Have you ever asked, “What does social emotional learning mean?” More and more social-emotional learning is coming to the forefront of education. This is absolutely necessary because these are life skills! As a teacher, you incorporate social-emotional learning into your routine daily. Sometimes it’s with an impromptu conversation with a student and other times it’s through formal lessons. Abbreviated SEL, social-emotional learning is when we learn about ourselves, learn about others, and learn how to make responsible decisions. Helping students learn these things is a teacher’s life! We’re always modeling and supporting our students as they learn how to be good humans!
I’m going to give you some more details about what SEL is in the elementary classroom and show you how planned and purposeful SEL activities can be woven into your everyday routine! These activities make a huge difference in the classroom and in our student’s lives – both short and long term! SEL activities are some of my favorites and their benefits are enormous!
Before we get into the nuts and bolts of social-emotional learning, if you need some quick wins for incorporating SEL activities into your lessons, I’ve got just the thing! I’m an elementary school teacher currently working as a Reading Specialist in a K-4 school and I’ve learned how SEL opportunities can be combined with your English Language Arts instruction! I know how hard it is to fit everything in and I know how important these skills are! You can learn How To Seamlessly Combine Social Emotional Learning Opportunities With English Language Arts Instruction with my FREE guide! I can send it directly to your inbox! No sales and no hassles!
I want you to see how just a few minutes before, during, or after an ELA lesson can pay huge dividends! It’s a Win-Win! Click here to get it right away and become an SEL- ELA Superstar! This easy-to-read guide will help you hit the ground running!
What does social-emotional learning mean?
SEL stands for Social Emotional Learning and it’s an essential part of everyone’s development. It helps us understand our feelings and the feelings of others and then helps us make wise decisions to foster relationship-building and achieve our goals. It begins at birth and continues to evolve as we all get older.
As teachers, we know how important social-emotional learning is for our students! A big part of our job is helping our students develop these important skills. From labeling emotions to identifying goals; from learning how to listen to others to learning how to resolve conflicts; from making positive choices to contributing to the greater good – there’s a lot to learn besides ABCs and 123s! Again, this is our teacher life!
Teachers often work in the moment and need to address situations as they arise. Our priorities often change on a dime! One minute we’re reading a traditional tale and discussing character traits and then seemingly without notice we see that one of our students has a tear in her eye. Or, everyone is quiet on the carpet as we’re practicing the reading strategy of visualizing, and out of the blue two students start arguing about one getting into the other’s space! We’re constantly problem-solving and helping our students learn the necessary skills to process their emotions, act in positive ways, and interact with everyone around them.
Teaching kids these social emotional learning skills cannot be neglected or we’d never make it through the day! So what does social-emotional learning mean to me? SEL includes those vital life skills of knowing oneself and getting along with others. These are skills that my students need. Social emotional learning can be reflected on, discussed, explicitly taught, and practiced. These skills can be integrated throughout the school day and can have immensely powerful effects on my students. They can both affect a particular moment, and an entire lifetime.
What does social emotional learning mean? The 5 core competencies
CASEL (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning) works to make SEL a part of every student’s education. According to their website, CASEL says, “It’s both who we are and how we work. We’ve formed a community—spanning classrooms to statehouses—to make social and emotional learning (SEL) part of a high-quality and equitable education for all.” CASEL’s website explains that adult and student social and emotional learning competencies include self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making (Weissberg et al., 2015).
I’ve learned that embedding SEL activities into my day and into particular lessons has totally transformed the way I teach and has had a profound effect on my students.
Benefits of social emotional learning in a classroom
Taking time to help our students learn about themselves has far-reaching positive effects like improving academic achievement and attitudes toward school. Kids learn to manage themselves and have positive attitudes about themselves. As students learn more about others, social behaviors improve and they learn how to understand others’ perspectives. Our plates are full but we owe this to our students. Embedding SEL activities into our day and into our lessons is just what our students need!
What does social emotional learning look like in a classroom?
If you’re reading this and thinking, “How in the world am I going to find time to put MORE into my day? It’s already packed and I already can’t get everything in!!” I would suggest starting small. The activities don’t have to take that long. You can even craft SEL activities to support the skills you’re working on in math and reading! Main Idea and Supporting Details Graphic Organizers with SEL Activities can help you get started in reading right away!
Once you see the incredible impact these activities have on your students and how you can insert them into what you’re already teaching, they will become a highlight of your day and you and your students will look forward to them! These activities support the whole child. One of the biggest improvements I saw was how my students were not only growing academically but also improving their behaviors and life skills.
One of the things I love most about incorporating SEL activities into the school day is how they’ve become so integrated into my lessons. Discussing the feelings and motivations of characters in stories can be applied to my student’s lives. I realize that I’m giving them the vocabulary and opportunity to learn about themselves and ultimately grow. That’s a great feeling!
There are many times during the day that you can incorporate SEL activities! Social emotional learning opportunities can take place during your morning meeting, brain breaks, while practicing mindfulness, as a journal prompt, or with a quick check-in.
Social emotional learning example in elementary schools
- Morning Meeting – Ask, “ What is something that you can do today to show kindness to someone?” This question helps students get outside of themselves and think about others. Looking ahead and considering opportunities that may arise, students can think about recess, lunch, or being in the classroom and how they can specifically be kind to another person.
- Brain Breaks – Practice different calming strategies and physical activities so students can figure out what works for them! Try coloring, music, stress balls, or deep breathing. If your students need more physical activities, try yoga, dance, or Simon Says!
- During Mindfulness – Take a mindful walk outside or listen to calming music. Teach students to focus on the present and all that it offers!
- As a Journal Prompt – Have students take out a piece of paper and write or draw! Ask students to respond to: “Identify an emotion that you were feeling today. What made you feel this way?” or “ What is a decision that you made at school today? How did that decision affect you or someone else?”
- Quick Check-In – Ask a student how they’re feeling and why. Have a morning check-in for students to draw or write about how they feel coming into class. Have students use emojis to express how they’re feeling.
Quick SEL activities
The opportunities and benefits of social emotional learning are limitless! You can add quick SEL activities to your day and support your students academically and emotionally anytime! Here are some more quick ideas!
- Have a Gratitude Poster available for students to write down what they’re grateful for.
- Make a list of words that describe feelings and ask students to relate these words to characters in a story.
- Discuss a character’s feelings and how those feelings affected others.
- Ask students if they’ve ever felt the same way as a character. Students can draw pictures or write about this in a journal.
- Set goals for the day and then see if they were completed. If not, come up with a new plan to achieve them.
- Talk about how you motivate yourself when you might want to quit.
- Notice and discuss when students are persevering.
- Introduce students to real-world role models.
Check these links out for more great information!
Fundamentals of SEL – casel.org
Make SEL Work By Applying These 6 Best Practices – Education Week
Social-Emotional Learning – PBS Learning Media
I love sharing ideas about social-emotional learning because I know how important these skills really are. I also know how much is on your plate. It’s hard to fit everything in! I found that whenever I could combine SEL opportunities with academic instruction, my students made important connections, I saved time, and my kids got exactly what they needed. If you’re ready to make SEL activities a staple in your classroom and are ready for some more quick wins download my FREEBIE and learn How To Seamlessly Combine Social Emotional Learning Opportunities With English Language Arts Instruction today! I’ve got more great ideas that will help you save time in your day, teach important life skills, and teach ELA skills! All at the same time! I can’t wait to help you go from “What does social emotional learning mean?” to “I’m an SEL-ELA Superstar!”
