he mission of the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) is to ensure that every learner has access to a world-class education system that academically prepares children and adults to succeed as productive citizens. Further, the Department seeks to establish a culture that is committed to improving opportunities throughout the commonwealth by ensuring that technical support, resources, and optimal learning environments are available for all students, whether children or adults.
To assist in this mission, the PDE Office for Safe Schools established Pennsylvania Career Ready Skills to address the social and emotional skills students need to empower themselves to successfully navigate relationships within their family, school, post-secondary education, and/or career as well as within the global marketplace. Building developmentally appropriate interpersonal skills from a young age helps develop critical skills so that students reach their potential in their home, school, and community. The development of interpersonal and goal directed behaviors also assists students to set and reach personal goals that can guide their academic, social, and personal life.
These pages provide a resource guide of best practices in Social Emotional Learning (SEL) programs, curricula, and supplemental materials. Best practices on choosing SEL programs involve (1) choose a diverse team to provide input to ensure commitment and a broad scope of understanding of the needs, (2) have the team consider key questions including “Is this curriculum worth of more careful review?” and do the program characteristics match individual program needs and assets of the district/school (3) promote buy-in and implementation fidelity. Examining the resources provided and choosing a program based on the following questions will assist your team in addressing needs in the school/district and improve overall outcomes (1) Has this curriculum been shown to produce scientifically verifiable outcomes? (2) Has this curriculum been adopted successfully in programs like ours? (3) Does the curriculum actually impact all of the social-emotional outcomes we are concerned about? (4) What does it take to become fluent in the use of the curriculum? (5) What are the costs (in dollars and in time) to implement with fidelity? (6) How will this curriculum fit into the program’s current philosophy and practices?
Please note: what’s included is not exhaustive of available resources, nor does inclusion indicate endorsement by PDE. Information is provided to give school teams a starting point for addressing and implementing an SEL program in their school. Additional information on promoting school-wide practices, evidence-based programming, and updated resource guides for SEL programming
Curriculum
The 7 Mindsets is a research-based curriculum focused on promoting self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision making.
The Building Belonging curriculum creates a sense of community among young people, helps develop their social and emotional skills, and supports restorative practices for grades 6-12.
On Applebee Pond is a research-based curriculum designed by the Mercer County Behavioral Health Commission, Inc. In designing and developing the “On Applebee Pond” prevention curriculum Mercer County used as its foundation the prevention research that supports the identifying of risk factors and the strengthening of resiliency factors in children. OAP curriculum is targeted for pre-school, elementary and junior / senior high school students. OAP is designed as a cross-age teaching mechanism as the secondary level student facilitates the program which aids the pre-school and elementary age child in developing positive life skills. This puppet based program affords the opportunity to engage the students in prevention education simultaneously.
Random Acts of Kindness is a skills promotion program for students in kindergarten through eighth grade. The elementary school edition uses free-standing lessons to promote social and emotional learning. The program is framed around 12 Kindness Concepts: assertiveness, caring, compassion, fairness, gratitude, integrity, helpfulness, perseverance, respect, responsibility, self-care, and self-discipline. These concepts are presented in ways that are differentiated for each grade to account for students’ developmental levels. In addition, each lesson includes tips for how to adapt the curriculum to meet the needs of diverse learners. The program also includes kindness “tool kits” with additional activities teachers can use to support and scaffold student learning.
SanfordHarmony is a skills promotion program that uses free-standing lessons to promote social and emotional learning for students in PreK through sixth grade. Lessons are combined as grade bands for PreK and K, first and second grade, and fifth and sixth grade. Grades three and four have lessons for those specific grades and are not combined as a grade band. Each grade/grade band includes approximately 20 lessons.
The program consists of five units or focus themes: diversity and inclusion, empathy and critical thinking, communication, problem solving, and peer relationships. These focus themes are presented in ways that are differentiated for each grade/grade band to account for students’ developmental levels. In lower elementary, lessons include storybooks focus on core themes. Games are provided for upper elementary levels.
Second Step provides instruction in social and emotional learning with units on skills for learning, empathy, emotion management, friendship skills, and problem solving. The program contains separate sets of lessons for use in PreK through eighth grade implemented in 22 to 28 weeks each year. The Early Learning program in Second Step also includes a unit for transitioning to kindergarten. Second Step uses four key strategies to reinforce skill development: brain builder games (to build executive function), weekly theme activities, reinforcing activities, and home links. Teachers are encouraged to give children daily opportunities to practice. Second Step also connects new skills to other areas in the curriculum (e.g., literacy, arts, dramatic arts) and provides a structure for each day of the week. The first day contains a script and main lesson. The second day includes a story and discussion. The third and fourth days involve practice activities in small and large groups. On the fifth day students read a book connected to the overall unit theme, and teachers send home a “Home Link” activity that gives students an opportunity to practice new skills with their caregivers.
