Integrating SEL Throughout the Day in Elementary School

For our students to be successful in pursuit of their life goals, educators need to offer them opportunities to develop social and emotional skills alongside academic skills.

Colleagues often ask me how they can integrate social and emotional learning (SEL) into academic learning and support students in building relationships and a sense of belonging, while also striving to maintain the rigor of academic standards. In this article I share ideas on incorporating SEL into academic learning with elementary students in writing, math, and reading, and through a focus on collaboration.

Writing

When designing instruction, consider beginning with the SEL goal and working it into an upcoming lesson or starting with the upcoming lesson and finding an intersection with an SEL goal.

When I’m preparing students in grades 4 or 5 to read the book We Are Water Protectors, I consult the Wisconsin SEL Competencies and focus on this: “Learners will be able to reflect on similarities and differences between their personal beliefs and those of others.” I begin by reading the book aloud to students, stopping strategically three or four times to ask them to turn and talk or reflect on a section. During and after reading, we have a discussion about this prompt: “We Are Water Protectors describes the importance of water and the belief in water protection. What is something you believe strongly about?”

Offering active listening norms provides a space where students feel they can share their thoughts. Sentence stems such as these can support the discussion: “I believe __ because __.” and “You said that you believe __ because __. I am wondering __.”

After engaging in a discussion, I ask students to create a text (essay, story, video, speech, visual image, etc.) to do this: “Describe your belief. Be prepared to share your piece in a triad, and compare your choices to the choices that author Carole Lindstrom and illustrator Michaela Goade made in We Are Water Protectors.”

After students share their pieces, they write a short reflection on what similarities they noticed between the beliefs expressed in their group.

Beginning with the grades 1 through 3 SEL competency, “Learners will be able to identify and describe skills and activities they do well and those for which they need help,” provides a rich opportunity for students to reflect on anything they are learning or experiencing.

One powerful idea is to have students prepare for a midyear family conference. I have them select a piece of writing from early in the year and a recent piece, then they add sticky notes to sections showing growth. They practice sharing with a partner in order to rehearse sharing with their families the following: “This piece shows how I grew by __. I did this by __. My next step as a writer is to __.”

Math

A math activity such as “Create a 3D object with 15–20 cubes” can incorporate the grades 1 through 3 SEL competency, “Learners will be able to use verbal and nonverbal language to demonstrate a variety of increasingly complex emotions.”

I begin by asking students to “describe how to make your object to a partner, using verbal and nonverbal gestures. For a challenge, I say, “Try the activity without verbal cues, using only your body language and facial expressions to support gestures and indicate how close your partner’s approximations are to your object.” This exposes them to cuing into their own and others’ body language and gestures.

After reflecting on the gestures and noticings from the math experiences, we explore emotions. Start with a whole group introduction by acting out (or asking a student to act out) an emotion. The emotion could come from an emotions chart displayed in the room. Have classmates guess the emotion: “I think you are feeling __ because __.” This activity can be done over many days for repeated practice and to go deeper into understanding, as a whole group activity or in partners.

After a difficult situation at recess or in the classroom, it can be helpful to defuse the tension by acting out something funny or light with an emotion such as “surprised” or “curious.”

Reading

This competency for grades 1 through 3, “Learners will be able to predict how someone else may feel,” in a variety of situations can be demonstrated in reading. I would begin by reading a text with strong characters out loud to students or having them read a text in partnerships or small groups. We would ask and answer questions about a character and their traits, using evidence from the text.

Then I would ask students to reflect: “We just analyzed the character __ [choose a character to match a current text]. Here are a few of the challenges we have faced in our classroom over the last couple weeks [give an example of four or five conflicts that have arisen]. How do you think the character would respond in these situations? Why?”

I would provide time for students to think on their own, to discuss with a partner, and to be prepared to share their ideas with another partnership.

Collaboration

I have found the easiest way to start with SEL skills is during collaboration tasks. The PK-5K (prekindergarten and 5-year-old kindergarten) competency, “Learners will be able to follow simple group rules,” aligns perfectly with the Speaking and Listening Standard, “With guidance and support, participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.”

When I model, I assign partners to practice, and I coach partnerships so that students understand how to turn and talk during any discussion. Practice and developing skills happens over time by adding on increasing complexity.

I might begin with asking my kindergarten students, “Turn and talk to tell what the character’s name was.” Then a few days later, “[Partner A], tell how the character was feeling. Say, ‘__ was feeling __. I can tell because __.’ [Partner B], restate what your partner said. Say, ‘You said __ was feeling __ because __.’”

Social and emotional learning is essential for students now and in their later years. Every day I go to school and ask myself, “How are the children?” I know that I can answer, “All the children are well,” when I take every opportunity to support an integrated approach for the whole child, strengthen my relationships with them, and support them in cultivating their social and emotional and academic skills.