If you’ve ever wrapped up an SEL lesson and thought, “That was great, but now what?”—you’re not alone. Teaching social emotional learning skill based lessons is critical, but helping students practice those skills in meaningful, hands-on ways can be where things really start to stick.
Enter SEL puzzles.
These aren’t your average cutesy time-fillers. I created a few sets of SEL puzzles to support the independent and maintenance stages of the learning process. After a few lessons on a topic, like size of the problem, we need more practice materials to make sure the learning is solid! Having puzzles that students can work on after that initial lesson can stay in the rotation for the remainder of the school year. My students loved these puzzles because they’re simple, making them great positive distractors from big feelings and anxieties, and bonus points that they actively reinforce needed skills.
The SEL puzzles in this bundle were designed to help students work through big ideas like identifying emotions, resolving conflicts, and understanding appropriate social behavior—without feeling like another worksheet or lecture. They’re visual, interactive, and built with real classroom use in mind.
Here’s Why They’re Worth Trying:
1. They make SEL concepts stick through play.
Sometimes kids just need to do something with their hands to truly understand a concept. These puzzles let students match visuals and vocabulary, recognize expected vs. unexpected behaviors, and explore how the size of a problem should match a reaction. It’s a lot more engaging than another whole-group chat about feelings. It also allows for students to problem solve the answers to these puzzles more independently, and recall past learning on their own.
2. They’re perfect for those “now what?” moments.
Use them as early finisher activities, keep them stocked in a brain break station at the back of the room, or pull them into targeted small groups for SEL practice. They’re flexible enough to work in multiple classroom settings without needing a ton of extra prep. If a student could really use a brain break but you don’t have enough hands for a student to physically leave your classroom and take a supervised break or walk, try adding one or two of these puzzles to a table or station in the back of the room.
3. They’re visual and accessible—on purpose.
With clear clip-art, visual cues, and simple, streamlined fonts, these puzzles were designed with all learners in mind. Non-readers and emerging readers can still participate fully and engage with the material independently or with minimal support. If you add some anchor charts alongside the puzzles, it will make them even more accessible to ALL of your students.
4. They last beyond your lesson plans.
Think of these puzzles as tools—not just activities. They reinforce the language and ideas you’ve introduced during your SEL lessons and help keep those concepts present in your classroom culture all year long. Hard to argue with that.
What’s Inside:
- 6 different SEL puzzles
- Two sets of emotion identification puzzles (with clip art!)
- Emotion vocabulary puzzles
- Expected vs. unexpected behavior puzzles
- Size of the problem puzzles
- Emotion identification dominoes
They work well whole group, in small group pull-outs, or independently, and they’re easy to differentiate based on student needs. No over-the-top prep, no fluff—just simple, meaningful tools that support your students in becoming more emotionally aware and socially skilled. I do personally like printing them on cardstock paper and laminating them just to keep them going for longer than 1-2 uses.
If you’ve been looking for a low-stress way to make SEL more interactive and student-centered, these puzzles might be just what your classroom needs.
