For school leaders, supporting teachers in today’s classrooms means going beyond academics. Teachers nurture the social and emotional development of every student as well. More specifically, social and emotional learning in the classroom involves students forming the skills to manage emotions and create healthy relationships.
But why is SEL in the classroom important? Because student success and emotional well-being go hand-in-hand. A 2024 meta-analysis found that students participating in SEL programs experienced significantly improved academic achievement, positive school functioning, soft skills, attitudes, behaviors, and perceptions of school.
Social-emotional learning activities help students build self-awareness, manage emotions, develop empathy, and strengthen relationships. These skills help them thrive not only in school, but throughout their lives.
SEL leadership begins at the top. Principals shape school culture, allocate resources, and support staff morale. Their influence is essential for successful social and emotional learning in the classroom.
This article will guide you in leading effective SEL programs in your school. Discover innovative approaches, like kinesthetic learning, that can significantly enhance social-emotional learning activities by making them physically active. Find out how to energize and focus on social and emotional learning for teachers, while enhancing student engagement and academic achievement.
Principals who want to make SEL in the classroom a lasting part of school culture need practical, people-centered strategies.
Here are five ways to get started.
Begin by creating a dedicated SEL team that represents the diversity of your school community. Include teachers, support staff, counselors, and even parents. This team will guide implementation, assess needs, and ensure that your approach to social and emotional development is equitable and aligned with your school’s values.
With your team, collaboratively develop a vision for social and emotional learning in the classroom that reflects your school’s priorities. Involve teachers, students, and families in the process to establish buy-in and clarity. When everyone understands the “why” behind your SEL efforts, they’ll be more invested in the “how.”
To make SEL stick, principals need to allocate time and resources strategically. This means providing space for social-emotional learning activities during the school day, equipping classrooms with effective tools, and scheduling regular opportunities for staff to reflect and collaborate.
Transparent, consistent communication builds trust. Share updates about SEL initiatives during staff meetings, newsletters, and family events. The more clearly you communicate your commitment to SEL in the classroom, the more likely others are to join you in embracing it.
Create opportunities for staff to strengthen their own social and emotional competence. Check in with teachers to understand their needs and respond to them in a meaningful way.
Furthermore, provide professional development opportunities so educators feel equipped to lead social-emotional learning activities in their classrooms. Investing in social and emotional learning for teachers improves their job satisfaction and allows them to model the very skills students are expected to learn.
Prioritizing SEL requires a coordinated, schoolwide approach. When social and emotional learning in the classroom is embedded across all levels of a school community, students benefit from consistency, connection, and care. These strategies can help principals scale social-emotional learning activities in ways that are practical and powerful.
Name your most enthusiastic educators as SEL facilitators or ambassadors. By training teacher-leaders, you create a peer-led model that personalizes universal approaches and fosters shared ownership among faculty and staff.
SEL doesn’t need to be a separate subject. It can be added to existing schedules and instruction. Carve out consistent time each day. Even short 15–20-minute blocks of movement-based SEL, creating “calming corners” in classrooms, or taking breathing breaks can have a powerful impact.
Consider using weekly “focus words”, like compassion, respect, or empathy, to encourage discussions. Share the word in your morning announcements.
Set weekly or monthly goals with your students. For example, challenge students to compliment others one day, recite positive affirmations the next, and sit with someone new at lunch the day after that. Social and emotional learning in the classroom can involve setting academic goals for the class.
Simple practices can spark regular, meaningful reflection.
Support your teachers by creating an organized hub for social-emotional learning activities. This could be a shared drive or a physical space filled with ready-to-use lessons, videos, and games. Be sure your teachers also have access to any SEL standards your school follows, if applicable.
An accessible resource center saves planning time and helps ensure SEL in the classroom is engaging, consistent, and aligned with your school’s vision.
Peer-to-peer models, such as a “SEL Buddies” program, provide students with opportunities to lead and learn. In this approach, older students mentor younger peers and practice key components of social and emotional development, including communication and empathy.
