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Students need to develop strong social-emotional skills to thrive in school, career, and life. Test scores matter, but do your students have what they need to succeed?
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Social-emotional learning helps students:
Integrating a focus on social-emotional learning into your classroom or school also will help you to better serve young people who have experienced trauma.
According to research by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, social-emotional learning helps young people to be "twice as likely to attain a college degree in early adulthood; 54% more likely to earn a high school diploma; and 46% more likely to have a full-time job at the age of 25."*
*Research from "Early Social-Emotional Functioning and Public Health: The Relationship Between Kindergarten Social Competence and Future Wellness," published on October 09, 2015, in American Journal of Public Health.
The need for social-emotional learning is clear. The U.S. Department of Education recently announced its budget, which includes a $1.3 billion increase in education funding, and sets aside dedicated funds for education initiatives that support social-emotional learning programs (Washington Post, December 19, 2019).
Do you know how to best integrate social-emotional learning into your classroom and school? ASCD can help!
We've gathered some useful resources from our archives and recent releases to help you understand the importance of social-emotional learning and how to build your students’ skills.
Jump to: Book Chapters | Quick Reference Guides | Articles | Videos | Webinars
Books identified as member books are fully open to members of the specified level of membership. All ASCD members save up to 20% off purchases through the ASCD Store using their member discount.
by Thomas R. Hoerr
The ultimate blueprint for making sure students and staff are equipped to thrive. (Premium member book: Premium members have access to the entire book online!) Book Information | Chapter 1: SEL: It's About Time! | ASCD Study Guide
by Nancy Frey, Douglas Fisher, and Dominique Smith
Find strategies for addressing 33 essential competencies and real-life examples that highlight the many opportunities for integrating social and emotional learning into the K–12 academic curriculum. (Premium and Select member book: Premium and Select members have access to the entire book online!) Book Information | Chapter 1: Learning That's Worthwhile
The Formative Five: Fostering Grit, Empathy, and Other Success Skills Every Student Needs by Thomas R. Hoerr Learn how to foster the "Formative Five" attributes that students need: empathy, self-control, integrity, embracing diversity, and grit. (Premium and Select member book: Premium and Select members have access to the entire book online!) Book Information | Excerpt: Introduction | Chapter 3: Self Control
Fostering Grit: How do I prepare my students for the real world? (ASCD Arias) by Thomas R. Hoerr Get strategies for fostering grit, a sample lesson plan with self-assessments, and a six-step process that is applicable across grade levels and content areas. Book Information | Chapter: Grit Begins With You
Mindfulness in the Classroom: Strategies for Promoting Concentration, Compassion, and Calm by Thomas Armstrong This resource explains how mindfulness affects the structure and function of the brain and offers guidelines for teaching mindfulness responsibly, without religious overtones. (Premium and Select member book: Premium and Select members have access to the entire book online!) Book Information | Chapter 1: Joining the Quiet Revolution | ASCD Study Guide
Relationship, Responsibility, and Regulation: Trauma-Invested Practices For Fostering Resilient Learners by Kristin Van Marter Souers with Pete Hall Learn how to create a culture of safety in which everyone feels valued, important, and capable of learning. Introduction | Book Information | Chapter 1: A Culture of Safety | ASCD Study Guide
Teaching to Strengths: Supporting Students Living with Trauma, Violence, and Chronic Stress by Debbie Zacarian, Lourdes Alvarez-Ortiz, and Judie Haynes Find out how to implement teaching and schoolwide practices that support and enhance the academic and socio-emotional development of students living with trauma, violence, and chronic stress. Book Information | Chapter 1: The Urgent Need for a Strengths-Based Approach
Written by recognized experts, ASCD Quick Reference Guides are packed with instructional tips and solutions that you can put into practice right away.
Nancy Frey, Dominique Smith, and Douglas Fisher introduce a new approach to social-emotional learning that shifts it from a standalone curriculum to its natural place as an essential part of learning.
