Emotional Awareness: What Makes Me Happy

Recommended Grade Level: Elementary SEL Skill(s): Emotion Regulation, Empathy Duration: 30 minutes Materials: Emotional Awareness Lesson Directions Ask your students to think about the things that make them happy. A few examples you can share as prompts are: For your younger students, ask each of them to write down 4 … Read more

Pass It On Game

Recommended Grade Level: Elementary and Middle SEL Skill(s): Communication, Cooperation Duration: 30 minutes Materials: None Pass It On Game Instructions Prompt: Gather students in a circle and tell them they will play a game of Pass It On. They will need to pay close attention to the action of the … Read more

Indoor Recess Activity: Pass The Hoop

Recommended Grade Level: Elementary and Middle SEL Skill(s): Communication, Cooperation Duration: 30 minutes Materials: Hula hoop(s) Indoor Recess Activity Instructions To begin this activity, place a hula hoop diagonally across your body and gather students to join hands in a circle. Tell them they will play a game of Pass … Read more

Wrinkled Heart Activity

Recommended Grade Level: Lower Elementary SEL Skill(s): Empathy Duration: 30 minutes Materials: Wrinkled Heart printable A Wrinkled Heart Activity Directions Prompt for Educators: “Words can be very hurtful, and we need to be careful of what we say so that we never wrinkle another person’s heart. If someone says something … Read more

Eye Expressions: How We Communicate With Our Eyes

eye expressions lesson

Eye Expressions Activity Instructions Ask your students how they can communicate without speaking. They might say things like: smiling, frowning, crying, using eye expressions, hand gestures, etc. And then ask them, how can they communicate if they are wearing a mask? Explain that today, they will learn how to communicate … Read more

Student Strengths Lesson

Directions for Student Strengths Lesson Preparation If you will be using this lesson in person, you should print out a sheet for each student and provide a pen or pencil. There is a black-and-white version of the worksheet if you would like to have students also color in the flower … Read more

A Gratitude Jar for Kids

Gratitude Jar for Kids

Find a Suitable Gratitude Jar An empty spaghetti sauce, pickle, or salsa jar will work well as will many jars that get tossed into the recycling. And if the jar has a label, which it probably will, soaking the jar in water overnight will make it much easier to remove … Read more