Elementary: Second Step

Elementary: Second Step

Second Step® SEL

The Second Step® program is the core of the Elementary School’s social emotional learning curriculum. It provides students and teachers with developmentally appropriate tools that are the foundation for academic and social success. Students learn how to develop a growth mindset, manage emotions, demonstrate empathy and kindness for others, build healthy relationships, and solve problems and conflicts.

Pillars of the Program

Short, fun, research based activities engage children in using and developing skills essential to learning and managing self effectively:

Listening and focusing attention
Remembering and using information
Managing and controlling impulses

Students learn the purpose of emotions, how to identify emotions in themselves and in others, and strategies for managing strong emotions in a healthy way. Emotion management skills support attention, motivation, academic, behavioral and social success.

The purpose of emotions
Building a feelings vocabulary
Understanding and respecting others’ perspectives
Calming strong emotions, self-regulation
Balancing emotion and logic

The ability to learn and understand what others are feeling, and to act with care and compassion to help support healthy relationships and social interactions. This creates a classroom and school environment for collaborative and cooperative learning, and one in which all students can feel safe, valued and empowered.

Recognizing contextual clues to how someone is feeling
Compassion: Empathy in action
Perspective-taking strategies

Students who are able to take a growth mindset, manage their emotions, communicate effectively, and empathize with others can use their skills to individually and collectively solve problems and resolve interpersonal conflicts.

Manage strong emotions to think clearly and solve problems
Understanding others’ perspectives to avoid blaming
Generate solutions that consider other perspectives
Evaluate outcomes of solutions
Cooperative problem solving