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School classrooms sit at the center of the education ecosystem. Students spend the majority of their school day in classrooms, and these spaces are at the

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Explicit SEL instruction refers to consistent opportunities for students to cultivate, practice, and reflect on social and emotional competencies in ways that are developmentally appropriate and culturally responsive. These opportunities provide dedicated time to focus on social and emotional competencies.
If you have already begun providing explicit SEL instruction, use the rubric or the questions below to identify areas for continuous improvement:
Within evidence-based programs, explicit SEL instruction often occurs through free-standing lessons that provide step-by-step instructions to teach students social and emotional competencies on age-appropriate topics. Topics may include labeling feelings, coping with stress, setting and achieving goals, developing empathy, communicating effectively, resolving conflict, being assertive, and making responsible decisions.

The most effective lessons provide explicit instruction as well as opportunities for practicing skills beyond the lesson and throughout the day, or through connections during academic lessons. Parents and community members might also be invited to help or participate in lessons and activities (Dusenbery et al, 2015).
Effective SEL instruction has four elements represented by the acronym SAFE:

Sequenced-connected and coordinated activities to foster skills development;

Active-active forms of learning to help students master new skills;

Focused-containing activities that clearly emphasize developing personal and social skills;

Explicit-targeting specific social and emotional skills(Durlak et al., 2010, 2011)

Here are some examples of explicit SEL lessons:

Preschool students might receive a lesson on how to calm down and solve interpersonal conflicts using a few simple steps, such as stop and take a breath, say how you feel and why, let the other person say how they feel and why, and decide together what you can do.

An elementary class might have a lesson on how to label feelings using words like "pleasant," "happy," "irritated," or "angry."

A middle or high school lesson may include discussion of mixed emotions and explore the fact that different people can experience different feelings in a similar situation.

You can explore evidence-based SEL programs using CASEL's Program Guide. Schools may use evidence-based programs to provide explicit SEL instruction through classroom activities that develop specific skills (Durlak et al., 2011), routines and structures such as morning check-ins or conflict resolution/peace corners (Dusenbery et al, 2015), or teaching practices such as authentic feedback on SEL competencies (Dusenbery et al, 2015).

Because it's difficult to scaffold a developmentally appropriate sequence of explicit SEL lessons and measure the long-term impact, CASEL strongly recommends that schools adopt an evidence-based program as part of schoolwide SEL implementation. For more information, see Adopt an Evidence Based Program.

When explicit SEL instruction is offered through non-evidence-based lessons or activities developed by schools, teachers, or community partners, the scope and sequence should contain all of the SAFE elements mentioned above. When possible, also align these lessons or activities to broader standards, such as state's SEL standards. If your school chooses this method, it's important to build in robust continuous improvement cycles to understand whether these lessons are effective.

Structuring Explicit SEL Instruction

Here are some considerations for structuring explicit SEL instruction:

Give Teachers the Responsibility to Teach SEL: It is important that teachers, rather than counselors or support staff, take the lead on delivering explicit SEL instruction. This approach allows teachers to form strong relationships with their students and integrate SEL concepts throughout all instruction so students can practice and apply SEL in multiple contexts. By taking ownership of teaching SEL, teachers also enhance their own social and emotional learning. Counselors and other support staff are great sources of knowledge on SEL and may support teachers by co-facilitating, coaching, or leading professional learning on SEL instruction.

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Teacher self-assessment: SEL in the Classroom

This tool helps teachers reflect on the ways they promote SEL through explicit instruction, integration into academic instruction, and through a supportive classroom climate.

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SEL Reflection Prompts

Teachers can reinforce concepts from SEL lessons by incorporating reflection questions like these into student assignments and discussion.

Dedicate Time for SEL Instruction in the Master Schedule: Explicit SEL instruction may occur during a dedicated class period, such as advisory, or as part of regularly set-aside time during another class, such as the first 30 minutes of Monday homeroom. Schools have found many ways to schedule SEL instruction, such as:

All teachers teach SEL lessons on the same day at the same time.

All teachers deliver SEL lessons on the same day(s) of the week, with each teacher staggering their lessons throughout the day. This structure is especially helpful for scheduling peer, coach, or or administrator visits, as the visitor can observe and support the implementation of several lessons in a single day.

Consider how classrooms will move through SEL lessons: If all teachers move through lessons at the same pace, they can co-plan areas for integration and support one another. This approach also makes it easier for administrators or an SEL coach to provide support. Similarly, in some schools teachers and out-of-school-time staff coordinate lessons and activities so that afterschool experiences reinforce school day learning and vice versa.

When making decisions about how to find time and structure explicit SEL opportunities, solicit input from teachers and out-of-school-time staff to ensure that the final decision will be helpful and well-received by your professional staff. Take a vote at a staff meeting, send out a survey, or use a discussion protocol to make a decision.

Note: A school's efforts at SEL are more likely to succeed if you consistently make space to discuss SEL implementation. Grade-level team meetings are an excellent time to support reflection, inquiry, and collaboration among teachers.

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Using Grade-Level Team Meetings to Support the Implementation of Explicit SEL Instruction

This tool provides guidance for using grade-level team meetings to collaborate and reflect on strategies for explicit SEL instruction.

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Explicit SEL instruction refers to consistent opportunities for students to cultivate, practice, and reflect on social and emotional competencies in ways that are developmentally appropriate and culturally responsive. These opportunities provide dedicated time to focus on social and emotional competencies.

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While your team works to align school discipline policies to SEL, it's important to ensure that all classrooms consistently reinforce a student-centered approach to discipline.

When classrooms foster supportive relationships and a strong sense of community, belonging, and safety, students are less likely to engage in disruptive behaviors. Research shows that schoolwide SEL has a positive impact on student behavior and leads to fewer disciplinary issues (Durlak et al, 2011).

At the same time, student-centered classroom discipline policies contribute to a supportive environment and provide developmentally-appropriate opportunities for students to learn, problem-solve, and take ownership of their behaviors. In contrast, classroom discipline practices that focus on punishment can undermine schoolwide SEL initiatives and disengage students from their classroom communities (Toldson, McGee & Lemmons, 2013; Kupchik & Catlaw, 2014).
Student-centered discipline involves engaging students as decision-makers and problem-solvers. This process: Support teachers in learning and developing student-centered discipline strategies, including:

Having discussions and providing students with opportunities to provide input and feedback on classroom routines, procedures, and community agreements.

Providing strategies for students to monitor and regulate their behavior and emotions.

Providing tools for students to problem-solve, work through conflicts, and repair harm.

Teaching and modeling self-reflection.

Responding consistently and fairly when classroom shared agreements are breached, but also understanding students' individual needs and the root causes of behaviors. Adapted from: "Student-Centered Discipline" in Social and Emotional Learning Coaching Toolkit

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While your team works to align school discipline policies to SEL, it's important to ensure that all classrooms consistently reinforce a student-centered approach to discipline. When classrooms foster supportive relationships and a strong sense of community, belonging, and safety, students are less likely to engage in disruptive behaviors.

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Integration of SEL & Academic Instruction

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Integration of SEL & Academic Instruction

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Integration of SEL and Instruction - Casel Schoolguide

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Social and emotional competencies serve as a foundation for achieving academic goals, while academic instruction also provides a ripe opportunity for teaching and practicing SEL. Through schoolwide SEL, your team can ensure that SEL is woven throughout academic instructional time to support and deepen learning.

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Consciously or not, students come to school with beliefs about who they are as learners. These beliefs are influenced by parents, peers, past classroom experiences, and the wider culture, and can either support or undermine school success (Farrington, C.A. et al, 2012).

Academic mindsets are beliefs or ways of perceiving oneself in relation to learning, and they lay the groundwork for deep academic, social and emotional learning.
These four academic mindsets have a positive impact on persistence and school performance (Farrington et al, 2012):

I belong in this academic community. Students who feel a sense of belonging in their schools and classrooms demonstrate higher levels of competencies such as self-efficacy and intrinsic motivation.

