Social-emotional learning is the process of learning to understand and manage your emotions, handle stress, build positive relationships and make responsible decisions. It’s all about how we deal with people and situations around us. Although it isn’t a new concept, it has become increasingly important as more research indicates that social-emotional skills are predictive of success in life. And while some kids may be naturally gifted at reading others’ emotions, most need help developing these abilities — and luckily there are SEL activities for kids that we can do to support them.
Incorporate moments of mindfulness
If you’re looking for ways to help your students develop the social-emotional skills they need to succeed in the classroom and beyond, mindfulness may be the answer. Incorporating moments of mindfulness into your classroom can help kids learn how to focus on the present, develop better relationships with others, and understand their own thoughts and feelings
You can incorporate mindfulness into your classroom in many ways: for example, you could have kids sit at their desks for a few minutes before starting work or practice yoga together as a class. You could also use mindfulness exercises during SEL lessons — for example, asking students to close their eyes and imagine what it would be like if they were living on another planet.
Plan for quiet time
In the case of quiet time, it is necessary to have a plan for incorporating this into the lesson. You can do this by having students sit in a circle and go around the room sharing feelings that they have about the lesson. This will help them learn how to identify their own emotions and how others react to them.
A good way to incorporate quiet time into the lesson is to have a reward system. You could give stickers or star charts, or even just let them read books in the back of the classroom. This will help the kids understand that quiet time is important and that you want them to be engaged in it. If they don’t want to be quiet, you might need to incorporate a reward system or some sort of incentive.
Play a team-building game
Team-building games are a fun way to build relationship skills and promote cooperation. In the game, teams of kids compete against each other by completing a task together. Teams can be made up of selected groups of kids or they can be created randomly. To encourage communication, you’ll want to select a game that requires some level of teamwork — not all team building exercises require communication between teammates.
Examples include:
- The Pie Game
- Trust Walk
- Cootie Catchers
Use music during transitions
Music is a great tool for helping students transition between activities. It can help them calm down and get ready for the next thing on their schedule, which will allow them to pay attention more easily. Music can also help students focus on the task at hand, giving them something else to think about besides what they’re worried about.
Finally, music can be used as an outlet for stress relief or emotional release — if your child comes home from school feeling overwhelmed or frustrated, try playing some music in their room while they gets ready for bed or read a book. This will have the dual effect of calming them down while also giving them something soothing to focus on as well as processing their emotions.
Encourage teamwork
One of the best ways to help students develop social-emotional skills is through teamwork. Teamwork can take many forms, and it doesn’t have to be limited only to students working together on a project or activity. You can encourage teamwork among students, teachers, and even parents.
To set up a team-building activity for your class:
- Have students form groups of four or five people each — but no more than seven. The size of each group is important because it helps kids focus on their teammates’ needs while communicating with them effectively.
- Make sure that everyone in each group has an equal amount of power so that nobody feels left out or ignored by others in the group.
Get moving
Incorporating physical activities into your lesson plans can be a great way to get students up and moving, which can lead to better learning outcomes. Here are some ideas for integrating physical activity into your classroom:
Helping manage stress between students
If you have a classroom full of kids with different personalities, there will be times when they get into disagreements or conflicts. Physical activity can help students manage their emotions and calm down so they can work through their differences.
Get students up out of their seats periodically throughout the day so they don’t get too comfortable. You can have them do small movements — like shaking their hands — for about 30 seconds at a time every hour or so during the day.
Improving focus and attention skills (this is really important!)
Physical activity increases oxygen flow to the brain, which helps students stay focused on what they’re doing.This has been shown to improve attention spans and learning overall.
Take a walk during recess or lunchtime. Not only will this give students a chance to get out of the classroom environment, but it will also help them focus on the task at hand when they return. The fresh air will also help with their overall well-being.
Helping with moods
Physical activity releases endorphins into the bloodstream, which can help to support a more balanced and positive mood.Have students do jumping jacks or sit-ups before they start working on a new activity in class. This helps them get ready to focus on their work and improves their state of mind as well.
Conclusion
The more time you spend teaching your kids about social-emotional skills, the better prepared they’ll be for life. And best of all, it doesn’t take a lot of money or time — just some creativity and patience on your part. We hope these tips will help you get started!
Photo credit: Google Education
Social Emotional Learning