23 Fun SEL activities for middle school

As a middle school teacher, you know that anything social dominates students’ lives and drives their emotional states. This is a delicate time for students; they are trying to figure out who they are, what friends really are, and where they fit in their school and home communities. They have conquered elementary school but are getting anxious about high school. This “stuck-in-the-middle” feeling brings new challenges every day for middle school students. You, as their teacher, are a source of guidance and comfort in this time of huge social and emotional growth.

How can you help your student to become the best versions of themselves? The answer is teaching them to be empathetic and self-confident at the same time.

SEL core competencies

Social and emotional learning (SEL) helps middle school students to develop the skills to navigate complex scholastic, emotional, and peer dynamics. As a result, students can remain focused and engaged in their classrooms. It also creates a stronger connection between teachers and their students, allowing for a more collaborative and meaningful classroom experience for everyone.

According to the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), there are five SEL competencies:

1. Self-awareness
2. Self-management
3. Responsible decision-making
4. Social awareness
5. Relationship skills

By teaching students the emotional skills found in SEL, teachers empower students to manage themselves, their emotions, and their relationships in a healthy way.

Social-emotional learning activities for middle school by core competency

Here are five SEL activities for middle school, based on the CASEL core competencies, to help guide your students to become thoughtful, successful people.

1. Self-awareness

When I think of self-awareness, I immediately think of self-improvement. One of the best ways to improve is to have a growth mindset. 

Display this “Habits of a Learning Mindset” poster in your classroom and start each day by picking a quality and asking each student to give an example that relates to them. For example: think about the quality of perseverance; tell me about a time when you learned from a mistake. The 12 qualities in this learning mindset poster will propel students toward a “can-do” attitude and empower them with positivity. 

This competency is the quintessential emotional intelligence students need to be successful and self-confident. As stated in this article, the key is to remind students to focus on their skills (and not their perceived deficiencies) in order to set meaningful goals and have the self-motivation and self-discipline needed to achieve them.

Setting and achieving goals makes students feel good about themselves and allows them to pursue new challenges. Help students learn about goal setting and how to set effective goals. Ask your students to think of a goal that they’ve set for themselves. What was the goal? Why did they choose that goal? How did they go about achieving it? After they’ve had a chance to think about their own experience, have them share with a partner. Discuss different ways they could’ve set the goal and how that might’ve changed the outcome. Help them to understand that it’s important to set realistic and achievable goals to be successful.

3. Social awareness

Respecting others, having empathy, and appreciating diversity are some life skills students need when it comes to social awareness. Use this Notice & Note social and emotional activity for middle school, which involves close reading with excerpts from A Long Walk to Water, to help students understand other perspectives and empathize with Salva, a Sudanese boy who must face some tough questions and hardships as a refugee.

4. Responsible decision-making

Educators often help teach students to make good choices and behave ethically. Assigning a writing prompt is a great way to get students thinking about their actions and social norms, along with the well-being of others. This writing prompt from Writable’s A Chance in the World SEL Collection will help students reflect on their decisions by answering this question: What does it mean to face the consequences of your decisions?

5. Relationship skills

Relationships with family and friends are the most important part of any student’s life. Help your students establish and maintain healthy and rewarding relationships by giving them the ability to communicate clearly, listen well, cooperate with others, resist inappropriate social pressure, negotiate conflict constructively, and seek and offer help when needed. 

This writing prompt from A Chance in the World will help students analyze some of their closest relationships: How can you strengthen ties with family members? Use this as an open writing assignment.

SEL activities and games for middle school across competencies

Here are 18 additional activities that you can use with your middle schoolers to support their SEL development across the various competencies. Many of the activities can be done as a whole-group discussion or in small groups.

1. Check-in journal

With a check-in journal, your middle school students will reflect on their day and how they’re feeling. At the beginning of each class, give each student a couple of minutes to write in their journal. Then, have them share one thing that they wrote about with the class.

2. “I am” self-esteem builder

In this activity, students will write positive statements about themselves. Give each student a piece of paper and have them write, “I am” at the top. Then, have them finish the sentence with something positive about themselves. For example:

• I am a good friend.
• I am a good listener.
• I am a good problem solver.

