Teach Because You Love It

Five Focus Topics For High School SEL Lessons

When you try to teach a student social-emotional learning (SEL), you are faced with a conundrum. Which social-emotional concerns are most important? When you learn to focus your lesson plans on specific concepts, your plans will be much more focused on topics that are important to the student. You can provide specific examples, and students will see the lessons resonating within them.

These are some of the SEL-based topics high school students may benefit from.

Self-Awareness

One topic you might want to focus on during these lesson plans is the awareness not only of others but also of oneself. How does the student come off toward others? How are their communication skills working for them? Students can be encouraged to reflect on situations from the past and how they might have done things differently.

Goals & Motivation

Students often know the things they want to achieve, but they often do not know how to reach their goals. Using lesson plans to focus on setting achievable goals with solid steps for students to take each week can be a beneficial topic of discussion. Students will learn that motivation is something they can build in themselves.

Familial Relationships

It is often during high school that issues with family members and detachment from loved ones may occur. Additionally, many students may be living with trauma at home. When you incorporate these types of relationships with your lesson plans, you can offer students an opportunity to consider healthy relationships and how to cope with things that may be happening at home.

Problem-Solving

Problem-solving is another key area where students may benefit from SEL lesson plans. Not only do students need to learn the steps involved in solving problems on their own, but they also need to know when it is reasonable or ethical to step in and resolve matters. Age and skill-appropriate problem-solving are important to discuss, especially as far as limitations may go.

Empathy

Empathy is something that people work on their entire lives, but high school is a good time to reflect on issues like empathy, diversity, and respect for others. Lesson plans should focus on the role of empathy in understanding the actions and feelings of others.

Find SEL Lesson Plans That Matter

While social-emotional learning has long been overlooked, these are skill crucial skills for all students to learn. If you want to make the most of your lessons, choose plans that will truly make a difference in the lives of your high school students. To learn more, contact a program that offers SEL lesson plans.


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