Super Teaching: How Using Superhero Movies and TV Shows can help with Social Emotional Learning in the Classroom

Social Emotional Learning (SEL) has become an important aspect of education over the past 2 years. After almost 2 years of hardship from a seemingly endless pandemic students have started to return to schools changed by the trauma of this experience. However, students have been facing trauma in their lives far earlier than Covid-19. Students need SEL to take place regardless of a pandemic and it is up to teachers to provide such learning experiences. One way to do this is to use the lives of superheroes, their dilemmas, choices, and backgrounds. In doing so, the hope is to help students see positive and negative consequences for their actions, connect their pop culture to lived experiences, and build positive student teacher relationships that will lead to continued success in and out of the classroom.