About This Lesson
Need meaningful, ready-to-use SEL sub plans that keep students engaged while building emotional awareness and wellbeing? These Jolts of Joy SEL Sub Plans provide five structured, low-prep lessons focused on positive emotions, emotional awareness, and happiness-building skills. Designed for substitute teachers and busy educators, each lesson includes a simple read-aloud script, pacing guide, materials list, step-by-step instructions, and built-in reflection opportunities.
Grounded in positive psychology research, these activities help students better understand emotions, notice joy in everyday life, and build habits that support mental health and resilience. Whether you’re planning for an unexpected absence, advisory period, SEL block, counseling session, or classroom reset, these flexible lessons are designed to work with minimal preparation while still creating meaningful student engagement.
Students will explore how emotions work in the brain, practice identifying positive emotions, spot emotions in media and real life, collaborate on classroom wellbeing practices, and create their own personalized “Jolts of Joy” strategies.
Here’s what you’ll get
Five complete SEL sub plans focused on positive emotions and wellbeing:
Activity 1: Introduction to Emotions & Our Brains - Students explore how emotions show up in the brain and learn about negativity bias through reflection, discussion, and creative expression.
Activity 2: Deep Dive Into Positive Emotions - Students learn about the “Big 10” positive emotions through games, discussion, reflection, and guided exploration.
Activity 3: Spot Emotions in Pictures & Videos - Students practice recognizing and identifying positive emotions in visual examples and media clips.
Activity 4: Create a Jolts of Joy Poster - Students collaborate to brainstorm and design classroom practices that promote positive emotions and wellbeing.
Activity 5: Design Your Own Jolts of Joy List - Students create personalized lists of simple actions they can take to increase joy, gratitude, calm, and other positive emotions.
Each lesson includes:
- Read-aloud introduction scripts for substitute teachers
- Clear 45-minute pacing guides
- Materials lists and easy-to-follow instructions
- Exit tickets for reflection and understanding checks
- Minimal prep and flexible implementation
Why you’ll love these activities
- Ready-to-use, no-prep SEL substitute plans
- Builds emotional literacy and positive coping skills
- Encourages reflection, connection, and classroom wellbeing
- Flexible for elementary, middle, special education, and inclusive classrooms
- Easy for substitute teachers or non-SEL staff to facilitate
- Supports positive classroom culture during teacher absences
Ways to use
- Leave as emergency substitute lesson plans
- Use during SEL blocks or advisory periods
- Incorporate into counseling or small group sessions
- Add to morning meetings or classroom reset days
- Support transitions after breaks, stressful periods, or school-wide changes
- Reinforce emotional awareness throughout the year
What are Jolts of Joy?
Don’t wait for joy to come to you, go get more of it! Science shows that joy-inducing activities transform the way we think, perform and respond. Jolts of Joy are small, intentional actions that inject positive emotions into our day and help us take control of our wellbeing moment to moment. The overall goal is to have greater control over the ratio of positive to negative emotions you experience each day. By unleashing the power of positive emotions with intention, you and your students can jolt yourself into joy!
Science of Positive Emotions
Positive emotions create opportunities for growth and healing, mentally and physically. The Broaden and Build theory is based on the notion that positive emotions enable us to develop new and creative ways of thinking to enhance wellbeing and promote resilience. Scientific evidence finds that even little moments of joy throughout the day add up to greater physical and mental wellbeing. People who experience positive emotions think better, perform better, and feel better.
BENEFITS
Experiencing positive emotions regularly can:
- Open our eyes and minds
- Increase creative thinking
- Expand our visual field
- Allow for global thinking and diversity
- Prevent depression and anxiety
- Undo the physiological effects of negative emotions
- Improve cardiac functioning
- Increase healthy sleep
Learn more about the science of happiness and positive emotions
Looking for more SEL resources? Explore additional free lesson plans and unit studies on the skills of happiness in the Skill Center. All units include teaching slides, additional worksheets and activities, and even IEP and BIP recommendations tailored specifically to students with autism.
Proof Positive’s resources are and will always be free. Be well!
