George Lucas Educational Foundation
Edutopia

Social and Emotional Learning

Find and share resources for creating a healthy school culture by helping students develop skills to manage their emotions, resolve conflicts, and make responsible decisions.

  • 60-Second Strategy: Community Circles

    An opening and closing exercise where every student contributes is a way to ensure that they all feel seen and heard in the classroom.

  • Building a Culture of Kindness With a Day of Service

    When Maryland middle school students spend a day focusing on helping others, they see their own capacity to make a difference in their community.

  • Powerful SEL Is Happening After School, Too

    New research shows that when schools extend SEL lessons beyond the classroom into after-school programming, students’ academic skills and classroom behaviors improve.
    Sarah Gonser

  • A De-escalation Exercise for Upset Students

    A simple technique that takes just a few minutes can help an agitated student regain the state of mind needed for learning.
    Daniel Vollrath

  • 60-Second Strategy: Pom-Pom Jar

    Explicitly teaching and celebrating kindness is a simple yet powerful way to build a positive classroom culture.

  • Making Students Feel Safe

    A trauma-informed approach ensures that students feel safe, supported, and nurtured—to improve their chances of academic success. 

  • What Brain Science Teaches Us About Conflict Resolution

    When a teacher noticed her kids fighting at recess, she turned to neuroscience and mindfulness practice to help them take control of their emotions.
    Sarah Gonser

  • The Power of Relationships in Schools

    Research shows that students who feel safe and supported by adults at school are better able to learn.

  • When Students Are Traumatized, Teachers Are Too

    Trauma in students’ lives takes an emotional and physical toll on teachers as well. Experts weigh in on the best ways to cope.
    Emelina Minero

  • 8 Proactive Classroom Management Tips

    New teachers—and experienced ones too—can find ideas here on how to stop disruptive behavior before it begins.
    Youki Terada

  • A Daily Support System for Students

    Students who need extra social and emotional support have a quick check-in with an adult at the start and end of each day.

  • Time to Play: More State Laws Require Recess

    Unstructured playtime is making a comeback in schools as frustrated teachers, parents, and advocacy groups demand legislative action.
    Brittany Shammas

  • Bringing a Dog to School

    A veteran teacher and administrator makes the case for having a therapy dog in elementary school.
    Shari Feeney

  • The Power of Being Seen

    How well do you know your students? In a Nevada school, a simple strategy pushes teachers to look beyond the lessons.
    Holly Korbey

  • Making Sure Each Child Is Known

    A middle school in Nevada uses a simple strategy to build deeper connections between teachers and students.