Do you want to teach social and emotional learning (SEL) in your skills-based health classroom? If you haven’t considered it yet, there are several reasons to do so — and the good news is you may already be teaching the SEL competencies! Here are a few reasons to teach SEL in your health education classes: Many states have established the implementation of SEL as a goal. As a result, several state frameworks and standards now include SEL. If your state has embraced SEL, why not take the lead and demonstrate to your district administrators how the skills-based classroom includes SEL instructio ..read more

As a physical education teacher, I check in with my students at the beginning and end of every class using the Zones of Regulation, which is a great tool for helping students identify feelings and levels of alertness. Through these daily check-ins, I began to notice a pattern. I learned that most of the angry, frustrated emotions the students were experiencing were generally due to something that happened during recess that day. In my conversations with classroom teachers, I heard them express frustration because they were losing valuable teaching time on conflict resolution — solving students ..read more

If you are teaching a skills-based health education curriculum based on the National Health Education Standards, many natural connections exist between your health lessons and social and emotional learning (SEL). It is important to make these connections clear and explicit, both in your curriculum planning and to your students during instruction. Although the health curriculum in my school is 100% skills based, we are only beginning to focus on making connections to social and emotional learning explicit and direct. These connections start before we even dive into our health curriculum as we c ..read more

I am an elementary physical education teacher at Bell Creek Intermediate School in Ohio. I love my job and believe physical education is important for all students so they can learn and maintain healthy habits for a lifetime. A few years ago, I started learning about social and emotional learning (SEL) and how to help students become SEL-literate to improve their mental health. I began integrating social and emotional learning in my physical education classes using SHAPE America’s health. moves. minds.® program. My highest priority began to center around empathy. I wanted to help students show ..read more

In the last 10 months, teachers, kids and parents have had to adapt to all the changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. It hasn’t been easy. Students have been affected mentally, physically, socially, and emotionally — and teachers are doing their best to help them cope by integrating social and emotional learning into their classes. Personally, I’m the mother of a kindergartner, and while I’m fortunate to work from home, there have been many times when I’ve felt overwhelmed and thought to myself, “I just want to cry!” If you are a teacher who wants to integrate SEL into your classes — or a pa ..read more

I always tell my students that if there’s one thing that I want them to be, it’s kind. I firmly believe that love and kindness will bring our world together. With World Kindness Day approaching, I hope you’ll take some time to think about how you can spread kindness in school — on November 13 and all year long. We’re all dealing with a lot of change and uncertainty right now. Teachers and students have had to make many adjustments to ensure a safe start to the school year. However, one thing has remained the same: the grace to be kind toward one another. I hope some of the ideas below provide ..read more

In his book Together: The Healing Power of Human Connection in a Sometimes Lonely World, author Dr. Vivek Murthy writes, “When young people feel socially isolated, their risk increases for depression, anxiety, and poor sleep.” For many students, the pandemic has increased this risk. Now more than ever, schools are looking for innovative ways to build meaningful connections through social and emotional learning (SEL).   One way to bring students, teachers and communities together — virtually, if necessary — is through an SEL-focused Unity Day. By devoting a day to team building and leaders ..read more

This summer, thousands of health and physical educators read SHAPE America’s 2020-2021 School Reentry Considerations: K-12 Physical Education, Health Education and Physical Activity to prepare for a new school year that would include in-school instruction with physical distancing, distance learning, or a hybrid approach. In addition to showcasing specifics for HPE instruction, the document featured school-wide strategies for addressing equity, inclusion and accessibility; social and emotional learning (SEL); and trauma-sensitive instruction. Most educators know that students and staff have bee ..read more

The month of Ramadan has just begun! During Ramadan, many Muslims like myself fast from sunup to sundown — not consuming food or water. If you have students who will be fasting during Ramadan, you may be wondering how you can best support them. You are not alone. This is always a topic that comes up in forums and Facebook groups around this time of year. Educators want to know how to adjust lessons for students observing Ramadan and how to incorporate movement during a time when those students must conserve energy. Shifting how you teach health and PE during this time is essential. Here are so ..read more

Have you ever been stunned when your best student acts out of character with inappropriate words or actions? When was the last time a student seemingly lost control and did something impulsive that hurt someone else physically or emotionally? Unfortunately, these types of incidents are becoming more and more prevalent in classrooms across the country. It’s time to integrate social and emotional learning in PE — and throughout the school day. Social and emotional learning (SEL) enhances students’ ability to succeed in school and beyond by teaching them how to self-regulate their emotion ..read more