SEL Lesson Plan Template

A social and emotional learning template built around the CASEL framework's five competencies: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making.

SELAdvisoryMorning MeetingHealthElementaryMiddle SchoolHigh School

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When to use this template

  • Dedicated SEL or advisory/morning meeting time
  • When addressing specific social and emotional challenges
  • To build classroom community at the beginning of the year
  • When integrating SEL skills into academic content

Template sections

Identify the CASEL competency and specific skill.

Competency: (Self-Awareness / Self-Management / Social Awareness / Relationship Skills / Responsible Decision-Making)

Specific skill: ...

State what students will know, feel, or be able to do.

Students will be able to... Students will understand that...

Open with a check-in activity that builds trust.

What check-in activity? (e.g., rose/thorn/bud, feelings wheel, thumb-ometer)

Name the SEL skill explicitly and model it.

How will you introduce the skill? What story, scenario, or example?

Students practice the skill through a structured activity.

What activity gives hands-on practice? (role-play, partner practice, scenario cards, journaling)

Process the experience and connect to daily life.

What reflection questions? How will students apply this skill?

Plan how students will apply this beyond the lesson.

How will you reinforce this skill throughout the week?

The Flip Perspective

Social-Emotional Learning is most effective when explicitly taught and practiced in a safe environment. This template focuses on community building and the direct application of emotional skills. Flip's AI suggests relevant scenarios and reflection prompts that resonate with students' daily experiences.

See what our AI builds

Adapting this Template

For SEL

Apply SEL by adapting the phase timings and prompts to fit SEL's unique content demands.

For Advisory

Apply SEL by adapting the phase timings and prompts to fit Advisory's unique content demands.

For Morning Meeting

Apply SEL by adapting the phase timings and prompts to fit Morning Meeting's unique content demands.

About the SEL framework

Social and emotional learning (SEL) isn't a separate subject. It's woven into everything students do. But explicit SEL instruction helps students develop the language, awareness, and strategies they need to manage emotions, build relationships, and make responsible choices.

The CASEL framework: This template is built around the five CASEL competencies: Self-Awareness, Self-Management, Social Awareness, Relationship Skills, and Responsible Decision-Making.

Why explicit SEL instruction matters: Research shows that dedicated SEL lessons are most effective when they are sequenced, active, focused, and explicit (the SAFE framework from CASEL).

Creating psychological safety: SEL lessons only work when students feel safe enough to be vulnerable. The template includes prompts for establishing norms and creating a supportive climate.

Developmentally appropriate practice: SEL looks different at every age. Elementary students need concrete language for emotions. Middle schoolers need strategies for social complexity. High schoolers need genuine reflection spaces.

This template helps you plan focused, engaging SEL lessons that build specific competencies with age-appropriate activities.

Pair with these methodologies

Inside-Outside Circle

Concentric circles rotate for rapid partner exchanges

Role Play

Students embody historical or fictional characters

Fishbowl Discussion

Inner group debates while the class observes

Human Barometer

Stand along a spectrum to show your position

Elementary

Designed for K–5 classrooms with age-appropriate pacing, transition cues, movement breaks, and scaffolding. Young learners need more structure, shorter segments, and hands-on engagement.

Simple

A clean, no-fuss lesson plan template with just the essentials: objective, materials, procedure, and assessment. Perfect for quick planning or teachers who prefer minimal structure.

UDL

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) builds flexibility into every lesson by providing multiple means of engagement, representation, and action & expression, so every student can access the learning.

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Frequently asked questions

A SEL lesson plan explicitly teaches social and emotional skills like emotional regulation, empathy, and decision-making. Based on the CASEL framework, it targets one of five competencies through structured activities.
The five CASEL competencies are: Self-Awareness, Self-Management, Social Awareness, Relationship Skills, and Responsible Decision-Making.
Analyze character emotions in ELA, practice collaborative problem-solving in math, examine ethical decisions in social studies. Name the SEL skill explicitly when it comes up.
Active learning and SEL reinforce each other naturally. When students work through a Flip mission together, they practice collaboration, perspective-taking, and self-regulation in a real context, not as an abstract exercise. A debate mission builds relationship skills and social awareness. A simulation requires self-management under pressure. Many teachers find that SEL competencies develop faster when students are genuinely engaged in a hands-on challenge.
All lesson plan templatesExplore active learning methodologies