Connecting with teens and getting them to trust us should be at the heart of every lesson. These 50 SEL prompts and questions for middle and high school students will help kids think about who they are and learn how to share their characteristics and thoughts with others.
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Here’s how you can use these SEL prompts and questions for middle and high school students throughout the year:
- Pull one card up each week before class and have students reflect and share with you or with a small group to spark discussion.
- Share a card in your online classroom app along with a link to a Google form for student responses.
- Use cards one-on-one for a check-in of each student’s social and emotional learning skills bank.
- Pair students up to share their reflections on a card. Teach them how to empathize, appreciate diversity, and consider another perspective as they share.
- Let students choose a card, and then encourage them to turn their insights on this SEL topic into a 90-second video news report for The Edit, a digital storytelling challenge from NBCU Academy and Adobe.
1. When your homework gets hard for you, what do you do?
2. What five words describe you best?
3. What is the most challenging part of school for you?
4. What is the most fun part of school for you?
5. Let’s pretend you’re famous. What do you think you’d be known for?
6. What is the best school assignment you’ve ever had?
7. Think about a teacher you really like. What is one thing they said or did that made a difference for you?
8. What is the place where you feel most yourself?
9. If you could travel back in time three years, what advice would you give yourself?
10. If you could make one rule that everyone in the world had to follow, what would it be? Why?
11. If you had a superpower, what would it be?
12. Where is your favorite place to study?
13. What’s your secret to getting ready for a quiz or test?
14. If you get a disappointing grade, what do you do?
15. What does a typical weekday morning look like for you?
16. How do you wind down at the end of the day?
17. How well do you sleep?
18. What do you see yourself doing one month after high school? One year after high school?
19. What is one job that really interests you?
20. Is there an app you hate but still use anyway?
21. Do you think of yourself as cautious or as a risk-taker?
22. Share a time when you felt creative.
23. Tell me the story of your name. Where did it come from?
24. Share one person who has inspired you.
25. What motivates you?
26. What is one quality that bothers you about yourself?
27. What is one thing you like about yourself?
28. What’s your favorite quality to have in a friend?
29. What is one thing that scares you?
30. If you could trade places with anyone for a day, who would it be and why?
31. What is your biggest pet peeve?
32. Who’s your biggest fan?
33. When do you feel most comfortable raising your hand?
34. If you didn’t finish your homework, what’s most likely the reason?
35. What’s your favorite thing to do with your family?
36. Talk about a funny or scary adventure you had with a friend.
37. Which do you like better: having specific plans or going with the flow?
38. What is one issue that’s really important to you?
39. What’s the last great video you watched?
40. If you could live anywhere, where would it be?
41. What is one thing you know how to do that you could teach to others?
42. What five things would you take to a deserted island?
43. At what age should a person be considered an adult?
44. What is something about yourself you could totally brag about but usually don’t?
45. You can either leave your hometown forever or never leave your hometown. Which do you choose?
46. What is an unwritten rule about school that everyone knows?
47. What’s the best decision you ever made?
48. Your friends aren’t getting along. How would you try to help them?
49. What advice would you give someone about school?
50. Tell me something you want me to know about you.
