K-12 News

Social and Emotional Learning Through the Arts

The giggles, the tears, the hugs, the hurts—children and teens experience the full range of emotions as they learn to get along with others at school.

In troubled times it’s more important than ever to guide students through their emotions—and to help them walk in other people’s shoes and develop empathy. Social Emotional Learning Day on March 26 puts the spotlight on SEL instruction.

KET Education is offering new resources to make it easier for teachers to incorporate SEL in their 4-12 classrooms, no matter what subject they teach. And an engaging way to make SEL happen is through art.

Our new SEL collection in the Kentucky Virtual Art Museum on PBS LearningMedia pairs SEL activities with artworks depicting various moods. Educators can use the suggested art activities to help students explore emotions and learn to collaborate with others.

By integrating these art activities in the curriculum, teachers can intentionally build student competency in the full range of social and emotional skills: self-awareness and self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making.

Creating and reflecting on art naturally link to emotional development. These activities can be used in any class to explore emotions, self-expression, empathy, and communication.

KET’s collection is just one of the social and emotional learning resources in PBS LearningMedia. You can also check out the Social-Emotional Learning collection for professional development resources to help educators implement SEL in their classrooms.