IFSEL has curated a selection of our favorite items to help support SEL practices. Follow us on social media for our latest "IFSEL Rec" posts:

Category
Ages
Type
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Clear
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Favorites
Summer of the Mariposas
Book - Student
☆
Beyond Labels: The Critical Role of SEL in Education
Article
☆
Kindness Starts with You
Book - Student
☆
Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How it Can Transform Your Life
Book - Adult
☆
Social Decision Making/Social Problem Solving For Middle School Students
Book - Adult
☆
Student- and School-Level Factors Associated With Mental Health and Well-Being in Early Adolescence
Research
☆
When Sophie's Feelings Are Really, Really Hurt
Book - Student
☆
The Care and Keeping of You
Book - Student
☆
Podcast: Social Justice & Diversity Teaching in Early Childhood with IFSEL's Semeka Smith-Williams
Podcast
IFSEL Podcasts
☆
The Gottman Institute
Website
☆
Teaching about Elections Without Losing Your Job
Article
☆
International Boys' Schools Coalition Podcast
Podcast
☆
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Book - Student
☆
Laughter is the Best Medicine
Research
☆
Humans Who Teach: A Guide for Centering Love, Justice, and Liberation in Schools
Book - Adult
☆
Apples to Apples
Materials, Icebreakers & Games
☆
Wild Mind, Wild Earth
Book - Adult
☆
The Priority List: A Teacher's Final Quest to Discover Life's Greatest Lessons
Book - Adult
☆
The Red Tree
Book - Student
☆
Of Boys and Men
Book - Adult
☆
Kindness is Cooler
Book - Student
☆
Civity
Website
☆
Not One More Thing
Article
☆
Beyond Academic Learning
PDF
☆
Boys, A Rescue Plan
Book - Adult
☆
The Crayons' Book of Feelings
Book - Student
☆
Leading for a whole-community approach to SEL
Article
☆
Teacher Stress and Health
Research
☆
Sphere
Website
☆
Clap When You Land
Book - Student
☆
Strengthening Bonds Between Students
Research
☆
Courageous People Who Changed the World
Book - Student
☆
No David!
Book - Student
☆
The Way Forward
Book - Adult
☆
Pay it Forward
Book - Student
☆
Mama Mavel
Website
☆
Learning to Depolarize
Book - Adult
☆
The Health Benefits of Humor and Laughter
Article
Research
☆
Worries Are Not Forever
Book - Student
☆
Accountable: The True Story of a Racist Social Media Account and the Teenagers Whose Lives It Changed
Book - Adult
☆
SEL Music Playlist
PDF
☆
Structures that Foster Belonging and Emotional Safety
Article
☆
Julián is a mermaid
Book - Student
☆
Spinning Inward
Book - Adult
☆
Everything I've Learned
Book - Student
☆
Families Are Students’ First SEL Teachers. Here’s How to Engage Them
Article
☆
The Power of Reflection
Article
☆
Gender norms and the mental health of boys and young men
Research
☆
Close Up Foundation
Website
☆
Schools and Out-of-School Time Programs Implementing Social and Emotional Learning
Research
☆
Big
Book - Student
☆
I, Human
Book - Adult
☆
Reappraising academic and social adversity improves middle school students’ academic achievement, behavior and well-being.
Research
☆
Niko Draws a Feeling
Book - Student
☆
Sonia and the Super-Duper Disaster
Book - Student
☆
Collective Empathy and Action Now
Article
☆
The Resilience of Wonder
Article
☆
It's Not Joke!
Research
☆
Connections Over Compliance: Rewiring Our Perceptions of Discipline
Book - Adult
☆
Silence is a Sense
Book - Adult
☆
Llama Llama Misses Mama
Book - Student
☆
Nature Meditations
Materials, Icebreakers & Games
☆
Impacts of Social and Emotional Learning Interventions for Teachers on Teachers' Outcomes
Research
☆
School Pulse Panel: Responses to the pandemic and efforts toward recovery
Research
☆
365 Days of Wonder
Book - Student
☆
Hope for Cynics: The Surprising Science of Human Goodness
Book - Adult
☆
6 Benefits of Play for Children Development
Article
Research
☆
Rebels with a Cause
Book - Adult
☆
Emoji Cubes
Materials, Icebreakers & Games
Check In
☆
Don't Hug Doug
Book - Student
☆
Sometimes I'm Bombaloo
Book - Student
☆
SEL-Rooted Restorative Practices: Activating an Ecosystem of Proactive and Responsive Strategies
Article
☆
Top Tips for SEL Educators
Article
☆
A Circle of Friends
Book - Student
☆
Behind the Stigma Podcast
Podcast
IFSEL Podcasts
☆
The Feelings Book
Book - Student
☆
The Book of Mistakes
Book - Student
☆
The Power of Play in Schools: More Than Just Fun
Article
☆
The Importance of Play
Article
Research
☆
Moving from 'Why" to 'What and How'
Article
☆
Those Shoes
Book - Student
☆
Big Feelings (An All Are Welcome Book)
Book - Student
☆
SEL Informed Hiring Practices
Article
☆
Once Upon a Time There Was and Will Be So Much More
Book - Student
☆
Mindful Games Activity Cards
Materials, Icebreakers & Games
☆
Reimagining Recess
Article
☆
Calling In: How to Start Making Change with Those You'd Rather Cancel
Book - Adult
☆
Pick Your Poison Party Game
Materials, Icebreakers & Games
☆
Student-Centered Advisory
Article
☆
Every Day
Book - Student
☆
Play! It's Good for Your Family's Health
Article
☆
Parental mental health and children’s adjustment: the quality of marital interaction and parenting as mediating factors.
Research
☆
Untangled
Book - Adult
☆
Blank Slate Game
Materials, Icebreakers & Games
☆
“Daily Nature” - Inspiration for Schools from Ada Limon, US Poet Laureate UNABRIDGED
Article
☆
Between Us: How Cultures Create Emotions
Book - Adult
☆
None of the Above
Book - Student
☆
When Sophie Gets Angry
Book - Student
☆
Wemberly Worried
Book - Student
☆
Ender's Game
Book - Student
☆

The above links take you to Amazon, but that is just one option. We encourage you to support your independent bookseller or purchase wherever you feel most comfortable.

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SEL Leadership Program - Cohort #9 (Asia Time Zones)

This program supports leaders and educators around the world to build and sustain an inclusive, equitable, SEL-rooted school community. This online program is experiential, inspiring, and renewing - providing a balance of high impact practical tools and approaches, alongside space for collaboration and reflection.

Starts Oct. 29, 2025
Online
K-12
More Info
SEL Leadership Program - Cohort #9 (US Time Zones)

This program supports leaders and educators around the world to build and sustain an inclusive, equitable, SEL-rooted school community. This online program is experiential, inspiring, and renewing - providing a balance of high impact practical tools and approaches, alongside space for collaboration and reflection.

Starts Oct. 28, 2025
Online
K-12
More Info
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In-Person
K-12
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Catalyzed by SEL: Integrating SEL into Every Classroom (US Time Zones)

This highly practical, two-session online course will provide 4th - 12th Grade teachers and administrators with myriad strategies for embedding SEL directly within any learning moment.

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