My ability and competence grow with my effort. As explained in Carol Dweck's groundbreaking work on the subject, a "growth mindset" leads to the belief that we can improve with effort and new strategies, and that struggle is part of the process. These beliefs encourage students to practice and develop the social and emotional skills to stay motivated, set goals, and reflect on progress. By contrast, students (and adults) who see intelligence as "fixed" view struggle as a sign of inferiority and something to be avoided or disguised. For more on the work of Carol Dweck, follow this link to Mindset Works.

I can succeed at this. Believing that one can be successful leads to increased effort and engagement, creating a positive feedback loop between hard work, mastery, and increased self-efficacy beliefs.

This work has value for me. Learners are naturally motivated when they find a task compelling or see connections between the learning and their personal aspirations.

(Farrington et al., 2012)

How Teachers Shape Academic Mindsets

Teachers have strong influence over academic mindsets through instructional practices and creating environments that shape students' motivation, engagement, and persistence (Allensworth et al., 2018)

Some of the ways that teachers can positively influence academic mindsets are addressed in the Supportive Classroom Environment activity, including creating a sense of belonging and emotional safety. In addition, teachers can:

Set high expectations - Teachers can help students construct narratives of success by nurturing a positive developmental relationship in which they support and challenge students (Cohen and Steele, 2002 et al in Farrington et al, 2012). A central way to do this is by setting high expectations.
Strategies that communicate high expectations for students:

Ask students to explain their thinking and provide evidence to engage students' meta-cognition and communication skills.

Allow for productive struggle; provide guidance and support for students when they engage with challenging material without jumping in with the answers. This builds self-efficacy, an important social and emotional competency.

Check for understanding regularly and adjust instruction so that all students are engaged.

Provide clear examples of high-quality work and express confidence that students can perform to that standard (Osher & Kendziora, 2010).

Use specific feedback to drive improvement (Hattie & Gan, 2011).

Express genuine interest in student thinking, and set and model clear norms for how the class will respond to mistakes.

Frame mistakes and struggle as an important part of learning - While we all struggle or fail sometimes, it is what we take these experiences to mean that determines how we feel about ourselves as learners (Kolb and Kolb, 2009). Do we view struggle as a sign of inadequacy, or an intrinsic part of the learning process? How teachers communicate the meaning of setbacks, struggle, and failure is critical to students' mindsets.
Strategies that frame mistakes and struggles as part of the learning process:

Provide opportunities for students to correct errors and revise work.

Talk to students about mistakes or struggles you've made, and provide opportunities for them to reflect on their own mistakes or struggles.

Prioritize learning that refrains from one right answer, and look for multiple ways to get to a solution or answer.

Use parent-teacher conferences as an opportunity to frame growth mindset and mistakes as part of the learning process.

Use culturally responsive teaching practices and challenge stereotype threat - Stereotype threat refers to "being at risk of confirming...a negative stereotype about one's social group" (Steele & Aronson, 1995 in Farrington et al., 2012). This can increase anxiety and make it more difficult to focus, leading to underperformance even when a student is prepared, especially for students who are from marginalized and/or stigmatized groups.
Strategies that support culturally responsive practices:

Have students complete brief writing exercises about what values are important to them and connect this to the learning (Cohen, Garcia, Purdue-Vaughns, Apfel, Brzustoski, 2009).

Make connections between instructional content and community and real-world issues.

Where developmentally appropriate, teach students directly about stereotype threat and discuss if/ how it has affected them. Ask students for thoughts on challenging stereotype threat in the classroom. Listen in a way that demonstrates curiosity and interest in the experiences of your students. This helps students develop the social and emotional skills to deal with acculturative stress (Aronson & Williams 2004; Johns & Schmader 2004).

Help students to reflect on their experiences with stereotype threat in a way that promotes agency while acknowledging the reality of their challenges.

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Consciously or not, students come to school with beliefs about who they are as learners. These beliefs are influenced by parents, peers, past classroom experiences, and the wider culture, and can either support or undermine school success (Farrington, C.A. et al, 2012).

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When instructional practices actively involve students in making meaning of content, they are more deeply engaged in their learning and have meaningful opportunities to practice SEL skills.

Your SEL team can support teachers in collaboratively developing instructional practices that put students' thinking at the center of the learning.
This section provides guidance for two research-based techniques that all teachers can use to promote SEL:

Class discussions: Students use communication skills to puzzle over ideas, respectfully compare thinking, and deepen understanding of content.

Cooperative learning: Small groups of students use knowledge of their own strengths and the ability to take the perspectives of others to complete learning tasks collectively.

Class Discussion

Conversation with peers is critical to student learning and improves comprehension and engagement in various settings (Cazden, 2001). Effective classroom discussion also provides important opportunities for students to practice social and emotional skills, including grappling with multiple perspectives, communicating effectively, and disagreeing respectfully.

While classroom discussion is an appropriate strategy for all grades, the approach may differ depending on developmental levels. In the younger grades, discussions might be shorter, or teachers may choose to have students spend more time talking in pairs or triads.

At all levels, the teacher plays a key role in these discussions, acting as guide and facilitator, using well-designed questions to draw out students' thinking and modeling effective communication. The goal is for students to ultimately take ownership of the process by asking one another questions, building on the ideas of their peers, and disagreeing thoughtfully.

Laying the foundation for productive, student-driven discussions begins long before the discussion itself and requires a supportive classroom environment.

Teachers can also prepare for class discussions by:

Creating agreements specifically for discussion. Similar to classroom shared agreements, these agreements focus on communication skills and ensure all students feel safe to engage in dialogue. These may include:

One person speaks at a time.

Track the speaker.

Challenge the idea and not the person.

Setting the tone. The teacher's verbal and non-verbal responses set the tone for engagement. Through modeling, teachers can promote intellectual risk-taking and participation. For example:

Practice patience when students take time to formulate ideas.

Respond to errors by validating confusion and asking scaffolded questions.

Encourage students to challenge your ideas or ask for clarification.

Explaining that making mistakes is a part of learning. For many students, engagement feels threatening. They want to protect themselves from being exposed as "not knowing the answer." Disarm this anxiety by noting that mistakes are how we learn and honoring productive struggle. Teachers can do this by asking students to share their thinking, especially when they are not sure (e.g.,"Is there anyone who isn't completely sure about their answer? I'd love to see your process and I bet it will help others out, too.") and by framing mistakes as learning opportunities (e.g.,"I'm really glad that you shared that mistake, Alex. It is common to multiply here, and I bet others did it, too. Who can tell me why it seems like you should multiply, even though the problem actually calls for division?").

Like any skill, building communication skills requires a scaffolded approach.

The following techniques offer ways to get conversations started and build communication skills:

Provide opportunities for rehearsal-Have students do a quick jot or partner share before sharing out with the class. This gives them a chance to process and revise ideas before sharing widely.

Use sentence starters-At the beginning of the year, provide sentence starters, such as "I agree with Anthony about X, but want to add Y" or "I disagree that X, because in the text it says Y." These frames help build students' communication skills. The complexity and number of frames may differ depending on the age group.

Think aloud-Verbalize your inner thoughts to model problem-solving. For example: "Hmmmm. I'm not sure what the author means by 'The girl's actions, while unintentional, were still beneficial.' Unintentional means 'not on purpose,' but what does 'beneficial' mean? I remember that the root is 'bene.' What other words have that root? Oh yeah-benefit! That's positive and helpful. So maybe even though the girl didn't set out to be helpful, the things that she did still ended up helping the boy."

Allow for wait time-After asking a question, pause for 10 seconds before calling on anyone. This allows everyone to think before the discussion begins. Also pause before responding to a question to allow learners time to think.

Managing the Discussion

Here are some discussion techniques to help keep the conversation going:

Ask open-ended questions-You can foster more inclusive, engaging, and effective classroom discussions by asking open-ended questions.

