Caveat Cares · For teachers, kindergarten to grade 8

Ten minutes,
every day, all year.

36 short social-emotional lessons you can teach at morning meeting, after recess or at the end of the day. Twelve for each grade band, a teacher script for every step, and nothing to prep but a board.

Buy nowTry a sample lesson
36lessons
3grade bands
5competency areas

How a lesson runs

Every lesson has the same four parts, so students learn the routine and the minutes go to the skill.

  1. Open, 1 minute. A quick question or movement that gets everyone in.
  2. Teach, 3 minutes. One idea, modeled out loud, with the words to say.
  3. Practice, 4 minutes. Partners, small groups or the whole class try it.
  4. Close, 2 minutes. One reflection and when to use the skill.

Five competency areas

AreaWhat students practice
Self-awarenessNoticing and naming feelings, strengths and what helps
Self-managementCalming down, focusing, and sticking with hard things
Social awarenessReading how others feel and seeing other points of view
Relationship skillsListening, including others, working out conflicts and repairing
Responsible decision-makingThinking through choices and their effects on yourself and others

These are the five areas most SEL frameworks use, named generically. Every lesson is original to Caveat; no published program is used.

All 36 lessons

Twelve per grade band, two or three in each competency area.

Kindergarten to grade 2

  1. Feelings have faces and bodiesSelf-awareness
  2. My feelings scaleSelf-awareness
  3. Something I am good atSelf-awareness
  4. Smell the flower, blow the candleSelf-management
  5. Turtle timeSelf-management
  6. Waiting is hardSelf-management
  7. Feelings detectivesSocial awareness
  8. Same and differentSocial awareness
  9. How to join a gameRelationship skills
  10. Saying sorry and making it rightRelationship skills
  11. Stop, think, chooseResponsible decision-making
  12. Telling and tattlingResponsible decision-making

Grades 3 to 5

  1. More than madSelf-awareness
  2. Body checkSelf-awareness
  3. Growing my brainSelf-awareness
  4. Square breathingSelf-management
  5. Brain break planSelf-management
  6. Stick with itSelf-management
  7. Walk in their shoesSocial awareness
  8. Noticing kindnessSocial awareness
  9. I-messagesRelationship skills
  10. Listening like you mean itRelationship skills
  11. Choices and chainsResponsible decision-making
  12. Upstander stepsResponsible decision-making

Grades 6 to 8

  1. Name it to tame itSelf-awareness
  2. Values checkSelf-awareness
  3. Stress signalsSelf-awareness
  4. In for four, out for sixSelf-management
  5. Catch the trapSelf-management
  6. Goal stepsSelf-management
  7. Reading the roomSocial awareness
  8. Online, the person is realSocial awareness
  9. Disagree without a fightRelationship skills
  10. Repair that worksRelationship skills
  11. Pressure and choicesResponsible decision-making
  12. Who to tellResponsible decision-making

A sample lesson

The whole lesson, exactly as it appears in the kit.

Grades 3 to 5Relationship skills10 minutes

I-messages

Goal: Students state a problem without blaming.

Materials: Board

  1. Open1 min"What happens when someone says, You always ruin it?"
  2. Teach3 minTeach the pattern: "I feel ___ when ___ because ___. Can you ___?" Compare a blaming message with an I-message for the same problem.
  3. Practice4 minPartners turn three blaming sentences into I-messages, then practice saying them in a calm voice.
  4. Close2 minVolunteers share one before and after.
Quick check: Students write an I-message for a common classroom problem.
Adapt it: Provide a sentence frame card.

SEL in Ten Minutes: 36 Lessons for Kindergarten to Grade 8

All 36 lessons on one page you can filter by grade band and competency, print one at a time or all at once, and project for the class. For one teacher, to keep.

$39one teacher; free with staff accessBuy now

Pricing

  • $39 for one teacher, yours to keep.
  • Included with Caveat staff access: teachers on a Classroom or Whole-school license open it at no charge.
  • Also included with a Caveat family code, for homeschool families teaching kindergarten to grade 8.
  • For every teacher in a building, see school licenses.

A note for teachers

These lessons build everyday skills; they are not counseling. Students sometimes share something serious during an SEL lesson. Follow your school's procedures, involve the counselor, and remember your duties as a mandated reporter. The grade 6 to 8 lesson on trusted adults lists the 988 crisis line, and is a good one to co-teach with your counselor.

In a crisisIf you or someone you know is in crisis, talk to a trusted adult or call or text 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, any time. If anyone is in immediate danger, call 911. The 988 Lifeline is free and confidential, by call, text or chat at 988lifeline.org.

The other branches

One brand. Seven branches. Every grade, every next step.

For teachersCaveat Classroom

Resources made to order, free tools, professional development, certification prep.

For studentsCaveat Academy

Self-paced courses for grades 6 to 12, from full-year classes to AP and SAT prep.

For parentsCaveat Co-Op

Homeschool from kindergarten to grade 12, courses for parents, and plans with your Caveat advisor.

For college-bound students and familiesCaveat College

College credit in high school, the college list, applications, paying for college and the move to college.

For families with questions about learningCaveat Lens

Screeners for grades 1 to 8 that help you decide whether to ask for a full evaluation.

For career exploration and readinessCaveat Careers

A free Career Explorer, career pathways and electives, and getting ready for a first job.

Caveat Cares is education. Its courses and lessons teach everyday social-emotional skills; they are not therapy, counseling or a diagnosis, and they do not replace care from a doctor, a school counselor or a licensed mental health professional. If you or someone you know is in crisis, talk to a trusted adult or call or text 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, any time. If anyone is in immediate danger, call 911. Caveat Academic Services is independent and not affiliated with any published social-emotional learning program.