About This Lesson
Helping students understand emotions and develop healthy regulation strategies is a critical part of social-emotional learning. The Emotions & Regulation Toolkit for SEL Classrooms combines engaging activities, visual supports, and interactive lessons to help students build emotional awareness, recognize positive experiences, and develop practical tools for navigating everyday challenges.
Through sorting activities, creative reflection, character strengths exploration, gratitude practice, and emotion-based discussions inspired by the popular Inside Out themes, students learn that emotions are valuable sources of information. They also discover strategies that help them manage feelings, strengthen relationships, and increase overall wellbeing.
This toolkit is ideal for special education classrooms, SEL instruction, counseling groups, inclusion settings, and homeschool environments.
Here's what you'll get
• Emotions Sorting Cards
• Inside Out Positive Emotions Scavenger Hunt
• Inside Out Character Strengths Web Activity
• Inside Out Gratitude Activity
• Inside Out Wellbeing Scenes Activity
• Emotions Bulletin Board Materials
• Teacher implementation suggestions
• Access to additional wellbeing lesson plans and resources
Why you'll love this activity bundle
• Highly engaging and discussion-based
• Supports emotional regulation and self-awareness
• Encourages positive emotions and gratitude practices
• Connects SEL concepts to student interests
• Flexible for whole-group, small-group, or individual instruction
• Designed to support diverse learners, including students with autism
Ways to use
• SEL and health lessons
• Counseling groups
• Advisory and homeroom activities
• Emotional regulation instruction
• Morning meetings
• Positive behavior support programs
• Family and home-based learning
What is Jolts of Joy?
Don’t wait for joy to come to you, go get more of it! Science shows that joy-inducing activities transform the way we think, perform and respond. Jolts of Joy are small, intentional actions that inject positive emotions into our day and help us take control of our wellbeing moment to moment. The overall goal is to have greater control over the ratio of positive to negative emotions you experience each day. By unleashing the power of positive emotions with intention, you and your students can jolt yourself into joy!
Science of Positive Emotions
Positive emotions create opportunities for growth and healing, mentally and physically. The Broaden and Build theory is based on the notion that positive emotions enable us to develop new and creative ways of thinking to enhance wellbeing and promote resilience. Scientific evidence finds that even little moments of joy throughout the day add up to greater physical and mental wellbeing. People who experience positive emotions think better, perform better, and feel better. Experiencing positive emotions regularly can:
- Open our eyes and minds
- Increase creative thinking
- Expand our visual field
- Allow for global thinking and diversity
- Prevent depression and anxiety
- Undoing effect
- Improve cardiac functioning
- Increase healthy sleep
Looking for more Jolts of Joy resources?
Explore the free Jolts of Joy Unit Study, which comes with teaching slides, additional worksheets and activities, and even IEP and BIP recommendations tailored specifically to students with autism.
Proof Positive’s resources are and will always be free. Be well!
★ Bonus access to full lesson plans and unit studies on the skills of happiness at our Skill Center
