Creating Emotionally Literate Classrooms:

Many of the most prevalent and challenging behavior problems that occur in classrooms are rooted in students’ inability to adequately regulate their emotions. These include oppositional and disruptive behaviors as well as the alarmingly prevalent issue of bullying. In addition to behavior problems, poor social and emotional skills impede learning and stymie academic success. By adopting a comprehensive program of social and emotional learning that fosters emotional literacy, schools can improve student outcomes and decrease troubling incidences of problem behaviors such as bullying.

Creating Emotionally Literate Classrooms introduces The RULER Approach, an evidence-based social and emotional learning program that teaches 5 key emotional literacy skills:

1. Recognizing emotions in oneself and others
2. Understanding the causes and consequences of emotions
3. Labeling the full range of emotions using a rich vocabulary
4. Expressing emotions appropriately in different contexts
5. Regulating emotions effectively to foster healthy relationships andachieve goals

In schools throughout the country where The RULER Approach has been implemented, outcomes have been stunning: After one year of implementing The RULER Approach, students in RULER classrooms (compared to those who were not) had measurably higher end of year grades, better study skills, social skills, and fewer attention and learning problems.

Written by the Yale University team that developed The RULER Approach, Creating Emotionally Literate Classrooms explains how to use the model to teach emotional skills and create the kinds of safe, supportive, and empowering environments essential for social emotional learning to occur.