A social-emotional learning (SEL) curriculum is a planned set of lessons, activities, and teaching practices that helps children recognize and manage emotions, build relationships, and make caring choices. When you choose one for preschool, look for a research-based program that targets specific skills, uses active, play-based lessons, aligns with your state’s early learning standards, and includes teacher training.
If you’re a preschool director or administrator strengthening SEL in your current curriculum or building a new one around it, this guide walks you through what an SEL curriculum includes, why it matters, how to choose one, and how to put it into practice.
What is a social-emotional learning curriculum?
A social-emotional learning curriculum combines learning experiences and instructional practices that help children build skills like managing emotions and navigating relationships. Many of these skills are practiced through everyday social and emotional learning activities. Most curricula organize the skills around a framework, such as the CASEL 5 or the Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework (ELOF).
The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) defines five interrelated areas of competence: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. These competencies can be taught at every developmental stage, from childhood through adulthood. (Source: CASEL)
For programs serving children from birth to age 5, the Head Start ELOF organizes social and emotional development into four sub-domains: relationships with adults, relationships with other children, emotional functioning, and sense of identity and belonging. (Source: Head Start ELOF) To see how your state organizes these skills, browse early learning standards by state.
How do the CASEL 5 and the Head Start ELOF compare?
The two frameworks don’t line up one-to-one, but this table shows where each CASEL competency most closely fits in the ELOF and what it can look like in a preschool classroom.
| CASEL competency | Closest ELOF sub-domain | What it looks like in preschool |
|---|---|---|
| Self-awareness | Sense of identity and belonging; emotional functioning | Naming a feeling (“I’m frustrated”) and sharing a preference |
| Self-management | Emotional functioning | Taking a deep breath to calm down and waiting for a turn |
| Social awareness | Relationships with other children | Noticing a friend is sad and offering comfort |
| Relationship skills | Relationships with adults; relationships with other children | Taking turns, asking a friend to play, and asking a teacher for help |
| Responsible decision-making | Relationships with other children | Suggesting a fair way to share a toy |
There’s no single standard approach to SEL. Some programs focus on core competencies like self-awareness and responsible decision-making, while others focus on character development or weave SEL into academic lessons. Delivery methods vary too, from short daily lessons to activities built into routines throughout the day.
Why is social-emotional learning important in early childhood?
Social-emotional skills help children manage feelings, get along with others, and focus on learning. Early social-emotional skills are linked with positive adult outcomes, including mental health, relationships, educational attainment, and employment, and evidence-based programs can build these skills during the preschool years. (Source: Penn State and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation)
When teachers use SEL practices well, children learn to offer support to a peer, cope with stressful situations, and recognize and label their emotions. They also gain confidence and take the initiative to get their needs met. These skills are a core part of social skills development in preschool.
The benefits carry into the school years. A meta-analysis of 213 school-based SEL programs involving 270,034 kindergarten through high school students found improved social and emotional skills, attitudes, and behavior, plus an 11-percentile-point gain in academic achievement compared to control groups. (Source: Durlak et al., 2011, Child Development)
Timing matters, too. A child’s brain develops faster in early childhood than at any other time in life, reaching about 90% of adult size by age 5, with at least one million new neural connections forming every second. (Source: First Things First) Two-year-olds have about twice as many synapses as adults, so experiences between ages 2 and 7 have lasting effects on development. (Source: Edutopia)
How do you choose an SEL curriculum for your program?
Choose an SEL curriculum that fits your children, staff, and community. Start with your program’s goals and resources, then look for a research-based curriculum that targets specific skills, offers active and varied lessons, aligns with your state’s standards, involves families, and comes with teacher training and a way to track progress.
Choosing the right SEL curriculum for your program depends on your resources, circumstances, and needs. For example, you might need a curriculum designed for small groups rather than whole classrooms, or one that offers extra support for children who are still learning to regulate strong emotions. Use these questions when you review options:
| What to look for | Questions to ask |
|---|---|
| Research base | Is it research-based or evidence-based? What studies support it? (See the next section.) |
| Targeted skills | Which skills does it teach, such as identifying and expressing emotions, sharing, and taking turns? Does it support children’s overall social-emotional development? |
| Active, varied instruction | Does it use storytelling, small groups, songs and movement, role play, and hands-on materials to reach the different ways children engage and learn, also known as multimodal learning? |
| Fit with your community | Does it reflect the families and community you serve? Does it invite families’, caregivers’, and community partners’ input? |
| Standards alignment | Does it align with your state’s early learning standards, Head Start, and NAEYC? |
| Teacher training and support | What initial training and ongoing coaching are included? Does it build teachers’ capacity to teach SEL? |
| Family engagement | Does it include materials to share with families and simple ways to practice at home? |
| Progress tracking | How will teachers observe and document each child’s social-emotional growth? |
If you’re comparing full curricula, see our guide to the best early childhood curriculum programs.
What’s the difference between research-based and evidence-based curriculum?
A research-based curriculum is founded on solid research about how children develop and learn and promotes teaching practices shown to support child progress, but it may not yet have evidence from randomized controlled studies. Head Start requires center-based and family childcare programs to implement research-based curricula. (Source: Head Start) An evidence-based curriculum goes a step further: it has been formally evaluated and shown to produce positive outcomes for children. Learn more about what makes a research-based preschool curriculum.
How can you tell if SEL lessons are high quality?