Once they’ve finished writing their statements, have them share their papers with a partner.

3. “Think, say, do”

“Think, say, do” helps students to think about how their words and actions affect others. Write the following prompt on the board: “I am upset because ________.” Then, have students brainstorm different ways that they can respond to the situation. They can choose to “think” about the situation before they say or do anything, “say” something to the person who upset them, or “do” something to solve the problem.

4. The paper challenge

A paper challenge is a great way to get students up and moving while also practicing self-regulation. Divide the class into two teams and give each team a stack of paper. The object of the game is to see how long the team can keep the paper in the air without it touching the ground. If the paper touches the ground, that team is out. The last team standing wins!

5. Different perspective scenario cards

Students will practice empathy by looking at situations from different perspectives. You will need a deck of cards with different scenarios written on them. For example: “You are the new kid in school, and no one is talking to you,” or “Your best friend just got a new phone, and you don’t have one.” To play, deal out all the cards so that each student has one. Then, have students take turns reading their scenario aloud and responding from the perspective of the different people involved.

6. Circle of emotions

With the circle of emotions activity, students will identify and label different emotions. Draw a large circle on a piece of paper and write the word “emotions” in the middle. Then, have students brainstorm different emotions and write them around the circle. Once all the emotions have been written down, have students choose one emotion and stand next to it. Then, have them share with the group why they chose that emotion.

7. The listening game

Help students practice active listening with the listening game. To play, you will need a deck of cards with different topics written on them. For example: “What is your favorite animal?” or “What was the best day of your life?” Deal out all the cards so that each student has one.

Then, have students take turns asking their question to the person next to them and listening closely to the answer. The person who is answering should feel like they are being heard and understood.

8. The feelings jar

This SEL activity for middle school is a great way to help students to identify and label their emotions. You will need a jar and some pieces of paper. On each piece of paper, write down a different word related to feelings. Some examples are: “happy,” “excited,” “sad,” “relaxed,” “frustrated,” or “amused.” Put all the pieces of paper in the jar and have students take turns picking one out and sharing how they’re feeling.

9. Growth mindset

Teach your students about growth mindset and how it can impact their lives. Ask your students to think of a time when they faced a challenge. How did they feel in that moment? What did they do? Did they give up or keep going? Why do you think they made the choice?

10. Self-advocacy

In this activity, students will learn how to advocate for themselves. Ask your students to think of a time when they needed help from someone else. How did they feel in that moment? What did they do? Did they ask for help or try to do it on their own? After they’ve had a chance to think about their own experience, have them share with a partner. Discuss different ways that they could’ve handled the situation and how that might’ve changed the outcome. Help them understand that it’s important to advocate for oneself to get what you need.

11. Strengthening friendship skills

Help your students build strong friendships. In pairs, have students share one interesting thing about themselves that people might not know. After they’ve had a chance to share, have them discuss what it felt like to open to their partner. What did they learn about their partner? How did it feel to share something personal? How can they use what they learned about their partner to strengthen their friendship?

12. Managing emotions

Students will explore different emotions and how to manage them effectively. Ask them to think of a time when they felt a strong emotion. What were they thinking in that moment? What did they do in response to the emotion? How did that make them feel? After they’ve had a chance to think about their own experience, have them share with a partner.

Discuss different ways that they could’ve responded to the situation and how that might’ve changed the way they felt. Help them understand that it’s okay to feel all emotions, but it’s important to learn how to manage them in a healthy way.

13. Coping with stress

Have your students identify different sources of stress in their lives and brainstorm healthy coping mechanisms. Ask your students to think of a time when they felt stressed. What was happening in that moment? What were they thinking and feeling? What did they do to cope with the stress? After they’ve had a chance to think about their own experience, have them share with a partner. Discuss different ways that they could’ve coped with the stress and how that might’ve changed the way they felt. Help them to understand that it’s important to have a variety of healthy coping mechanisms to deal with stress.

14. Accepting differences

Instruct your students about accepting differences and why it’s important. Ask your students to think of a time when they were around someone who was different from them. How did they feel in that moment? What did they do? Did they interact with the person or keep their distance?