With so many options available, selecting the right social-emotional learning activities for your school can feel overwhelming. To narrow it down, try picking a program that follows the SAFE framework. SAFE-aligned programs are:
When evaluating program options, consider how well they align with your school’s goals and existing structures: Do the lessons support your teachers’ capacity and instructional style? Can the activities be integrated into your current schedule and curriculum?
By asking these questions and prioritizing evidence-based approaches, principals can ensure that their school community benefits from sustainable, high-quality social and emotional learning in the classroom.
Kinesthetic or movement-based learning is an innovative way to add energy to your social-emotional learning activities. At Math & Movement, we’ve seen physical activity boost focus, self-regulation, and teamwork skills, while increasing academic achievement.
Math & Movement supplements your school’s existing curriculum with kinesthetic learning activities. Students explore academic concepts by moving around on colorful floor mats and stickers together. Our materials come with access to hundreds of activities, making it easy for teachers to add movement to lessons with minimal prep.
Built for Busy School Schedules
Identify your school’s grade levels and instructional priorities—we’ll recommend the kits and materials that best support your academic goals.
Our materials come with free, ready-to-use activities—making it easy for teachers to add movement to lessons with minimal prep.
Most activities require little to no prep. Just roll out the mat and start teaching with movement.
Use activities as warm-ups, classroom lessons, or interventions. Also add to family engagement events, summer learning, and afterschool programs.
Our U.S.-based support team is dedicated to helping your school succeed with movement-based learning. Easily plan virtual or in-person PDs for your staff.
Kinesthetic activities provide a tactile way for students to practice abstract concepts. They also provide opportunities for social and emotional development. Here’s how.
Movement-based learning activities – like hopping, skipping, or stepping through math problems on a number line mat – give students a safe, physical outlet for energy. Instead of making young students sit still and passively absorb information through lectures, kinesthetic activities allow students to become active participants in their own learning.
By harnessing children’s natural inclination toward movement, educators can keep them focused and engaged. In fact, with regular use of kinesthetic learning activities, students learn to associate movement with focus, further building awareness of how their bodies and emotions work together.
Many Math & Movement activities are designed for group participation. Students work side-by-side on floor mats or take turns in active games. This encourages cooperation and teamwork, which are key to social and emotional learning in the classroom.
Physical, interactive learning provides natural opportunities for students to talk through strategies, explain their thinking, and listen to peers. In Math & Movement activities, students often cheer each other on or model movements, which strengthens empathy and communication skills.
Movement makes challenging content more approachable. Physical activity reduces levels of cortisol, the body’s primary stress hormone. By moving around, students experience less academic stress and anxiety.
When students succeed at solving problems through movement, their confidence grows. This sense of accomplishment fosters resilience and a positive self-esteem – both of which are central to social and emotional development.
All in all, kinesthetic activities can double as academic lessons and effective social-emotional learning activities. Try our challenge below to get your school started!
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Assessments to measure social and emotional development are integral to any program. SEL assessments provide educators with a deeper, actionable understanding of students’ social-emotional well-being and bring attention to areas where additional instruction and support may be needed. For school leaders, assessment data builds cases for continued or expanded investment.
When selecting SEL assessment tools, principals should consider whether they are:
When principals leverage SEL data effectively, they can personalize social and emotional learning in the classroom and improve the overall school climate.
Implementing SEL in the classroom can have challenges. Principals should recognize barriers and respond with clarity, understanding, and persistence. Addressing concerns openly builds trust and strengthens your SEL foundation across the entire school community.
One of the most common concerns is simply not having enough time or money to devote to social-emotional learning activities. With packed schedules and competing academic demands, SEL can feel like “one more thing”.
Try making SEL in the classroom manageable by integrating it into academic instruction. Use reading time to implore empathy for characters, or math to practice perseverance during challenging lessons. Adding Math & Movement activities to existing lessons can also make SEL a natural part of the school day. Investing in low-prep, high-impact materials makes the most of limited resources.
