Naming feelings and strengths
Students start the year learning to name what they feel and notice what they are good at. Parents may hear words like proud, frustrated, or nervous show up at the dinner table.
What does a student learn in
These are the years students learn to name what they feel and start handling it on their own. They practice spotting emotions, calming down when frustrated, and noticing when a classmate needs help. Students also work on the basics of getting along: taking turns, listening, and asking for help when something is too hard. By spring, students can name a feeling, try a simple way to settle it, and solve a small disagreement with a friend using words.
- Naming feelings
- Calming down
- Listening to others
- Getting along
- Making good choices
Year at a glance
How the year usually goes. Every school and district set their own curriculum, so treat this as a guide, not official pacing.
- 1
- 2
Calming down and focusing
Students practice slowing down when they are upset or excited. They learn small tricks like deep breaths and counting to handle big feelings and stick with a hard task.
- 3
Seeing how others feel
Students learn to read faces and listen to classmates whose lives look different from their own. They also figure out which grown-ups at school and home they can go to for help.
- 4
Getting along with classmates
Students work on talking things out, sharing, and taking turns. When a fight starts over a marker or a spot in line, they practice using words instead of hands.
- 5
Making kind choices
By the end of the year, students think before they act. They start to ask whether a choice will help or hurt themselves and the people around them.
Mastery Learning Standards
The required skills a student should display by the end of Kindergarten.
Social Emotional Learning
Social Emotional Learning
- Grades K-2
The abilities to understand one's own emotions, thoughts
Students learn to notice their own feelings and thoughts, and to spot what they are good at and where they need more help.
- Grades K-2
The abilities to manage emotions, thoughts
Students practice noticing their feelings and slowing down before they act. They learn to handle hard moments, stay focused on a goal, and keep their things and time in order.
- Grades K-2
The abilities to understand the perspectives of and empathise with others…
Students learn to see a situation from someone else's point of view and notice when others might feel differently than they do. They also learn who to turn to for help at school, at home, and in their community.
- Grades K-2
The abilities to establish and maintain healthy and supportive relationships…
Students practice getting along with others by listening, taking turns, working as a team, and asking for help when something feels hard.
- Grades K-2
The abilities to make caring and constructive choices about personal behavior…
Students learn to pause before acting and think about how a choice might affect themselves and the people around them. This covers decisions in the classroom, on the playground, and anywhere else situations get tricky.
| Standard | Definition | Code |
|---|---|---|
| The abilities to understand one's own emotions, thoughts Grades K-2 | Students learn to notice their own feelings and thoughts, and to spot what they are good at and where they need more help. | RI-SEL.1.k-2 |
| The abilities to manage emotions, thoughts Grades K-2 | Students practice noticing their feelings and slowing down before they act. They learn to handle hard moments, stay focused on a goal, and keep their things and time in order. | RI-SEL.2.k-2 |
| The abilities to understand the perspectives of and empathise with others… Grades K-2 | Students learn to see a situation from someone else's point of view and notice when others might feel differently than they do. They also learn who to turn to for help at school, at home, and in their community. | RI-SEL.3.k-2 |
| The abilities to establish and maintain healthy and supportive relationships… Grades K-2 | Students practice getting along with others by listening, taking turns, working as a team, and asking for help when something feels hard. | RI-SEL.4.k-2 |
| The abilities to make caring and constructive choices about personal behavior… Grades K-2 | Students learn to pause before acting and think about how a choice might affect themselves and the people around them. This covers decisions in the classroom, on the playground, and anywhere else situations get tricky. | RI-SEL.5.k-2 |
Common Questions
What is social emotional learning in the early grades?
It's the work of helping young students name their feelings, calm down when upset, get along with others, and make kind choices. At this age, it looks a lot like learning to share, take turns, and use words instead of hands when frustrated.
How can families practice this at home?
Name feelings out loud during everyday moments. Saying "you look frustrated that the tower fell" gives students words for what they feel. A few minutes of this at bedtime or after school does more than any worksheet.
What should a child be able to do by the end of second grade?
Most students can name basic feelings, calm themselves with a deep breath or a quiet moment, notice when a classmate is upset, and ask an adult for help. They can also explain why a choice was a good or bad one.
My child has big meltdowns. Is something wrong?
Big feelings are normal at this age because the part of the brain that handles them is still growing. The goal isn't fewer feelings, it's more tools. Practice one calming strategy together when things are calm, so it's ready when they aren't.
How should this be sequenced across the year?
Start with self-awareness in the fall: naming feelings and noticing them in the body. Move into self-management strategies by winter. Spend spring on empathy, friendship skills, and decision-making, when classroom relationships are strong enough to practice on.
Which skills usually need the most reteaching?
Impulse control and conflict resolution. Most students can recite the steps by October and still struggle to use them in March. Plan to revisit these monthly with short role plays tied to real situations from the classroom.
How does this fit into an already full day?
Most of it lives inside routines already in place: morning meeting, transitions, lining up, recess debriefs. A two-minute check-in at the start of the day and a quick reflection at dismissal covers more ground than a separate lesson block.
How do I know a student is ready for the next grade?
They can name what they're feeling, try a strategy before asking for help, take turns in a group of peers, and say sorry without prompting. Reading and math matter, but these habits decide how well the next year starts.