SEL and ELA

The California Standards for English-Language Arts outline processes and proficiencies that literacy educators should utilize to help students develop, not only academically, but social and emotional as well. In the following example, the goal is for students to describe the characters in a story (e.g., the character's traits, motivations, feelings), and explain how the character's actions contribute to the sequence of events.

Standard: Describe characters in a story (e.g., their traits, motivations, or feelings) and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events.
Corresponding SEL competencies: self-awareness, social awareness, and responsible decision-making skills
Label and recognize own and others' emotions Describe what someone is like based on what they say and do Analyze emotions and how they affect others Reflect on how current choices affect the future

In order to identify the feelings and emotions of other people, whether real or fictional, students need to have a well-developed emotional vocabulary. Being able to recognize and label emotions as they occur within themselves helps students recognize those same emotions in others.

What can educators do to help?

Provide opportunities for students to:
- Examine how emotions impact a fictional character's life.
- Provide a non-threatening opportunity for students to reflect on how emotions affect their own lives and the people around them (e.g., use of double-entry journals to examine how a character's emotions impact the world around them, or student self-reflections on their own emotional experience).
Identify emotions:
- Display an emotions poster in the classroom to help students identify and label their emotions.