One misconception is that SEL in the classroom is politically charged or non-essential. Some communities express concern about the perceived intentions behind SEL programs.
Principals can overcome this by clearly communicating that social-emotional learning activities are about teaching empathy, resilience, cooperation, and focus – skills that benefit all children, regardless of background.
Grounding your program in widely accepted, evidence-based practices like the SAFE framework helps reframe SEL as an educational priority, not a political issue.
High workloads, stress, and unfamiliarity with SEL can make it hard for teachers to embrace new practices. This is where school leaders play a vital role. Offering professional development in social and emotional learning for teachers, along with easy-to-use tools and consistent support, can help staff feel confident and cared for.
When teachers see that SEL enhances their teaching, resistance often shifts to enthusiasm. In fact, a British study found that teachers with strong emotional-regulation abilities report higher levels of job satisfaction and less burnout.
Parents and caregivers may hesitate to support social and emotional development initiatives if they don’t understand the purpose. Clear, frequent communication is key.
Invite families into the process, like when creating your shared vision. Share your SEL goals, explain what students are learning, and provide examples of how it benefits classroom climate and academic achievement.
Try to strengthen school-to-home SEL connections as much as possible. Research shows that reinforcing SEL at home leads to stronger academic and behavioral outcomes. Principals can support this by hosting family workshops, including SEL tips and updates in newsletters, and offering materials that families can use at home.
As schools prepare students for an increasingly complex world, social and emotional learning in the classroom must be seen as a foundational part of a whole-child education.
When principals champion SEL in the classroom, they empower teachers to create safe, supportive spaces where students can grow both academically and personally. When paired with kinesthetic learning, SEL becomes even more engaging and impactful.
Movement-based strategies, like those from Math & Movement, offer students an active, joyful way to develop emotional awareness, focus, and collaboration skills. Students will excel in social and emotional development as well as academics with full-body, multi-sensory activities.
Make social-emotional learning activities a central part of your school’s culture and instructional plan. Explore how Math & Movement can support your school’s SEL vision with hands-on materials and professional development that make integration easy, effective, and fun.
To promote social and emotional learning in the classroom, embed SEL into daily routines and instruction. Form a school SEL team, create a shared vision, and provide training for teachers. Use morning meetings, short breaks, and weekly focus words to encourage reflection and classroom discussions.
Provide teachers with SEL resources, allocate time and materials, and model empathy and collaboration as a school leader. If you school chooses to adopt a SEL program, be sure it is evidence-based and aligned to the SAFE-framework.
SEL is important in the classroom because it supports the whole child. Research shows that students in SEL programs have higher academic achievement, better behavior, stronger relationships, and improved emotional well-being – all of which help them succeed in school and beyond.
Social and emotional development is the process of developing skills such as self-awareness, emotion regulation, empathy, communication, and responsible decision-making. These abilities help students form healthy relationships, manage challenges, and thrive academically and personally.
Play encourages cooperation, empathy, and communication, which are core social and emotional learning competencies. Through collaborative games and imaginative activities, students practice problem-solving, self-regulation, and teamwork in fun, low-pressure ways.
Effective social-emotional learning activities include class meetings, role-playing, peer mentoring, mindfulness exercises, and movement-based lessons. Kinesthetic strategies, like the ones used in the Math & Movement program, help students practice self-regulation, teamwork, and focus while engaging in active learning.
Teachers teach social and emotional learning by modeling SEL skills, explicitly teaching them through structured lessons, and reinforcing them during everyday interactions. Embedding SEL strategies into academics, group work, and classroom routines makes these skills part of daily learning.
CASEL: Develop a Shared Vision for Schoolwide SEL – Accessed September 10, 2025
Suzy Koontz, CEO and Founder of Math & Movement, has spent over 25 years helping students achieve academic success. She has created over 200 kinesthetic teaching tools adopted by schools nationwide and has authored over 20 books. As a sought-after national presenter, Suzy shares how movement can transform the way students learn.
Try the 30-Day Movement Challenge
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