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SEL 101: What are the core competencies and key settings?

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Artistic Exploration: Encourages creativity and artistic expression in a simple, intuitive way.

Relaxation & Mindfulness: The flowing motion and repetitive nature of the drawing process can have a calming, meditative effect.

Education: It can be used in classrooms to introduce concepts of symmetry, design, and digital art.

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Perfect for leaders, teachers, out-of-school time professionals, and professional learning facilitators, this workshop introduces easy, impactful ways to

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How to Play:

1. Examine the Letters: Each tile displays a letter rendered in a unique font created by Google AI. The design of each letter offers visual hints related to the target word.

2. Zoom In for Details: Players can zoom in on each letter to scrutinize the typographic details, which may provide subtle clues about the word.

3. Make Your Guess: Input your guesses by selecting the empty tiles. You have five attempts to identify the correct word before the game concludes.

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Can you guess the hidden word? The clue is in the 'Tell tale' typography created by Google AI.

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Benefits of Using Brush Ninja for SEL

Encourages self-expression and creativity.

Provides a medium for students to process and communicate their feelings visually.

Builds collaboration skills when used for group projects.

Helps develop fine motor skills and focus.

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Create animations in your browser, on your desktop or phone, for free. No software needed.

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Benefits of Using AutoDraw for SEL

Creativity: Empowers students to express ideas visually, even if they feel unsure of their drawing skills.

Inclusivity: AI assistance helps all students succeed regardless of their artistic ability.

Confidence: Builds confidence in expressing thoughts through visuals.

Collaboration: Encourages teamwork in group projects.

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Fast drawing for everyone. AutoDraw pairs machine learning with drawings from talented artists to help you draw stuff fast.

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Cross-Curricular Applications:

1. Language Arts:

Descriptive Writing: Students practice articulating detailed descriptions of images, enhancing vocabulary and observation skills.

Creative Storytelling: Use images as prompts for students to write narratives, fostering imagination and writing proficiency.

2. Visual Arts:

Art Critique: Analyze AI-generated images to discuss elements of art and principles of design.

Art History Integration: Compare AI-generated images with historical artworks to explore styles and movements.

3. Technology and Computer Science:

Understanding AI: Explore how AI interprets prompts to generate images, introducing concepts of machine learning and artificial intelligence.

Digital Literacy: Discuss the role of AI in creative industries and its implications for the future.

4. Social Studies:

Cultural Analysis: Examine how AI-generated images reflect cultural symbols and themes, leading to discussions on cultural representation.

Historical Context: Use images to prompt discussions about historical events or periods they might represent.

5. Foreign Languages:

Vocabulary Building: Describe images in the target language to enhance vocabulary and descriptive skills.

Cultural Exploration: Analyze images depicting cultural scenes from regions where the language is spoken.

6. Science:

Observation Skills: Develop students' abilities to make detailed observations, a key skill in scientific inquiry.

Scientific Illustration: Use the tool to create prompts for students to draw scientific concepts or phenomena.

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Say What You See - Google Arts & Culture

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Learn the art of image prompting with the help of Google AI.

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Search Classroom Resources | PBS LearningMedia

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Find classroom resources for teachers and students. Search for videos, lesson plans, and games aligned to state and national standards.

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Effective Classroom Management:
Implementing routines and procedures is a vital strategy for improving classroom management. Consistency is key to ensuring success.

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Establishing Classroom Routines and Procedures

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A new school year is the perfect time to revisit classroom routines and procedures. Find some tips for your classroom here.

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Self-motivation is a key element of social-emotional learning. If you're unsure how to help your students become more self-motivated, consider encouraging them to reach their potential by setting SMART goals together as a class.

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Edutopia is a free source of information, inspiration, and practical strategies for learning and teaching in preK-12 education. We are published by the George Lucas Educational Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization.

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Greater Good in Education - Practices for cultivating the social, emotional, and ethical well-being of school staff members

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Practices for cultivating the social, emotional, and ethical well-being of school staff members

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Use the Valentine's Day writing prompts below to inspire your students to explore the relationships between characters who care for each other. Love isn't just for romantic partners—it can also extend to family and friends.

This is another GREAT website to look around. Loaded with great ideas and lessons.

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On February 14, sweets, cards, and gifts will be exchanged across the U.S. as people celebrate Valentine's Day with their loved ones and friends. To help celebrate with your middle school or high school class, we've compiled 25 Valentine's Day writing prompts based on our favorite literary classics.

