Self Awareness Teaching Resources
Help your students develop self awareness with activities, printables and more social and emotional teaching resources designed specifically for elementary and middle school students.
Created by teachers, for teachers, this collection is full of digital and printable activities designed to help students recognize their emotions and learn to identify their own strengths and weaknesses. Each teaching resource has undergone rigorous review by the Teach Starter team to ensure it's ready for the classroom ... and your students!
Curious about teaching self awareness and wondering how it applies to kids in your classroom? Read on for some tips from our expert teachers!
What Is Self Awareness? A Kid-Friendly Definition
Most students are not terribly self aware when they enter elementary school, and that's completely normal. After all, any adults aren't very adept at self awareness! That's why it's so important to include these lessons in your planning to help students flex those muscles and become more aware of who they are.
So how do you explain the meaning of self awareness to your class, and how do you teach it? Let's start with a kid-friendly definition.
Self awareness means understanding yourself, your feelings and how your actions affect other people.
You might tell your students that being self aware is a bit like having a mirror inside your mind that can help you see who you are and how you can make good choices.
Explain to students that when you're self-aware, you know what you're good at and what you might need to work on so you can become your own superhero.
Why Is Self Awareness Important?
Learning to be self aware is part of gaining control of one's own emotions, thoughts and actions, and the lessons we teach in the classroom contribute to our students' personal growth, social interactions and overall well-being in the immediate future and well into adulthood.
When kids (and adults!) lack self awareness, they tend to struggle with poor decision making, and they may have trouble understanding how their behavior affects others. This can lead to misunderstandings and conflicts with peers and others around them or even unintentional harm to relationships, as they may struggle to empathize or consider the perspectives of others.
Self Awareness Examples for Kids
Explaining self awareness by providing a definition is one thing, but surely you want to dig a little deeper.
Here are some examples from our teacher team that you can use to illustrate what it means to be self aware — and why it's so important!
- Identifying Emotions — Being able to label our emotions with names like happiness, sadness, anger or excitement is a great example of being self aware. For example, your students might learn to say, "I feel happy when I play with my friends at recess."
- Understanding Your Talents — Another example of self awareness that kids can easily relate to is the concept of identifying one's strengths or talents. It can be helpful to consider things we can do well and things we want to work on to get better at. For example, a student might say "I am very good at singing, but I would like to practice my spelling to improve."
- Seeing Strengths in Our Peers — Acknowledging our own strengths is only part of being self aware. It's also good for students to be able to identify (and celebrate) the strengths of others. This will help them build better relationships in the long run.
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Emotion Strategies Wheel
Help your students self-regulate when they experience "big" emotions with this hands-on emotions wheel with accompanying calming strategies.
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Calming Strategies Fortune Teller Template
Help your students choose and apply strategies when they need to calm down with this handy fortune teller template.
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Personal Qualities Word Search
Explore different personal qualities with your students with this printable personal qualities word search.
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Personal Strengths Paper Chains
Explore individual strengths with this fun paper chain activity.
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Emotions in Spanish Anchor Chart
Help your bilingual students express their emotions in Spanish with a classroom poster.
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The Worry Waterfall – Anxiety Management Poster
Teach your students how to deal effectively with worrying thoughts with this classroom poster.
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Places I Belong Cut-and-Paste Worksheet
Encourage students to think of the different places they feel a sense of belonging at school and in the home environment.
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Self-Esteem Survey Worksheet
Explore self-esteem with your students with this self-esteem survey.
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Parts of My Identity Flipbook
Explore personal identity with your students with this Parts of Me Identity Flipbook
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My Emotional Triggers Worksheet
Help your elementary students explore the situations that trigger them to experience certain emotional responses with this 2-page emotional triggers worksheet.
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Personal Identity Activity (My Identity Wheel)
Explore personal identity by completing this personal identity wheel.
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Growth and Fixed Mindset Poster
Help your students decide which type of mindset they currently have with this poster.
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ABC's of Gratefulness - A to Z Gratitude List
Make a list of things to be grateful for with a printable A to Z gratitude list template.
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Self-Esteem Heart Activity
Help students boost their self-esteem with this lovely heart-themed activity
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Managing Emotions Mini-Book
Help your elementary students explore and manage their emotional responses with this printable mini-book.
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Developing a Growth Mindset Worksheets
Help your students develop a growth mindset and set achievable goals with a printable pack of growth mindset worksheets.
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Self-Esteem Flipbook
Explore the topic of self-esteem with your students using this engaging flipbook template.
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Coping Skills Desk Plates
Download and print calm-down strategy desk plates for your students so they can respond appropriately to big emotions.
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Digital Daily Discussions - Morning Meeting Questions and Activities
Use these slides to begin a routine of classroom morning meetings.
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Feelings and Emotions Match-Up Activity
Help students to recognize and identify their feelings and emotions with this interactive match-up activity.
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Social-Emotional Learning Paper Fortune Teller
A paper fortune teller template for students to use during social-emotional learning.
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Growth vs. Fixed Mindset Statements - Worksheet
Assess student understanding about the different statements that one might say to distinguish between having a growth or fixed mindset.
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50 Gratitude Journal Prompts for Kids - Slide Deck
Project and inspire reflective writing with 50 gratitude journal writing prompts in one handy slide deck.
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Gratitude Tree and Leaves Template
Create a "Gratitude Tree" display with a printable tree and individual leaf cutouts.
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Let's Be Grateful! - Thanksgiving Game for Kids
Roll, write, and share what youre thankful this year with a printable Thanksgiving game for kids.
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Managing Big Emotions – Interactive Activity
Teach students how to manage emotions using healthy coping skills with this interactive scenario game for the early years classroom.
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Managing Big Emotions Anchor Charts
Help students manage emotions such as anger, fear, worry, sadness and happiness with this colorful set of anchor charts for your elementary school classroom.
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Introduction to Emotions Teaching Slides
Teach your students to understand and manage their emotions with this comprehensive teaching presentation for your social-emotional learning lessons.
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Proud to be Me Scoot Game
Engage students in identifying and describing personal identity while also promoting discussion with this active activity.
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3rd Grade Personal Identity Slide Deck (What Makes Me Me?)
Explore what makes each student an individual and help them explore their own identity with this set of teaching slides.
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Road to High Self-Esteem Board Game
Help students understand what self-esteem is and how to boost their own self-esteem with this board game.
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Let's Look at Self Esteem Interactive Activity
Boost your students' self-esteem with this fun and engaging interactive activity.
- Self Awareness Posters
- Self Awareness Worksheets
- Self Awareness Templates
- Self Awareness Games
- Self Awareness for Kindergarten
- Self Awareness for 1st Grade
- Self Awareness for 2nd Grade
- Self Awareness for 3rd Grade
- Self Awareness for 4th Grade
- Self Awareness for 5th Grade
- Self Awareness for 6th Grade