Ask facilitative questions-To keep students' attention focused on one another and build social awareness, ask questions that guide students to respond directly to one another. For example:

Who has some thoughts connected to what [Sarah] just said?

Do you agree or disagree with what [she] said?

What can you add to what [Abdul] just said?

Meeting the Needs of English Learners

For English Learners (ELs), rich classroom discussions provide essential opportunities to practice language in context. The expansion of content knowledge and conversational strategies go hand in hand (Bunch, Kibler, Pimentel, 2012).

Keep in mind, however, that social interactions- including classroom discussions- are culturally grounded. Learning about the speaking and listening conventions of your students' home cultures will help teachers be a resource for students negotiating classroom conversations. Even so, some students may feel self-conscious about their emerging language skills as they are developing.

Have students turn and talk or take a few minutes to write out their ideas before sharing with the class. This allows them to practice communication skills in a supported way.

Pre-teach content or vocabulary in advance of class discussions. This helps students to enter discussions feeling more confident and makes it more likely they will take the risks required to practice communication skills.

As with the broader class, be sure to explicitly call out the value of academic risk-taking (e.g., "Let's hear from a couple of people who can challenge my idea?" or "Thank you for your willingness to ask that question, Paul. It will help our whole class to better understand mitosis.") This strategy helps to build a culture where mistakes are viewed as an important part of the learning process and alleviates pressure around speaking for both ELs and other students.

Classroom discussions also provide opportunities for all students, including ELs, to hear concepts explained in a variety of ways. This can increase understanding and engagement and help students "own" the learning.

Cooperative Learning

Cooperative learning provides students important opportunities to practice and reflect on their social and emotional competencies as they work in small groups. Examples include groups of students working on a math problem, and students who meet weekly in a book club.

During cooperative learning, students support and challenge one another, developing their relationship and responsible decision-making competencies. They also learn to articulate their ideas, explain material to their peers, and use metacognition for a more active approach to learning. This requires a great deal of social and self-awareness as students work to explain their thinking while remaining open to their peers' perspectives. Cooperative learning reinforces positive academic mindsets by asking students to take on challenging material in a way that feels supported and social (Marzano, Pickering, Pollock 2001).

Mr. Greene is excited to engage his students in cooperative learning, but the last time he tried it, some students seemed to do most of the work, while others were disengaged. It felt like whenever he went to support a group of students, another group across the room would begin to goof off. He started to wonder if the students had the self-awareness or self-management to engage with the tasks productively. "But if I don't give them the chance to practice," he mused, "how can I expect them to get better?!"

This time, Mr. Greene decides he will set his students up for success. He facilitates a discussion about how relationships skills-including the ability to work together- helps in school and career. He then works with students to establish norms for group work by asking what it will look like, sound like, and feel like to collaborate effectively. Next, he asks students to come up and model ways to handle potential encounters in their group; for example, one student moving forward too quickly, or a classmate who is disengaged.

As students rehearse responses to potential challenges, Mr. Greene asks them to think about the relationship skills they have learned in explicit instruction, including how to give feedback and listen actively. He frequently reinforces that the goal of group work is that all members learn the material, not merely that the work gets completed.

After giving clear instructions and checking for understanding, Mr. Greene moves throughout the classroom as the students work. He stops by each group to pose a question that will push their thinking forward, or to make an observation about what he notices in their group collaboration, but he doesn't stay with any one group for too long. At the halfway point, he pulls the class together to share out their thinking and reflect on how their collaboration is going.

Afterwards, each group has an opportunity to share out their big ideas. Students also have a chance to reflect on how they did both as a group and as individual team members. He points out strengths he observed and asks students to reflect on what they could do differently.
The central elements to cooperative learning are:

Positive interdependence: When students understand that their success depends on the success of the group, they will take the time to help one another master the material. This builds social awareness and also helps motivate students who may be used to achieving below their potential.

Individual and group accountability: Students must also be held accountable both for their own learning and the group work, which promotes self-management and social awareness.

Promoting one another's successes: The teacher helps students develop relationship skills by brainstorming positive ways to support peers who are struggling and to celebrate growth. It is also beneficial to model and have students practice negotiating the specific encounters within their group. For example, the teacher may ask students to brainstorm ideas for how they might appropriately respond to a teammate who is getting off-task.

Group processing: As students take on more responsibility for their own learning, have them discuss and reflect on how they are doing as a group to guide their participation and promote responsible decision-making

Adapted from Cooperation and competition: Theory and research (Johnson & Johnson, 1989)

Setting Students Up for Success

A supportive classroom environment is critical to setting a foundation for cooperative learning. In addition, the SEL team can support teachers in the following strategies to set up classrooms for cooperative learning.

Plan carefully before introducing the task to students. Just as with direct instruction, plan what you want students to know, understand, or explore. Then, determine how to structure the activity meaningfully and assess whether students have reached the objectives. Plan to include tools such as graphic organizers to support all learners.

Introduce students to strong systems to build independence and support effective group work (e.g., students collaborate, contribute equitably and resolve conflicts effectively). It can be helpful to include:

Student roles (summarizer, spokesperson, timekeeper, questioner).

The order of tasks.

Communication signals for when the group needs assistance.

Norms around using materials and equipment.

Ask students to help you model what cooperation in this task will look like.

Keep group sizes small (six or fewer) to keep the group cohesive.

Pre-teach some of the vocabulary and concepts to help students who may struggle with the material to participate fully.

Once cooperative learning is launched, teachers report that they spend less time managing their classrooms (Gibbs, 2006). This allows them to act more as coaches or facilitators, challenging and encouraging students learning. However, teachers do intervene when needed to improve both group functioning and students' understanding of content.

Numbered Heads Together. Ask students to number off in their teams from one to four. Announce a question and a time limit for developing an answer. When time's up, call a number and ask all students with that number to stand and answer the question. Recognize correct responses and elaborate through rich discussions (Kagan, 2009). As students discuss their perspectives on questions, they have the opportunity to practice communication skills and social-awareness.

Team Jigsaw. Assign each student in a team one-fourth of a topic to investigate. Each student completes the assignment and then teaches the others in their group or helps to put together a team product. This builds self-efficacy and awareness of personal strengths as each student plays a valuable role in the group's learning.

Categorizing. Ask students to analyze and classify objects based on specific criteria (e.g., categorizing new vocabulary as "adjective, verb, noun"). Categorizing can be used as a discussion starter and doesn't need to have one correct answer. For example, students can take a list of historical events and categorize their impact as being predominantly "political, economic, religious, military, or social" and then justify their answers.

Rally Coach. In math, students form pairs to solve problems. Student A solves the first problem, explaining their process aloud as they go. Student B uses self-management and relationship skills to listen and observe, coaching only if needed. Next, the student's roles are reversed.

Reflection

When students are afforded time to reflect, they develop self- and social awareness, foundational SEL competencies. During cooperative learning groups, ask students to pause and reflect on how the collaboration is going and what they might do to make it even better. When group work is complete, ask students to reflect on how they did with modeling and practicing the competencies.

Opportunities for reflection are critical during collaborative learning so that students not only work together, but think metacognitively about which competencies and strategies helped them to be effective. This will help them to transfer those strategies to other environments.

What is one way that you positively contributed to your team?

What is one thing your team can do better next time?

What did you learn about yourself as a team member?

Which competencies did you practice? Which do you want to work on?

What is one thing from our learning today that surprised you or that you are still wondering about?

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SEL integrated planning checklist

This tool helps teachers identify where within lesson plans SEL practices are already present, or where they might be included.

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When instructional practices actively involve students in making meaning of content, they are more deeply engaged in their learning and have meaningful opportunities to practice SEL skills. Your SEL team can support teachers in collaboratively developing instructional practices that put students' thinking at the center of the learning.

