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 the online programs, these activities will reinforce the learning that occurs during game play.
Note: Please share this page on your school website so other educators may also benefit.
SEL Check In
An SEL check in is a great way for educators to keep tabs on how students are feeling, and with ...
Cool Down Corner
Centervention's digital Cool Down Corner is an online space where students will find a collection of online SEL activities that ...
Anger Iceberg
The idea of an "anger iceberg" is that our anger is like an iceberg — what we show on the ...
Coping Skills For Anxiety
Anxiety Versus Anxiety Disorders Anxiety is a normal experience for most people, and on occasion, it may be overwhelming. But ...
Feelings Wheel
The Feelings Wheel is a tool created by Gloria Wilcox in 1982 for teens and adults seeking to better understand ...
List of Emotions: 135 Words that Express Feelings
Categories of Emotions The list of emotions a typical pre-K child understands may be limited to happy, mad, sad, and ...
Brain Breaks For Kids
"I need a break!" Whether or not students say it out loud, this feeling can be palpable in the classroom ...
SEL Books
For obvious reasons, we hope that you use our online social emotional learning interventions to help your students practice and ...
Social Emotional IEP Goals
What do Social Emotional IEP Goals Look Like? Social Emotional Learning (SEL) is valuable for all students, and while a ...
Self Care For Teachers
If you feel "burnout" setting in, if you feel demoralized and exhausted, it is best, for the sake of everyone, ...
Dealing with Change
Dealing with change is a normal part of the student experience. Whether it’s starting a new school, trying to make ...
SEL Skill Printables
You can show an ongoing commitment to social emotional learning by recognizing students who demonstrate good or improving SEL skills ...
Think Sheet: Behavior Reflection Exercise
A great tool for having students reflect on inappropriate behavior is a Think Sheet. You can use it when a ...
Emotional Awareness: What Makes Me Happy
When we think about emotional awareness, we typically focus on situations that trigger negative emotions. But it's also important that ...
Emotion Faces Worksheet
Using the emotion faces lesson and printable worksheets below, you will help your students evaluate facial expressions and associate those ...
Student Strengths Lesson
In this lesson, students will create a student strengths flower that highlights their positive traits, and this flower will be ...
Anger Thermometer (Lesson and Printable)
Everyone feels angry from time to time, and it can be an overwhelming emotion. Like other emotions, anger comes in ...
A Gratitude Jar for Kids
In a previous lesson, we introduced the the power of gratitude where students identified one thing that made them happy ...
How to Create a Bitmoji Classroom for SEL
If you're providing remote instruction this year, you may have seem images where educators create a personalized virtual classroom that ...
SEL Classroom Scavenger Hunt
This SEL classroom scavenger hunt will help students focus on doing good deeds or random acts of kindness for others ...
Summer Worksheets for Social Emotional Learning
Summer is just around the corner and there’s so much to think about! As you tie up loose ends on ...
Affirmation Cards for Kids
Self affirmations are a great way to help build self esteem and overcome doubts. Instead of listening to the voice ...
Mindfulness Activities for Kids
There are a wide range of mindfulness activities for kids from yoga, meditation, deep breathing, or even blowing bubbles. In ...
Social Emotional Learning Journal
Many students may already use a journal at school to develop their writing skills, but what if we helped them ...
Vision Board Ideas for Students in Elementary and Middle School
For students around the world, life may be a bit upside down as a result of COVID-19. The structure of ...
Emotional Check In Worksheet
As a result of COVID-19, school life is very different right now, for everyone. Students are having to make huge ...
Gratitude Worksheets for Students in Elementary School
What if we took a moment in our day to explain and teach gratitude to our kids? How would their ...
The Worry Scale
There are a lot of heavy things happening that cause students to feel worried, fearful, and anxious. And while our ...
Goal Setting Worksheet
As educators, we encourage our students to dream big, but many times students don’t understand how to set goals and ...
Stay Focused Worksheet for Students in Elementary School
It can be challenging for young learners to stay focused, especially when they are anticipating an exciting event. In this ...
Dealing with Disappointment Lesson and Printable
Disappointment can happen for a variety of reasons, and most of us experience some sort of misfortune quite often. As ...
Holiday Printables for Social and Emotional Learning
When a holiday is coming up, it can be hard for everyone to remain focussed amid the excitement. We’re here ...
