Build important Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) skills this fall with activities that promote reflection, encourage thankfulness, and help students practice gratitude.
Fall is the perfect time to encourage students to think about what makes them thankful. This collection of activities promotes reflection, encourages students to think about their feelings, and supports their social-emotional development. Students can create a thankfulness tree, set goals with apple garlands, express themselves with pumpkins, and more!
5 SEL Activities for Fall
These fall-themed SEL activities for elementary students support social-emotional learning through writing, drawing, and crafts. Download the printable for instructions, templates, and worksheets for each activity!
1. Grad-Libs
Grad-Libs is a fun activity that puts a unique twist on the classic Mad-Libs game. In this version, students will write down things that they are thankful for, and then use those words to fill in the blanks in a pre-written story.2. Wonderful Wreath
Have students collect leaves from outside. On each leaf, students should write something that they like about themselves or their lives. Have students cut out a hole in a paper plate so it looks like a donut. Students should glue the leaves onto the paper plate and glue a picture of themselves on the top of the wreath!3. Pumpkin Carving
Students decorate the pumpkin template to represent them. They could use markers, craft supplies, or paints. Older students could also write words or phrases to describe themselves.4. Thankful Tree
Fall is a great time for reflection. On the leaf templates, students can write down one thing they are grateful for in each leaf. It's an opportunity for students to think hard and focus on the positive things in their lives. They can color in the leaves, the tree trunk, and the branches before cutting them out to create a thankful tree! This is another activity that could make a great display or bulletin board – why not create a thankful forest for your classroom?5. Apple Goal Garland
Fall is a time of great change, the weather is changing and the leaves are changing. Have students set goals for the fall season. These could be school goals, personal goals, or goals that have to do with extracurricular activities. Have students write down a goal on each apple template. They should color and cut out their apples before punching a hole in the top and stringing them together. Have students hang up their garlands around the classroom, or they can take them home to display them proudly and remind themselves of their goals.More Like This
Browse the Social-Emotional Learning collection for more activities, lessons, and printables for supporting SEL in the classroom. If you’re looking for more activities for fall and Autumn, try our fall resources for elementary grades.
