Learn how Project Pals make it easier for educators to find PBL projects that are just right for their classrooms. Upgrade project-based learning with this powerful platform.

I created this culture jars art lesson for an Art and World Cultures class, and continue to use it in art classes because it is so well received. The word

PRIMARY SCIENCE UNIT 1 - THE HUMAN BODY We are so excited to dig into Unit 1 in our science sequence! We kick off science this year with My Body and My Five Senses . It is the perfect place to start science with our primary kiddos. This year we are going to explore and learn about the

These all about me, back to school art activities for kids are engaging icebreakers. Encourage creativity and build community during the first week back

These all about me, back to school art activities for kids are engaging icebreakers. Encourage creativity and build community during the first week back

Are you on the lookout for engaging and fun ways to foster social-emotional learning (SEL) skills in your students? Well, you're in the right place! Whether you're a seasoned teacher or a fresh-faced educator, I've included a treasure trove of games that will transform your classroom into a hub of self-awareness, self-management, relationship building, social awareness, and responsible decision-making. These games are not only a breeze to implement, but are sure to have your students begging for more. These activities aren't just about learning; they're about making SEL skills an integral part of your classroom culture. So, let the games begin! Self-Awareness: Game 1: Empathy Chairs This game is similar to musical chairs, but it has a social-emotional learning twist. Start the music as students rotate around a circle of chairs with emotion cards on the seats. When the music stops, they'll need to grab a seat. Based on the card at their seats, students will share experiences that they have had related to that emotion. For ready-made cards and detailed directions, click here. Game 2: Feelings Charades Get ready to break the ice with a classic game of charades, but with a twist! Instead of acting out movie titles or animals, students will express various emotions using only their facial expressions and body language. This not only hones their emotional awareness but also creates a safe space for open communication about feelings. Game 3: Emotion Journaling Equip your students with journals and encourage them to express their daily emotions through words, drawings, or a combination of both. This simple yet effective exercise fosters self-awareness by helping students identify and reflect on their emotions. Bonus: It's a fantastic tool for tracking emotional trends over time. Find my favorite journal prompts for building self-awareness here. Self-Management: Game 4: Mindful Minute Challenge Kick off each class or session with a mindful minute challenge. Set a timer for 60 seconds and guide students through a brief mindfulness exercise, such as deep breathing or visualization. This routine cultivates self-management skills by teaching students to center themselves, promoting focus and emotional regulation. You can also practice mindfulness with these FREE finger labyrinths. Game 5: Goal-Setting Bingo Turn goal-setting into a game! Create bingo cards with various self-management goals (e.g., completing homework on time, staying organized, managing time effectively). As students achieve each goal, they mark it off their bingo card. The first to get a bingo enjoys a small reward. It's a playful way to instill discipline and responsibility. Or turn goal-setting into a group bulletin board. Grab the FREE goal-setting materials here. Game 6: Popcorn Game Play a game called "Popcorn." Have students get into a circle. Explain that the goal is for them to each take a turn popping into the air and clapping at the same time. The only catch is that they must go in a random order. If they "pop" up at the same time as a classmate, they should all start again. This is great way to promote impulse control. Grab detailed directions to play this game and four others here. Relationship Skills: Game 7: Collaborative Storytelling Fuel creativity and teamwork by having students work together to create a story. Each student contributes a sentence, building on the narrative created by their peers. This not only strengthens relationships but also enhances communication and cooperation skills. Plus, it's a blast to see where the story takes unexpected twists and turns! (These reading passages based on SEL learning skills are fun, too!) Game 8: Group Challenges Help students develop their relationship skills as they complete a series of fun challenges as a team. Have teams of students work together to solve 5 different challenges that focus on teamwork, collaboration, and leveraging individual strengths to emphasize the power of working together. Make planning these challenges easy with these ready-made stations. Game 9: Peer Appreciation Circle Form a circle and have students take turns expressing appreciation for the person on their right. This simple yet powerful exercise builds positive relationships within the class and reinforces the importance of acknowledging each other's strengths and contributions. Social Awareness: Game 10: Perspective Puzzles Print or draw pictures of various situations and scenarios. Have students work in pairs to discuss and understand the emotions and perspectives of the people in the pictures. This game sharpens social awareness by encouraging students to consider different viewpoints and practice empathy. I've created a set of cards for this game here. Game 11: Community Connections Scavenger Hunt Create a list of community-related items or tasks that students can complete outside of the classroom, fostering a sense of connection to the broader community. This activity enhances social awareness by encouraging students to explore and appreciate the world beyond their immediate surroundings. Responsible Decision-Making: Game 12: Decision Dilemmas Present students with real-life scenarios that require responsible decision-making. Engage them in thoughtful discussions about the potential outcomes of each choice. This game equips students with the skills to analyze situations, consider consequences, and make informed decisions—a crucial aspect of responsible decision-making. Need some scenario cards to share with students? Grab them here. Game 13: Consequence Connect Four Create a Connect Four game board with spaces featuring different consequences of actions. As students play, discuss the potential outcomes associated with each move. This visually engaging activity reinforces the concept that every decision has consequences and helps students develop a sense of responsibility. Game 14: Decision Making Prompts Get students thinking about how they might respond to situations with targeted writing prompts. Share prompts that challenges students to make a decision. Then, give them opportunity to write how they might respond. Let students share their responses with peers or small groups. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- And there you have it, a bunch of games designed to infuse your classroom with social-emotional learning! These activities are not just about learning; they're about creating an environment where students flourish emotionally, socially, and academically. So, why wait? Dive into the world of SEL games and watch your students grow into self-aware, emotionally intelligent, and socially adept individuals. Your classroom is about to become the epicenter of SEL success—game on! Wishing you lots of fun in your classroom, Mary Beth P.S. Find 15 MORE social-emotional learning activities HERE.