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As your SEL team works with teachers to align SEL and academic objectives, it's also important to consider how the content is delivered so that it supports the practice of social and emotional competencies. The guidance in this section should be considered alongside the Interactive Pedagogy section as part of the full integration of SEL into instruction.

How Do SEL and Academic Goals Align?

Each academic discipline has its own questions, processes, and proficiencies. Teachers consider what students should know and be able to do when planning their lessons. This emphasis- not merely on acquiring content knowledge, but on being able to do something with it- is reflected in academic standards for each content area and connects closely to SEL.
Common Core and SEL Alignment
As an example of Common Core and SEL alignment, within the Common Core math process standards, students are asked to "construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others." Social and emotional learning is naturally embedded as students:

Anticipate how their own arguments may be interpreted and received by taking on the perspectives of others. (Social awareness)

Think metacognitively and organize their own thoughts with given information. (Self-management)

Understand others' perspectives to effectively interpret their arguments. (Social awareness)

Listen actively to further explore the arguments of others. (Relationship skills)Adapted From: The Charles A. Dana Center at The University of Texas at Austin

Supporting Teachers in Aligning SEL with Academic Goals

After developing an understanding of how SEL standards support and sustain deep learning, the SEL team can collaborate with teachers to determine where SEL can be embedded in academic content standards. Pay special attention to:

Challenging or conceptually large ideas- Challenging concepts require a strategy, such as empowering students to cope with frustration or to collaborate effectively with a partner to achieve an objective.

Tasks or process goals- What are students going to need to be able to do? Social and emotional competencies can often support these objectives. For example, in science students may be tasked with planning and carrying out an investigation, which will require self-management skills such as planning and breaking large tasks down into manageable steps.

Goals that specifically involve interpreting decisions and relationships, either fictional or historical- Social studies and language arts goals often lend themselves to connections with SEL. For example, for the ELA goal that students "analyze how particular lines of dialogue or incidents in a story or drama propel the action, reveal aspects of a character, or provoke a decision," teachers could consider an SEL goal that deals with perspective-taking (such as "I can understand the perspective of another by what they say or do") or responsible decision-making.

Many schools and districts have found it helpful to create crosswalks between their academic content standards and SEL standards or goals to illuminate their interconnection.

Once teachers have determined places of alignment between SEL and academic standards, a Frame, Coach, Reflect model can help make these connections clear to students.

Frame: Learning requires thoughtful scaffolding (Darling-Hammond et al, 2017, and Hammond & Jackson, 2015). Teachers can provide this scaffolding for social and emotional competencies by framing the competencies students will use to reach their content learning goals.
Try it:
Coach: Teachers can help students develop social and emotional competencies by providing them opportunities to perform them in new and increasingly complex situations and providing specific feedback in the context of authentic application (Wiggins & McTighe, 2011). In this context, the teacher acts as a coach.
Try it:
Reflect: Reflection is a crucial part of learning because it helps to build meta-cognition (Donovan & Bransford, 2005) and activate neural pathways (Darling-Hammond, 2018 in press). Reflection is critical in building students' self-awareness.
Try it:
Examples of Aligned SEL and Academic Objectives
Math Math

Academic Standard: Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them (CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP1)

Connections to SEL: In order to persevere in solving a problem, students will need self-management to work through frustration.

Example of Aligned SEL Standard: Individual demonstrates a resilient attitude and growth mindset, even in the face of adversity and challenges. (Rhode Island Social Emotional Learning Standard 2D)

Potential SEL Objective: "I can appropriately handle my feelings" (Self-management)

Frame: Teacher says something like, "Some of the problems we will be working on today are very challenging. We need challenges to grow, but they can definitely be frustrating! Can anyone remind me what strategies we can use if we are feeling frustrated?" Wait for student responses (take a deep breath, check our self talk, remember our math strategies).

Coach: As students work, circulate and notice when students seem to be stuck. Ask them what strategy they will try to get unstuck.

Reflect: Ask students, "What was one strategy you used that helped you to persevere today?" Give students a few moments to respond in their journals or share with a partner.

English Language Arts

Academic Standard: With some guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on how well purpose and audience have been addressed. (CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.8.5)

Connections to SEL: Students will need responsible decision-making strategies to monitor their own engagement in brainstorming, writing, requesting feedback from a peer, revising, and editing. They will also need relationship skills to give and receive feedback with peers.

Example of Aligned SEL Standards: Monitor progress on achieving a short-term personal goal; Evaluate the application of communication and social skills in daily interactions with peers, teachers, and families. (Illinois State Social Emotional Learning Standards 1C.2b and 2C.5a)

Potential SEL Objective: "I can set goals and create a plan related to them" or " I can effectively give and receive feedback"

Frame: Teacher says something like, "Writers! Today you will be moving independently through your writing process. Many of you are ready for an exciting step: getting feedback from a colleague in the class. Think about a time that someone gave you feedback that was really helpful. What did they do?" (Allow for some discussion about what makes feedback effective and palatable). Ask, "What are some things you think will be important to do when giving feedback?" (e.g., "be specific," "say what worked for you and where you had challenges"). Consider role-playing a quick feedback with a student to model and/or using sentence frames.

Coach: Check in with students who are giving one another feedback to see if they are communicating effectively. Notice some positive "feedback moves" students are making that you can share with the class. If students are struggling to give effective feedback, remind them of their strategies.

Reflect: Ask students, "What was it like to give feedback? To receive it?" Allow students to share with a partner or journal independently.

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Aligned SEL sample lesson plan

This tool helps teachers identify where within lesson plans SEL practices are already present, or where they might be included.

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SEL Reflection Prompts

Sample reflection questions, aligned with the five core competencies of SEL, that support students' self-awareness and prioritizes their insights into their own strengths and challenges.

Diversity and Inclusion in Content Materials

Aligning SEL and academic goals includes a thoughtful consideration of the materials and texts we share. To develop self and social awareness, students from all backgrounds and walks of life need exposure to a variety of voices, cultures, and perspectives, and to understand their own personal contexts, including ethnic, family, community, and classroom cultures (Hammond and Jackson, 2015). Students also need to see themselves reflected in the scientists, mathematicians, musicians, and writers they study.

When choosing content materials, consider diversity within cultural or socio-economic groups as well. Avoid promoting what Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie describes as " single stories." According to Adiche, we promote single stories when we "show a people as one thing, as only one thing, over and over again, and that is what they become." By providing a variety of experiences within a variety of cultures, we equip students to respect the richness and diversity of the human experience.

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As your SEL team works with teachers to align SEL and academic objectives, it's also important to consider how the content is delivered so that it supports the practice of social and emotional competencies. The guidance in this section should be considered alongside the Interactive Pedagogy section as part of the full integration of SEL into instruction.

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Evidence-based SEL programs are grounded in research and principles of child and adolescent development, and scientifically evaluated and shown to produce positive student outcomes. The goals of schoolwide SEL are more likely to be achieved when evidence-based approaches are used to reach students in all settings where they spend their time.

Effective SEL approaches often incorporate four elements represented by the acronym SAFE:

SEQUENCED: Connected and coordinated activities to foster skills development.

ACTIVE: Employing active forms of learning to help students master new skills and attitudes.

FOCUSED: Dedicated time and attention to developing personal and social skills.

EXPLICIT: Targeting specific social and emotional skills.

If you have already adopted an evidence-based program, use the rubric or the questions below to identify areas for continuous improvement:
A core part of schoolwide implementation is adopting an evidence-based program that provides structured SEL opportunities for all students. This is complemented by additional strategies your school uses to extend SEL throughout the school day and out-of-school time.
According to a meta-analysis of 213 rigorous studies of SEL in schools (Durlak et al., 2011), students who received high-quality, evidence-based SEL programming demonstrated:

Better academic performance: achievement scores an average of 11 percentile points higher than students who did not receive systematic SEL instruction.

