Empathy for Self and Others: An SEL Curriculum for a Catholic Middle School

This project explores the importance of an easy to use social and emotional learning (SEL) curriculum that can be implemented immediately. While it is aimed specifically at a middle school audience in a Catholic school setting, it is intended for use in any advisory, homeroom, or unstructured time when teachers want to easily incorporate SEL activities. Focused on mental health and empathy, activities such as Role Playing, Naming Emotions, and many others are designed to be implemented with students right away. The goal of the curriculum is to serve as a resource for teachers as they begin teaching SEL skills explicitly or as they look to add skill-building activities to their classroom practice. Research was conducted into the best SEL practices to foster positive student outcomes, specific strategies were identified as being particularly helpful, and an effort was made to utilize cultural responsiveness. In addition to immediately implementable strategies and steps, teachers will be directed to curated resources designed to build their knowledge of and comfort with SEL. Each activity in the curriculum is sorted by the time required to implement it and directions are included on how best to use it. Many activities can be used as stand alone lessons or can be used in conjunction with academic content. Educators who are unsure of first steps to take with SEL in their schools can start here for an easily implementable curriculum. It is vitally important to practice these skills with students in middle school especially. This curriculum means to make it easier and more accessible to do so