These FREE Printables and Unit Studies for Eric Carle's Books will help you expand on what your kids are learning through these beloved books.

Anatomy for Preschoolers and Kindergarten, Anatomy Activities, Awesome Montessori Human Anatomy Activities with Free Printables, Great health and anatomy books for kids, an entire Human Anatomy Unit Study for Kids, Free human Body Printables, Anatomy Printables and Hands on Activities for preschool science

Social Emotional Learning (SEL) has been found to promote academic success and increase students' commitment to school. Generally, there are five key components that make up social emotional learning. These competencies include self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and decision making. Today, I'd like to focus on ways to help students develop self-awareness. Self-awareness includes one's ability to recognize emotions, have an accurate self-perception, identify strengths, develop confidence, and show self-efficacy. Researchers have found that a student's ability to control his or her feelings, thoughts, and behaviors can be linked to academic success. So, let's take a look at some easy ways to help students develop an awareness of their individual characteristics and personal emotions. All About Me - A - Z This activity helps students to define and identify a variety of aspects about themselves. They'll create a list about themselves with a characteristic, quality, or emotion for each letter of the alphabet. Materials: Piece of paper, pen or pencil Directions: - On a piece of paper, have students create two columns. (Or grab a ready-made poster here.) - Have them write all the letters of the alphabet in each column. - Then, challenge them to write something about themselves for each letter. For instance, they might write "gregarious" for G or "curious" for C. Ideas: - Share your own A to Z list with students first. - Create a class list of emotions and descriptive words to get students started. - Assemble students' finished lists in a class book. Moment of Mindfulness Mindfulness is a great way to build self-awareness. Since mindfulness is all about paying attention to the present moment, it's a great way for students to pause and reflect on how they are feeling, what they are thinking, and what they need in the present. It's simple to do too! Ways to take a moment of mindfulness: - At the beginning of class, have students close their eyes and take several deep breaths. Ask students to pay attention to their breathing. - Share a mindfulness quote with students to help focus students' thoughts during a moment of mindfulness. - Pause during instruction and have students do a self-awareness check. Encourage them to be mindful of their thoughts and feelings. Reflective Journaling Reflective journaling is a powerful way to help students become self-aware. With targeted writing prompts, students can develop insight into their feelings, make sense of their experiences, and build clarity on their thoughts. When students write about their own experiences and feelings, they become more self-aware. Materials: - A notebook and/or computer, pen or pencil, writing prompts - A list of writing prompts that spark self-reflection, these might include: --- Write about a time when you were proud of yourself. --- List ten things that make you feel excited. --- Reflect on how you have changed this year. --- What is something that you find challenging? (Check out a set of 10 engaging prompts here.) Ideas: - Have students respond to their prompts as if they are writing a letter to themselves..."Dear me..." - Read students' responses and respond to their writing in the margins. Add questions and positive notes at the end of their writing to build connections and spark further reflections. - Schedule a time each day or week for journaling to make it an intentional part of your classroom community. Growth Mindset There are many ways to help students develop a growth mindset. When students develop an understanding that all forms of intelligence are malleable, they are inspired to work toward success. That's why it is so powerful to infuse lessons about growth mindset into instruction. Giving students a moment to reflect on their own mindsets builds self-awareness. Materials: - Short lessons or articles about Growth Mindset to help students understand the differences between a fixed and growth mindset. - Series of questions about students' own mindsets. Directions: - After teaching students about Growth Mindset, have students respond to questions about their own mindsets. - Give students a chance to share their responses with a partner, small group, or the entire class. Ideas: - Share and display inspirational quotes about growth mindset. (I particularly love paper desk tents. They are an easy way to display quotes right on students' desks.) - Highlight important people who demonstrate a growth mindset. Emotions Skits