There are several books and plays introduced in Grades 7-12 that have love as a central theme. You can consider using the Valentine's Day writing prompts below to inspire your students to delve deeper into relationships between characters who love each other. The spectrum for love need not be limited to that between romantic partners and can include love for family or friends as well. Note that the following are potential texts you can use, but always check with your school or district for recommended resources.

Valentine's Day journal prompts

Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

1. One important aspect of any relationship, romantic or otherwise, is communication. How might the story of Romeo and Juliet have changed if they had access to the technology of today? Analyze how one form of new technology may have affected a pivotal scene in the story.

2. Search for a quote about love in Romeo and Juliet. Who is speaking and who is it about? How is the character summarizing their feelings on the emotion? How does it compare to similar quotes from other characters?

3. The love sonnets that Shakespeare wrote in Romeo and Juliet each consisted of 14 lines of poetry written in iambic pentameter. Review one of the sonnets in the play and write one of your own. Avoid clichés when describing the object of your affection. If you prefer, you may write about a platonic love, or else write in the style of a comedy rather than a drama.

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

4. Analyze the following quote: "I would ask you, dearest, to be very generous with him always, and very lenient on his faults when he is not by. I would ask you to believe that he has a heart he very, very seldom reveals, and that there are deep wounds in it. My dear, I have seen it bleeding." -Lucie Manette, A Tale of Two Cities

What does this quote reveal about Lucie's character? How does Lucie demonstrate empathy, and how does that empathy in turn help to shape the story and characters she comes into contact with?

5. The central romance in A Tale of Two Cities is between Lucie Manette and Charles Darnay, both of whom represent ideal or respected character traits. These traits are often those that Sydney Carton laments lacking himself. However, by virtue of being virtuous, both Lucie and Charles lack the depth of character displayed by some of their other, more flawed peers.

Rewrite either a dialogue, scene, or description of either Lucie or Charles. You may change their physical description, how they speak, or how they react in certain situations. Does Lucie still fit the traditional beauty standard? Does Charles suffer from insomnia? How would their rewrites affect the relationships in the book, especially the one between Lucie and Charles?

6. Write a paragraph about the symbolism and significance of the "golden thread." How does the symbol contrast with the image of knitting in the story?

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

7. Oftentimes, stories imply that a romantic relationship is required to live a happy life. How does Janie's story subvert this notion?

8. How do Janie's negative relationships in the novel result in the development of her own self-love and self-actualization? Make sure to touch on all three of her relationships.

9. How does the hurricane that causes Tea Cake's death test Janie's love for the divine? How does her faith compare with her love for Tea Cake?

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

10. Analyze the following quote: "My love for Linton is like the foliage in the woods: time will change it, I'm well aware, as winter changes the trees. My love for Heathcliff resembles the eternal rocks beneath: a source of little visible delight, but necessary. Nelly, I am Heathcliff!" -Catherine, Wuthering Heights

How does Catherine use simile and analogy to describe her differing love for Linton and Heathcliff? Is one love arguably greater than the other, or are they both of equal consequence?

11. Compare and contrast the relationship between Catherine/Heathcliff and Young Catherine/Hareton. How are the relationships similar? How do they differ? Make sure to pay attention to themes like change and nature.

12. In what ways does Nelly Dean express her love for those that she has cared for? How does her maternal love compare to the love that the other characters express toward each other? Make sure to use quotes and examples to support your claims.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

13. In her quest to be loved, Jane Eyre attempts to strike a balance between romance and sacrifice of self. How has her childhood and young adulthood shaped her hopes for the future? How have characters like Mrs. Reed and Maria Temple revealed to Jane what she does and doesn't want in a relationship?

14. How does expectation come into play in the relationship between Jane Eyre and Edward Rochester? How does that expectation evolve throughout the story? Make sure to touch on themes like gender roles.

15. How do the gothic elements affect the romantic developments in the book? How does the darker subject matter contrast with or complement the relationship between Jane Eyre and Edward Rochester?

Poems by various authors

16. Choose from the following poems on love and have your class analyze the tone and subject matter. Have them write a poem of their own about any of the following: romance, family, platonic love, lost love, or aspirational love.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

17. The original title for Pride and Prejudice was First Impressions. Describe how some of the first impressions in the book affect the budding relationships between the characters. How do these impressions compare with the idea of "love at first sight"?

18. How do you think the requirements for marriage and social standing in Pride and Prejudice warp the romantic notions of the characters? Back up your thesis with examples.

