When students have strong social skills, like managing their emotions and showing empathy toward classmates, it takes learning to a new level. The more emotionally intelligent we are, the stronger we are as learners. Social emotional learning is a win-win that can be both fun and easy to integrate into the school day. If you’re looking for new ways to help your students boost their social skills, check out these 25 SEL activities from Share My Lesson, a site created by the American Federation of Teachers that has more than 420,000 free classroom resources.
1. Draw With Squiggles
The imagination and personality of every student are what create a unique and vibrant classroom community. Start with art in your SEL activities! Give each student a squiggle on the page and ask them to create something from this squiggle. Line the finished pieces up and notice how each began with the same squiggle and became something uniquely their own. (Grades 2-6)
GET DRAW WITH SQUIGGLES ACTIVITY
2. Build a Classroom Web
How do communities support each other? How do people support each other? Students will explore these topics by answering questions and passing around a ball of twine or string. Through this activity they’ll be creating a classroom web to understand interdependence and express emotion. (Grades K-2)
3. Face the Music
As many agree, music is the language of the soul. Challenge students to find songs that inspire positive coping skills, gratitude, accountability, conflict resolution, relationship building, self-efficacy, resiliency, and self-motivation to boost these essential skills through SEL activities. (Grades 6-12)
4. Create a Peace Place
Self-calming strategies are the meat and potatoes of emotional intelligence. Explore these peace-inducing moves and create a place for students to go to when emotions become just too much to manage. (Grades K-12)
5. Perfect Picture Books
Maria Walther, author of The Read Aloud Handbook, said, “What did we do when we all had to isolate ourselves at the onset of the pandemic? We read aloud books to one another.” And she was right! Authors, teachers, celebrities, and more recorded themselves reading picture books. Why? Because picture books help us deal with hard things. They also help us grow socially and emotionally. (Grades K-12)
6. It’s Morphin’ Time!
Looking for a way to combine ELA, SEL, and physical education? Look no further! Power Rangers have got you covered. This unique combination helps students identify their individual strengths while also learning teamwork. (Grades 1-3)
7. Diversity is Cool in Our Community
Todd Parr’s amazing book “It’s Okay to Feel Different” is the foundation for this SEL experience. Not only does this book teach us how diversity enriches our lives, it also teaches us that what we bring to the table that may be “different” is just what the community needs. (Grades Pre-K-5)
8. These Shoes Were Made for Walkin’
Empathy is a muscle that needs tending in order for it to aid in social and emotional growth. One way to build empathy is to metaphorically stand in the shoes of others and imagine what they must be thinking and feeling. This experience brings together a little bit of theater and a whole lot of perspective building. (Grades Pre-K-12)
9. Soar With Wings
If you are looking for a collection of carefully curated cohesive lessons, this resource is for you. The folks at Soar with Wings have put together the tools that students need, and teachers can practically use, to support SEL across time. These SEL activities are fun and filled with learning. (Grades K-5)
10. SEL Superpowers
Let the DC Comics superheroes teach students the value of teamwork, friendship, and self-esteem and how to build those superpowers in everyday life. These materials are available in both English and Spanish and promote goal setting, diversity, and collaboration. Leave it to Wonder Woman, Batgirl, and Supergirl to teach us such important life skills. (Grades 1-3)
11. Empathy Learning Journeys
Created by Better World Ed, this resource seamlessly integrates SEL and global competence into academic learning. Through a trio of wordless videos, written story, and an accompanying lesson plan, Better World Ed has created a positively binge-worthy set of resources. (Grades 3-12)
12. You Know What They Say About Assumptions…
They can get us into a HOT MESS! Begin with an indigenous tale from the White Mountain Apache and learn about self management and unpacking the challenges of judging others without all of the facts in hand. Remember the Four Awesome Questions? Use them once again with this experience. (Grades Pre-K-6)
13. Confusion Solutions
Some of the most challenging moments for managing emotions in the classroom is when confusion sets in. Teach students how to work through confusion and advocate for themselves with this activity that will benefit ALL subject areas. (Grades 6-12)
GET CONFUSION SOLUTIONS ACTIVITY
14. Just Breathe
A free, always available, ever-reliable resource to every human is their breath. Knowing ways to harness the breath is extremely helpful for self-management and building resilience. It may sound simple, and it is, but it is one of the most powerful tools we can teach students how to use. (Grades 6-12)
15. Cruella the Teacher?
Now we all seem to know a little something about Cruella Deville, specifically her unkind ways with Dalmatian puppies. But Cruella as a teacher of SEL? Yep! This mini-unit builds knowledge of the CASEL competencies of self-awareness, social awareness, and relationship skills. (Grades 8-12)
16. Inspiring Art and Music
This activity brings SEL down to a fine art. Senna and Summa use both poetry and music to comfort and grow. They teach us all how to use art in times of hardship, manifesting something beautiful. (Grades 6-12)
17. Share Your Sparkle
Perhaps when you think of sparkle, hope, inclusion, and kindness, My Little Pony comes to mind? Well, if not for us grown-ups, it sure does for our littlest learners. Thanks to the generosity of eOne and Hasbro, we can use these new ponies to teach little ones how to celebrate each other’s uniqueness. (Pre-K-Kindergarten)
18. Books of Great Character
Reading develops social emotional skills, and vice versa, especially when diverse and layered characters are involved. Such characters can be found in the books Brave Like Me and Too Many Bubbles by Christine Peck and Mags Deroma. These books, and others in their collection, teach mindfulness, bravery, creativity, and empathy. (Grades Pre-K-3)
19. Dreaming Tree
Is your curriculum so scripted there is little to no time for SEL? Fear not! This micro lesson using the Four Awesome Questions help you take the tiniest amount of time and address SEL in mighty ways.(Grades 2-6)
20. You Are Enough
When reading these words, don’t you feel a sense of relief? I know I sure do. But sometimes, even students need a reminder that who they are is and will always be enough. Enjoy the book I am Enough by Grace Byers and identify personal strengths through similes. (Grades 2-5)
21. Potato Perspectives
Surprisingly, potatoes can teach us a whole lot about the language we use with social emotional learning. Especially when Potato has a difficult time with Eggplant in this sweet and important story. This resource is especially helpful for multilingual learners. (Grades 1-3)
GET POTATO PERSPECTIVES ACTIVITY
22. Curiosity as a Quest
Yes, we want curiosity to get the better of us, for sure. When we are sparked by curiosity about the world around us, we delve deeply into understanding the world around us. In this activity, explore cultural, social, and environmental issues through the lens of curious questions. (Grades 3-5)
23. Balancing Moral Ferocity with Self-Awareness
Oh, yes, this is a mouthful. And it also addresses SEL head on in ways that will change the landscape of our communities. Explore ways to galvanize compassionate action in troubled times with incredibly moving and fulfilling work. (Grades 9-12)
24. Glass Half Full
Sometimes it just takes a shift of perspective, and also some ideas from kids, to help us see the positive and build gratitude. Inspired by Glass Half Full News, an online series written from the perspective of kids, this collection of activities blends SEL and ELA so beautifully. (Grades K-5)
25. The Greatest Gift is Ourselves
Folktales, including this one from Japan, continually remind us that each of us brings the greatest gifts to the world—ourselves. This timeless, ageless activity reminds us that through empathy and goodwill, we can all make the world a better place. (Grades K-12)
Looking for more SEL activities?
Whether you need more SEL activities or you want lessons and activities on other topics, Share My Lesson can help with more than 420,000 free classroom resources for pre-K through higher education. Plus, explore collections of SEL resources for elementary students or middle and high schoolers.
