SEL Videos & Brain Breaks
Hand-picked K–5 videos for growth mindset, calm-down breathing, kindness and quick movement breaks — with printable discussion sheets.
All Videos
- Growth Mindset & Grit
Sesame Street: Janelle Monáe - Power of Yet
Janelle Monáe and the Muppets sing about the word “yet”: you can’t do it yet, but you’ll get there if you keep trying.
From Sesame Street ·YouTube
- Growth Mindset & Grit
Growth Mindset (1 of 5) | Social Emotional Learning for kids
The first episode of ClassDojo’s growth mindset series: Mojo learns that the brain gets stronger with practice, like a muscle.
From ClassDojo ·YouTube
- Growth Mindset & Grit
Perseverance (1 of 3) | Social Emotional Learning for kids
Mojo learns about “the dip,” the tricky stretch when learning something new, and why it’s worth pushing through.
From ClassDojo ·YouTube
- Growth Mindset & Grit
Sesame Street: Bruno Mars: Don’t Give Up
Bruno Mars and the Muppets sing about sticking with something new, even when it feels hard.
From Sesame Street ·YouTube
- Emotion Regulation & Mindfulness
Sesame Street: Common and Colbie Caillat Sing “Belly Breathe” with Elmo
Common and Colbie Caillat help Elmo calm down with slow belly breaths when he feels upset.
From Sesame Street ·YouTube
- Emotion Regulation & Mindfulness
Whirly Burly Snow Storm | Cosmic Kids Zen Den - Mindfulness for kids
A Cosmic Kids Zen Den mindfulness lesson that uses slow breathing to settle a busy, stormy mind.
From Cosmic Kids Yoga ·YouTube
- Emotion Regulation & Mindfulness
Melting Exercise - Learn To Destress | Guided Meditation For Kids | GoNoodle
A guided GoNoodle exercise: squeeze your muscles tight, then slowly “melt” to let stress and big feelings go.
From GoNoodle ·YouTube
- Emotion Regulation & Mindfulness
Mindfulness | Social Emotional Learning for kids
In ClassDojo’s mindfulness episode, Mojo learns how being mindful helps calm big emotions.
From ClassDojo ·YouTube
- Active Brain Breaks
Banana Banana Meatball Song | Dance Along | GoNoodle
A silly Blazer Fresh dance-along with repeating moves for the whole class to copy.
From GoNoodle ·YouTube
- Active Brain Breaks
Animal Dance and Freeze | Fun Movement Brain Break | Jack Hartmann
A freeze dance with animal moves — students listen carefully and freeze when the music stops.
From Jack Hartmann Kids Music Channel ·YouTube
- Active Brain Breaks
Ready for Launch | Brain Breaks for Kids | Cosmic Kids
A space-themed Cosmic Kids movement break that gets bodies and brains ready for the next activity.
From Cosmic Kids Yoga ·YouTube
- Active Brain Breaks
Dinosaur Stomp /// Dance-A-Long /// Koo Koo
Koo Koo Kanga Roo lead a stomping, chomping dinosaur dance-along.
From Koo Koo Kanga Roo ·YouTube
- Kindness & Friendship
Sesame Street: Try a Little Kindness (with Tori Kelly)
Tori Kelly and the Sesame Street friends sing about how a small act of kindness can make a big difference.
From Sesame Street ·YouTube
- Kindness & Friendship
Empathy (1 of 3) | Social Emotional Learning for kids
The first episode of ClassDojo’s empathy series, about noticing and caring how other people feel.
From ClassDojo ·YouTube
- Kindness & Friendship
“Have You Filled a Bucket Today?” read aloud with author Carol McCloud
Author Carol McCloud reads her book about the invisible bucket we fill when we are kind to others.
From Bucket Fillers ·YouTube
- Kindness & Friendship
Kid President’s 20 Things We Should Say More Often
Kid President shares 20 kind, encouraging things to say to each other — best for grades 2–5.
From SoulPancake ·YouTube
Videos play from YouTube in privacy-enhanced mode and stay with their creators — FreeClassTool hides its own ads in presentation mode, but YouTube may still show its ads on some videos.
