Social and Emotional Learning Teacher Resources

Learning to manage emotions, establish and keep healthy relationships, make decisions responsibly, and set goals are built into many classrooms already. However, teaching them intentionally- whether through another subject or directly- is where social and emotional learning (SEL) can transform a student's learning experience.

Whether you are new to SEL strategies in your classroom, or simply trying to bolster current practices, we've got you covered! 

Showing 1,561 resources
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Instructional Video11:15
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Transforming Education

SEL for Educators: Mini Module #5

For Teachers K - Higher Ed
Mini Module #5 examines the high-leverage practice of orienting towards optimism. In this 11-minute video, educators take in the importance of optimism as they progress through their social and emotional learning journey, paying special...
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Worksheet
Centervention

Halloween Worksheets: Emotional Monsters

For Students K - 5th
Eight blank monster faces make up an activity that tasks scholars with drawing a face that corresponds to a specific emotion. Feelings include happiness, confusion, silliness, and more. 
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Activity
Thoughtful Learning

Seeing Emotions in Body Language

For Students K - 5th
Scholars test their skills of reading body language with a collaborative learning experience that focuses on showing and identifying emotions. Pairs take turns acting out an emotion, one uses body language while the other guesses what...
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Activity
Thoughtful Learning

Checking the Emotion Thermometer

For Students K - 5th
A hand-drawn thermometer provides a strong visual for how much of an emotion a child is feeling. Scholars color the thermometer's mercury to showcase whether what they are feeling is high or low at a certain moment. Questions allow...
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Unit Plan
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Ohio National Guard

Emotional Intelligence

For Teachers 5th - 12th Standards
Provide teenagers with the social skills they need to live happy lives with this collection of worksheets and activities. Covering a variety of topics from self-awareness and assertiveness, to stress management and problem solving, this...
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Handout
Transforming Education

Growth Mindset Toolkit for Parents

For Parents K - Higher Ed
Designed as a workshop, the Growth Mindset Toolkit introduces parents and guardians to the growth mindset competency, one of the five social-emotional learning areas. The workshop provides caregivers with information about why lessons...
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Activity
Committee for Children

Students Learn to Stop Rumors Before They Start

For Teachers 4th - 5th Standards
Two activities look at how rumors are spread and ways class members can stop them. The first activity brings forth an in-depth conversation about how reporters gather information to write articles and how students can implement the same...
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Lesson Plan
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Health Smart Virginia

Health/Social Emotional Skills

For Teachers 8th
Designed for instructors, a seven-page packet provides an overview of the Health Smart unit for eighth-graders. The resource includes the objectives and goals of the unit, details suggested procedures and provides links to additional...
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Lesson Plan
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Health Smart Virginia

Social Emotional Skills Lessons Overview

For Teachers 6th
The Unit 1 - Overview of the Health Smart Grade 6 series provides instructors with the rationale and goals of a five-resource unit designed to support scholars' social and emotional development. Packed with activity ideas, the resource...
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Unit Plan
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Roald Dahl

Roald Dahl Matilda Lesson Plans

For Teachers 3rd - 7th Standards
Fifty eye-catching pages contain six lessons about Roald Dahl's novel, Matilda. Each lesson has a theme and covers a different subject—literacy, social-emotional learning, science, and geography. Scholars analyze characters, examine...
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Lesson Plan
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J. Paul Getty Trust

Expressing Emotions through Art Lesson 1—Everyone Shows They Care

For Teachers K - 2nd Standards
In a lesson that explores art and emotions, scholars analyze a piece of art and discuss which emotions it portrays. They go on to reflect on their own emotions and how they are similar to the feelings expressed artistically. Participants...
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Lesson Plan
Health Smart Virginia

Emotions

For Teachers 3rd
Five activity ideas begin a six-part series that looks closely at social-emotional competencies. Activities include ways to incorporate kindness, several lessons from Kids Health, a variety of mindfulness practices, scenario discussions,...
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Activity
Thoughtful Learning

Seeing Emotion in Facial Expressions

For Students K - 8th
Learning to read body language, especially facial expressions, is the focus of a mini-lesson. Young learners examine a series of photographs, identify the emotion being illustrated, and then discuss the cues that revealed the emotion.
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Lesson Plan
Health Smart Virginia

Let’s Talk Emotions

For Teachers 1st
A presentation guides a discussion and opportunity for role-playing about identifying and talking about emotions. To begin, scholars share memories of happiness and unhappiness and how they responded to specific feelings. Then, learners...
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Lesson Plan
Health Smart Virginia

Social Emotional Skills

For Teachers 4th
A list of activity ideas, lessons, and resource links all focus on kindness, empathy, and mindfulness. Five steps offer experience in role-play, crafts, writing, thoughtful discussions, and more! 
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Worksheet
Talking with Trees

Empathy

For Students K - 5th
Strengthen the skill to empathize with others with a worksheet that challenges scholars to match emotions—including happy, confused, sad—to one's body language.
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Lesson Plan
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California Department of Education

Consonance and Dissonance: Creating Intervals for Emotions (CTE)

For Teachers 9th - 12th
How are music and emotion related? Using lesson plan two of four from the Changing One's Tune: A Music Therapy STEM Integrated Project Series, scholars explore the connection between the two topics. They learn to recognize different...
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Lesson Plan
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Overcoming Obstacles

Identifying Your Learning Style

For Teachers 9th - 12th
How many different learning styles are there? Four? Five? Seven? Twelve? It depends on who you ask. But the point of this lesson plan is that people learn differently, and most have a way or ways that work best for them. To help identify...
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Lesson Plan
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Facing History and Ourselves

Understanding Identity

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Key to social-emotional learning is understanding who we are. The first lesson in an Understanding Identity unit asks class members to consider the factors that shape one's concept of themselves, the parts of their identity they choose...
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Lesson Plan
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Overcoming Obstacles

Controlling Emotions in Conflicts

For Teachers 6th - 8th
"Stop! Think! and Cool Down!" Participants in the third lesson in the Resolving Conflicts module learn how to pause and reflect in stressful situations rather than react. The class generates a list of strategies that could help control...
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Lesson Plan
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Western Justice Center

Emotions, Regulation Strategies

For Teachers 4th - 12th
To regulate emotions in a conflict it is first necessary to be able to identify those emotions. To that end, class members engage in a series of activities, watch a series of videos, and compete worksheets that help them understand and...
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Unit Plan
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UNICEF

Self and Interpersonal Relationships Theme Unit

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
A key goal of social-emotional learning is to help young people develop healthy attitudes towards themselves and others. A 173-page curriculum guide provides  step-by-step lessons that are richly detailed, carefully scaffolded, and...
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Lesson Plan
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Health Smart Virginia

Social Awareness: Empathy

For Teachers 7th
As part of the unit on social, emotional health, seventh-graders examine the difference between a growth mindset and a fixed mindset. Pairs then engage in an activity that analyzes a scenario and role play resolution strategies that show...
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Activity
Thoughtful Learning

Learning to Say No

For Students K - 5th
It's not always easy to say "no". Give scholars the power and confidence to stand up for themselves with several steps to communicate using their voice and body language.