Too Good forDrugs and Violence High School program has Lessons foster analysis and discussion of the effects of ATOD use as well as prescription and OTC drug use and various nicotine delivery devices. Students also analyze the impact of social media on decision making, reaching goals, and self identity.
Students learn how to navigate the challenges of social and academic pressures like making responsible decisions, managing stress and anger, reflecting on personal relationships, and resolving conflicts. The lessons use collaborative and experiential learning strategies to help students practice the skills proven to prevent violence and other risky behaviors.
Too Good for Violence is a violence prevention and character education program for students in kindergarten through eighth grade that teaches character-based skills such as respect, celebrating diversity, and understanding feelings and actions. The curriculum consists of seven scripted lessons that take 30-60 minutes EACH to implement. Infusion activities that integrate social and emotional skills with academic content areas are also provided in addition to recommended readings, videos, and home activities to be completed with parents or caregivers. Family and community involvement is emphasized, and suggested activities and recommendations for teachers are provided.
Program and/or Supplement
The 4Rs uses children's literature as a springboard to strengthen students' social, emotional, and academic skills and build a caring classroom community.
C Squad: Together for the Journey provides a safe space where middle school youth can build relationships, address crucial issues in their lives, and develop social and emotional strengths. C Squad is designed for middle school advisory classes and for after-school programs.
Connect with Kids provides social and emotional learning resources through customized digital platforms that include hundreds of streaming videos, lesson plans, parenting programs and guides, professional development materials, and more.
First Step to Success is an early intervention program designed to help children who are at risk for developing aggressive or antisocial behavioral patterns. The program uses a trained behavior coach who works with each student and his or her class peers, teacher, and parents for approximately 50–60 hours over a 3-month period. First Step to Success includes three interconnected modules: screening, classroom intervention, and parent training.
Leader in Me helps schools create well-rounded learners by developing the whole-person and preparing students to become life-ready leaders. Leader in Me unites students, staff, and families around a common goal to prepare students with college, career, and life-readiness skills that are necessary to thrive in today’s ever-changing, fast-paced environment.
The ResponsiveClassroom® approach is designed to create classrooms that are responsive to children’s physical, emotional, social, and intellectual needs through developmentally appropriate educational experiences in kindergarten through sixth grade. The approach incorporates ten essential teaching practices and practical strategies including morning meetings, rule creation, interactive modeling, positive teacher language, logical consequences, guided academic discovery, academic choice, classroom organization, collaborative problem solving, and guidelines for working with families. Teachers are encouraged to connect with parents individually on a regular basis in order to share updates and expectations about the child’s development or to collaboratively address any difficulties the child may be experiencing. The Responsive Classroom approach incorporates many nonverbal signals (e.g., a chime or raised hand when students should pay attention) throughout the day.
The SocialDecision Making/Problem Solving program covers approximately 30 topics each year designed to develop self-control, social awareness, and effective decision-making skills. The program contains separate sets of lessons each year for kindergarten through eighth grade. Sessions follow a structure that includes an introduction to the topic, modeling of the skill, opportunities for practice, reflection and discussion, and suggestions for practice beyond the structured lesson. Also included are tips for teachers to support effective pedagogy and instructional practices to promote social and emotional learning, as well as strategies for integrating new skills and concepts into core academic subject areas. The program provides frequent take-home activities and supplementary books for parents on the importance of social and emotional development. The program manual includes a section for frequently asked questions that address cultural relevance. Occasional suggestions for remaining sensitive to and aware of various cultures and ethnicities are included throughout the lessons.
The SocialSkills Improvement System (SSIS) program The Social Skills Improvement System (SSIS) Class wide Intervention Program is a social skills promotion program that uses free-standing SEL lessons and teaching practices for students in preschool through eighth grade. It is designed to be used by teachers, teacher’s aides, school counselors, or other educational professionals that work closely with students. The curriculum is organized into 10 skill units with a total of 30 lessons per grade band. Lessons are designed to be implemented in the classroom and delivered three times per week over the course of ten weeks. Lessons focus on interpersonal skills, including listening to others, asking for help, and staying calm with others. While SSIS has limited emphasis on the promotion of students’ self-awareness and self-management, when taught in conjunction with the SSIS SEL edition, the program provides learning around all five social-emotional competencies. The SSIS SEL edition is a flexible curriculum that includes 23 units designed for use with students ages 4 to 14.