Free Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) & Brain Break Resources for Teachers
A five-minute pause can change the rest of the school day. Short social-emotional learning (SEL) lessons give elementary students words for big feelings, strategies like belly breathing for calming down, and a growth mindset that turns “I can’t” into “I can’t yet.” Active brain breaks do the same for bodies: a few minutes of dancing, stretching or freeze games lets wiggly students reset and come back ready to focus. This hub gathers hand-picked videos for K–5 from trusted creators such as Sesame Street, ClassDojo, GoNoodle and Cosmic Kids, sorted into Growth Mindset & Grit, Emotion Regulation & Mindfulness, Active Brain Breaks, and Kindness & Friendship. Play them full screen on your smartboard after recess, during morning meeting or in a calm-down corner, then print the matching discussion sheet so students can write or draw what they learned — small daily habits that build a calmer, kinder classroom.
Use SEL videos in 3 steps
Pick a category. Tap All Videos, Growth Mindset & Grit, Emotion Regulation & Mindfulness, Active Brain Breaks or Kindness & Friendship. Each card shows the length, topic and a short summary.
Watch in Presentation Mode. Press Watch in Presentation Mode (or Classroom Presentation Mode to play the whole category). The video fills the screen on a soft pastel background with FreeClassTool’s ads hidden; use Next and Previous to move through the list.
Talk about it. Press Print Discussion Sheet (PDF) for a one-page reflection sheet with three questions, a write-or-draw box for each and a feelings check-in.
Ways to use it in your classroom
Reset after recess
When students come in wound up, open Emotion Regulation & Mindfulness and play a breathing video such as “Belly Breathe” with Elmo. A few minutes of guided breathing in Classroom Presentation Mode helps the class settle before the next lesson starts.
Beat the afternoon slump
Pick Active Brain Breaks and press Classroom Presentation Mode to load the whole category. Students dance, stomp or freeze along, then press Next for another round if they need it. It works well right before a long writing block or math lesson.
Growth mindset before hard tasks
Before a new math unit or a tough test, play a Growth Mindset & Grit video like “Power of Yet.” Print its discussion sheet so students can answer questions such as “What is something you can’t do… yet?” in writing or with a drawing.
Kindness talks in morning meeting
Use a Kindness & Friendship video to open morning meeting, then hand out the matching sheet. Pre-writers can draw their answers in the boxes, and the feelings check-in at the bottom lets every student circle how they feel today.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are these SEL videos suitable for K-5 students?
Yes. Every video was chosen for ages 5–11 from official channels of trusted children’s creators (Sesame Street, ClassDojo, GoNoodle, Cosmic Kids Yoga, Jack Hartmann and others) and is about 2–7 minutes long. As with any media, we recommend previewing a video before showing it to your class.
Can I play videos without YouTube ads?
The videos play from YouTube in its privacy-enhanced mode, and Classroom Presentation Mode hides every FreeClassTool ad and fills the screen with the player. Whether YouTube shows its own ads on a video is up to YouTube and the video’s creator — we can’t remove them, so preview a video first if that matters for your class.
Are the printable discussion sheets free?
Yes. Every video has a free one-page Discussion & Reflection Sheet (US Letter PDF) with three questions, space to write or draw each answer and a feelings check-in. No sign-up is needed.
Can I play a whole category in a row?
Yes. Choose a category and press Classroom Presentation Mode to open its videos as a playlist, starting with the first one. Use the Next and Previous buttons, or the ← and → keys, to move through the list; a counter shows where you are. The next video doesn’t start on its own, so you decide when to move on.
Can I print the discussion sheet on A4 paper?
Yes. The sheet uses the paper size you last chose in any FreeClassTool printable, such as the math worksheet generator, and US Letter if you haven’t picked one. Each sheet has Name and Date lines, the video’s three questions with a write-or-draw box for each, and a four-face feelings check-in.
Why won’t a video play on my school network?
The videos come from YouTube’s privacy-enhanced player, so your network has to allow YouTube embeds. If your district blocks YouTube for students or staff, the player may not load — ask your technology team about access. Students don’t need a YouTube account, and each card also has a link to open the video on YouTube.