Researchers have noted that there are at least six universal emotions. These include happiness, sadness, anger, surprise, fear, and disgust. Help students investigate and demonstrate these universal emotions by challenging them to write a short play or skit that involves a character or many characters experiencing one of the universal emotions. Materials: - List of the universal emotions, paper, pen - Skit planning pages (optional) Ideas: - Review the six universal emotions with students. As a class have students brainstorm what each emotion looks like (how people look when they are experiencing that emotion) and sounds like (what people might say when experiencing that emotion). - Brainstorm situations where people might feel each emotion. Encourage students to share personal situations when they felt a certain way. - Divide students into small groups. Secretly assign each group an emotion. - Challenge students to write a script that their small group could act out for the class that demonstrates that emotion. - Have small groups perform for the class. Have the audience identify the emotion prevalent in the skit. Self Check-In Daily feelings check-ins are a great way to build self-awareness. When students are given the opportunity to assess how they are feeling and share their emotions with others, they begin to know themselves more fully. Self check-ins also help normalize feelings. Materials: - Paper with an open grid shape - List of feelings Directions: - Pass out the gridded paper to students. - Have them fill the grid with different emotions. - Then, have students display the grid on their desks. - Have them place a token or shape on the emotion that shows how they are feeling at a particular moment. Ideas: - Once students can recognize their feelings, help them to develop strategies for regulating their emotions. - Encourage students to track their feelings over an entire school day. Then, discuss how feelings change in different situations. -------------------------------------------------- I hope you've found a few ways to help students develop self-awareness. Incorporating lessons that target social emotional learning is essential in today's classrooms. If you're looking for ready-made resources, check out this set of 10 SEL reading passages and this set of 6 Self-Awareness Activities. Thanks for stopping by! Mary Beth

The story of Zacchaeus is a great way to teach your little ones how they should treat their friends. A man that no one was too fond of and Jesus went to HIS house...what a great story of kindness!Here's how I taught this story to my little learners...ARRIVALWe started class just like every week. During the

Easy forest school activities, done-for-you forest school lesson plans and ready-made nature curriculum: save time and teach better!

Super fun project for your Pre-k, Kindergarteners, and even 1st Graders. Your students will have so much fun mixing colors, whether they are just learning about color, or revisiting color mixing. This project is very versatile and can be created using a variety of mediums such as watercolor paint, t...

{Affiliate links used.} I am closing out the school year with my Spanish lessons and wanted a way to review the vocabulary we have been working on. I came across on Pinterest a post about Kaboom! It was created for elementary classrooms, but I thought it would be perfect for language learners also! So here is how you go about it: First of all you will need... Jumbo Craft Sticks Sharpie Markers Cups (Not see through) Since I work with a lot of different levels of students I had several categories of vocabulary I wanted to use like house items, the alphabet, clothes, opposites, etc. I decided to color-code the sticks on one end. This helps with two things. Kids will know how to put them in the cup with the colored part sticking out. This allows me to select which sets of vocabulary to use with certain sets of students. For example, I know that the orange sticks are emotions and the pink sticks are foods. {See the final set of pictures for the list I made for myself.} After you color the tips, you write one word towards the other end of the stick. I tend to use about 15 sticks for a vocabulary-themed set. Three of those sticks will have the word "Caramba" written on them. The rest will have vocabulary words you want kids to review. To play the game you put one set (or maybe two or three if you have more advanced students) in a cup with the colored tips up. Students take turns pulling a stick out of the cup and giving the translation of the word. They keep the stick if they can say what it means in English. Otherwise, they put it back in the cup if they don't know. If they pull a "Caramba" stick they have to put back ALL their sticks! I time the game for about three minutes. The student with the most sticks at the end wins! This is a fun way to review vocabulary which at times can be tedious!

