Gratitude Journals and More: SEL Activities for Elementary Students
Hey there, counselor friend! If you’re looking for simple, hands-on SEL activities for elementary students that go beyond surface-level discussions, you’re in the right place. Social Emotional Learning (SEL) doesn’t have to be complicated! In fact, some of the most impactful moments happen through quick, creative lessons that help students connect, reflect, and grow.
Hi, I’m Rachel Davis! I’m a former school counselor with over 8 years of experience in the classroom. I specialize in creating easy-to-implement strategies for busy school counselors, and I am the counselor and curriculum designer behind Bright Futures Counseling, a community designed to offer counselors the support they need to feel confident serving their students well.
With Thanksgiving right around the corner, now is a great time to help students focus on being thankful and what better way to do that than by integrating gratitude and other SEL ideas into your counseling sessions. In this guide, we’ll explore SEL activities for elementary kids that can be used in classroom lessons, small groups, or individual counseling sessions. From gratitude journals to social skills games, you’ll find engaging, ready-to-use ideas to build connection, confidence, and emotional awareness in your students.
Why SEL Activities Matter in the Elementary Years
Elementary school is a crucial time for building emotional intelligence, resilience, and empathy. Many of our students come to us without strong emotional regulation skills or the understanding of how to use positive coping skills.
By incorporating social emotional learning worksheets, games and activities into your counseling program or classroom routines, you’re helping students:
- Recognize and manage their emotions
- Build positive relationships with peers and adults
- Make responsible decisions
- Develop self-confidence and empathy
Whether you have a full 30-minute lesson or a 10-minute morning meeting, SEL activities help students practice these skills in ways that feel fun and approachable.
Social Emotional Learning Activities for Elementary Students
1. Creative Gratitude Journals
November is here and Thanksgiving is right around the corner. With the busy holiday season it can feel hard to fit in full counseling sessions, or keep students on track. That’s why I absolutely love using gratitude journals in individual or group sessions during this time of year. Gratitude activities are both calming and reflective and they encourage students to actively practice noticing the good things in their lives, big or small.
My Creative Gratitude Journal gives you everything you need to help students build a gratitude practice that feels personal and engaging. With editable pages and prompts that spark reflection, students can express gratitude through writing, drawing, or even doodling.
This resource can be used as:
- A weekly reflection activity in your counseling sessions
- A calm-down center resource for self-regulation
- A small group activity to build community and positive thinking
- A simple grab and go activity for students who need an extra break in your office
Counselor tip: Try pairing gratitude journaling with mindfulness moments or breathing exercises to help students slow down and connect with their emotions.
2. Feelings and Emotions Lesson
Before students can regulate emotions, they need to be able to recognize and name them and that’s where a feelings-focused SEL lesson comes in. This low-prep Feelings and Emotions Class Lesson helps students expand their emotional vocabulary and understand positive coping skills for big feelings.
This ready-to-use resource includes interactive activities that make learning about emotions both fun and meaningful. You might use:
- Emotion sorting cards to help students match facial expressions to feeling words
- Discussion prompts that connect feelings to real-life scenarios
- Foldable reflection activity that allow students to respond to what different emotions feel like in their bodies
If you’re looking for a low-prep but engaging counseling lesson that will help students understand and recognize feelings and emotions, this one is foundational. Once students understand emotions, they’re better prepared to practice self-regulation, empathy, and problem-solving in future lessons.
3. Self-Regulation Lesson
Self-regulation is one of the most important SEL skills for elementary students to master, but it an also be one of the hardest! That's why I created this Self-Regulation Class Lesson that walks students through what it means to identify emotions and how to use language and coping skills to positively regulate their different emotions.
This resource includes:
- Movement-based discussion prompts to help students identify their “big feelings”
- Hands-on activities to practice calming strategies
- Visual tools like a feelings "temperature" check
You can also extend the learning with tier 2 group activities, such as creating a calm down corner together or role-playing scenarios where students practice regulating emotions in different settings.
4. Social Skills Scoot Game
If you want to get your students up and moving while practicing important social skills, you’ll love this Social Skills Scoot Game! This fast-paced, interactive activity is perfect for group counseling sessions or classroom lessons. Students rotate around the room answering scenario-based questions that encourage discussion, reflection, and collaboration.
You can use this game to:
- Reinforce lessons on friendship, empathy, and cooperation
- Encourage movement-based learning
- Assess students’ understanding of key social skills
Because it’s so interactive, this is a great social emotional learning game for students who need variety and energy in their learning experiences.
5. Expected Behaviors Card Game
This Expected Behaviors Card Game is another engaging way to help students navigate social situations in a positive way. Students draw cards that describe different school-based scenarios and discuss whether the behavior shown is expected or unexpected, and why.
This activity naturally sparks great conversation and helps students build social awareness and self-management skills.
It’s a great fit for:
- Small group sessions focused on friendship or behavior
- Whole-class SEL lessons on respect and cooperation
- Individual counseling when discussing problem-solving or perspective-taking
Counselor tip: Pair this game with a reflection worksheet or exit ticket to help students process what they learned.
Tips for Integrating SEL into Your Routine
As school counselors our time is limited, and it can be daunting to think about trying to incorporate SEL into all the other groups and class lessons we are teaching. The good news is that bringing SEL activities into your counseling program doesn’t require a complete overhaul. Here are a few ways to weave SEL into what you’re already doing:
1. Start small. Introduce one SEL activity per week — like a gratitude reflection or short feelings check-in.
2. Use transitions wisely. A 5-minute SEL game between lessons can build focus and connection.
3. Connect SEL to academic lessons. If you are a classroom teacher, you can tie empathy discussions into your literature lessons or problem-solving lessons into math.
4. Track progress. Use observation notes or student self-assessments to measure growth in self-awareness, social skills, and regulation.
When SEL is woven into your routine, students begin to see it as part of daily life, not just a one-time lesson.
Simplify Your SEL Planning
If planning a full year of SEL lessons feels overwhelming, you don’t have to start from scratch. Each of the activities above is designed to make SEL easy, effective, and engaging.
Looking for a structured plan? The School Counseling Curriculum Map provides a year-long framework that includes classroom lessons, small groups, and data-tracking tools to help you stay organized and aligned with SEL goals all year long.
Final Thoughts
SEL doesn’t have to be complicated and it certainly doesn’t have to be boring! With a mix of creative journaling, interactive games, and emotion-focused lessons, you can make social emotional learning an engaging, meaningful part of your classroom or counseling sessions.
Try incorporating one of these SEL activities in your elementary programs this week and watch how your students begin to grow in empathy, self-awareness, and confidence, one activity at a time.
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