The best social emotional learning routines to start the school year off right

If you’re like most high school teachers, the start of the school year is a time for new routines and expectations. It can be tough to get students back into the swing of things, but using social emotional learning (SEL) routines can help make the transition smoother. SEL skills are important for helping students navigate relationships, deal with emotions, and solve problems. Here are some of my favorite SEL routines to start off the year right.

Every Student, Every Day

1. Greet every student by name at the door at the start of each class – every single day of the year. This might be the only point of contact that a student has with another human being throughout their entire day. Acknowledging them by name and with direct eye contact makes them feel like a valued and important part of the class community. This is such a small but powerful act that we can use to draw in some of the more school avoidant or hesitant students. If I’m feeling spunky, sometimes I’ll level up and offer a super cheesy high five or fist bump 🤪

Remember The Important Stuff

2. In the Notes app on my phone, I have a note for each class. In it, I have the name of each student. Every day, I try to write down one important thing I learned about each student throughout the period. That way, I can refer back to it on days when a student seems down or less engaged than usual. I use these little tidbits as bait to reel in a student when they are having an off day. They are impressed, surprised, and delighted that I actually ‘remembered’ a seemingly small detail from a previous conversation they had. It makes them feel like I am truly invested in their life and well-being.

Goal setting

3. One of the best ways to get students engaged in their own learning is to have them set goals for the year. What do they want to achieve academically, socially, and emotionally? What kind of person do they want to be? Having students think about their goals at the beginning of the year offers a sense that they have a clean slate going into the year – an invaluable opportunity for many students who might feel ashamed or embarrassed about past school performance.

Celebrate successes

4. Make a big deal out of student successes – big and small. Whether it’s a student who turns in their first homework assignment on time or a student who gets an ‘A’ on a major test, celebrating accomplishments shows students that you are paying attention to their efforts and that you care about their success.

I’ll sometimes use my daughter’s princess crown and call it the Crown of Knowledge that I’ll bestow on a student who did an excellent job on a test or homework assignment. We also celebrate Win of the Week on Friday’s to end the week on a positive note. We reflect on one thing (academic or personal) that felt like a win and share it with the class so we can celebrate one another! This little boost in morale and support for one another encourages positive behavior and reinforces the importance of cohesion in the classroom.

Build in room for downtime

5. I used to dread the end of a period when there were two or three minutes left over where kids would sit on their phones or rush to the door to line up to leave. Now, I intentionally leave a few minutes to chat! I’ll rotate around and chat with kids, asking them about what they did on the weekend or how a club meeting went. Sometimes I’ll throw out a question to the whole class to spark a conversation. My goal is to get kids talking, involved, and feeling acknowledged. Sometimes I’ll save an attendance question for the end of a class period to give my kids something to look forward to!

It’s never too late to start

Whether you’re reading this at the beginning, middle, or end of the year, it is never too late to prioritize relationships between you and your students. You can read more about my philosophy on how relationships are everything in this blog post. While the start of the school year is a great time to establish strong social emotional learning routines, we can use the rest of the year to build upon them. These routines will provide a foundation for a strong rapport with your students all year long. I hope you found these tips helpful. If you would like more information, please join my e-mail list. I send out regular updates on how to tips and ideas for building stronger relationships with your students.

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Looking for more tips on teaching Social Studies? Join the StuckOnEDU family! Click here.