100+ Read Alouds to Teach Social Emotional Learning Skills

Social emotional learning skills are important. Every educator wants their learners to understand their own strengths and challenges, effectively cope with stress, persevere through challenges, have empathy for others, develop lasting friendships, and make positive decisions. These are really just a few examples of what skills social emotional learning can cover.

There are numerous benefits to teaching SEL skills in the classroom, such as a reduction of behavioral problems and giving learners tools to problem-solve on their own.

Sometimes, the best solution is to dedicate a time period to social emotional learning each day. If this is something you are planning in your classroom, I’ve developed a COMPLETE yearlong SEL curriculum for elementary learners (and I have a SEL curriculum for older kids, too)!

With that said, sometimes time in the classroom is short. Although it can be extremely beneficial to teach SEL skills explicitly, there are always helpful ways that teachers can embed them into what they are already doing. For example, educators might use a daily SEL journal during writing time, have class discussions during break time, or use art activities to highlight SEL skills. One of the most helpful strategies for integrating SEL can be through literature.

The idea behind using literature to target social emotional learning skills really is quite simple. Educators can read the text as they normally would, stopping along the way to highlight critical skills that come up.

One of my favorite examples is Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. In this short story, Alexander is having an awful day. It is such a terrible day that he wants to go and live in another country. However, rather than packing up his belongings and ignoring what is happening in his life, Alexander learns to cope with his emotions. He also learns about starting fresh each day. There are so many social lessons that can be learned from this one short read aloud.

With this, I put together a complete list of read alouds to use for social emotional learning. Grab a copy of your free printable SEL read aloud list to get started right away.

To get started, just find a skill you want to work on and select a book! As always, you know your learners best. It’s possible that not every book will work for your students, and that’s okay. Find the ones that suit their individual needs and see how much fun integrating SEL with literature can be.

Here are just a few examples from the complete list:

DEVELOPING SELF-AWARENESS

• Giraffes Can’t Dance by Giles Andreae
• Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes
• It’s Okay to be Different by Todd Parr
• The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi
• Hooray for You! A Celebration of You-ness by Marianne Richmond

BUILDING CONFIDENCE

• I’m Gonna Like Me by Jamie Lee Curtis
• Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman
• Exclamation Mark by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
• I Like Me! By Nancy Carlson
• Zero by Kathryn Otoshi

UNDERSTANDING EMOTIONS

• Visiting Feelings by Lauren Rubenstein
• Jabari Jumps by Gaia Cornwall
• The Way I Feel by Jonan Cain
• The Color Monster by Anna Llenas
• In My Heart: A Book of Feelings by Jo Witek

HOPES AND DREAMS

• Hiromi’s Hands by Lynne Barasch
• Rosie Revere, Engineer by Andrea Beaty
• Big Al by Andrew Clements
• Matthew’s Dream by Leo Lionni
• The Wonderful Things You Will Be by Emily Winfield Martin

STUDY HABITS

• Farmer Duck by Martin Waddell
• Don’t Forget the Bacon by Pat Hutchins
• See You Later, Procrastinator! By Pamela Espeland and Elizabeth Verdick

SELF-CONTROL

• Interrupting Chicken by David Ezra Stein
• How to Be a Superhero Called Self-Control by Lauren Brukner
• What If? by Collen Doyle Bryant
• What Were You Thinking? Learning to Control Your Impulses by Brian Smith

PERSEVERANCE & RESILIENCE

• Salt in His Shoes by Deloris Jordan
• Brave Irene by William Steig
• Apples to Oregon by Deborah Hopkinson
• Unstoppable Me! By Dr. Wayne W. Dyer
• Wilma Unlimited by Kathleen Krull
• The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires

RESPECT

• David Goes to School by David Shannon
• The Way I Act by Steve Metzger
• Respect and Take Care of Things by Cheri J. Meiners

EMPATHY

• The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig
• The Bicycle Man by Allen Say
• Do Unto Otters by Laurie Keller
• Stand In My Shoes by Bob Somson
• Zen Ties by Jon J. Muth

KINDNESS

• Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson
• Those Shoes by Maribeth Boelts
• Pinduli by Janell Cannon
• Good People Everywhere by Lynea Gillen
• Kindness Starts with You by Jacquelyn Stagg
• A Chair for My Mother by Vera B. Williams

FRIENDSHIP SKILLS

• How to Lose All Your Friends by Nancy Carlson
• Love Monster and the Last Chocolate by Rachel Bright
• Jessica’s Box by Peter Carnavas
• Louise and Andie: The Art of Friendship by Kelly Light

INCLUDING OTHERS

• The Boy Who Wouldn’t Share by Mike Reiss
• A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Philip C. Stead
• The Invisible Boy by Patrice Barton
• Rulers of the Playground by Joseph Kuefler
• Same Same But Different by Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw

CONFLICT RESOLUTION

• Eat Your Peas by Kes Gray
• Sharing a Shell by Julia Donaldson
• There’s a Bear on my Chair by Ross Collins
• Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
• Iris and Isaac by Cheterine Rayner

BEING RESPONSIBLE

• The Paperboy by Dav Pilkey
• I Just Forgot by Mercer Mayer
• Arthur’s Pet Business by Marc Brown
• The Emperor’s Egg by Martin Jenkins
• The Way I Act by Steve Metzger

MAKING GOOD CHOICES

• What If Everybody Did That? By Ellen Javernick
• Do Unto Otters by Laurie Keller
• Making Smart Choices by Lucia Raatma
• Land of Or by Katie Mullaly

PEER INFLUENCE

• The Juice Box Bully by Bob Somson and Maria Dismondy
• One by Kathryn Otoshi
• The Hueys in the New Sweater by Oliver Jeffers
• A Bad Case of the Stripes by David Shannon
• Bully on the Bus by Carl W. Bosch

REFLECTING ON CHOICES

• David Gets in Trouble by David Shannon
• Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Kenkes
• Beautiful Oops! By Barney Saltzberg
• After the Fall by Dan Santat

Get your Printable Book List!

Happy reading! If you love this list, remember to grab a copy of the complete free printable SEL read aloud list!

If you’re interested in more ideas for SEL, here are a few posts that might be helpful:

• Using Games to Teach Social Emotional Skills
• 100+ Free Social Emotional Learning Resources