7 Social Emotional Learning Activities for Upper Elementary & Middle School Girls

Connection, Confidence & Kindness—One Empowering Activity at a Time

The tween and early teen years? Big feelings, big changes, and big questions about where you fit in. It’s a stage filled with emotional shifts, social struggles, and an urgent need for belonging.

That’s why Social Emotional Learning (SEL) matters so much for upper elementary and middle school girls.

It’s more than just managing emotions—it’s about building empathy, resilience, kindness, and confidence. And the earlier girls start practicing these skills, the more supported and self-aware they become.

Here are 7 creative SEL activities that help girls connect to themselves and each other in safe, meaningful, and age-appropriate ways.

💡 Key Takeaways

• SEL builds essential life skills like emotional regulation, empathy, and self-awareness

• Girls need space to explore feelings, friendships, and identity in a supportive setting

• Activities should be fun, reflective, and emotionally safe

• These ideas are perfect for classrooms, after-school clubs, or small groups

• When girls feel seen and heard, they grow into kind, confident leaders

1. Feelings Word Jar + Journaling Prompt

What You’ll Need: A jar filled with slips of paper, each with a feeling word (e.g., curious, frustrated, hopeful, overwhelmed, joyful)

Each girl pulls a word and either:

• Shares a time she felt that way

• Draws or writes about what it feels like in her body

• Reflects on what helps her navigate that emotion

📝 Why it works: Builds emotional vocabulary and normalizes all kinds of feelings.

2. Kindness Web

What You’ll Need: A ball of yarn and a circle of girls

One girl holds the yarn, gives a sincere compliment or shares something she admires about another girl, then tosses the yarn to her. Repeat until everyone has received a compliment and the group forms a web of kindness.

📝 Why it works: Strengthens community, boosts self-worth, and helps girls see how connection is built.

3. My Inner Weather Report

What You’ll Need: Paper, colored pencils, and your imagination

Ask: “If your feelings were today’s weather, what would the forecast be?”
Girls can draw their “emotional sky” (stormy, sunny, cloudy with a chance of tears) and then reflect:

• What’s going on behind the clouds?

• What helps the weather shift?

📝 Why it works: Helps girls connect with their emotions in a fun, low-pressure way.

4. “I Statements” Confidence Chain

What You’ll Need: Paper strips, markers, tape or stapler

Each girl writes one empowering “I” statement on a strip of paper:

“I am brave.”
“I can be a good friend.”
“I feel proud when I try my best.”

Link them together to create a chain that grows with each session!

📝 Why it works: Reinforces positive self-talk and helps girls own their voice.

5. Friendship Roleplay + Real Talk

What You’ll Need: Scenario cards with common friendship challenges (e.g., exclusion, gossip, boundary setting)

In pairs or small groups, girls act out a scene and then discuss:

• How did it feel to speak up?

• What would a kind friend do?

• How can we handle this differently next time?

📝 Why it works: Builds empathy, communication, and assertiveness in a playful, supportive way.

6. Mood Movement Breaks

What You’ll Need: Music, space to move, and optional prompt cards

Guide girls through a few simple movement prompts:

• “Move like you’re shaking off frustration”

• “Walk like you feel proud”

• “Stretch like you’re reaching for your biggest dream”

📝 Why it works: Emotion lives in the body—movement helps girls regulate, express, and release.

7. Shine Circle: Celebrating What’s Good

What You’ll Need: Just your circle—and a whole lot of kindness

At the end of your session, invite girls to go around and share:

• One thing they’re proud of

• One thing they admire in someone else

• One thing they’re taking with them today

Optional: Pass around a special “shine stone” or token as each girl speaks.

📝 Why it works: Ends your group on a positive, affirming note and helps girls leave feeling seen and strong.

Want More Empowering, Ready-to-Use SEL Activities for Girls?
The FearlesslyGiRL Program Kits are packed with journaling prompts, emotional awareness tools, group discussion guides, and creative activities designed specifically for tweens and teens. They make running girls’ groups feel simple, structured, and full of heart.

You don’t need to fix every problem.
You just need to create the space where girls can be real, reflect together, and build the skills that last a lifetime.

You’ve got this—and we’re here to support you every step of the way.

– Kate