Improved attitudes and behaviors: greater motivation to learn, deeper commitment to school, increased time devoted to schoolwork, and better classroom behavior.

Fewer negative behaviors: decreased disruptive behaviors, noncompliance, aggression, delinquent acts, and disciplinary referrals.

Reduced emotional distress: fewer reports of student depression, anxiety, stress, and social withdrawal.

Another meta-analysis found that participation in an SEL program had a lasting impact on these outcomes up to 18 years later, regardless of students' race, socioeconomic background, or school location (Taylor et al., 2017).

There are many types of evidence-based SEL programs, including programs that can support positive school or classroom climate, explicit SEL instruction, and/or SEL integration into academics. Your SEL team can reflect on which evidence-based approach is the best fit for your unique community through the process of adopting and launching an SEL program:

Adopting an SEL Program
1. Identify priorities
Identify priorities for the SEL program that align with the school's SEL goals. The CASEL Schoolwide SEL planner will help your team develop goals that are aligned with the school's resources and needs. Also consider SEL standards and any other school improvement efforts that might be addressed by an SEL program (for example, improving relationships among teachers and students, increasing students' ability to solve problems peacefully, building a more welcoming school climate, or better meeting the needs of English learners).
2. Identify SEL programs
Identify SEL programs that address priorities. The SEL team gathers preliminary information about SEL programs that might address their school's priorities. Consult the CASEL Program Guide for a list of evidence-based SEL programs that meet its "SELect criteria." (See Tool: How to use the CASEL Guide to SEL Programs).

The Guide provides a systematic framework for evaluating the quality of social and emotional programs, which is used to identify and rate well-designed, evidence-based SEL programs. The Guide also shares best-practice guidelines for district and school teams on how to select and implement SEL programs.

Quality evidence-based SEL programs:

Are well-designed and promote students' social and emotional skills.

Provide high-quality professional learning to support implementation.

Are evidence-based, as indicated by rigorous research.

3. Review available program information to narrow the search.
Your team can visit program websites to determine how well those programs align with your school's priorities and learn about:

The program's approach to SEL skill development.

The scope and sequence of content.

Instructional practices that foster positive relationships and support SEL skill-building.

The cultural sensitivity and linguistic responsiveness of the program.

How the program works in the field (gauged through sample materials and videos).

Research reports about the program.

Available professional development and ongoing technical assistance.

Implementation costs, both initially and over time.

Tools for linking the program to family and community partners.

4. As an SEL team complete the tool below to review each of the programs identified.
Download Tool

Selecting an Evidence-Based Program

Use this tool to identify a program that aligns to the needs of your students and their families, the needs of your teachers who will be using the program, and district and school priorities.
5. Request program review copies from publishers at varying grade levels, as well as information about:

Costs of core and supplemental materials.

Whether materials are offered in multiple languages.

Costs for professional development and other available supports, and the full scope of services included in those costs.

Existing process, timeline, and costs for training local district and school staff to deliver related professional learning for the EBP over time.

The availability of guidance and tools for monitoring implementation and evaluating student outcomes. (Allow enough time for hands-on experiences with the curriculum by a variety of teachers and team discussions based on a materials review. Experienced educators can help assess whether the lessons can be facilitated in the time described.)

Availability of guidance and tools for connecting with families and community partners.

6. Communicate with or (if resources permit) visit schools using the program.
Publishers are often willing to provide contact information for such schools. It can also be beneficial to connect with schools outside of the publishers' recommendations. It may also be possible to connect virtually with practitioners who have first-hand experience with a program.
7. Complete the selection process.
Compare the information you've gathered about each program, and share findings with the school community during staff meetings, department/grade-level meetings, parent meetings, and/or school board meetings. Your team can then compile the input and makes a collaborative decision with the principal.

Adopting an Evidence-Based Program at Marcus Garvey School

At Marcus Garvey School in the Chicago Public Schools, SEL was already incorporated into their balanced instructional model. To enhance their approach to schoolwide SEL, a team of staff leaders decided to look for an evidence-based SEL program that could provide sequenced and consistent SEL practice for students at all grade levels.

To help establish priorities for what they wanted the program to address, the team reviewed data from the district's climate survey for their school. This helped them better understand the perspectives of their students. When reviewing the climate data, they discovered that students in their school did not feel connected to the adults.

The team used the CASEL Program Guide to identify a program that could help teachers and students relate more effectively and build their social and emotional competencies.

Since then, the school has embedded SEL into core curriculum by integrating the state of Illinois' SEL Learning Standards with the evidence-based program and with all subject areas. The school uses tracking forms to help teachers stay up-to-date on lesson coordination and implementation, and staff are offered ongoing professional learning to ensure a high level of quality.

Launching an Evidence-Based SEL Program

After selecting an SEL program, the next step is to develop an implementation plan. Some schools start with a focused implementation plan and build on it during subsequent years. For example, a school might pilot a program at one or two grade levels or a few classrooms before implementing schoolwide to ensure strong implementation.

When deciding to launch a program schoolwide, consider:

Who will implement the program: It's strongly recommended that teachers be responsible for leading explicit SEL lessons in their own classrooms so they can form strong relationships with their students. They'll also be better equipped to incorporate SEL concepts throughout their teaching, and students will be better supported to practice those skills throughout the day. Counselors, administrators, youth advocates, mentors, families, and community partners can extend the program's instruction beyond the school day.

When the program should be implemented: Whether there's a dedicated SEL block for direct instruction or teachers choose how to build the program into their schedule, it's highly recommended to have an administrator visit during those lessons and make note of shining moments in newsletters, staff meetings, or email.

How the program will be implemented: What supports and technology may be needed to implement with fidelity? (For example, some programs include video clips.) How might these lessons align with district-prioritized instructional strategies?

The time frame for implementation: How often are the lessons facilitated? For how long? What kinds of collegial planning can support robust implementation that brings the school community into a shared experience? How can successes and challenges with the implementation be addressed during staff or department meetings?

Professional Learning for Program Implementation

Many SEL programs offer professional learning services to support implementation, ranging from a brief introductory program overview to multi-day explorations of SEL with in-depth program practice. Training may include workshops, coaching, and online support.

Professional development is an investment and critical to the success of the program. A common mistake schools and districts make is to underestimate the importance of professional learning. If funding for adequate professional learning is a challenge, consider these cost-saving measures:

Collaborating with a district SEL office if available.

Sending a small team to a "training-of-trainers" or a certification process that prepares them to deliver professional learning to the staff.

Utilizing online professional learning opportunities.

Pursuing state and federal funding sources such as Titles I, II, and III.

The SEL team can use TOOL: Planning for Professional Learning on Evidence-Based Programs to begin incorporating professional learning and other support activities into the existing schoolwide professional learning plan.

Download Tool

Planning for Professional Learning on Evidence-Based Programs

Use this tool to begin incorporating professional learning and other support activities into the existing schoolwide professional learning plan.

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Evidence-based SEL programs are grounded in research and principles of child and adolescent development, and scientifically evaluated and shown to produce positive student outcomes. The goals of schoolwide SEL are more likely to be achieved when evidence-based approaches are used to reach students in all settings where they spend their time.

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Explicit SEL instruction refers to consistent opportunities for students to cultivate, practice, and reflect on social and emotional competencies in ways that are developmentally appropriate and culturally responsive. These opportunities provide dedicated time to focus on social and emotional competencies.
If you have already begun providing explicit SEL instruction, use the rubric or the questions below to identify areas for continuous improvement:
Within evidence-based programs, explicit SEL instruction often occurs through free-standing lessons that provide step-by-step instructions to teach students social and emotional competencies on age-appropriate topics. Topics may include labeling feelings, coping with stress, setting and achieving goals, developing empathy, communicating effectively, resolving conflict, being assertive, and making responsible decisions.

