Three Ways to Incorporate SEL Into Your Classroom
Are you struggling to connect with your students? It may feel like day to day, you aren't able to sit down with them and really teach them skills beyond your lesson plans. You're craving that connection but don’t know where to start.
You may have heard me talk about the importance of social-emotional learning before but don’t know what that looks like or how to teach it to your students in an engaging way.
Well you’ve come to the right place! I have put together three lessons to incorporate SEL into your classroom. I also have included multiple links to other resources I have and blog posts I have written, so be sure to check those out to get even more advice, tips, and lessons on being the best heart-centered teacher you can be.
Ready? Let’s go!
Teach your students to use power words
In one of my blog posts I wrote about teaching your students growth mindset (you can find that blog HERE), I go over teaching your students to change the way they speak to themselves.
This lesson is about teaching your students that their words are powerful. They carry meaning and weight and when they are speaking down on themselves or others, it is harmful.
Here is an example I have used to help my students change a certain negative phrase:
- Yet – Change “I can’t!” to “I can’t… yet!”
- Learning – Change “I can’t!” to “I’m learning!”
- Growing – Change “I can’t!” to “I’m growing!”
Teach your students relationship skills
Relationship skills are so important to help your students develop in the classroom. For some of your students, school may be the only place they are able to interact with other kids their age! Helping your students through conflict resolution, respect, working together, and empathy are skills that they will take with them beyond the walls of your classroom.
In my blog post, Three Key Social-Emotional Learning Skills to Teach Kindergarteners, I go over tangible ways to teach these skills to your students:
Books are one of the best ways to start building your students’ relationship skills. Choose stories that have conflict between friends and talk about it. Have students identify what each friend is feeling. Ask them to brainstorm ways the characters could work out their issues. Once the story is resolved, have students make connections with something they’ve experienced in their own lives.
Roleplaying is also a great way to build relationship skills! Many Kindergartners don’t understand what’s wrong with taking a toy out of a friend’s hand until they’ve experienced it themselves. Give students a chance to play out both sides of common conflict or problems within the classroom. This will also help them build empathy!
Teach your students gratitude
I noticed a tangible difference in myself and my students when we started to implement more gratitude practice into our daily routines.
Try to start every day with a short list of things you’re grateful for and get your students in on the gratitude fun, too. You can brainstorm a classroom list of gratitude, have students complete their own gratitude journals, or participate in weekly activities that build gratitude and keep those positive mindsets going strong. (We use our Heart-Centered Feelings Journal every morning to begin our school day with gratitude practice. Click here to check that out.)
The more you show your students you appreciate their hard work, teamwork, and unique personalities, the more loved and supported they will feel.
Teaching your students the power of seeing the good in things, even when things are chaotic or hard, is a crucial skill.
I go more in depth on teaching gratitude, and other ways to end your school year strong in this blog post! You can read that here! >> The Secret Formula to a Successful End of School Year as an Elementary Teacher
Key Takeaways
Congratulations! You just learned three things to incorporate in your students' social-emotional learning experience. Use the resources and tips above to dip your toes into the world of SEL and heart-centered teaching - I know you will not regret it!
I’ve given you some of my best tips, tools, and techniques to help ensure your success. Just knowing them isn’t enough, though. It’s time to act and get the results you’ve been dreaming about!
What’s next? Join the Heart-Centered Toolkit Waitlist now!
I created my Heart-Centered Toolkits to walk you through exactly how to have a heart-centered classroom because so many teachers (including myself at one point!) need support and direction when creating a safe and supportive heart-centered classroom.
Click here to join the waitlist so you don’t miss out when doors open!
Lead your class with confidence and joy, showing up as the teacher you were meant to be each and every day. The Heart-Centered Method gives you all the strategies, language, tools, and support you need to create the classroom environment you’ve always dreamed of.
Adopting a heart-centered approach completely transformed my classroom behaviors, and I’m confident it will do the same for you.
