What does the research say about SEL?

Massachusetts Department of Education on SEL

Second Step Elementary Digital Program K-5

School Counselors utilize the K-5 elementary digital Second Step Program as a framework for classroom lessons.  Second Step is a research-based and evidence-based social-emotional learning program. Second Step skills and concepts are designed to help children both in and out of school. The program includes the following four units:

Growth Mindset & Goal-Setting: Children learn how to pay attention and manage distractions, develop a growth mindset, and apply goal-setting strategies to their social and academic lives. 

Emotion Management: Children learn how to identify and label emotions and use emotion management strategies—including stress management for older students—to calm strong feelings. 

Empathy & Kindness: Children learn how to recognize kindness and act kindly, have empathy for others and take others’ perspectives, and recognize kind acts and empathy as important elements of building and maintaining relationships. 

Problem-Solving: Children learn how to identify and state a problem, recognize if a problem is an accident, and use the STEP problem-solving process: 

S: Say the problem 

T: Think of solutions 

E: Explore the outcomes 

P: Pick a solution 

Second Step Bullying Prevention Program K-5

In addition to the elementary digital Second Step program, TES school counselors also utilize the Second Step Bullying Prevention curriculum K-5.  The curriculum includes the following topics (presented to each grade level in developmentally appropriate ways):

-Recognize when bullying is happening, report bullying to a caring adult, and refuse to let bullying happen

-Be a bystander who helps stop bullying

-Support someone being bullied by standing up for that person and being kind and inclusive

-Recognize, report, and refuse cyberbullying when they see or know about it happening