After virtual learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, teachers saw an increased need for social-emotional learning (SEL) materials. Their students were facing personal and community trauma, and many lacked social skills after distance learning. Social-emotional learning helps students navigate challenging situations and interpersonal relationships. SEL also increases self-advocacy and self-reliance that is critical to future career success.
It can be challenging to sort through all of the resources out there for teachers on social-emotional learning. We assembled the list of resources below to help you get started.
If you’re a teacher and you have a resource that has been helpful to you, please email us at [email protected] and we may add your resource to our list.
Please note: AdoptAClassroom.org is sharing these resources with the intent to spread awareness and promote conversation among educators. Sharing a resource is not an endorsement of the resource for classroom use. Educators are the experts on their students’ needs and their school’s policies. Please always be mindful if a resource is a good fit for your classroom.
The stock and availability of the following items may fluctuate. AdoptAClassroom.org cannot guarantee the availability of any of the items below.
Coming Soon: Free Teacher Leader Resources
AdoptAClassroom.org’s Teacher Leaders include educators from across the country who share their expertise and teaching experience with the wider AdoptAClassroom.org educational community. Soon, you’ll be able to access these free resources from fellow educators by logging in to your AdoptAClassroom.org account.
Resources from Teacher Leaders are provided by our Spotlight Funds, which support areas/school subjects of greater need.
Did you know? AdoptAClassroom.org offers grants as part of our Social-Emotional Wellness Fund to help teachers access resources for their classrooms. Click here to register your classroom and be the first to hear about our grant opportunities.
Connect with Other Teachers to Chat Everything SEL
We’re highlighting these resources so you can share them with your classroom in April and beyond, but we’re also excited to share that AdoptAClassroom.org is hosting a #SELChat on Twitter on May 11 from 6-8 CT. AdoptAClassroom.org Twitter Chats are a great opportunity to connect with fellow teachers to learn about new ideas and share what works in your classroom.
Free SEL Resources
Activities
Our vendor School Specialty offers activity ideas and products to make them happen in their webinar about supporting social and emotional learning in the early childhood classroom.
AdoptAClassroom.org assembled some SEL activities with advice from our fundraising teachers.
Our vendor Carson Dellosa has free social-emotional printables, including coloring pages, games, and reflection sheets that you can use in your classroom.
Check-ins are one of the most common – and easy to integrate – ways of bringing SEL techniques into your classroom. Girls Leadership offers free SEL Check-ins, with an emphasis on the emotional well-being of young women and girls.
Dungeons and Dragons offers free activities that meet curriculum standards. These activities allow students to build a story together and practice collaboration while they try and beat brain teasers and puzzles.
In the classroom
Edutopia shares ways that your classroom design can impact your students’ emotions and learning.
Edutopia also highlights how check-ins and check-outs with an adult in the building helps students build relationships and stay accountable to their goals.
CASEL’s standards are often used as SEL best practice in many districts across the nation. Check out their free handbook on their three signature practices of welcoming, engaging and inclusive activities, and optimistic closure.
Trauma-Informed Teaching
Helping students figure out how to deal with trauma and other challenging emotions in the face of difficult events is part of social-emotional learning. AdoptAClassroom.org assembled a guide of trauma-specific tools to help teachers get through difficult situations with their students.
The Great Teachers & Leaders Institute, in partnership with the NEA, offers some free webinars on teaching and leading with trauma-informed care. There are three separate webinars highlighting care for the self, students, and the school community, and they may be adding more to the series soon.
SEL Tools from AdoptAClassroom.org Vendor Partners
Check out the following resources that may help improve social-emotional learning in your classroom. Log in and click the “Go to Shop” button to review each of our vendor products in more detail. Register for AdoptAClassroom.org here.
AKJ Education
AKJ Education’s mission is to reduce the barriers – namely time and money – between you and the best quality supplemental materials for your classroom.
Featured Item: Growth Mindset Collection
AKJ offers several SEL books collections, but we want to highlight the inspiring Growth Mindset Collection. The Growth Mindset Collection features diverse fiction and nonfiction stories about taking risks and growing from your mistakes
Becker’s School Supplies
Becker’s School Supplies is a one-stop shop for all of your early learning materials and elementary school needs.
Featured Item: Stories for Social Emotional Learning
Becker’s collection of eleven books for PreK-2 students will help students navigate differences, feelings, and scary experiences like visiting the doctor or dentist.
Carson Dellosa
Carson-Dellosa offers learning supplies, classroom decorations, and new ideas created and approved by teachers for 40 years!
Featured Item: Emotions Learning Cards
The Emotions Learning Cards feature faces of young kids making recognizable emotions. These learning cards are designed for English Language Learners, but would also work well in early childhood classrooms to help students identify what they’re feeling.
Fun Express
Powered by Oriental Trading, Fun Express is a leading supplier of toys, novelties, giftware and premiums.
Featured: Learning Emotions Magnet Activity Set
Your students can mix and match pieces to create an expression for the bear and then identify how the bear is feeling according to that expression. It’s a fun, hands-on activity for student engagement.
Kaplan
From furniture to elementary curriculum materials, Kaplan Early Learning is your resource for early childhood education materials and school supplies.
Featured Item: I Have Feelings Books – Set of 6
The I Have Feelings Books will help your early learning students identify and learn to process their emotions. These books provide a foundation for discussion about feelings students relate to.
Lakeshore Learning
Lakeshore Learning creates award-winning educational products for schools and families to provide a high-quality education for every child.
Featured Item: Social Emotional Classroom Activity Kit
This SEL kit will give you a jumpstart on creating or finishing up your mindfulness corner. There are two kits offered through Lakeshore Learning, one for grades K-2 and one for grades 3-5. Both kits come with age-appropriate activities and books.
Really Good Stuff
Really Good Stuff is the home of fun and creative classroom teacher supplies.
Featured Item: Calm Down Tools – 6 Tools and Storage Bin
Fidget toys are perfect for helping your students to cool off after a disagreement with a classmate or pay attention to your lesson while their hands stay busy. This storage box comes with six tools, making it easy to place in your classroom for students to use.
School Specialty
Save on the largest selection of school supplies and teacher supplies at School Specialty.
Featured Item: Abilitations Emotion Sensory Floor Tile
Sensory floor tiles are a great way to help students regulate their emotions by pushing the liquid around. School Specialty has floor tiles in various colors, but this floor tile includes sketched-on faces so that students can use the tile to identify their emotions.
Interested in these SEL resources? Register your classroom on AdoptAClassroom.org to gain access to our online fundraising platform and the upcoming catalog of Teacher Leader resources. Plus, registered educators are eligible for donation matches and giveaways throughout the year!