An Overview of 4 SEL Curriculums

Last updated on July 22nd, 2023 at 06:39 pm

If you’re new to teaching, SEL stands for social-emotional learning. Social-emotional learning isn’t a subject you think about much when you go to college to become a teacher, but it is one of the most important topics you will ever teach to students. The lessons learned are skills that students will use for the rest of their lives! In fact, I based my whole Master’s Project on the importance of social-emotional skills and their role in the success of students in school and beyond.

There are many SEL curriculums to choose from and your school may already have a curriculum in place. However, if your school does not or is looking for a new curriculum to adopt I am going to give a brief overview of three curriculums I’ve used and one that looks promising, but have not had the opportunity to try.

Emotional ABCs

The first one is my favorite so far. It is called Emotional ABCs. It is evidence-based and has a one week free trial for teachers. After that week, it’s $19 a month. There is, also, a discounted price for multiple classroom memberships.

Emotional ABCs is accessed through a website that has everything you need to teach the curriculum. Each lesson has a video that clearly teaches the skill and gives examples in language students will understand. There is a lovable character named Moody that your students will get know, too. It comes with a teacher guide and printables that go along with each lesson. My students loved the online games that are included as well!

Their website says the curriculum is aimed at students in grades K-3 and I would agree. This curriculum teaches about identifying emotions, steps for calming down strong feelings, and problem-solving skills. Click here for their website: https://www.emotionalabcs.com/

Second Step

The next curriculum is one I have used most often because the schools I have worked in have adopted it as their SEL curriculum. It is called Second Step. It, too, is evidence-based. It is a great curriculum if you are looking for using it in all grade levels. They have lessons that go all the way up to 12^th grade. Second Step is not free, but their website says that their programs qualify for federal funding or you can apply for grants to cover the cost.

I have experience using this program in grades PreK through 1. Each lesson has a card with a picture on the front and a detailed lesson on the back for the teacher. You can, also, access each lesson online and show the picture on your interactive whiteboard. The online access is great because there are videos that go with some of the lessons and all the songs are there.

My students absolutely love some of the brain builders that open each lesson. They will play them at recess and at home. They, also, enjoy the puppets and the songs. This curriculum is best for Tier 1 students and gives them basic skills in talking about their emotions, identifying emotions in others, and problem-solving skills. Click here for their website: https://www.secondstep.org/     

Kelso’s Choice

The third curriculum I have used a piece of is called Kelso’s Choice. It teaches conflict management skills. Their website says it is for students in grades PreK through 5^th. I used it in a first grade classroom, but I feel Kelso’s Choice is better suited for the upper elementary grade levels.

The lessons are built around “Kelso’s Choices,” which are nine problem-solving solutions that students can select from on a wheel when solving problems between each other. The point being that when students understand how each solution works, then students can problem-solve on their own without teacher intervention. If the problem is not solved after two tries, then students are told to speak to an adult to get more help.

I used Kelso’s Choice Wheel in conjunction with Second Step one year in my classroom because my students had a lot of non-aggressive peer conflict and Second Step just didn’t get to problem-solving strategies soon enough or provide enough viable solutions to my students’ problems. They really got on board with Kelso’s Choice, but most needed teacher support to use it with success. Perhaps eliminating some of the choices would’ve helped or doing more modeling would’ve helped my students be able to use it independently.

I, also, have to mention that I love that Kelso is a frog because I happen to really like frogs! This curriculum has a free basic kit you can receive by putting your email in (what I used), otherwise you can purchase kits on their website: https://kelsoschoice.com/

A Little SPOT

The last curriculum is A Little SPOT.  I have not used this one at all, but it looks like a strong curriculum. When you order the educator kit, it comes with an educator guide, picture books, flash cards, emotion plushies, and a sticker book. There are other extras like music videos on YouTube you can access for free, and downloadable activities for purchase. A Little SPOT teaches about emotions and character traits.

The author, Diane Alber, created the SPOTs with teacher input and more than a million copies have been sold! It doesn’t say on the website the grade range this curriculum is best suited for, but I think it would be best for use in PreK-3. However, I think parts of it could be used or tailored to meet the needs of upper elementary students, too. Click the link to check it out! https://www.dianealber.com/ Please share in the comments if you’ve used A Little SPOT and what you think about it.

If you are not quite yet in the place of being able to begin a SEL curriculum in your classroom, check out my post on the Top Ten Books to Teach About Difficult Emotions. These read-alouds are an excellent starting place for beginning SEL-based discussions with your students.

Disclaimer: I am not being paid to endorse any of these curriculums. I only want to share my experiences using them with the hope that my experiences will help you.