Fifteen Ways to Incorporate SEL into Your Busy School Day: Free SEL Printables

Social and emotional learning carries a powerful boost of success. Children who benefit from SEL instruction are not only better equipped to manage stress and obstacles as an adult, they also have increased academic and relationship outcomes (Durlak et al., 2011). Social and emotional learning can help create adults who are able to cope with stress in life and have empathy for others. CASEL’s Ready to Lead Report states that including SEL instruction increases student achievement scores by 11 percent.

With the mounting evidence citing support for social and emotional instruction, the question remains: How do teachers fit it into an already packed schedule?

Five Domains of Social and Emotional Learning

Incorporating SEL into subject-area lessons is a simple way to weave social and emotional learning into the busy school week. Merge the five domains of social and emotional learning into writing, reading, math, social studies, and science lessons to stay on track during the school year.

• Self-awareness
• Self-management
• Social awareness
• Responsible decision making
• Relationship skills

Download these free SEL printables from Evan-Moor’s Social and Emotional Learning book! These creative and cross curricular SEL activities keep children practicing important skills all year long.

Discover more social and emotional learning activities below.

Self-Awareness

Helping children learn to identify their emotions is the first step to helping them manage them. Building self-awareness can be as simple as checking in with students throughout the school day. Check-ins can be quick or can take more time.

• Morning greeting: Greet students as they come in the classroom and ask them how they are feeling. This simple act of acknowledging and allowing children to express their emotions is the first step in helping them learn to manage them. It can also provide insight into specific behaviors children may exhibit throughout the school day.
• Morning meeting: Create a short morning meeting for the first 15 minutes of the school day to check in with students and provide them with an opportunity to share how they are feeling and choose a goal they have for the week. Morning meetings are a wonderful opportunity to foster empathy and relationships between students. Allowing an open door for expressing anxiety and stress can help students realize they are not alone in their fears and can also foster empathy for classmates who may be dealing with serious issues at home.
  
• Journal write: Ask students to respond to reflective writing prompts in their journals. Prompts could include:
  • What is your greatest talent?
  • Write down five things that define who you are. Write them in “I am_____ ” statements.
  • Write about a time you did something you were afraid to try. How did you feel afterward?
  • Write about a person you admire. What qualities do you have in common with this person?
  • What do you do when you see a classmate struggling with something?

Self-Management

Helping children manage their emotions throughout the school day can be daunting. Teaching them positive habits and strategies for managing stress can help students learn important life skills.

Portrait of child doing yoga with friends in the park

• Take five deep breaths: Include breathing breaks throughout the week to demonstrate simple and easy calming techniques. A wise teacher once told me that showing your students how to manage conflict and stress will carry more weight than simply telling them how to. Before raising your voice in the classroom, take a minute to breathe deeply and then address the class. Your students will notice a difference.
• Yoga stretches: Incorporating a few yoga stretches after a long period of desk sitting provides students with a moment to clear their mind. It can be as simple as reaching for the sky and touching toes. These physical movements are a great addition to help children understand the connection between their bodies and their minds.
• Create a calm corner: Create a quite space in your classroom where students can go when they feel angry, anxious, or stressed.

Social Awareness

Teach students to have empathy for others by consistently asking them to take a walk in a different pair of shoes. 

• Read-aloud reflections: After reading a story, ask students to think about how they would react when confronted with obstacles that a character has faced. Helping children practice walking in someone else’s shoes is great practice for developing lifelong empathy for others.
• Student sharing: Provide opportunities for students to share their emotions in class. The more students know about each other, the easier it is for them to understand actions and emotions that arise during the school year. One year my daughter came home from school very upset. She had learned during a class sharing that a girl she disliked had a very difficult home life. This simple insight into this student’s struggles helped my daughter develop empathy for this young girl and ultimately led to a lovely friendship.

Responsible Decision Making

Provide opportunities for students to learn about and practice positive decision-making in your classroom. Here are some ways to help your students become thoughtful and engaged decision-makers.

About the Author

Heather Foudy is a certified elementary teacher with over 7 years’ experience as an educator and volunteer in the classroom. She enjoys creating lessons that are meaningful and creative for students. She is currently working for Evan-Moor’s marketing and communications team and enjoys building learning opportunities that are both meaningful and creative for students and teachers alike.