TOP PICKS | 27 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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Daniel Tiger's Grr-ific Feelings

Songs and activities help kids express, recognize, understand emotions

Bottom line: Daniel Tiger and his friends present excellent examples for kids who are just learning healthy emotional expression.

Grades: Pre-K–K Price: $2.99

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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

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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

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Peekapak

Complete SEL units in a neat and tidy package

Bottom line: Detailed social and emotional learning lessons provide teachers with almost everything they'll need to spark positive character development and reflection in their students.

Grades: Pre-K–5 Price: Free, Free to try, Paid Free for a basic account. An individual Teacher Pro plan includes the entire curriculum for $149 per year for up to 20 students ($299 per year if adding the game). For schools, the curriculum price is $7.50 per student ($15 per student if adding the game and analytics).

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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.

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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

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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

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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.

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Emotional ABCs Classroom

Strong learning approach to mastering SEL competencies

Bottom line: Excellent program for teaching young kids emotion identification, regulation, and social relationships.

Grades: K–4 Price: Free, Paid Free for individual teachers and full-time school counselors. Homeschooling, online school, or private counseling programs require the purchase of an Individual ($9.95 per month) or Family ($14.95 per month) account.

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Mindful Powers

Care for a cute creature to practice mindfulness and self-control

Bottom line: Meditation lessons and visual timers act as decent supplemental activities for introducing SEL skills.

Grades: K–5 Price: Free to try, Paid Free to try; $4.99 for the full app.

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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: Free to try There's a free trial for one student. Licenses are $10 per student (six student minimum); classroom, school, and district licenses are also available.

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Mind Yeti

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.

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7 Mindsets

Thought-provoking structured program simplifies SEL skills

Bottom line: If teachers take advantage of the extension activities, students can get great in-depth instruction and practice in SEL skills needed for life.

Grades: K–12 Price: Paid A single-use (one-classroom/one-school counselor) license is $1,000 per year. It offers the full curriculum, professional development, the parent zone, an educator support community, an implementation guide, and tech support.

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Mightifier

Compact process for positive praise builds classroom community

Bottom line: Great for a quick bonding activity when led by a positive instructor.

Grades: 1–8 Price: Free to try, Paid After a free trial, there's a fee per student; contact for pricing.

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YouHue

Basic mood journal can help kids build self-awareness

Bottom line: Simple tool for a quick, daily check-in on students' emotions.

Grades: 1–8 Price: Free

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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

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Plotagon Education

Create animated movies with customized characters and actions

Bottom line: A fun way to show understanding of any subject matter, especially for those who enjoy making movies.

Grades: 3–12 Price: Free to try, Paid Plotagon Story (for individual users) is free with in-app purchases. There's a free trial of Plotagon Education, and then pricing ranges from one user ($39 per year) to 1,000 users ($2,990 per year) with multiple options in between.

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Stop, Breathe & Think

Appealing app guides meditation, promotes compassion

Bottom line: An accessible, well-designed tool for making meditation a daily practice for both students and teachers.

Grades: 3–12 Price: Free, Paid $9.99 to $70.99 for a yearly subscription; educators can qualify for a lifetime license for free.

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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.

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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

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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

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Calm Harm - Manages Self Harm

Immediate help for teens struggling with harmful urges

Bottom line: Powerful therapeutic tool teaches positive coping skills and mental wellness.

Grades: 8–12 Price: Free

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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.

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