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Mindful Beginnings

Lesson Plan

Mindful Beginnings Lesson Plan

Students will build self-awareness and community by exploring emotions, reflecting on personal strengths, and collaborating to create classroom norms in a 60-minute SEL introduction session.

Starting the year with SEL helps students articulate feelings, understand peers, and establish a supportive environment that enhances learning and relationships throughout the year.

Audience

9th Grade

Time

60 minutes

Approach

Engage, reflect, share, and co-create classroom norms.

Materials

Prep

Prepare Materials

15 minutes

Step 1

Welcome and Warm-Up

10 minutes

  • Greet students and introduce the session’s purpose: building self-awareness and community
  • Display the first slide of the Check-In Slide Deck
  • Distribute the Feelings Emoji Cards and ask students to pick one that matches how they feel
  • Invite volunteers to share their chosen emoji and explain why

Step 2

Introduction to SEL

10 minutes

  • Define Social Emotional Learning and its core competencies: self-awareness, social awareness, and relationship skills
  • Use slides from the Check-In Slide Deck to illustrate each competency
  • Ask students to give real-life examples of each skill

Step 3

Self-Reflection Activity

15 minutes

  • Hand out the SEL Reflection Sheet
  • Instruct students to identify two personal strengths and one challenge related to self-management or social awareness
  • Encourage honest, private responses

Step 4

Community Circle

10 minutes

  • Form a circle and invite volunteers to share one insight from their reflection sheet
  • Encourage active listening: students should respond with a supportive comment or question
  • Highlight common themes and celebrate diversity of experiences

Step 5

Classroom Agreement Creation

10 minutes

  • On chart paper, write “Our Classroom Agreements” at the top
  • Prompt students to suggest norms that foster self-management, respect, and community
  • Use stickers or name badge tokens for students to vote on top three agreements
  • Display the finalized agreements in the classroom

Step 6

Closure and Reflection

5 minutes

  • Ask students to write one word or phrase describing how they feel after today’s session
  • Invite a few volunteers to share their closing thoughts
  • Thank students and remind them that these agreements guide future interactions
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Slide Deck

Mindful Beginnings: SEL Introduction

Building Self-Awareness and Community
9th Grade • 60-Minute Session

Welcome everyone! Introduce today’s session as “Mindful Beginnings,” a one‐session SEL introduction to build self‐awareness and community. Prompt students to get settled and prepare for an interactive hour.

Session Objectives

• Define Social Emotional Learning (SEL)
• Reflect on personal emotions and strengths
• Co-create classroom agreements

Explain the session objectives clearly. Encourage students to listen for what they’ll accomplish over the next hour.

Check-In: How Are You Feeling?

  1. Pick an emoji from Feelings Emoji Cards
  2. Share why you chose it

Distribute the Feelings Emoji Cards. Ask students to quietly choose one that matches how they feel today, then invite volunteers to share.

What Is SEL?

• Self-Awareness: Recognizing your emotions
• Social Awareness: Understanding others’ perspectives
• Relationship Skills: Building positive connections

Define each SEL competency and ask for examples. Reinforce that these skills help both in and out of school.

Self-Reflection Activity

Using the SEL Reflection Sheet:
• List two personal strengths
• Identify one challenge in self-management or social awareness

Hand out the SEL Reflection Sheet. Give students quiet time to complete it. Circulate to support as needed.

Creating Our Classroom Agreements

• Brainstorm norms that foster respect, self-management & community
• Vote on top 3 with stickers or name badge tokens
• Display finalized agreements

Gather students around chart paper. Prompt them to suggest norms. After brainstorming, have them vote with stickers or tokens.

Reflection & Closing

• Write one word/phrase describing how you feel now
• Share with the class or a partner
• Thank you for participating!

Invite students to write a closing word or phrase on a sticky note or share aloud. Thank them for their participation and remind them these agreements will guide our year.

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Worksheet

SEL Reflection Sheet

Name: ___________________________ Date: _______________

  1. List two personal strengths you bring to our classroom community:






  1. Describe one challenge you face related to self-management or social awareness:











  1. How have these strengths helped you in the past?










  1. What strategies or steps can you try to work on your challenge?












  1. One goal I have for this semester related to SEL is:






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Activity

Feelings Emoji Cards

Use these cards for a quick emotional check-in. Each card shows an emoji and emotion label. Print the cards, cut them out, and distribute one to each student. Students select the card that best matches how they feel and share why they chose it.

EmojiEmotion
😄Happy
😔Sad
😡Angry
😰Anxious
😌Calm
😮Surprised
🤔Thoughtful
😴Tired
🎉Excited

Instructions for the teacher:

  • Print and cut out each card.
  • During the check-in, distribute cards randomly to students or allow them to choose.
  • Invite volunteers to hold up their card, name the emotion, and explain why they selected it.
  • Collect cards at the end for reuse in future sessions.
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Cool Down

Session Reflection Exit Ticket

Name: ___________________________ Date: _______________

  1. One new thing I learned about myself or others during today’s session:






  1. Choose an emoji from Feelings Emoji Cards that best describes how you feel right now and explain why:






  1. One word or phrase that captures your overall experience today:






  1. One action I will take this week to support our classroom agreements or my own SEL growth:










Thank you for sharing your reflections! Your feedback helps us build a stronger, more supportive classroom community.

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