engage Students on Day One by Redefining Art

Discover How to Teach Responsible Artificial Intelligence (AI) Use in the Art Room

Ways AI Can Make Your Art Teacher Job Easier for Planning and Assessment

Daring Art Crimes for the Art Teacher That You Won’t Be Able to Put Down!

1st Edition

Tactile Tools for Social Emotional Learning Activities to Help Children Self-Regulate with SEL, PreK-5

Description.

Many emotional learning activities—the “E” in Social Emotional Learning—include self-regulation skills typically led by teachers, but why not empower young people by giving them tools to choose their own self-regulation techniques? This practical and comprehensive book features 52 activities focusing on emotional learning, specifically self-regulation skills that incorporate tactile objects students can store in their personal “toolboxes.” Each activity can be taught or guided by a teacher or classroom leader, supporting children to take charge of their own feelings and behavior, and thereby their own learning success. Tactile Tools for Social Emotional Learning is an important addition to any teacher’s toolkit and is key reading for early childhood educators, elementary school teachers, resource/SPED teachers, and pre-service teachers.

Table of Contents

00a. Notes to the Teacher;  00b. Getting Started;  A. Tools for Breathing & Awareness Activities;  B. Other Sensory Tools;  C. Tools Dealing with Words

Lori A. Reichel, PhD , is an Assistant Professor at SUNY Cortland and a Health Education Consultant. She has taught health education, including SEL, for over 30 years, teaching every grade in the K-12 setting. Due to her expertise, Lori has received many awards including: the New York State AHPERD Health Teacher of the Year (2007), the Eastern Division AHPERD Health Teacher of the Year (2009), the National AHPERD Professional of the Year Award in Health Education (2010), and the New York State AHPERD Professional of the Year Award in 2011.

Critics' Reviews

Dr. Lori Reichel is an expert in her field. She understands that children need to self-regulate before they can learn. She has skillfully compiled this resource book with multiple tools that are practical, easy to use activities which will benefit both student and teacher. Emotionally regulated children focus, learn, retain and ultimately feel better about themselves. Learning these lifelong emotional regulation skills will benefit them now and throughout their adult lives. Dr. Kelli Palfy ,  Registered Psychologist, Alberta, Canada

About VitalSource eBooks

VitalSource is a leading provider of eBooks.

• Access your materials anywhere, at anytime.
• Customer preferences like text size, font type, page color and more.
• Take annotations in line as you read.

Multiple eBook Copies

This eBook is already in your shopping cart. If you would like to replace it with a different purchasing option please remove the current eBook option from your cart.

Book Preview

The country you have selected will result in the following:

• Product pricing will be adjusted to match the corresponding currency.
• The title Perception will be removed from your cart because it is not available in this region.