Teachers understand that learning is more than just cognitive. To fully prepare student for success with the life skills they need, there has to be a strong focus on social and emotional learning.

By helping students develop skills to manage their emotions, resolve conflicts, and make responsible decisions, you can create a healthy school culture and set your students up for success inside and outside the classroom.

The following book collections and resources cover the most relevant topics and issues facing students today. From bullying, friendship, and anger, to how-tos on conflict resolution, respecting others, and building confidence, these social-emotional learning tools are a wonderful way to foster a culture of kindness that extends outside your classroom and school into the wider world.

Plus, use this resource guide as a tool for engaging social and emotional learning through children's books. Packed with discussion prompts, activities, and more, this SEL guide is the perfect resource to foster social and emotional growth in your classroom. 

1. Social and Emotional Collections

These social and emotional collections will help set the foundation for students to resolve conflict, build empathy, and foster lasting friendships centered around kindness and compassion. Covering important themes, such as responsibility, sharing, and more, these collections of titles are the perfect additions to your classroom shelves. 

2. The 7 Strengths Libraries

These specialized collections of books span every elementary grade level and encourage students to consider the seven strengths that are essential for building a healthy school culture:

• Belonging
• Friendship
• Kindness
• Curiosity
• Confidence
• Courage
• Hope

Each collection provides fiction and nonfiction selections about kindness, friendship, belonging, and hope and connects the texts to students’ lives to help build a clearer sense of who they are as individuals. Also included is a guide for teachers, which offers strategies for vocabulary building and tips to inspire students to become more engaged, reflective, and independent readers.

3. Byron Garrett Social-Emotional Learning Collections

This collection of social-emotional learning books from the Byron V. Garrett Life and Literacy Skills Library engages students while encouraging them to make personal and meaningful connections to their lives as they read. Students will also have the opportunity to explore these five key themes of social-emotional learning:

• Understanding myself
• Managing myself
• Respecting others
• Building relationships
• Making decisions    

4. The Optimistic Classroom Library

Creating a classroom culture that conveys the values of hope, gratitude, and acts of kindness and  promotes collaboration and respect for one another’s differences is the goal of every teacher. This collection of books is an effective way to create a positive classroom community and uses authentic literature to model good behavior. Most importantly, it encourages students to be mindful of their actions.

Social-emotional learning is a key ingredient to fostering a healthy school culture. These book collections are the perfect addition to any classroom library and will help your students understand why it’s so important to treat one another with respect and kindness.

Shop more social and emotional books and resources. You can find all books and activities at The Teacher Store.