Teachable Moment, a project of Morningside Center for Teaching Social Responsibility, provides timely and free classroom lessons and activities for K-12 educators. TeachableMoment includes hundreds of lessons to help students learn about, discuss, and engage in current issues; and develop essential social and emotional skills, from active listening to standing up to bias.
Tools ofthe Mind is an early childhood program for students in prekindergarten and kindergarten that promotes self-regulated learning and is designed to be embedded within the classroom. With a focus on early literacy, mathematics, and other cognitive competencies such as self-reflection, the program encourages teachers to scaffold student learning while encouraging use of mental “tools” through self-regulation activities, make-believe play, and a structured classroom environment that enable students to control their social, emotional, and cognitive behaviors. The Tools of the Mind program also provides structures for family involvement and information for parents who wish to reinforce the activities with their children outside of the program.
The Why Try Program is an evidence-based, social/emotional learning resource. We offer a variety of teach the teacher programs designed to cultivate a learning environment where students feel empowered and motivated to be resilient. Our multi-sensory approach includes lesson plans, music, video resources, reflection questions, activities, and much more.
School Wide Programs
Caring School Community™ (CSC) is a modified version of a program formerly known as the Child Development Project. CSC is a multiyear school improvement program that involves all students in grades K–6. The program aims to promote core values, prosocial behavior, and a schoolwide feeling of community. The program consists of four elements originally developed for the Child Development Project: class meeting lessons, cross-age “buddies” programs, “homeside” activities, and schoolwide community. Class lessons provide teachers and students with a forum to get to know one another, discuss issues, identify and solve problems collaboratively, and make a range of decisions that affect classroom life. Cross-age buddies activities pair whole classes of older and younger students for academic and recreational activities that build caring cross-age relationships and create a schoolwide climate of trust. Homeside activities include short conversational activities that are sent home with students for them to do with parents or caregivers and then to discuss back in their classroom. The activities incorporate the families’ perspectives, cultures, and traditions, thereby promoting interpersonal understanding. Schoolwide community-building activities bring students, parents, and school staff together to create new school traditions.
Competent Kids, Caring Communities is designed to promote important life skills in students through an average of 35 separate sets of lessons for each year for kindergarten through fifth grade. Lessons follow a common structure, including an introduction to each that provides teachers with a research-based rationale. Opening questions are designed to motivate students and focus their attention. In addition to the classroom activities, one component promotes family-school collaboration, including sessions for families designed to be led by school or district leaders. Family sessions provide information on the social and emotional competencies the program is designed to promote. They focus on developing shared understanding and goals, joint decision making between schools and families, and positive school climate. The family-school collaboration component also includes activities to support new skills and concepts at home.
Facing History and Ourselves’ unique approach to pedagogy, classroom resources, professional development, coaching, and support equips teachers with the tools and strategies they need to help students become thoughtful, responsible citizens. By integrating the study of history, literature, and human behavior with ethical decision making and innovative teaching strategies, our program enables secondary school teachers to promote students’ historical understanding, critical thinking, and social-emotional learning. As students explore the complexities of history, and make connections to current events, they reflect on the choices they confront today and consider how they can make a difference.
Getting Along Together is a program developed by the Success for All Foundation, Harvard University, and the University of Michigan that helps students build social and emotional skills (SEL) and apply them both in and out of the classroom. Getting Along Together has a three-pronged focus: students learn thinking and cognitive skills, emotional management, as well as interpersonal and social skills. Collectively, these skills and strategies create a peaceful school environment where students are empowered to manage their own behavior, decrease conflict, and increase receptivity to learning. Getting Along Together helps students with focus, memory, and self-control, as well as building empathy, friendship skills, cognition, and coping skills for common social problems.
Michigan Model for Health is a nationally recognized, comprehensive, evidence-based curriculum built around skills-based instruction. This program was developed in coordination with the Michigan Department of Education and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.
Through full integration of social and emotional learning (SEL) and restorative practices, Restore360 helps all members of the school community to strengthen their connections with each other, create a more positive school climate; bolster their social and emotional skills and cultural fluency; and develop skills to resolve conflicts and problems in a restorative way rather than a punitive way.