View a sample strategy (PDF) | Purchase the Quick Reference Guide
Trauma-Invested Practices to Meet Students' Needs Kristin Van Marter Souers and Pete Hall, authors of Fostering Resilient Learners and Relationship, Responsibility, and Regulation, introduce the new three Rs of education: relationship, responsibility, and regulation. View a sample strategy (PDF) | Purchase the Quick Reference Guide
Cultivating Habits of Mind Arthur L. Costa and Bena Kallick offer quick tips for nurturing the 16 habits of mind to help students become more successful learners. View a sample strategy (PDF) | Purchase the Quick Reference Guide
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If you find that these resources are helpful, please take a moment to check out our membership options. We would love to have you as a member of our organization and can provide you with other tools to help you with the growing number of challenges that you face every day.
Did you know that ASCD members get access to thousands more resources like these on a variety of different topics in our Members-Only Digital Archives, in addition to receiving new tips and recommendations throughout the year? Members also receive discounts on ASCD books and products.
Joining ASCD also provides you with the opportunity to connect with local educators. You can join your local affiliate at the same time you join ASCD.
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Every issue of Educational Leadership® magazine offers a selection of open articles. ASCD members can access all recent magazine issues and articles by logging in. Education Update is our monthly newsletter. ASCD Express is a twice-monthly free e-newsletter.
What does SEL look like in practice? The October 2018 issue of Educational Leadership® examines how educators and schools are integrating SEL into the curriculum, and how schools are measuring its impact.
Browse this issue
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Administrators went on a journey of exploration, going into schools, talking to teachers, and shadowing students to find out what was missing. They discovered that the learning environment and curriculum needs to be engaging, rigorous, collaborative, creative, and foster critical thinking. The result of their work? A total redesign. In this video, we focus on the key pillars of the redesign and visit four pilot schools.
Watch an excerpt from the video
The Teachers' Lounge on ASCD Streaming Video showcases free video content, previews of upcoming video programs, and excerpts from recent titles.
Visit the Teachers' Lounge
ASCD Webinars provide free professional development on the topics that you need most, on-demand to fit your schedule.
The New Three Rs: Trauma-Invested Strategies for Fostering Resilient Learners Authors Kristin Souers and Pete Hall address the importance of trauma-invested practices in the school setting. Watch the webinar.
All Learning Is Social and Emotional: Helping Students Develop Essential Skills for the Classroom and Beyond Author Nancy Frey introduces a new model for achieving equity through social-emotional learning to clarify the structural and interpersonal components of an excellent schooling experience. Watch the webinar.
Browse all webinars
Teach to Lead brings teacher-led teams together to collaborate and incubate innovative ideas that can make a positive impact for students in their schools, communities, districts and states. The teacher leadership initiative helps teachers transform great ideas into action and take projects to scale.
Teach to Lead is the perfect opportunity to address the needs of the Whole Child, transitioning from a focus on narrowly defined academic achievement to one that promotes the long-term development and success and social-emotional well-being of both students and teachers. Examples of project topic ideas might include student and teacher well-being and mental health, bullying and harassment, student identity, trauma informed practices, school culture and climate, adult-student relationships.
Past participants state that "Having an opportunity to pull away from the pressures of life in our professional environments and spend time with others thinking purposefully about ONE specific problem gave me hope that a solution can be designed!" Follow Teach to Lead on Twitter for updates on the #TTLNetwork and upcoming events.
Learn more about Teach to Lead
As an educator, you have a tough job ahead of you: Promote the long-term development and success of each and every student in your care. That's the ASCD Whole Child approach to education.
Be a part of ASCD's mission of educating the whole child by joining the ASCD Whole Child Network, a global network of schools focused on the same goals; engaged in the same processes; and with whose educators you can discuss issues, share insights, and exchange support.
Learn more about the ASCD Whole Child Network
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