The most effective lessons provide explicit instruction as well as opportunities for practicing skills beyond the lesson and throughout the day, or through connections during academic lessons. Parents and community members might also be invited to help or participate in lessons and activities (Dusenbery et al, 2015).
Effective SEL instruction has four elements represented by the acronym SAFE:

Sequenced-connected and coordinated activities to foster skills development;

Active-active forms of learning to help students master new skills;

Focused-containing activities that clearly emphasize developing personal and social skills;

Explicit-targeting specific social and emotional skills(Durlak et al., 2010, 2011)

Here are some examples of explicit SEL lessons:

Preschool students might receive a lesson on how to calm down and solve interpersonal conflicts using a few simple steps, such as stop and take a breath, say how you feel and why, let the other person say how they feel and why, and decide together what you can do.

An elementary class might have a lesson on how to label feelings using words like "pleasant," "happy," "irritated," or "angry."

A middle or high school lesson may include discussion of mixed emotions and explore the fact that different people can experience different feelings in a similar situation.

You can explore evidence-based SEL programs using CASEL's Program Guide. Schools may use evidence-based programs to provide explicit SEL instruction through classroom activities that develop specific skills (Durlak et al., 2011), routines and structures such as morning check-ins or conflict resolution/peace corners (Dusenbery et al, 2015), or teaching practices such as authentic feedback on SEL competencies (Dusenbery et al, 2015).

Because it's difficult to scaffold a developmentally appropriate sequence of explicit SEL lessons and measure the long-term impact, CASEL strongly recommends that schools adopt an evidence-based program as part of schoolwide SEL implementation. For more information, see Adopt an Evidence Based Program.

When explicit SEL instruction is offered through non-evidence-based lessons or activities developed by schools, teachers, or community partners, the scope and sequence should contain all of the SAFE elements mentioned above. When possible, also align these lessons or activities to broader standards, such as state's SEL standards. If your school chooses this method, it's important to build in robust continuous improvement cycles to understand whether these lessons are effective.

Structuring Explicit SEL Instruction

Here are some considerations for structuring explicit SEL instruction:

Give Teachers the Responsibility to Teach SEL: It is important that teachers, rather than counselors or support staff, take the lead on delivering explicit SEL instruction. This approach allows teachers to form strong relationships with their students and integrate SEL concepts throughout all instruction so students can practice and apply SEL in multiple contexts. By taking ownership of teaching SEL, teachers also enhance their own social and emotional learning. Counselors and other support staff are great sources of knowledge on SEL and may support teachers by co-facilitating, coaching, or leading professional learning on SEL instruction.

Download Tool

Teacher self-assessment: SEL in the Classroom

This tool helps teachers reflect on the ways they promote SEL through explicit instruction, integration into academic instruction, and through a supportive classroom climate.

Download Tool

SEL Reflection Prompts

Teachers can reinforce concepts from SEL lessons by incorporating reflection questions like these into student assignments and discussion.

Dedicate Time for SEL Instruction in the Master Schedule: Explicit SEL instruction may occur during a dedicated class period, such as advisory, or as part of regularly set-aside time during another class, such as the first 30 minutes of Monday homeroom. Schools have found many ways to schedule SEL instruction, such as:

All teachers teach SEL lessons on the same day at the same time.

All teachers deliver SEL lessons on the same day(s) of the week, with each teacher staggering their lessons throughout the day. This structure is especially helpful for scheduling peer, coach, or or administrator visits, as the visitor can observe and support the implementation of several lessons in a single day.

Consider how classrooms will move through SEL lessons: If all teachers move through lessons at the same pace, they can co-plan areas for integration and support one another. This approach also makes it easier for administrators or an SEL coach to provide support. Similarly, in some schools teachers and out-of-school-time staff coordinate lessons and activities so that afterschool experiences reinforce school day learning and vice versa.

When making decisions about how to find time and structure explicit SEL opportunities, solicit input from teachers and out-of-school-time staff to ensure that the final decision will be helpful and well-received by your professional staff. Take a vote at a staff meeting, send out a survey, or use a discussion protocol to make a decision.

Note: A school's efforts at SEL are more likely to succeed if you consistently make space to discuss SEL implementation. Grade-level team meetings are an excellent time to support reflection, inquiry, and collaboration among teachers.

Download Tool

Using Grade-Level Team Meetings to Support the Implementation of Explicit SEL Instruction

This tool provides guidance for using grade-level team meetings to collaborate and reflect on strategies for explicit SEL instruction.

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Explicit SEL instruction refers to consistent opportunities for students to cultivate, practice, and reflect on social and emotional competencies in ways that are developmentally appropriate and culturally responsive. These opportunities provide dedicated time to focus on social and emotional competencies.

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COR includes:

Five online learning modules that can be taken alone or together depending on the needs of your organization.

Activities that include video presentations, reflective questions, and interactive components.

Certification for each module you complete.

Learn More about COR

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COR - Creating Opportunities Through Relationships

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COR includes: Five online learning modules that can be taken alone or together depending on the needs of your organization. Activities that include video presentations, reflective questions, and interactive components. Certification for each module you complete. Learn More about COR

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

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Social emotional learning in the classroom has changed the way many teachers approach everything from the primary academic subjects to free time and recess.

Social-emotional learning helps children develop positive self-esteem, manage their emotions, set and achieve goals, show empathy for others, and handle stress.

Nearly 33% of teens age 13 to 18 will experience an anxiety disorder, according to the National Institutes of Health. The number of children and teens with an anxiety disorder has risen in recent decades. Providing children with coping mechanisms through emotional learning may help reduce the prevalence of anxiety, especially if teachers introduce SEL in early childhood.

Many educators view SEL as an essential piece of the puzzle to help students learn the soft skills they need to be productive, successful adults.

Further reading: What is SEL? / Social-Emotional Learning Defined

How to Implement SEL in the Classroom?

Teachers can integrate social-emotional learning into the learning environment side by side with academic curriculum, teach it separately from Math, ELA, and other subjects, or implement it as an overall classroom philosophy.

By teaching parallel, yet age-appropriate, units at all grade levels, students benefit from continuity in SEL lesson plans. Early childhood teaching creates a solid foundation for more advanced SEL concepts.

Districts looking to implement SEL should first decide upon a comprehensive curriculum designed to:

Help students identify their own self-concept

Build self-esteem

Treat others well

Strive for self-improvement in all areas

These seven strategies that can help instructors ensure consistency across all grade levels to achieve the greatest results from teaching SEL.

1. Help students identify their self-concept

A student's self-concept, or self-awareness, stands as a basic tenet of SEL in the classroom. A person's self-concept relates to how they perceive themselves. Interactions with teachers, parents, and peers can shape a person's self-concept.

A person's self-concept relates to their strengths, weaknesses, and self-esteem. Presenting activities that let students get to the heart of who they are, what they believe, and how they feel about themselves forms the bedrock of SEL in the classroom.

Teachers can use activities into other subjects, such as ELA and social studies, or introduce separate discussions and activities that permit students to explore their self-concept.

2. Introduce positive actions for body and mind

Students feel good about themselves when they successfully complete positive actions. Taking even one positive step can set off a cascade effect leading to more positive actions and, ultimately, positive outcomes.

Teachers can easily integrate positive actions for the body into health class, physical education, and, for younger students, on the playground. They can take time out from the school day to let the children play a cooperative sport outside. They can also teach proper nutrition at snack time and hygiene by encouraging hand-washing throughout the day.

Educators can introduce positive actions for intellectual health during any subject by encouraging problem-solving and creative thinking.

Emphasizing positive physical and intellectual health as part of emotional learning helps students establish good habits to set them up for a lifetime of success.

3. Teach students to manage their feelings and their resources

If positive thoughts lead to positive actions and positive feelings, students must learn how to manage their thoughts and feelings to help foster positive behavior.

Integrating SEL in the classroom includes teaching students how to manage not just their thoughts, feelings, and actions, but also their:

By doing so, students will gain a sense of responsibility that improves their self-concept and boosts their self-esteem.

