Social Emotional Learning Teaching Resources
Are you on the hunt for social emotional learning activities, printable PDFs, and more to bring SEL to life in your primary lessons this school year? The list of academic benefits of SEL instruction is a mile long, and the Teach Starter teacher team has created a robust collection of social and emotional learning resources made with teachers – and your students — in mind.
We've made planning your social-emotional learning lessons simple with printable SEL worksheets and digital social and emotional activities designed specifically for the needs of primary school students. Each resource in this collection has undergone rigorous review by the expert teachers on our team to make sure you'll be comfortable passing them out in the classroom or sending them home in a student's bag.
Pardon us if we're sharing something you already know (feel free to skip right to the social emotional learning activities!), but if you're new to incorporating SEL into your classroom, you may need a quick refresher! Read on for a guide from our teacher team!
What Is Social-Emotional Learning?
The most common social-emotional learning — or social and emotional learning — definition describes SEL as 'the process through which all young people and adults acquire and apply the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to develop healthy identities, manage emotions and achieve personal and collective goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain supportive relationships, and make responsible and caring decisions.'
It's a bit of a mouthful, but essentially social and emotional learning covers five core competencies:
- Self-Awareness
- Self-Management
- Social Awareness
- Relationship Skills
- Responsible Decision Making
Where Did Social Emotional Learning Come From?
Teachers have been teaching many of the skills that now fall under the social and emotional learning curriculum for centuries. It's always been our goal to help shape little minds to be caring, productive, and engaged citizens.
But the roots of what we now consider SEL can be traced back to a project in the New Haven, Connecticut schools in the United States where school administrators worked with Yale University researchers, parents, mental health workers and teachers to refocus not just the school's academic programs but their social ones too. The project started in the 1960s at two schools considered 'underperforming,' and by the 1980s, these same schools had academic scores that were at the top of American school rankings.
From there, the K-12 New Haven Social Development program was born, establishing a framework for incorporating social and emotional learning into the curriculum. Meanwhile, the non-profit Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) was born in 1994, helping to really bring the term 'social and emotional learning' into the zeitgeist.
CASEL was born out of the New Haven projects and helped shape the official definition of SEL listed above in 1997. It now works to expand SEL in schools around the globe.
Why Is Social-Emotional Learning Important?
Not sure you have time to fit all of this in alongside the standards that you're preparing students to meet? A solid social and emotional learning curriculum will help students with everything from managing emotions and developing coping skills to setting positive goals, engaging in positive relationships and solving problems effectively — all important competencies for your classroom.
The importance of SEL is hard to overstate, but here are a few core benefits:
- Promote mental health and well-being — Teaching social and emotional lessons in the classroom can help students develop the skills they need to manage their emotions, build positive relationships and cope with stress and challenges. It's a small step toward better mental health for all.
- Improve academic performance — There's strong research showing that students who have strong social and emotional skills are more likely to be engaged in learning and perform better academically.
- Create a positive classroom culture — Teaching social and emotional lessons can help create the kind of classroom culture where students feel safe, respected and supported — exactly what we all strive for!
- Prepare students for life after school — Social and emotional skills are essential for success beyond the classroom, be it at home in the immediate future or in uni or the workforce. Teaching these skills helps students be better equipped to handle the challenges they will face.
- Address specific social and emotional needs — Teaching social and emotional lessons can help address students' specific needs, such as building self-esteem, managing emotions and developing empathy for others. This can also help to create a more inclusive and equitable classroom where all students feel respected and valued. It's also good for your overall classroom management.
How to Teach Social and Emotional Lessons
There's little question that there's value in social and emotional learning, but how do you actually teach it? There's no simple answer here, as the exact methodology will differ based on year level, individual student needs and even your classroom dynamics!
That said, here are some strategies from our teacher team to keep in mind as you consider how you're incorporating the components of SEL in your instruction:
- Modelling — This is likely no surprise — we are our students' role models in the classroom for so much. Don't underestimate the value of your own active listening, displays of empathy and self-regulation, and other skills that are essential for your students' social and emotional development.
- Classroom Culture — Establishing a safe and supportive learning environment where students feel respected, valued and empowered goes a long way. Fostering a sense of community, promoting positive communication and encouraging collaboration and teamwork are all helping kids build their SEL quotient!
- Integration — Of course, you can (and should) have explicit instruction on SEL, but you can also incorporate SEL concepts into your core subject lessons. Discuss emotions related to a character in a book or working on group projects that require collaboration and communication. If you're teaching maths, emphasise the importance of perseverance and problem-solving skills. Teaching HAAS? Discuss empathy and the ability to understand different perspectives. It all comes together!