19. Familial relationships have a large role in Pride and Prejudice alongside the romantic prospects at play. Choose a character in the Bennet family and write how they might have behaved in a modernized setting. How might Mrs. Bennet's goals for her girls have changed if women could own property? Would Lydia have been considered as wild and foolish by her family members for running off with Wickham? If marriage to a wealthy man was not required of them, would some of the Bennet sisters have chosen not to marry at all?

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

20. Read the following quote: "He talked a lot about the past, and I gathered that he wanted to recover something, some idea of himself perhaps, that had gone into loving Daisy." -Nick Carraway, The Great Gatsby

Nostalgia is an important part of any relationship. Fond memories of the past can provide comfort when challenges arise, but they may also warp the way we see people who have changed over the years. How has nostalgia colored the way Jay Gatsby sees Daisy Buchanan? How does it affect his love for her?

21. Our expectation for what love should look like is often unrealistic, and perceived success does not necessarily lead to happiness. How does Jay Gatsby's love for Daisy Buchanan relate to the American Dream? How does the significance of the "green light" tie into this idea?

22. Despite the relationships in The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald seems to imply there are stronger forces than love at play. What motivator in the book trumps love, and how does it affect the story? Back up your claims with examples.

Share your Valentine's Day writing ideas

Have any more fun Valentine's Day journal prompts? Share your Valentine's Day writing ideas and email us at Shaped@hmhco.com.

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Need some creative Valentine's Day ideas for a younger group of learners? Take a look at these Valentine's Day classroom activities for your classroom.
This blog, originally published in 2021, has been updated for 2025.

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22 Valentine's Day Writing Prompts & Ideas

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No matter what your middle school or high school class is reading, these writing prompts about love will get them ready for Valentine's Day.

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20 Evidence-Based Social Skills Activities and Games for Kids

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20 Evidence-Based Social Skills Activities and Games for Kids

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Socialization activities and games are an excellent way for your child to learn how to interact with their peers, whether they are a toddler, preschooler, or just starting kindergarten. These games help teach important skills such as taking turns, managing emotions, and understanding body language.

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Activities and games for socialization are a great way for your child to learn how to behave around their peers, no matter if he is a toddler, a preschooler, or just started kindergarten. Games can teach skills like taking turns, managing emotions, and reading body language.

Use these evidence-based social skills activities to help your child build positive social behaviors and learn how their actions affect others. With these games, they can become more independent and maintain healthy relationships throughout their lives.

1. Staring Contest

Many children have trouble maintaining eye contact in conversation. A staring contest can help kids make and keep eye contact in a way that allows them to focus on that task, rather than trying to communicate simultaneously.

If your child still feels uncomfortable, you can start smaller. Place a sticker on your forehead for them to look at and then build toward having a conversation.

2. Roll the Ball

It's never too early to start building social skills, and a game of Roll the Ball suits children as young as toddlers. Kids take turns rolling a ball back and forth between them, laying the foundation for other social skills.

Kids learn to carry this skill into taking turns in conversation or joint activities. They also learn self-control by aiming the ball toward their friend and rolling it hard enough to reach them yet with limited force.

3. Virtual Playtime

Sometimes, your child can't have play dates in person, but they can still spend time together over video chat and other online spaces. Video chats help kids make eye contact by looking at their friends on the screen.

Learning to adapt to new situations becomes a valuable trait, whether with social distancing or in their future workplace. Coming up with new ways to spend time together increases problem-solving abilities, which adds to a set of vital social skills.

4. Emotion Charades

Emotion charades involve writing different emotions on strips of paper. Your child picks one out of a hat or bucket. Then, they must try to act out that emotion.

Emotion charades can help children learn to recognize emotions using facial and body cues. You can even adapt social skills activities like this to create a game similar to Pictionary, where children draw the emotions.

By depicting and acting out emotional expressions and reactions in social skills activities, children learn emotion management, which plays an important role in creating positive relationships and communicating feelings.

5. Expression Mimicking Games

When you play this game with your child, you're teaching social skills with expressions. Mimicking your expressions allows your child to understand what certain expressions mean and recognize them when others make them in real conversations.

When kids with social challenges learn to read facial expressions, they become more comfortable in situations involving them.

6. Topic Game

You can play several variations of the topic game, but the most common one involves choosing a topic and naming things that fit into that category using each letter of the alphabet. For example, if you choose animals as the topic, you might come up with:

The topic game teaches kids to stick to one subject and follow directions until they complete the activity. It also helps them make connections and get creative with letters that have fewer options.

7. Step Into Conversation

Step Into Conversation is a card game made for children with autism. The game presents structured social skills activities, like starting a conversation and talking about specific subjects based on cards.

