Children can only regulate emotions they can name. Programs like RULER put this front-and-center with tools like the Mood Meter, but any class can build a shared vocabulary in a term.
Start with a small set: four to eight words along energy and pleasantness axes. Use them in the first five minutes — see the first five minutes. Add words as the class outgrows the set.
This is the practical face of SEL and often the missing half of mindfulness-only programs.
#emotions#sel#mood-meter
Last reviewed: 2026-04-30
See also
- Working with anxious studentsEveryday classroom moves for the students you're most worried about.
- How to calm a classA three-move sequence for a room that has lost its center — usable in 90 seconds.
- SEL vs mindfulnessTwo adjacent traditions with different centers of gravity.
- Talking about emotions at homeA calm framework parents can use when a child is overwhelmed.