Free set of printables to go along with Magnetic Tiles. Includes two levels of difficulty. Builds problem solving skills.

Digestion experiment for kids! An easy science experiment from at-home materials about how the stomach breaks down food. Anatomy science for kids.

Movement in the classroom is beneficial for many reasons. First and foremost, getting up to move in the classroom might help anxious students relieve stress.

First piano lessons- easiest way to learn the notes is a fun animal memory game that teaches the names and positions of notes that Kids love!

Looking for a fun way to introduce the writing process to your students? What about using playdough? Come grab a fun & hands on lesson for your classroom!

One of the great (and probably easiest) ways to gamify your teaching is through the use of game generators. These are tools that enable you to easily create various educational games without the need for any coding knowledge. And if you are wondering which tools to use, I have recommendations for you!

These human body for kids activities allow children to learn about the heart, muscles, lungs, 5 senses, bones organs, cells, and so much more!

This activity pairs perfectly with the book "Stand in My Shoes: Kids Learning About Empathy" by Bob Sornson. There is a video of the book being read aloud on YouTube. Kids identify what gives them certain emotions and learn that they can know how others feel by thinking "how would I feel if it were me?"

So, yesterday I showed you how I got my angle studies kicked off with my students–how I solidified understanding of “right angle”. We had lots left to accomplish–so I’ll try to share some of the different lessons and activities we did over the next days! Tip 1: If you can get your hands on thin […]

Teaching kids about our world, geography, maps, and more. Kindergarten Social Studies Lessons made easy #kindergarten #socialstudies

Don't let a short schedule keep you from providing engaging library programming. These 30-minute library lessons are perfect for librarians!

I've got a huge list of FREE Bible curriculum for homeschoolers to use in their Bible Lessons.

Free homeschool art curriculum with famous artists, art history lessons, world culture, easy art techniques and a weekly online art lesson.

Here are 7 Bible Verse Memory Games that are fun, creative, and unique! Plus these Memory verse activiteis work with any Bible verse.

Are you looking to elevate your Ecosystems and Biomes unit? This 4th or 5th grade project based learning unit for ecosystems incorporates science, nonfiction reading, research, writing, and the arts! Read to find out how I organized the research project, what our launch activity was, the driving que

Are you interested in starting a Print on Demand business in 2021? Before you start, take a look at these lessons learned. This will help you to get started.

A blog about how a failed painting made me rethink the theories of composition in my painting of Donegal, Ireland.

Handy free printable leif erikson for kids worksheet and coloring pages to make into readers to learn about famous early explorer!

The kids will have a blast and learn such a powerful lesson with this "Making Good Choices Object Lesson & Family Discussion Outline." Such a cool idea!!

Past, present, and future.

The best way to learn Spanish fast on your own! Try these fun and easy (and mostly free!) learning tips today and start speaking Spanish.

Creating a play-based lesson plan for speech and language therapy is easier than you think! Here are some quick ideas to get you started.

One of my favorite parts of teaching first grade is I am SO excited how it all came together, and that I can finally share it with y...

All English as a Second or Foreign Language classes need a good warm-up activity to gets brains working and bodies active. Here are my top choices for ESL and EFL Warm-up games for kids to adults.

I am so excited to introduce you to the newest addition to our Family Unit Studies: The Ocean Unit Study! Did you know that there is an animal that lives in the ocean that never ever dies? Did you know that 80% of oceans are unexplored? Did you know that jellyfish have been around for

Use letter activities like alphabet collages or letter mats to help kids learn letter recognition and to reinforce letter-sound associations. Here are over 200 material ideas that you can use for your

Children's picture books are the perfect way to introduce different social-emotional skills. One of the first social-emotional learning standards is teaching students to identify feelings. These four books are my favorite for showing students that we all have a range of emotions and that all feelings are okay.There are affiliate links in this post. If