95 Free Social Emotional Learning Activities

Welcome to our Social Emotional Learning Activities page. Below you will find free resources – lessons, activities, and worksheet – in the following skill 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.

As you will see below, many of the SEL activities and lesson plans include characters from our game-based, social emotional learning interventions. And if you are using, or plan to use the online games, these activities will reinforce the learning that occurs during game play.

Note: You may reproduce or reuse these lessons with students via other platforms like Google Classroom as needed, and if appropriate, please share this page on your school website so other educators may also benefit. We add new lessons on a regular basis, so make sure to check back frequently.

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Think Before You Speak

To be honest, it can be hysterical to hear a child say something they shouldn’t. A child pointing out a ...

Positive and Negative Consequences

We often think of consequences in terms of bad things that could happen. If I go to bed early, I’ll ...

Emotional Regulation Activities

Sometimes things don’t go according to plan, and it’s understandable that students might get upset about it! Whether it’s a ...

Identifying Emotions Activity: Chameleon Moods

Identifying and managing feelings, or Emotion Regulation, requires the ability to respond to strong emotional situations in a socially acceptable ...

Belly Breathing for Kids

Managing your feelings requires the ability to respond to strong emotions in an appropriate way. For example, staying calm when ...

Find Someone Who

At the start of the school year, students are excited about making new friends and getting to know their classmates ...

Emotion Charades for Kids: Feelings and Empathy

This emotion charades for kids activity will help students identify different feelings and better understand how they, and others, may ...

Freeze Game Lesson for Students in Elementary School

Ever find yourself asking a student who’s made a questionable choice, “Why would you do something like that?” only to ...

Body Language Game: Telephone Game

Good communication is important for getting along well with others, but students often have difficulty understanding that their body language ...

Cool Down Corner to Create a Calm Classroom

Strong emotions can make it difficult to make good choice, so it is important that students learn how to manage ...

Nonverbal Communication Activities for Students in Grades K-8

Nonverbal communication activities are a great way to enhance critical social and emotional skills, including knowledge of voice inflection, facial expressions, ...

Perspective Taking Activities

Perspective taking activities can be confusing. Is the glass half empty or half full? Is the Mona Lisa smiling? Are ...

Emotion Words to Convey a Range of Feelings

It’s important that students learn to identify the degree of emotion they are feeling and use words that are more ...

Circle of Control Worksheet for Students

Worrying about things we can’t control can be very frustrating and anxiety-inducing. This is especially true for students who may ...

Positive Self Talk for Kids

Positive thinking is a psychological framework for embracing optimism that has gained attention in recent years. Research suggests that a ...

Staying on Topic Activity for Elementary School Students

An important piece of healthy and respectful relationships is communication. In conversation, this includes intent and active listening, asking and ...

Transition to Middle School: Opening Lockers

Moving up to Middle School from Elementary School is an exciting time of transition that sometimes leaves students feeling a ...

Tattling vs Telling

While the distinction may appear nuanced, there are clear differences behind the meanings and purposes of tattling vs telling. Tattling ...

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