Use CASEL’s SAFE test. High-quality SEL instruction is sequenced (a coordinated set of activities that build skills step by step), active (children practice new skills), focused (time is set aside for SEL), and explicit (specific skills are named and targeted). (Source: CASEL) When you preview sample lessons, check for all four.
How do you implement an SEL curriculum?
Implement an SEL curriculum by starting with your goals and standards, training every teacher, and building SEL into daily routines. Then observe each child’s progress and share it with families so children practice the same skills in the classroom and at home.
- 1. Start with your standards and goals. Review your state’s social-emotional standards and decide which skills matter most for the children in your program this year.
- 2. Train every teacher. Make sure lead and assistant teachers understand the curriculum and model the skills it teaches.
- 3. Build SEL into routines. Arrival, transitions, mealtimes, and conflicts are natural moments to practice naming feelings, waiting, and solving problems.
- 4. Observe and document progress. Use observations, photos, and short notes to track each child’s growth over time.
- 5. Partner with families. Share what children are learning and suggest simple ways to practice at home.
Free Scope and Sequence Template
A free scope and sequence template to plan your curriculum and engage families.
Which curriculum helps preschoolers with social and emotional development?
The best curriculum for preschool social and emotional development teaches specific skills, like self-awareness, self-regulation, relationships, and problem-solving, through daily, play-based lessons, and aligns with your state’s early learning standards. Experience Curriculum is one example: it integrates social-emotional components into each lesson plan and is aligned to all 50 states’ early learning standards, Head Start, and NAEYC.
Experience Curriculum offers three age bands: Experience Baby for children 0–18 months, Experience Toddler for children 18 months to 3 years, and Experience Preschool for children 3–5 years. With the latest Experience Curriculum updates, the social and emotional domain places a stronger emphasis on problem-solving. Below are the four SEL skills Experience Curriculum focuses on and how children build them.
Self-awareness
Self-awareness is a child’s understanding of their own feelings, preferences, and strengths. Children build it by expressing preferences, like choosing the toy truck over building blocks or green over red. They also develop emotional literacy by learning to name their own feelings, such as sadness, happiness, excitement, and worry, and to recognize those feelings in others.
Self-regulation
Self-regulation is the ability to manage emotions and behavior. Children practice it by following rules and routines, waiting for a turn, calming down after a strong feeling, and moving from one activity to the next with less adult support. These skills help children make choices and take initiative as they grow.
Social relationships
Children build positive social relationships by developing attitudes like empathy for others. For example, when Carlos notices that Lucas is on his own and not playing like the rest of the class, he walks up to him and asks if he’d like to play. Children build positive relationships when they care, show empathy, and respond to others’ needs. They also learn to cooperate, for example, by taking turns racing a car down the track.
Problem-solving
Problem-solving helps children work through everyday conflicts and challenges with others. When two children want the same swing, a teacher can guide them to name the problem, suggest ideas like taking turns or using a timer, and try one together. With practice, children start offering solutions on their own.
With brightwheel, you can access a complete early learning curriculum in brightwheel: an easy-to-implement system with digital lessons in the app and hands-on learning materials delivered to your door. Brightwheel saves each admin and staff member 20 hours per month of administrative work, and 90% of administrators report brightwheel increases the quality of their program.
Key takeaways for choosing an SEL curriculum
An SEL curriculum gives children the skills to manage emotions, build relationships, and make caring choices. Early childhood is the ideal time to start, because the brain is developing faster than at any other point in life.
When you choose a curriculum, look for a strong research base, specific skills, active lessons, standards alignment, teacher support, and family engagement. Whether you’re building a new SEL curriculum or strengthening an existing one, the skills children gain in your program will support them in school and in their relationships for years to come.
Frequently asked questions about SEL curriculum
What is the difference between social-emotional learning and social-emotional development?
Social-emotional development is the natural growth of a child’s ability to understand feelings, manage behavior, and build relationships over time. Social-emotional learning is the intentional teaching that supports that growth through planned lessons, activities, and everyday interactions. In a preschool classroom, SEL is how teachers help children practice the skills that make up healthy social-emotional development.
At what age should social-emotional learning start?
Social-emotional learning can start at birth. Infants build early social and emotional skills through warm, responsive relationships with caregivers, and toddlers begin naming feelings and playing near other children. By preschool, children are ready for more structured lessons on sharing, taking turns, managing frustration, and solving problems with friends. Starting early takes advantage of the years when the brain develops fastest.
What are the five SEL competencies?
The five SEL competencies, known as the CASEL 5, are self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. They come from the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL). In preschool, they show up as naming feelings, calming down, noticing how a friend feels, taking turns, and choosing kind and safe ways to solve problems.
Does my program need a specific SEL curriculum?
There’s no single SEL curriculum every program must use. Head Start programs must implement a research-based early childhood curriculum, and your state’s licensing rules or quality rating system may set curriculum expectations. Whatever you choose, make sure it covers the social and emotional skills in your state’s early learning standards and fits your children, staff, and families.
How do you measure social-emotional progress in preschool?
Measure social-emotional progress through ongoing observation rather than tests. Teachers note how children name feelings, manage frustration, take turns, and resolve conflicts during everyday routines, then compare those observations to developmental benchmarks or your state’s standards. Photos, short notes, and portfolios help you track each child’s growth over time and share it with families.
How can families support social-emotional learning at home?
Families can support SEL at home by naming feelings during everyday moments, reading books about emotions, modeling calm ways to handle frustration, and giving children chances to make simple choices. When teachers share what children are practicing in class, families can use the same words and strategies at home, which helps children build skills more consistently.