Separation Anxiety At School
Separation anxiety, the fear of being away from mom, dad or another caregiver, can pop up unexpectedly and at various ...
Coping Skills Worksheets
Coping skills are essential for navigating the ups and downs of life. Whether we face major life changes, unexpected challenges, ...
Mood Ring Colors: Identifying Emotions
This mood ring colors activity will have your students identifying emotions like a superhero! Did you have one of those ...
Emotional Regulation Activities
The emotional regulation activities below will help students practice flexible thinking through a fun and interactive partner drawing game. Sometimes ...
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 ...
Calm Down Corner
Strong emotions can make it difficult to make good choice, so it is important that students learn how to manage ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
Feelings Worksheets: Understanding Big Emotions vs. Small Emotions
Understanding how to regulate emotions isn't something we are born with, it is a skill we learn over time. One ...
Feelings Faces Printable
We’ve created a fun, feelings faces lesson that invites students to explore their own reactions and feelings to different scenarios, ...
Social Emotional Learning at Home
Developmental Milestones for Social and Emotional Skills
As parents, we know how to monitor our child’s physical developmental milestones. When did your child begin to sit up, ...
Do I have a Sad Child or Could it be Depression?
Q: My son used to be a fun, lighthearted and very active kid. But lately, he’s been negative about everything ...
What to do when your child feels left out
Q: My daughter was really upset when she came home from school today. At the beginning of the day, one ...
What are the Warning Signs of ADHD?
Q: My son’s teacher has raised some concerns about his behavior in class and suggests that we test him for ...
Following Directions: Advice from Experts
Q: My son is an intelligent kid. He does well in school, loves playing on his basketball team and has ...
Getting Ready for School: Avoid the Drama
Q: School mornings are a real struggle in my house. My kids have to do just six things each morning: ...
Impulsive Behavior in Children
Q: My daughter is so impulsive. She’s constantly getting into trouble for things like grabbing toys away from friends at ...
Lacking Self-Confidence: Expert Ideas and Tips to Help your Kids
Q: My son is a smart, capable boy, but he is lacking self-confidence in just about anything he does. A ...
Bullied at School: Expert Ideas to Help your Child
Q: I think my child is being bullied at school. In the last couple of weeks, she’s started complaining about ...
Meltdowns: How to Help your Child and Reduce Frustration
Q: I thought we were done with meltdowns when my daughter graduated from preschool. But, these days, as a first ...
Bored at School and Academically Gifted
Q: When I ask my gifted child how school is each day, he almost always responds by saying this: “Really, ...
Perfectionist Child: How to Help with Tips from Experts
Q: My child is a gifted student and an absolute perfectionist. She knows the material, but often can’t seem to ...
Making Friends at School
Q: All the other kids in my son’s class have a best friend or a group of close friends, but ...
Growth Mindset for Kids
Q: When my son fails to get something right after the first or second try, he gives up. In math, ...
Strategies for Helping Your Child with School Refusal
Q: My daughter has always loved going to school, but this year, something has changed. Many mornings, she complains about ...
Parent-Teacher Relationships to Help Your Child Thrive at School
Q: My daughter’s teacher seems like a lovely woman and, so far, we’ve had a good parent-teacher relationship. But now ...
How to Help Your Child Overcome Negative Thinking
Q: Whether it’s a test at school or a new step at dance class, my daughter doesn’t think she can ...
My Child Has Difficulty Making Decisions: How Can I Help?
Q: My daughter can’t make a decision to save her life. When she was picking out a new shirt at ...
Angry Kid: How Can I Help My Son be Less Frustrated?
Q: My son can be such an angry kid. When just about anything doesn’t go his way, he gets so ...
Coping Skills for Gifted Students
Q: Our gifted child easily breaks down at even the smallest problems. And when he’s stressed out because of worries ...
Additional Resources for Social Emotional Learning
Classroom Management Plan
Our classroom management plan is a step-by-step guide and includes proven strategies, tips and printables for elementary school teachers, and it covers four key components for establishing a successful, well-managed classroom.
Classroom Decorations
These free downloadable posters will decorate your classroom and be great teaching resources, reinforcing social and emotional skills in your classroom and reminding students to practice their skills like emotion regulation, impulse control, empathy, and more.
Social Emotional Learning Quotes
For each of the topics below, we have curated a list of quotes. You can incorporate these quotes in your social emotional learning lessons, add them to social media images, create classroom posters, or write one on your whiteboard each day.
