Search 3rd Grade Social Emotional Lesson Plans

What if you imagine your lungs as wings? In this lesson, a butterfly helps teach students about mindful breathing. Learn to use the butterfly breath in three different ways!

Do your kids need a breather? In this lesson, students will learn the circle process and help write guidelines for community building and SEL instruction. Students will learn the practice of belly breathing to help self-soothe, calm and focus.

In this lesson, students will learn self-regulation techniques and be guided through yoga stretches and movements. Then, they will write about how yoga makes them feel and how it may help reduce stress.

We all have our own home of feelings inside, like a shell that we can tuck into when needed. This we learn from turtles, and now your students can too. This lesson helps students access that place inside full of feelings, emotions, and thoughts.

Identifying and describing their feelings is an important part of the way children develop social skills. This lesson teaches your students how to identify feelings, and then elaborate on them by speaking and writing in complete sentences.

What happens when students explore their senses on the inside? This lesson encourages students to look at, listen to, and feel what is happening on the inside through practicing mindfulness.

Mindfulness 101! Students focus on the present moment using their senses to observe what is happening right now. They are introduced to the idea that mindfulness is about paying attention to the present.

Imagine wild animals teaching students to walk mindfully, and camoflauge teaching about stillness. This lesson takes a cue from animal adaptations as students practice walking and pausing mindfully.

Are you a bucket filler? Children with good social skills lift each other up with compliments and praise, instead of put downs and negative comments. Use this lesson to teach your students about bucket filling and how to compliment others.

Owls hear so well that they can hunt in the dark. Have your students try on their owl ears! In this lesson, students open up their ears to all the sounds around them, close and far away, and go on a sound hunt.

Deep relaxation in school? Yes, it is possible! Through this process you will guide students to consciously focus on relaxing various body parts, leading to a visualization to help relax their full body mindfully.

In this lesson, students will explore how sadness, loneliness, gratitude, connection, and love feel in their bodies. They will also learn about negativity bias and practice “soaking in the good” by savoring positive feelings.

Service can bring out the best in people and communities. In this lesson, students discuss what it means to serve and explore ways that they would like to support their school and community with service work.

In this lesson, students will read the story My Many Colored Days by Dr. Seuss, and reflect on the many different feelings we may experience. They will use body maps to color in where they may feel different emotions in their body.

In this lesson, students will hear the story Drawn Together and create a Diversity Board. They will consider how appreciating each other's differences in school supports relationships and community.

Group work can build cooperation and problem-solving skills inside and outside of the classroom! In this lesson, students will discuss cooperation and practice using cooperative techniques in human knot and tower-building activities.

In this lesson, students will reflect on what they have learned, connected to mindfulness and living in a caring community, and will write a letter to a future student to encourage them in their learning, as well.

Seeing the best in ourselves can support us emotionally, socially, and academically. In this lesson, students will reflect on when they have been their best selves, and they'll practice loving kindness during a mindfulness session.

In this lesson, students will discuss compassion, hear from a local nonprofit about their compassionate work in the community, and design a compassion sculpture made mostly out of recycled materials.

Let's move mindfully, with focus and ease, like a frog or a gorilla! In this lesson, students will practice mindful movement and come up with their own mindful animal movements that they can then teach to a peer.

In this lesson, students will learn the importance of nonviolent communication and listening to others in order to have a more supportive community.

Words can uplift others, but they can also cause harm. In this lesson, students will hear the story Desmond and the Very Mean Word, and they'll discuss the power of positive and negative words in friendships, school, and community.

Mindful movement can support calm and can also be fun! In this lesson, students will create their own animal pose to teach the class, then journal and draw a picture of themselves in their mindful movement animal pose.

The recipe for friendship includes kindness, honesty, and understanding, among other things! In this lesson, students will discuss the recipe for friendship, make a perfect pot of tea, and reflect on how to make upset friends feel better.