The game helps kids learn how to talk to others appropriately and carry a conversation with perspective and empathy. It teaches good manners and self-control by showing them how to politely enter a conversation, when to talk, and when to listen.

By using socialization games like this one, you give structure to conversations to develop the social skills necessary to handle different situations in their daily life.

8. Improvisational Stories

Many children tell stories even outside of intentional social skills activities. With improvisational stories, you add another challenge that requires them to collaborate and create a narrative without thinking about it beforehand.

For this activity, place cards with pictures or words face down. The child picks three of these cards, and they must include these objects or topics in the story they tell. The game ends when all the cards are gone, or the kids reach the end of their story.

You can use this activity as a multiplayer game where children take turns adding to the story and building on each other's ideas, or one child can tell you their own story.

9. Name Game

With this simple game, kids roll or toss a ball to someone after they call out their name. Social skills activities like this one work well for helping even toddlers learn their peers' names. It shows that they are attentive to others, and it's a step toward getting to know other people.

10. Simon Says

Simon Says builds social skills for kids' self-control, listening, and impulse control as they copy their peers' movements and follow instructions. It also helps keep the attention on the game and rewards good behavior for those who follow the rules throughout the game.

11. Rhythm Games

You can incorporate rhythm games as a social skills activity both at home and in the classroom. These music-making games let your child be creative while following directions and recognizing patterns.

A 2010 study by Kirschner and Tomasello shows that joint music-making helps social behavior. In a game where children must "wake the frogs" with music, the researchers found that kids who followed the rules by making music were more likely to help others who tried waking the frogs with non-musical means.

12. Playing with Characters

These social skills activities involve tapping into your child's natural tendency to play. Using stuffed animals or dolls, you can interact with your child through the toys.

Having conversations through toys teaches kids to recognize behaviors and communicate their feelings. They practice their social skills through the toys in an imaginary, low-risk environment, without worrying about the toys' hurt feelings.

13. Play Pretend

Kids will typically create a scenario in which they pretend to be someone or something else. For example, they might play house and take on the roles of parents, become a doctor, veterinarian, teacher, or cashier. Each of these situations allows them to explore different social skills activities.

As they pretend to parent another child, for instance, they must learn to recognize and respond to emotions, de-escalate situations, and adapt to new situations.

14. Token Stack

You can adapt token stack from board games like checkers to create social skills activities that teach children how to have a considerate conversation. Every time the child speaks and responds appropriately, they add another token to their stack.

They face the challenge of trying to stack their tokens as high as possible while taking turns speaking. This activity makes them focus on having a calm conversation and giving thoughtful responses to questions and statements.

15. Decision-Making Games

Social skills activities like decision-making games come in many forms. By using strategy games or activities as simple as sorting and matching, your child learns persistence, thoughtfulness, and cooperation with others.

These games help kids with indecision, as they ask the child to make a choice, even if it's not right the first time. It demonstrates low-risk consequences and encourages them to try again if they make a mistake.

16. Building Game

When children work together to build something, like a tower using blocks, they must communicate, take turns, and understand each other to bring their creations to life.

Kids will work together to come up with a method to build their items. When they apply it, they learn to try again if the creation falls and celebrate each other's unique abilities when they finish the project successfully.

17. Community Gardening

Community gardening works differently than other social skills activities in that it teaches children to nurture a living thing.

Gardening with others increases social competence by having your child take care of something and learn responsibility, as they cannot neglect their plants. This activity also gets kids outdoors and can help calm them.

18. Team Sports

Children can participate in team sports through their school, on a recreational team, or even play with friends in their backyard. Team sports show kids how to work together toward a common goal and keep their focus on the game.

They also learn to recognize emotions, like when someone gets hurt or scores a goal, and react appropriately when they win or lose.

19. Productive Debate

A productive debate works well for older kids to learn how to manage emotions and work on positive expression, even in challenging situations. They learn how to have difficult conversations calmly, without turning them into an argument or trying to insult the other person.

People who can debate and listen to their opponents develop more of the skills needed to become leaders in the classroom and workplace.

20. Scavenger Hunts

During scavenger hunts, children work together to find objects or get a prize at the end of the activity. By working toward their goal, they learn teamwork, organization, and positive decision-making. They can split up, move as a group, and collaborate to reach the end of the game.

They also get rewarded for cooperating. These activities help them with creative problem-solving abilities by making up clues for other players to solve.

What's Next?

Using evidence-based social skills activities and games helps your child build social skills while doing something they enjoy. You can adapt any of these activities to something that engages your child and allows them to get creative with their socialization.

