“How SEL Supports Student Literacy, PreK–Fifth Grade” is the second in a series of briefs published by the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) on the crucial role of social and emotional learning (SEL) in supporting children’s early literacy development. This brief builds on the series’ first piece exploring how social-emotional development and well-being are integral to the teaching and learning of literacy practices.
The recent 2024 NAEP scores inspire hope in states that are making academic gains in reading, and it creates significant concern around the widening achievement gap among 4th and 8th grade low-income students. We must do more to bolster student achievement through a comprehensive approach to literacy development. Research shows a strong relationship between SEL and literacy outcomes, demonstrating that it is imperative to build on foundational reading skills with the integration of SEL to enhance student literacy.
Authored by Dr. Alessandra E. Ward, Jenna L. Beebe, and George M. Lane of Wheaton College, Massachusetts, alongside Lakeisha Steele and Aileen Ma of CASEL, this is the second in CASEL’s series of briefs on how SEL is integral to the teaching and learning of literacy practices.
This brief provides an understanding of emergent literacy, as well as the predominant models scholars have used over the past decades to understand how children in this age group learn to read. These include the Simple View of Reading, the Reading Rope, and the Active View of Reading—all of which include cognitive work, executive functioning, and self-management as crucial to learning to read. Learning to read is a complex process, and researchers have attempted to capture this complexity over the years as new research has shed light on contributing factors. Children may struggle to learn to read for a wide range of reasons and thus need access to comprehensive interventions to succeed as readers and writers.
SEL and Literacy
SEL in the classroom has remarkable potential to support early childhood and elementary students’ literacy development and post-pandemic academic recovery, as suggested in significant findings pertaining to biological development, executive functioning, emotional well-being, social development, and academic achievement in preschool and elementary school students. Research shows there are improvements in executive functioning through SEL interventions that are consistent predictors of improved pre-literacy skills in preschoolers. (Bierman et al., 2008). Elementary school students have also demonstrated significant improvements in math and reading skills, especially for those deemed high behavioral risk by teachers (Jones et al., 2011). There is also evidence that SEL interventions in childhood improve a variety of outcomes later in life, including better high school graduation rates and decreased use of mental health services as adults (Taylor et al., 2017).
The competencies children develop as they are learning to read align with the five SEL competencies of self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making (see chart).
| SEL Competency | Question(s) from the brief | Construct(s) in the Active View of Reading Model |
| Self-awareness | What are my personal strengths and areas for growth as a reader/writer? Can I be successful (or learn to be successful) at this reading/writing task? |
Active self-regulation: Motivation and engagement |
| Is what I am reading/writing making sense? Is it communicating my intended message or answering my questions/goals for reading? | Active self-regulation: Executive function skills & Strategy use | |
| Self-management | What can I do when I don’t understand what I read, or when my writing doesn’t communicate what I want? | Active self-regulation: Strategy use |
| How can I manage feelings that may come up during the reading/writing process or during assessments (e.g., frustration, confusion, accomplishment, joy)? How can I persevere when reading/writing is challenging? | Active self-regulation: Executive function skills & Motivation and engagement | |
| Social awareness | How can reading help me explore the human experience and develop empathy and perspective-taking? How can reading help me safely explore challenging or controversial life topics? | Language comprehension: Cultural and other content knowledge
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| What is the relevance of reading/writing to my life and to others? How do I understand the world, and how is this similar to/different from how others understand the world? How can I learn from others’ perspectives? | N/A The Active View is a reader model and thus does not address this construct; however, the authors also acknowledge that “reading is also impacted by text, task, and sociocultural context” (p. S33). |
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| Relationship skills | How can I read/write together with others? How do I communicate my thoughts in writing? | N/A The Active View is a reader model and thus does not address this construct; however, the authors also acknowledge that “reading is also impacted by text, task, and sociocultural context” (p. S33). |
| Responsible decision-making | What goals do I have for reading/writing and what do I need to do to achieve them? | Active self regulation: Motivation and engagement, executive function skills, strategy use |
District, State, and Federal Policy Recommendations
This brief provides the following key recommendations to policymakers at the district and state level to use connections between the domains of SEL and literacy to support student SEL and literacy development in tandem:
District
- Use pedagogical routines that support both domains.
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- These routines should address motivation and engagement, executive functioning skills, strategy use, and development of cultural and other content knowledge. We encourage policymakers at the district level to consider these routines when evaluating curriculum for adoption.
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- Adopt SEL curricula that supports literacy.
- Adopt literacy curricula that supports SEL.
- Adopt curricula that intentionally integrate SEL and literacy.
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- We outline several examples of curricula in the above categories that can support SEL and literacy development in tandem. These are shared not as endorsements but as examples of how districts can leverage existing evidence-based curriculum to do this work.
State
1. Create and adopt robust standards for SEL across grade levels.
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- We recommend states create and adopt robust SEL standards to help ensure alignment across districts and effective implementation of SEL by educators and school leaders. By integrating SEL into instruction and curriculum, educators can teach and model skills for life and school success.
2. Integrate SEL into English Language Arts standards across grade levels.
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- We recommend states integrate SEL standards into state ELA standards to leverage SEL as an evidence-based strategy to drive student literacy development and provide several examples of states’ efforts.
3. Provide guidance on leveraging SEL as an evidence-based strategy to support literacy development.
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- We recommend states issue guidance to support districts and schools in implementing SEL as an evidence-based strategy to support literacy development and provide several examples of states’ efforts.
State and District
- States should incorporate SEL in state teacher preparation and professional development programs, and districts should invest in ongoing coaching and professional learning to strengthen literacy instruction.
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- We recommend states and districts take action to better equip educators with training and professional development on SEL to boost their ability to provide effective literacy instruction. Evidence supports enhancing pre- and in-service teacher coursework and professional development in strong evidence-based practices such as SEL, and states and districts have a valuable role to play in making these investments.
For full details on the above recommendations, please refer to the full brief.
Federal
For recommendations on the federal level, please refer to the white paper by CASEL and leading researchers, “Bridging Sciences: An Integrated Approach to Supporting Student Literacy Development.”