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Random Acts of Kindness Calendar
16 random acts of kindness tasks for students to do for others.
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Dealing with Bullying Poster
A poster to display in the classroom to encourage students to use the five Tool Kit resilience strategies.
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Cooperation Puzzles - Teamwork Activity
Explore the benefits of cooperation with a tangram-style team-building activity.
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Resilience or Not? Scenario Task Cards
Get students to explore real-life examples of resilience with this set of 16 scenario cards perfect for developing students' social-emotional skills.
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Self-Awareness Worksheet
Help your students build self-awareness by reflecting on the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in the specific scenario outlined on this worksheet.
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Positive Self-Talk Poster
Encourage your students to use positive self-talk on a daily basis with this motivational classroom poster.
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How Big Emotions Feel in My Body – Poster
Help your students identify the signs their body gives them that they are experiencing a ‘big’ emotion with this informative classroom poster.
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Growth Mindset Interactive Activity
Engage students in spending time looking at how to grow their growth mindset with this interactive activity.
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Growth Mindset Game Show Interactive Activity
Explore growth mindset with this interactive activity that encourages students to think, act, write, talk and decide on true or false for a set of questions.
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Asking My Friends to Play Mini-Book
Learn about appropriate social skills when asking friends to play with this printable mini-book.
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Mother's Day Card – Mindful Colouring
Print a beautiful card to colour and give to your mum on Mother’s Day.
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Managing Anger Worksheet (Upper Primary)
Help older students identify and manage angry feelings with this self-reflection and action plan worksheet.
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Behaviour Reflection Sheet (Lower Primary)
Get your young students to reflect on their behaviours with this reflection worksheet.
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Bullying Role Play Cards
Equip students with anti-bullying strategies with printable role play cards that will help them recognise and respond to different types of bullying.
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Resilience Acrostic Poem Worksheet
Have students write a resilience poem to help them understand the meaning of this crucial social-emotional skill.
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Emotional Self-Regulation Poster
Promote emotional awareness and self-regulation in your classroom with this classroom poster.
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Visual Daily Timetable - Desk Strip
A visual timetable for students who could benefit from having the days activities displayed on their desk.
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Coping With Change - Social Story Mini Book
A social story to develop coping skills for when there is a change in the routine.
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Resilience Writing Prompts
Use this set of resilience writing prompts to help your students reflect upon times they have observed resilience in themselves and others.
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Team Building Games for Upper Grades
Encourage communication and cooperation with a set of 10 team building games.
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Managing Big Emotions Posters
Help students manage emotions such as anger, fear, worry, sadness and happiness with this colourful set of posters for your primary school classroom.
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Self-Esteem Heart Activity
Help students boost their self-esteem with this lovely heart-themed activity
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Identifying Emotions Interactive Activity
Help your students identify and explore common emotions with this engaging digital activity.
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Exploring My Strengths Worksheet
Explore individual strengths with this My Strengths Worksheet.
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Empathy vs. Sympathy Reading Comprehension Worksheet
Challenge your students to learn the differences between empathy and sympathy with this reading comprehension worksheet.
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Coping Skills Wheel – Poster
Help your students learn and apply emotional self-regulation skills with this coping skills wheel of choices poster.
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Calming Strategies Chatterbox Template
Help your students choose and apply strategies when they need to calm down with this handy chatterbox template.
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Chill Out – Classroom Break Passes
Give your students a work break to stop behavior problems before they start with our printable Chill Out Passes.
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Safe or Unsafe Social Stories Interactive Activity
Discuss safe and unsafe scenarios with this interactive activity.
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My Body Warning Signs - Worksheet
Help students identify the body signs that indicate they are feeling unsafe with this cut and paste worksheet.
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Social Strategies Task Cards
A teaching resource to help students strategise solutions to problems around mental health and social well being
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Social Stories - Activity Cards
Help your students build social skills and practise concepts learned within our social stories with a set of printable task cards.
- Social Emotional Learning Templates
- Social Emotional Learning Worksheets
- Social Emotional Learning Posters
- Social Emotional Learning Games
- Social Emotional Learning Labels, Signs & Decorations
- Social Emotional Learning Teaching Presentations
- Social Emotional Learning for Preschool/Kindergarten
- Social Emotional Learning for Foundation Year
- Social Emotional Learning for Year 1
- Social Emotional Learning for Year 2
- Social Emotional Learning for Year 3
- Social Emotional Learning for Year 4
- Social Emotional Learning for Year 5
- Social Emotional Learning for Year 6
- Social Emotional Learning for Year 7