After they’ve had a chance to think about their own experience, have them share with a partner. Discuss different ways that they could’ve handled the situation and how that might’ve changed the way they felt. Help them understand that accepting differences is important to build strong relationships. Also, remind students that they might even have things in common with someone who’s mostly different than them. Next time they encounter someone with differences, students can consider trying to discover any similarities.

15. Conflict resolution

Help your students to learn about conflict resolution and how to handle conflicts effectively. Ask your students to think of a time when they were in a conflict with someone. What was happening in that moment? What were they thinking and feeling? What did they do to resolve the conflict?

After they’ve had a chance to think about their own experience, have them share with a partner. Discuss different ways that they could’ve handled the situation and how that might’ve changed the outcome. Help them to understand that it’s important to resolve conflicts in a healthy way.

16. The gratitude game

With this SEL game for middle school, students will practice gratitude by thinking of things that they are thankful for. To play, you will need a deck of cards with different prompts written on them. For example:

• Something you are grateful for in your life
• Someone who has made a difference in your life
• A time when you were proud of yourself

Deal out all the cards so that each student has one. Then, have students take turns sharing their answer to the prompt with the group.

17. Complimenting circles

This activity will help students practice giving and receiving compliments. To play, you’ll need a deck of cards with different compliments written on them. For example:

• You’re a great friend.
• You’re funny.
• You have a great smile.

Deal out all the cards so that each student has one. Then, have students take turns giving their compliment to the person next to them. The person who receives the compliment should say “thank you” and then give a compliment to the person next to them.

18. Team building

This activity will help students to practice working together as a team. To play, you’ll need a deck of cards with different tasks written on them. For example:

• Build a tower out of plastic cups.
• Create a human chain to get from one side of the room to the other.
• Make as many paper airplanes as you can in two minutes.

Deal out all the cards so that each student has one. Then, have students work together in teams to complete the task on their card.

SEL lessons for middle school can be incorporated into your day-to-day instruction

While we have provided several stand-alone SEL lessons for middle school, social and emotional learning doesn’t have to happen in a vacuum. You can incorporate SEL right into your normal academic lessons. 

When discussing literature, invite the class to talk about how the feelings of the characters. You can ask questions like:

• How might the characters feel in a certain scene? 
• What feelings or factors might have led them to make a certain decision? 
• How did events impact other characters differently? 
• How might two characters feel differently about an experience that they both shared?

During a social studies lesson, go deeper into the people behind historic moments in time. Discuss the feelings that might have prompted a historical figure to make the important decision that they did. Invite further social and emotional learning by asking questions like:

• What factors led to a historical figure’s actions or decisions? 
• Why do you think that they choose to do this?
• How do you think others at the time felt about this event?
• How do you feel about the event or decision? What do you think was the appropriate response?
• Can you think of a time when you felt a similar emotion or experienced a similar problem? What did you do?

With a few pointed questions, SEL can easily be woven into existing academic frameworks. These questions can even prompt more engaging discussions about the lesson material and a deeper, more comprehensive understanding of the lesson and its greater context.

Your role in SEL

The teacher-student relationship influences many aspects of a student’s life. The more you give of yourself, the more your students will blossom. We hope these social-emotional learning activities for middle school will help you and your students focus on positive virtues.

Remind your students that it’s OK to feel scared or unsure sometimes because it’s those challenging times that propel us to grow emotionally. SEL boils down to helping students believe in themselves and being aware of the needs of others around them to establish that all-important balance of self-confidence and empathy.

More resources

Many of the SEL activities suggest having students think of ways to handle strong emotions. For support on helping students deal with emotions, please see the following resources:

• “How to help kids understand and manage their emotions”
• “Helping students with emotional regulation”
• Caring for kids after trauma, disaster and death: A guide for parents and professionals, second edition

Portions of this article were adapted from a blog post initially developed by the education technology company Classcraft, which was acquired by HMH in 2023. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of HMH.

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For more social and emotional learning activities, try these SEL journal prompts.

Social and emotional skills are essential to personal and academic growth. Discover how HMH can support your SEL curriculum for middle school students.