While academics are naturally an important component of teaching, equipping students with lifelong skills they will leverage outside the classroom is also an essential part of the job.
After a challenging previous school year, social and emotional learning (SEL) is a major concern among educators as students return to classrooms this fall. SEL involves helping students manage their emotions, achieve their goals, express empathy, build positive relationships, and make responsible decisions, according to the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) website. Along with the pandemic, digital technology and an increased emphasis on mental health have placed SEL in the spotlight in K-12 education in recent years.
SEL Resources for Teachers
To integrate SEL into your classroom and understand its importance in schools, we've compiled a series of free SEL resources. These social and emotional learning articles shed light on strategies to build community in the classroom, school success and transformation stories, and activities for students across all grade levels.
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Teach the 5 Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Competencies
The 5 social-emotional learning (SEL) competencies developed by the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) are crucial to students’ learning and growth. Explore the competencies and strategies for helping students achieve them.
Brenda Iasevoli
Shaped Executive Editor -
What is Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) in Education? Insights for K–12 Educators
Discover what research says about the importance of SEL and how best to improve its integration in schools.
Jordan Friedman
Shaped Editor -
Why is Social-Emotional Learning Important in Schools?
In a survey, nearly all teachers and administrators said they felt it's essential to address the social and emotional needs of students in schools today.
Jordan Friedman
Shaped Editor -
Learning Is Emotional: Why We Need to Maximize SEL in Our Schools
When it comes to social-emotional learning in schools, every $1 invested has an $11 return in long-term benefits.
Dr. Linda Lucey
Associate Partner, ICLE -
SEL in Schools: Why Education Leaders Should Express Their Vulnerabilities
When prioritizing social-emotional learning in schools, allowing those you lead to see you as authentically human with deficiencies as well as strengths can be enlightening.
Anthony Colannino
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Facebook Live: Dr. Stephanie Jones on Social-Emotional Learning in Schools
One social-emotional learning expert explores effective methods to improve SEL in schools and the challenges educators may face in the process.
Joanna Miral
Shaped Staff
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5 Social-Emotional Learning Strategies Teachers Can Use Now
Schools that integrate social-emotional learning into instruction equip students to persevere and master rigorous content. Start with these five tips.
Brenda Iasevoli
Shaped Executive Editor -
6 Strategies for Building Community in the Classroom
How do you foster a sense of safety and belonging so students can focus their energy on learning? These strategies for building community in the classroom will help.
Perry Hollins
Fourth-Grade Teacher, Evanston/Skokie School District, Illinois -
6 Techniques for Implementing Social-Emotional Learning in the Classroom
As teachers, we must provide opportunities for students to develop and foster skills to succeed in school and in their communities.
Amy Dendinger
READ 180 Classroom Teacher & Expert -
How to Incorporate SEL Into an Elementary Science Curriculum
Listen as two former science teachers discuss practical ways to implement social and emotional learning activities in your classroom.
Ann Pearson
Shaped Contributor -
4 Tips for Implementing Social-Emotional Learning
Read four techniques for implementing social-emotional learning in the classroom. SEL at school starts with you!
Erica Battle
Professional Learning Consultant, ICLE -
10 Social and Emotional Learning Strategies for Responding to COVID-19
Explore key principles and strategies that schools and educators can use to nurture students’ social and emotional development.
Francie Alexander
Chief Research Officer, HMHDr. Amy Endo
Education Research Director, Supplemental & Intervention Language & Literacy
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Building Hope Through High Expectations
See how the staff of Glasgow Middle School in Glasgow, Kentucky measured and met their students' social and emotional needs as their classroom went virtual.
Regina Murphy
Principal, Glasgow Middle School -
Why and How One District Prioritized Social-Emotional Learning
When we focus on the whole child, teachers have more time to support learning, and academic achievement increases.
Dina Rocheleau
Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction, Ferndale Public Schools, Michigan -
The Social-Emotional Learning Need: How a Small District Made It a Reality
An assistant principal shares how her district implemented a new model that works best for them to support social-emotional learning.
Kelly Boeing
Assistant Principal, Lucerne Valley Middle High School
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Teaching Empathy: Activities for Middle Schoolers
Nothing builds a sense of community like collective empathy. Check out a few suggestions for middle school activities to practice and model empathy.
Zoe Del Mar
Shaped Staff -
15 SEL Writing and Journal Prompts for Grades 3–12
Introduce your students to the five competencies of SEL with these writing and journal prompts for elementary, middle, and high school.
Ali Habashi
Shaped Editor -
5 Social-Emotional Learning Activities for Elementary School
Use these social-emotional learning activities to work toward improving school culture, addressing discipline problems, and building strong relationships.
Sara Buren
Shaped Contributor -
5 Social-Emotional Learning Activities for Middle School
Teach your middle school students to become the best versions of themselves with these activities based on CASEL's five social-emotional learning core competencies.
Sara Buren
Shaped Contributor -
5 Social-Emotional Learning Activities for High School Students
Help your students become independent and meaningful contributors to society with these high school SEL activities based on CASEL's core competencies.
Sara Buren
Shaped Contributor -
5 Virtual SEL Activities for Remote Learning
Share these SEL remote activities with your students at home to help them develop SEL skills, like self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and responsible decision-making.
Zoe Del Mar
Shaped Staff -
Need a Timesaver? Try an Activity That Ties SEL to ELA
Integrate social-emotional learning into your English language arts curriculum with this literacy activity, where students read and study a text and practice important SEL competencies.
Janna Sakson
Shaped Contributor -
What’s on Your Mind? A Flexible SEL Freewrite
Help students in Grades 3–12 tap into what they're feeling with an informal writing activity.
Janna Sakson
Shaped Contributor -
4 World Kindness Day Activities to Teach Tolerance and SEL Skills
Use these World Kindness Day activities and ideas for the International Day for Tolerance to ensure that every day includes a little (or a lot of!) kindness in your school.
Christine Condon
Shaped Editor-in-Chief -
How to Boost Students’ SEL Skills Using Current Events
Fourth-grade teacher Perry Hollins shares tips for teaching current events through an SEL lens.
Perry Hollins
Fourth-Grade Teacher, Evanston/Skokie School District, Illinois -
Mental Health Awareness Month Activities for Schools
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. It's a great time for teachers to take stock of their students'—and their own—health and well-being. We've got you covered with these Mental Health Awareness Month activities for schools.
Janice Mace
Senior Counselor, National Center for School Mental Health at the University of Maryland
Learn about how teachers and K-12 administrators view SEL and its short- and long-term impacts on students.
View this eBook for facts, insights, and advice related to shaping students’ social and emotional well-being.
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Social and emotional skills are essential to personal and academic growth. Discover how our social-emotional learning curriculum can help your students thrive.
The views expressed in our blog are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of HMH.
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