Education is not just about the knowledge we provide to our children.
It’s also about helping them understand and express their emotions, develop self-awareness, and build strong relationships in the classroom. Too often, we overlook the importance of integrating students’ emotions into the daily teaching routine. Yet, this might be the most essential lesson we can offer them.
🧡 Why is SEL important?
Emotions don’t stop at the classroom door. Children carry their experiences and thoughts from home, the playground, and their friendships into their learning environment. The ability to express these emotions and find understanding helps them form deeper connections with themselves and others. As the great educator John Dewey once said, “Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.” When we embrace emotions in education, we create a space where children learn that it’s okay to feel, express themselves, and explore their world.
💙 The Power of Individual and Collective Creation
Creativity is one of the most powerful ways to foster personal expression and teamwork. Through individual or group activities, children have the chance to give shape to their feelings, recognize them, and share them. As Paulo Freire wisely stated, “Education must start from the reality of the students.” In creative projects, every student brings their own reality into the classroom. As they see their peers express similar or different emotions, they realize they are not alone.
❤️ The Tree of Emotions: A Model of Empathetic Learning
Imagine a large tree in your classroom, the Tree of Emotions. This enormous tree comes to life when you piece together the 16 A4 sheets we’ve prepared for you. Standing tall in the classroom, it can be filled with leaves and fruits created by the students. A simple, collective creation with the power to leave a lasting impression on children. Through this method, students don’t just read about emotions—they experience them, share them, and respect them.
💛 How does this method help children?
💥 Self-awareness:
Through creation, children gain a deeper understanding of their emotions, learn what affects them, and develop the ability to recognize these feelings.
💥 Empathy:
When students see their classmates’ emotions displayed on the tree, they realize they are not alone in experiencing challenges or joys. They develop empathy and learn to support one another.
💥 Teamwork and acceptance:
The collective creation strengthens the sense of “us.” As the tree fills with leaves from every child, they feel part of a group that accepts and supports them.
As Howard Gardner, the founder of the theory of multiple intelligences, said, “The education that helps us understand and express our inner world is just as important as knowledge about the outer world.” With the Tree of Emotions, children connect with both their internal world and the world around them.
💚 A Call to Teachers
Let’s create a classroom environment where every emotion is accepted, and every student feels free to express themselves. By integrating individual and collective projects, we can help children feel like they belong to a community that cares for and supports them.
Now imagine using this tree alongside the texts in your books—for any type of text! In any language! The Tree of Emotions is perfect for creatively analyzing texts and fostering deeper understanding. Let’s make education more than just knowledge. Let’s make it a path to understanding ourselves and others.
With every leaf on the Tree of Emotions, we open a window to a better, more sensitive, and empathetic world for our children. Let’s welcome emotions into the classroom and become the kind of teachers who, as Maria Montessori said, “help children create their best selves.”
Integrate SEL into your teaching!
Integrate SEL into your teaching!
This pack includes four activities designed to help students understand emotions and analyze texts in their books more deeply. The activities revolve around a tree that students can decorate individually or in groups with leaves and fruits, such as apples. The printable materials are available in various sizes, making them adaptable to different classroom needs.