Strategies to teach students responsibility could include giving them assignments with multiple components that need to be completed on a deadline, asking questions to get them thinking about their feelings and reactions to events, and even giving them opportunities to handle money in the school.

4. Teach empathy

Teachers from decades ago used to call it "The Golden Rule": Treat others how you would like to be treated. Today, empathy plays a key role in social-emotional learning in the classroom.

Once students learn how to manage their feelings and reactions, they can learn how to treat others with kindness and respect. Teachers can embrace multiple opportunities to teach and demonstrate empathy.

They can reward positive student behavior by offering a small reward when a student performs a good deed. Some teachers put marbles or tickets in a jar or create a chain of paper links. When the jar is full, or the chain touches the ground, the students receive a party or special treat.

5. Teach students to face the truth

Even the best students don't behave kindly all the time. They might make mistakes in their work or lose focus too easily sometimes.

Social-emotional learning can help students recognize shortcomings so that they can improve. Teachers may integrate self-assessments following tests in major subjects. They can also ensure that students take responsibility for their actions by making sure they complete homework assignments.

Group projects give teachers an excellent opportunity to use SEL strategies related to working together, taking responsibility rather than blaming others, and dividing tasks based on each students' strengths and weaknesses.

6. Help students practice self-improvement strategies

Once students recognize their weaknesses and learn to own up to their mistakes, they can focus on self-improvement.

A growth mindset, or understanding that everyone can learn new skills, plays a key role in knowing how to successfully implement SEL.

Teachers at this phase of integrating social-emotional learning in the classroom should help students identify, set, track, and achieve goals. These goals could be related to academics, personal behavior, or physical and mental health.

Self-improvement ties into all the other elements of SEL, as students strive to grasp the soft skills related to their social and emotional development.

7. Review all aspects

As students continue to strive for improvement, teachers should implement a review of these six facets of SEL incorporation, helping students identify their weaknesses and study the areas where they might feel "stuck."

An important thing that teachers should remember is the Thoughts-Actions-Feelings (TAF) Circle. Positive thoughts lead to positive actions, which lead to positive feelings, which, in turn, create more positive thoughts.

Outcomes of SEL Implementation

Social and emotional learning can help create more confident, kinder students who are better poised to face the stress of the outside world.

But you may be even more surprised by some of the positive academic outcomes teachers have discovered. Positive Action outcomes has been shown to:

Reduce bullying - Using SEL at school has been shown to reduce bullying by 51%, according to the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Improve math scores - Students who develop greater self-confidence through SEL may show up to 51% improvement in standardized math tests.

Improve literacy - Students who benefit from an SEL curriculum score an average of 20% better in reading achievement, according to the Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness.

Reduce violence in the school - From a reduction in violence in the classroom to a reduced number of threats, social-emotional learning gives students the tools to cope with their anger rather than resorting to violent words or acts.

Reduce suspensions - SEL implementation led to a 73% reduction in suspensions, indicating students are better behaved and following rules.

Reduce alcohol use - SEL in the classroom has helped reduce alcohol use by students, with the numbers of students who have ever tried alcohol dropping by 29%.

Reduce absenteeism - SEL can substantially reduce absenteeism, perhaps by reducing the number of "mental health" days students take or by instilling a greater responsibility to go to school.

Increase family bonding - Parents and children saw a reduction in family conflict and an increase in family bonding.

Increase overall positive development in early childhood - Based on multiple markers, pre-K students showed an increased positive development in areas ranging from self-esteem to physical health.

Perhaps more importantly, the core SEL competencies that students learn, carry through the graduation and their working years. SEL helps create young adults who are secure in themselves, better able to cope with the daily stresses of life, and more empathetic toward others.

How Positive Action Can Help?

Many different programs promise to teach students the skills they need to become emotionally intelligent adults able to cope with life.

By teaching a program that emphasizes how our thoughts become actions, which lead to positive (or negative) feelings, Positive Action makes social and emotional learning easy to understand and easy to integrate.

We guide you every step of the way with strategies to achieve buy-in from the administrators in the district and gradually deploy the program beginning with the earlier grades, where quick and easy lessons can make a significant impact.

During what we call the "Feeder Effect", teachers will soon be able to recognize those students who used SEL. Seeing the difference between students who did and did not experience SEL encourages buy-in from the rest of the district and prompts secondary education teachers to continue with the program so they can continue to achieve a classroom full of emotionally intelligent, confident, empathetic students.

From Pre-K through secondary education, Positive Action can help you integrate our strategies seamlessly. Want to know more about Positive Action? Contact us.

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How to Integrate SEL in the Classroom? 7 Effective Strategies

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Social emotional learning in the classroom has changed the way many teachers approach everything from the primary academic subjects to free time and recess. Social-emotional learning helps children develop positive self-esteem, manage their emotions, set and achieve goals, show empathy for others, and handle stress.

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50+ Simple Social-Emotional Learning Activities for All Ages

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Teach self-control, emotional awareness, and more by incorporating these easy social-emotional learning activities into your daily routine.

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Social & Emotional Learning (SEL)

These social and emotional learning strategies won't take a lot of time, but they can have a big impact on middle and high school students.

How do you feel about the phrase soft skills? For me (and for many), skills such as critical thinking, empathy, creativity, and teamwork are not soft skills. These are essential skills or center skills. Decision-making, self-awareness, and self-regulation are at the center of learning and life. We need to start with, build from, and embed social and emotional learning (SEL) into safe, equitable, empowering learning experiences for all students.

Regardless of your teaching and learning situation (fully online, hybrid, or in person), we know that the intentional and explicit weaving of SEL into the fabric of our everyday learning and life is critical. Below are three SEL signature practices from the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) that we need to bring in whenever we come together as a community of learners. Included are examples that are simple, portable, and customizable. Consider your scenario as well as the needs and size of your group when deciding whether to take turns sharing out loud, use the chat, or break into small groups or pairs.

Use opening check-ins to give students an opportunity to identify their emotions (self-awareness). We can provide scaffolding by using tools such as Zones of Regulation or the Mood Meter. We can also use images and word banks to help build vocabulary.

Have a kindness conversation asking everyone to share an act of kindness they have given or received recently (social awareness).

Inspired by Brené Brown, permission slips help us set our intention and focus. Share examples such as, "I give myself permission to make a mistake and try again." Then ask students to create their own permission slip (self-management).

3 SEL Practices for Every Day

Cocreate shared expectations ahead of time for collaborative work, and revisit regularly to ensure that everyone's needs are being met (relationship skills, responsible decision-making, social awareness).

Design for inquiry with voice and choice to provide opportunities for learners to construct meaning through communication and collaboration with their peers. Using an approach like Discover, Discuss, Demonstrate gives learners opportunities to explore content before direct instruction (relationship skills, responsible decision making, self management).

Incorporate movement breaks to refresh and reset the brain. These brain breaks could be a stretch or a mindful breathing practice. Depending on what suits the situation, the break could be to calm or to energize (self-management).

1. Welcoming or inclusion activities. Rather than jumping right into instruction, starting with brief routines and rituals provides us with interactive experiences that give everyone a voice and connects the community of learners. A few examples:

2. Engaging strategies. There are many SEL opportunities throughout learning experiences where learners are naturally engaged both individually and with their peers. As educators, we often use engaging strategies like breakout rooms/small group discussions, wait time, brain breaks, jigsaw, etc. However, we still need to be explicit with SEL. A few examples:

We can reflect doing a closing check-in on emotions by simply asking something like, "Which one to two words sum up your feelings about our time together?" (self-awareness).

Another way to reflect is through a gratitude practice (social awareness). Ask learners to acknowledge something or someone that they are thankful for. Guide them to think deeply and name the feelings they are experiencing (self-awareness).

