SEL Standards and Activities
Social Emotional Learning
Social-emotional development is central to a child’s overall growth. Integrating SEL into all areas of the curriculum ensures that students not only succeed academically but also develop the emotional intelligence to manage their feelings, build relationships, and navigate challenges.
Social-emotional learning can be integrated through activities such as cooperative group projects, peer discussions, and role-playing exercises. These activities help students practice skills like empathy, communication, and conflict resolution while engaging with academic content (CASEL, 2020). Teachers can also use literature to discuss emotions and relationships, helping students recognize and understand their feelings (Zins & Elias, 2007).
Morning Meeting
Morning meeting is a daily classroom routine that supports social-emotional development by helping students build relationships, practice communication skills, and develop a sense of belonging and safety within the classroom community. A Morning Meeting typically has 4 parts: Greeting, Sharing, Activity, and Schedule Review. Together, these practices help students develop self-awareness, empathy, and positive peer relationships while setting a calm, purposeful tone for the day.
Parts of a Morning Meeting
Greeting
In a morning meeting, the greeting is a brief, intentional activity at the start of the day that helps build community, connection, and a sense of belonging. During the greeting, students acknowledge one another by name through spoken words, gestures, or movement, practicing eye contact, respectful interaction, and social confidence. Greetings set a positive tone for the day and support social-emotional skills such as empathy, inclusion, and communication.
Examples
Examples of morning meeting greetings:
- Name-and-Gesture Greeting: Each student says their name with a simple gesture, and the class repeats it.
- Handshake Circle: Students greet the person next to them with a handshake and say “Good morning, ___.”
- Ball Toss Greeting: A soft ball is tossed to a classmate while saying their name and a friendly greeting.
- Compliment Greeting: Students greet a peer by name and offer a short, positive compliment.
- Silent Greeting: Students greet each other using only gestures or facial expressions, promoting nonverbal communication skills.
Sharing
During sharing, tools such as a talking stick help establish respectful turn-taking and active listening, ensuring that every student has a voice. Teachers often use open-ended prompts to encourage reflection and connection, such as:
- What is one goal you have for today?
- How are you feeling this morning and why?
- What is something kind you saw or did yesterday?
- What is a challenge you are working on right now?
- What is something you are proud of?
- Who is someone that helped you recently?
- What is one thing you are grateful for today?
- What is something you are excited about this week?
- How can our class support one another today?
- What is one way you can show respect during learning time?
Activity
Activities during morning meetings are designed to engage students, build community, and spark interest in the topic of the day while supporting social-emotional learning. These activities often include movement to help students wake up their bodies, singing together to create a shared positive experience, and brief interactive tasks that preview upcoming learning.
Examples
Examples of morning meeting activities include:
- A question-of-the-day connected to the lesson theme,
- A movement break such as stretches or a quick game tied to academic vocabulary,
- Singing a class song or chant related to the subject being studied,
- A shared problem or riddle that introduces the day’s learning goal
- A quick turn-and-talk where students make predictions or share prior knowledge.
Together, these activities set an energetic, focused tone and help students transition smoothly into learning.
Schedule Review
Schedule review during morning meetings helps students feel secure and prepared by providing a visual and predictable schedule for the day. Teachers typically display the schedule using pictures, icons, or written blocks of time so students can clearly see what activities are coming next and anticipate transitions. Reviewing the schedule aloud allows students to ask questions, connect expectations to each part of the day, and reduce anxiety, especially for younger learners or those who benefit from routine. A consistent system for marking activities as complete, such as checking off items, moving a clip or magnet, flipping a card, or removing a picture from a pocket chart, reinforces time awareness and gives students a sense of progress and accomplishment as the day unfolds.
Exercise
Take a moment to watch a morning meeting in action. Try to identify strategies that allow children to settle in for the day and regulate their emotions.
Resources
- CASEL. (2013). Effective social and emotional learning programs: Preschool and elementary school edition. Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning.
- Edutopia. (2018). Morning Meetings: Building Community in the Classroom. https://youtu.be/U6_pLkwaCeY?si=2u7ijLi3o4qlf0zb.
- Zins, J. E., et al. (2004). Building academic success on social and emotional learning: What does the research say? Teachers College Press.
