You may not find it as a stand-alone class in the curriculum, but social and emotional learning is an integral part of education.Social and emotional learning (SEL) means teaching students how to manage their emotions and how to collaborate and empathize with others. Also known as soft skills, character education, and good citizenship, it’s all about getting along with others and knowing oneself, abilities everyone needs to function in a social setting. These skills also help students do better academically.The most popular framework for SEL instruction is the CASEL 5. CASEL is the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning, a group that provides free online instructional resources for SEL. The CASEL 5 are the five SEL core competencies: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. You can find the CASEL Framework Handout here.
This resource for educators provides background information, discussion questions, and a vocabulary glossary as supplemental material.
When we experience stressful events, our body enters "fight, flight, or freeze" mode, and our heart and breathing rates increase. One way that we can calm ourselves in stressful situations is to engage in deep breathing. Although we all know how to "breath," deep breathing to reduce stress and anxiety is a skill that must be taught. This resource provides a printable with visual explanations that will help teach students deep breathing techniques.
Brain breaks are activities that encourage movement and can help students get the "wiggles" out to refocus their minds for academic learning. Brain breaks can also be used to assist students in transitioning from one classroom activity to the next, to reduce feelings of stress or anxiety, or to energize their bodies to complete a longer work project. These activities do not require any materials or preparation, however, it is recommended that educators provide clear expectations for behavior during the activities and a "stop signal" to alert students when the activity is over. This resource guide provides helpful tips to prepare students for brain breaks.
This guide provides General Brain Breaks, and activities for specific academic subjects, like Vocabulary/Spelling Brain Breaks, Math Brain Breaks, Social Studies Brain Breaks, and Science Brain Breaks. Directions are provided for each activity.
Feeling angry is normal, but sometimes we can do things when we’re angry that are not OK. That’s why it’s important to take a break with The Mooderators to feel a little bit better and make better choices.
This video clip will help young students identify their emotions and learn to express them in a healthy, safe way. This video clip has an associated resource that students can use to create a sign for their "Calm Down Corner," which indicates to others they need a break to practice their self-control skills.
We all feel sad sometimes. Make a list of the things you love doing with The Mooderators, and next time you feel sad, you can try one of those things!
This video clip will help young students identify their emotions and learn to express them in a healthy, safe way. This video clip has an associated resource that students can use to identify strategies that will help them work through their feelings in a positive manner.
It’s time to let your creativity shine with the Mood & Mindfulness Journal from On Our Sleeves! These fun activities for grades K-2 will help you better understand why you feel emotions like happiness and sadness, and help you describe how you are feeling.
This journal includes the following:
This video will help students practice calming breathing strategies that can be used to control stress and anxiety. There is an associated worksheet that can be printed to remind students how to take deep breaths to control negative feelings and emotions, like stress and anxiety.
It’s time to let your creativity shine with the Mood & Mindfulness Journal from On Our Sleeves! These fun activities for grades 3-5 will help you better understand why you feel emotions like happiness and sadness, and help you describe how you are feeling.
Welcome to the world of Ammi—a mindfulness adventure series for young children. Ammi is a wise and gentle child who leads the way as we explore ourselves and one another through the natural world. Each story uses guided imagery to inspire inner connection and support emotional regulation. These simple meditations recognize the importance of imagination as a foundation for conscious creation in the world. They bridge the physical, the energetic, the emotional, and all the spaces in between. Whether in the home or classroom, you can engage in these special practices with children of all ages. Read them aloud together, listen to the guided meditation, and welcome the time to process and integrate the practice.
This resource will help young students learn mindfulness techniques, including practicing self-control and strategies for managing stress.
Self-regulation is a critical skill for people of all ages. It is the ability that helps us to control our behaviors to make good decisions for the long-term, rather than just doing what we want in the moment. It’s also the skill that allows us to manage our emotions when we’re feeling angry, disappointed, or worried. These can be difficult for adults but are significantly more challenging for children and young adults, whose brains are still growing and developing.
There are huge benefits to helping kids and young adults improve their skills for self-regulation. These skills can help kids and young adults to complete their work and chores (even if they don’t want to), maintain lasting friendships, make safe choices when out with friends, stop themselves from breaking a rule, and work through challenges when they feel like giving up, and so much more.
This informational material presents over 15 strategies that educators can use to teach and build students' self-regulation skills.
This resource provides information about precorrection, a low-intensity strategy that can be used to prevent inappropriate academic and social behaviors in the classroom. Precorrection, also called prompting, is exactly as it sounds. The teacher or adult identifies a potential time and place an undesirable behavior may occur and then prompts and praises the appropriate behavior. This strategy can be used daily, at multiple points throughout the day.
The resource includes guidelines and examples of precorrection statements that educators can utilize in classroom instruction.
The Feelings Thermometer is a visual tool that can help students measure how they are doing emotionally and identify steps they can take to shift their mood when things are getting tough.
Like a temperature thermometer, the Feelings Thermometer shows when your emotional temperature is getting warmer and then hotter, to potentially dangerous degrees. It starts at blue – the calm zone and goes to red – the furious zone. Throughout the zones, it lists activities to feel less angry, frustrated, anxious, and sad. Research shows that just identifying a calming activity can reduce stress and anxiety.
This resource can be used in a variety of settings to help students name their feelings and identify methods to self-regulate their negative emotions.