The goal of looking ahead is to get us excited moving forward, and it is also an opportunity to hold ourselves accountable through goal setting and organization. Use a planner and/or set a reminder to execute next steps. You could even use a service like FutureMe.org to send your future self a reminder of long-term goals (self-management).

As we plan to use engaging strategies, activities, and protocols, we need to offer both interactive and reflective options. It is also important to make time to debrief these experiences, allowing us to identify and connect what we are doing to SEL competencies and specific skills. Notice that so much of this is also aligned with Universal Design for Learning (UDL).

3. Optimistic closure. The name of this practice often leads to the misconception that we need to end on a happy note. The reality is that what is most important about this practice is the intentional and authentic reflection and understanding of the learning experience. This allows us to both collectively and individually appreciate what we have accomplished and anticipate what comes next. A few examples:

These are just a few ways to implement the three signature practices, and additional examples are available here. The reality is, there are countless ways to use these practices. Collaborate with your learners and your peers to adapt and create practices to meet the specific goals and needs of your community. Your team can even use the "Getting It Down PATT!"-Purpose, Alignment, Transparency, Target (created by Micaela Gerardin-Frey) as a tool to thoughtfully select, adapt, and prepare strategies, activities, and protocols.

Emotions matter, and the research on how emotions impact learning is clear. But it isn't just about accepting SEL's necessity as a means to increased academic performance. Using the three signature practices as part of a systemic SEL approach allows us to create safe, equitable, empowering learning experiences for all, kids and adults.

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3 SEL Practices Teachers Can Use Every Day

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These social and emotional learning strategies won't take a lot of time, but they can have a big impact on middle and high school students.

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Careful explanation of the “why” behind social and emotional learning can prime students to build their communication and collaboration skills.

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A supportive and equitable environment in all classrooms serves as a platform for all academic, social and emotional learning. At the core of a supportive classroom is a caring, engaging teacher who establishes authentic trusting relationships with each student.

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The pandemic has caused trauma for people of all ages, including - and especially - our youth. These challenging circumstances have forced students nationwide to pursue their education in entirely new ways, using new technology.

Youth have had to do so while facing feelings of isolation and dealing with family members who have fallen ill; others have been affected by the digital divide, which has only been exacerbated by the pandemic. The deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and so many others at the hands of police have also increased feelings of depression and anxiety, especially among Black people and people of color.

As a nation, our mental health has never been more important, and it's essential that our youth have the tools they need to navigate these issues. But last spring, when Covid-19 dramatically changed the educational landscape, just 7% of educators felt prepared to address the social and emotional needs of students.

It's become increasingly critical that we embrace and embed social and emotional learning (SEL) in both in-school and out-of-school environments.

What does SEL focus on? The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) has established five core competencies for this framework: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision-making. Each component can have a profound effect on youth as they grow and pursue their dreams.

SEL can help students better understand and identify their emotions; it can help them develop empathy, increase self-control and manage stress. It also helps them build better relationships and interpersonal skills that will serve them in school and beyond, helping them succeed as adults. An emerging benefit of explicit SEL instruction is that it builds the emotional intelligence and agility that business and industry is starting to name among the most desired workforce skills. For both their well-being and their future economic opportunities, SEL is power.

It's never that our young people lack greatness - it's that society isn't creating the conditions for all youth to tap into their power. In my time as president and CEO of an education nonprofit with a mission to close the opportunity gap, I've seen how impactful SEL-inspired programming can be for our youth. And in my upbringing, I experienced firsthand how out-of-school programming can be a place of safety and enrichment. By equipping young people with what they need to navigate the social and emotional arenas, we help them reach their potential.

SEL is an incredible foundation to build upon. So what does it look like when we're laying the groundwork in in-school and out-of-school time environments?

In some learning environments, it might be holding daily greetings, journaling or having adults model SEL skills. It might be through movement, where activities like yoga or dance help youth connect with themselves. Strategies that guide youth through controlled breathing help them center themselves and learn more about self-regulation in a calming environment. Or it could be music: Both singing and playing an instrument offer ways for youth to vocalize and externalize their emotions. SEL also frequently involves art and creative activities that help youth manifest what's going on inside.

Organizations like the Wallace Foundation are trying to bring this to the forefront of education. Right now, the Wallace Foundation's Partnerships for Social and Emotional Learning Initiative has allowed six cities to participate in a program that teaches social and emotional skills to elementary school students. (My home city of Dallas is one of those six, and its participation was made possible in part by a grant won by Big Thought, the nonprofit I'm the president and CEO of, and Dallas Independent School District.)

By embedding SEL into explicit instruction, practice and curriculum, we can help our youth better navigate the difficult circumstances they'll face throughout their lives. We can help them thrive, even in the midst of an unprecedented global pandemic.

Those who lead work in youth-serving nonprofits have an opportunity to contribute to the movement as well. Adding explicit SEL practice to your programs and youth engagement can help affirm the sea change we are seeing to prioritize our mental and emotional well-being. Creating moments to check in with how youth are feeling, making space for breathing exercises and using curricula that emphasize explicit human connection are all ways that our youth development nonprofits reinforce what our educators are introducing in school settings.

I truly believe that SEL can equip young learners with the tools they need to better understand themselves, their feelings and their infinite value. Teachers and educators can't change the circumstances that youth face outside of their classrooms and schools, but by embracing SEL, we can help youth discover new beliefs about who they are and the greatness of which they're capable.

Forbes Nonprofit Council is an invitation-only organization for chief executives in successful nonprofit organizations. Do I qualify?

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Council Post: The Power Of Social And Emotional Learning: Why SEL Is More Important Than Ever

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It's become increasingly critical that we embrace and embed social and emotional learning (SEL) in both in-school and out-of-school environments.

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Search Institute has identified 40 positive supports and strengths that young people need to succeed. Half of the assets focus on the relationships and opportunities they need in their families, schools, and communities (external assets). The remaining assets focus on the social-emotional strengths, values, and commitments that are nurtured within young people (internal assets).

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The Developmental Assets Framework - Search Institute

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Search Institute has identified 40 positive supports and strengths that young people need to succeed, called the Developmental Assets Framework.

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We define social and emotional learning (SEL) as an integral part of education and human development. SEL is 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.

SEL advances educational equity and excellence through authentic school-family-community partnerships to establish learning environments and experiences that feature trusting and collaborative relationships, rigorous and meaningful curriculum and instruction, and ongoing evaluation. SEL can help address various forms of inequity and empower young people and adults to co-create thriving schools and contribute to safe, healthy, and just communities.

New to Social and Emotional Learning? Start here (2 min. read).

Think of a young person in your life. What skills will they need to achieve their hopes and dreams?

Chances are, you just named social and emotional skills - like staying motivated, communicating effectively, practicing curiosity, and working with others to solve problems. Social and emotional learning, or SEL, helps develop the skills we need for life.
Hear why students, parents, and educators want SEL in schools. Here are 3 things to know about social and emotional learning:

1. Social and emotional learning is a foundation for many of our most pressing priorities: SEL helps young people - and adults - learn and practice skills that set them up for academic success, fulfilling careers, healthy relationships, and responsible civic engagement.

2. The research is clear: Social and emotional learning in schools leads to positive outcomes, including better academic performance, and decreases in stress and anxiety.

3. There's no one-size-fits-all approach: Social and emotional learning brings families, schools, and communities together to make sure every child has caring relationships and what they need to learn, grow, and thrive.

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SEL can help all young people and adults thrive personally and academically, develop and maintain positive relationships, become lifelong learners, and contribute to a more caring, just world.

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See how social-emotional learning programs help kids build self-awareness and interpersonal skills. Read about SEL in schools and how SEL skills affect academics.

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great definition in this video of restorative justice...clear

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great definition in this video of restorative justice...clear

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I appreciated the quote from this video related to 'moving past exclusionary practices'. 

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I appreciated the quote from this video related to 'moving past exclusionary practices'. 

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Great examples of getting ready for the real world.

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Great examples of getting ready for the real world.