TOP PICKS | 17 TOOLS

Emotional Intelligence Apps and Games

It can be tough for students of any age to understand what they're feeling and to channel those feelings in ways that help them be better people and better learners. The key for these kids is emotional intelligence: knowing what emotions are, how they work, and how to use them and manage them for social interaction and learning. Students also need the capacity to recognize other people's emotions, to discriminate among the different feelings, and to label them appropriately. This collection of top-notch apps and games will help students with everything from anger management to emotional identification to meditation.

Interested in seeing tips on how you might use some of these tools in the classroom? Check out our blog series We All Teach SEL: Inspiring Activities for Every Classroom.

Top Picks

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Bouncy the People Trainer

Thorough, thoughtful multimedia social-emotional learning experience

Bottom line: Important info for all kids is especially helpful for at-risk students.

Grades: Pre-K–1 Price: Free

Breathe, Think, Do with Sesame

Sesame Street winner teaches kids how to keep calm and carry on

Bottom line: Highly effective tool for whole-class instruction or one-on-one intervention.

Grades: Pre-K–1 Price: Free

Calm

Relaxing and serene app helps incorporate peace into daily life

Bottom line: If you're looking for a captivating app to teach relaxation and calming skills to students, Calm is an essential tool to add to your toolbox.

Grades: Pre-K–12 Price: Free, Free to Try, Paid Free teacher subscriptions are offered through https://www.calm.com/schools. Regular subscriptions run from $9.99 for an additional subscription to $299.99 for a lifetime subscription.

Touch and Learn - Emotions

Free app helps kids identify emotions, recognize body language

Bottom line: Bridges the gap between feeling or witnessing emotions and using words to describe them.

Grades: K–2 Price: $1.99 $1.99

Social Adventures

Expert-approved activities nurture students' social skills

Bottom line: A treasure chest of social-skills-building activities created by speech and language pros that are worth the high price and need for facilitation.

Grades: K–3 Price: $7.99

Wisdom - Kingdom of Anger

Quirky game helps kids recognize and regulate anger in self and others

Bottom line: If they can get through the confusing bits, students will be able to identify, label, and perhaps manage strong feelings of anger or frustration.

Grades: K–3 Price: Free to Try, Paid There's a free trial. Contact the developer for pricing.

Peekapak

Complete social-emotional learning units in a neat and tidy package

Bottom line: These 10 SEL units provide teachers with almost everything they'll need to spark positive character development in their students.

Grades: K–5 Price: Free, Paid

Zoo U

Research-based social game has terrific assessment potential

Bottom line: A powerful and focused social problem-solving game designed to reach kids who need direct instruction.

Grades: K–5 Price: A one-time license fee of $7 per student. Individual, classroom, school, and district licenses are available; free trials are also available.

Mind Yeti - Mindfulness for Kids and Their Adults

Calming app with cute characters helps center kids

Bottom line: If you're someone who needs mindfulness-based approaches, Mind Yeti's characters could be the right fit.

Grades: K–8 Price: Free, Paid Free for a basic subscription, then $9.99 per month or $71.99 per year.

Me: A Kid's Diary

Unique take on self-exploration relies on prompts to guide reflection

Bottom line: With plenty of ways to express and document their thoughts and more, this app can help students learn something new about themselves.

Grades: 2–5 Price: $2.99

Hall of Heroes

Responsive game helps students prepare for transition to middle school

Bottom line: Wonderful and fun social-interaction game designed to teach cooperation and friendship skills needed for middle school and beyond.

Grades: 5–8 Price: Free to Try, Paid Free trial for up to three students. There is a one-time license fee of $7 per student.

Stop, Breathe & Think

Appealing app guides meditation, promotes compassion

Bottom line: An accessible, well-designed tool for making meditation an approachable daily practice for kids and adults, alike.

Grades: 5–12 Price: Free

Character Playbook

Realistic comic book-style stories help build healthy relationships

Bottom line: A valuable series of modules to get kids thinking about how their choices help build strong character.

Grades: 6–12 Price: Free

The Mood Meter

Well-designed tool encourages kids to reflect on and manage emotions

Bottom line: Appealing, thought-provoking tool builds emotional intelligence.

Grades: 6–12 Price: $0.99

Pairin

Robust personality survey for students results in real-world insights

Bottom line: For educators who have the time, drive, and buy-in, this program is a great data-analysis and character-development tool.

Grades: 8–12 Price: Free to Try, Paid Pairin offers discounts to educational organizations, and a more robust program is included in the subscription price. The educational subscription includes discounts for multiple users, training for staff, student and teacher tips, a curriculum focused on 55 social skills, teacher professional development, and at-risk analysis.