Middle School SEL Curriculum
Middle School Social-Emotional Learning Curriculum for grades 6-8
Middle School SEL Curriculum
Age-appropriate, meaningful topics for grades 6-8
Curriculum Features
Educator Portal & Admin Dashboard
The Educator Portal is an intuitive, web-based platform providing teachers with easy access to the Middle School SEL Curriculum. It features customizable lessons and flexible implementation options, allowing educators to seamlessly integrate social-emotional learning into any schedule. The portal supports both digital and print-ready formats, ensuring adaptability to various classroom needs.
Core Curriculum Lesson Plans
The Core Lessons Plans comprise a three-year program with 35 lessons per year, specifically designed for middle school students. These lessons engage students in meaningful discussions and activities that develop essential skills in six areas. Each 30-minute lesson concludes with a Core Challenge, encouraging students to apply newly acquired skills in real-life contexts.
Skill Assessments & Reports
To measure and support student progress, the curriculum includes pre and post surveys that assess the development of social-emotional skills. These assessments provide valuable insights into students' growth. The resulting reports help in monitoring outcomes and informing future teaching strategies, ensuring that the SEL curriculum meets the needs of middle school learners.
Educator Training
Video Tutorials
The Core Project provides video tutorials that offer educators guidance on facilitating activities within the Middle School SEL Curriculum. These concise videos demonstrate best practices for delivering lessons and engaging students in social-emotional learning activities. By observing these tutorials, teachers can enhance their instructional techniques and quickly and confidently implement the experiential learning activities within the lessons. Video tutorials are a quick and easy way to prepare for a lesson.
On-Demand Training
The On-Demand Training is a video-based professional development program included with each Core Lessons™ license. This flexible training allows educators to access content at their convenience. The course comprises 10 videos totaling 120 minutes, and can be completed in 2-3 hours. It covers topics such as creating a positive classroom climate and best practices for facilitating Core Lessons™. Educators can view the videos individually or as a group, with prompts provided for team collaboration.
In-Person Professional Development
During this training, staff engage in a powerful social-emotional learning experience aimed at developing individual competencies and inspiring impactful classroom practices. Educators will learn to integrate both informal and formal SEL strategies, create trusting relationships with students, and adopt intentional methods to incorporate social-emotional competencies into their teaching. This training is ideal for staff utilizing the Core Lessons Middle School or High School Curriculum.
Core Lessons™ for Middle School
Engaging. Authentic. Experience-Based.
Navigating the middle school years is challenging—for students and educators alike. That's why Core Lessons for Middle School is designed to go beyond lectures and worksheets to create authentic, experience-based learning that truly resonates with students.
Our curriculum empowers teachers to lead engaging conversations and activities that feel natural, not forced. With a focus on real-world application and hands-on experiences, it helps students build essential life skills while fostering connection, belonging, and emotional growth.
What makes Core Lessons stand out?
Engaging and Relatable: Students engage with topics in a way that feels relevant to their lives, creating buy-in and participation without resistance.
Led by Teachers, Not Scripts: We believe in equipping educators to facilitate meaningful discussions, not follow rigid instructions. Core Lessons are easy to teach, adaptable, and rooted in trust.
Experience-Based Learning: Each lesson is an immersive experience designed to build empathy, resilience, and self-awareness through interaction and reflection.
Real Conversations, Real Growth: By focusing on authentic dialogue, our curriculum fosters deeper understanding and actionable progress.
Administrators, counselors, and educators love Core Lessons because it’s not just effective—it’s doable. Every aspect is thoughtfully crafted to create a safe, supportive, and growth-focused environment for middle school students.
Transform the way your students experience SEL with Core Lessons. Finally, a curriculum that works for both teachers and kids.
What’s Included in Core Lessons
Middle School SEL Curriculum
35 lessons per year for 3 years
Unlimited users
Easy-to-use web portal
Administrator Dashboard & assessment reports
Digital or print-ready curriculum
Video tutorials to demonstrate lesson activities
Curriculum Guide
Pre & post surveys
Consultation and support from The Core Project
Educator Professional Development
Supplementary Student Experiences (Core Day or Student Leadership Development)
Evidence-informed experiential and social-emotional learning program