Social Emotional Learning for Elementary Students

As children grow and develop, they acquire many skills to help them become caring and respectful individuals. Whether these skills are naturally acquired through modeling and practice or a more direct instruction approach, students need to learn how to resolve conflicts, communicate effectively, and cooperate.

Building Social Skills for Kids with Writing Prompts

One skill that students will develop from an early age is the ability to cooperate with others at home and school. Teach Starter has created a pack of printable writing prompts that are perfect for a bit of quiet reflection. Some prompts include:

• Write a dialogue between two classmates who are having a disagreement. How do they work together to find a solution?
• Write about a time when you worked on a project with a group of friends. What did you learn about cooperation?
• Imagine you are a teacher for a day. Write about how you would encourage cooperation and getting along with others in your class.
• Imagine that you woke up one morning in a rotten mood. Write a list of things you might do that would demonstrate uncooperative behavior.

This download includes ten writing prompts written for upper years students. 

Tips for Differentiation + Scaffolding 

A team of dedicated, experienced educators created this resource to support your social-emotional lessons. 

If you have a mixture of above and below-level learners, check out these suggestions for keeping students on track with the concepts: 

🆘 Support Struggling Students

Allow the student to work with a peer to help them write their verbal response to the prompt.

Easily Prepare This Resource for Your Students

Use the dropdown icon on the Download button to choose between the PDF or editable Google Slides version of this resource.

Don’t stop there! We’ve got more activities and resources that cut down on lesson planning time:  

teaching resource

My Forgiveness Journal – SEL Worksheets

Teach students about the importance of forgiving others with this printable forgiveness journal.

teaching resource

How to Be a Good Friend – Mini-Book

Encourage students to build relationships by learning how to be a good friend with this printable mini-book.