However, activities and games can only go so far. The Positive Action social skills curriculum is designed to work in tandem with activities like these and more to help your child identify their self-concept and shift this introspection to their social interactions. We feel social skills start within.

Explore our sample lessons for even more ways to encourage your child's social-emotional learning, or contact us to find out how our program can improve your child's social skills and have fun doing it today!

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20 Evidence-Based Social Skills Activities and Games for Kids

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Find out how children can develop healthy social skills such as empathy, emotion management, communication using these 20 evidence-based activities.

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Writing prompt to help you design your turkey!

- The outfit I designed for my turkey is a ____________ (e.g., tuxedo, superhero costume, princess gown).

- The colors of the outfit are ____________ and ____________.

- The outfit includes special patterns like ____________.

- To complete the look, I added ____________ (accessories like hats, shoes, jewelry, etc.).

- A unique feature of the outfit is ____________.

- My turkey feels ____________ (emotion) about its new look.

- A funny or surprising thing about the outfit is ____________.

When you are done, upload it to the Padlet!!

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Projects were created using Sketchup.

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Choice Boards and Tech/SEL Activities

Be sure to look around this website, it is loaded with great activites.

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Check out a variety of free resources that are perfect for Winter FUN! ❄️

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Another website loaded with great lessons!

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Welcome to our supplemental Social Emotional Learning Activities page!

As you will see below, many of the supplemental SEL activities and lesson plans include characters from our game-based, social emotional learning interventions. And when you use the online programs with your students, these activities will reinforce the learning that occurs during game play.

These supplemental resources - lessons, activities, and worksheets - are in the following SELskill areas: Communication, Cooperation, Emotion Regulation, Empathy, Impulse Control, and Social Initiation.

These resources are age-appropriate for elementary and middle school students and are typically used in a classroom or a small group setting. And in most cases, if materials are required for the activity, they are items that you already have in your classroom or office.
Note: Please share this page on your school website so other educators may also benefit.
Social Emotional Learning at Home

Additional Resources for Social Emotional Learning

Our classroom management plan is a step-by-step guide and includes proven strategies, tips and printables for elementary school teachers, and it covers four key components for establishing a successful, well-managed classroom.

These free downloadable posters will decorate your classroom and be great teaching resources, reinforcing social and emotional skills in your classroom and reminding students to practice their skills like emotion regulation, impulse control, empathy, and more.

Social Emotional Learning Quotes

For each of the topics below, we have curated a list of quotes. You can incorporate these quotes in your social emotional learning lessons, add them to social media images, create classroom posters, or write one on your whiteboard each day.

Need Something More Engaging And Effective For A Few Students?

Simply request a FREE Centervention educator account and start using our online programs!

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95 Free Social Emotional Learning Activities

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95 free social emotional learning activities, worksheets, and lessons to help students in elementary and middle school. Most are no-prep and ready to go.

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SEL Activities For Families and Educators

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SEL Activities For Families and Educators

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Great resource for lots of different activities.

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Character Design Prompt:

Create a pumpkin decorated to resemble a _____________ (insect/animal/creature). The pumpkin's body should be _____________ (color) with patterns like _____________ (stripes, spots, etc.).

The pumpkin’s face should have a _____________ (emotion) expression, with features like _____________ (e.g., furrowed eyebrows, small angry eyes, big joyful smile).

Attached to the pumpkin, include _____________ (body parts, e.g., antennae, wings, legs) that are _____________ (color/material).

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This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data.

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Student presentations on what they would like to teach their teacher.

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Students are provided the template and then we work through it each week. Students start by creating the home page about themselves. Each week we complete a writing prompt and students add an artifact reflecting on an activity they did or something they learned about. This is a great resource for students to share with parents!

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This is great to get the class involved! Show the slides presentation and it will automatically go to the question associated with that square. At the bottom of the slides presentation is a list of questions and answers that the presenter can use.

Make a copy of this presentation and then customize it for your own class.

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I love cooking and relaxing in the mountains or on rocky coastlines!

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I love cooking, relaxing, being in the moutains and on rocky coastlines

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This project utilizes mathematical abilities like measurement and tolerancing, as well as unit and metric conversions, along with design skills to create a 3D printable vase.

Follow this link for the rubric for this assignment:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1k_JsG4ZdNGI2O2EXEyhm3teNAeAaxd-rqnawa1d2vzM/edit?usp=sharing

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Phases of the Moon in Black Illustrative style

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After creating their own business, students were asked to create a logo. Some examples of logos and the rubric are included here.

All logos were created using Adobe Illustrator.