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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Emotions Charts - Synonym Flashcards
Give your students the words and synonyms they need to express emotions and enhance their writing.
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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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Mindfulness for Kids - Daily Journal Worksheet
Create a mindfulness journal by printing your students copies of reflective mindfulness worksheets.
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How Would You Feel? Scenario Cards
Develop your students' emotional vocabulary with this set of real-life scenarios.
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Growth Mindset Worksheets
A set of worksheets to use when teaching students about Growth Mindsets.
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Share the Love - Gratitude Love Heart Template
Create a classroom display of gratitude and appreciation with this writing exercise.
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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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I Am Worksheet - Affirmation Art Activity
Use this I Am Worksheet to inspire your students to share how special they are at the beginning of the school year.
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Just Be - Positive Character Traits Bulletin Board
Set an optimistic tone and promote positivity with a Just Be…One Word Back to School board.
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Growth Mindset PowerPoint
A 12 Page PowerPoint Presentation on Developing a Growth Mindset for students.
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Self-Perception Worksheet
Identify strengths and areas of growth by asking students to reflect on their self-image, self-esteem, and ideal self.
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Positive Self-Talk Poster: Talking to Myself
Highlight the benefits of positive self talk and having a growth mindset with this classroom poster.
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Words of Gratitude-Thanksgiving Message Cards
Help your students words of gratitude for teachers with set of printable thankful message cards.
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I Can Calm Down! Worksheet
Help students identify calming skills they can apply to real-world scenarios with this one-page worksheet.
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Self-Esteem Builder Board Game
Explore how to build self-esteem with your students using this fun self-esteem game board.
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Building Confidence Worksheet
Give students an opportunity to brainstorm ways they can be an advocate for themselves and others with this building confidence worksheet.
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Positive Self Talk Match-Up
Teach your students how positive self talk in challenging situations can boost self-esteem with this match up activity.
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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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Building Self-Esteem Worksheet
Explore everything there is to know about self-esteem with your students using this cloze activity.
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Growth Mindset Exit Tickets
Assess your student's understanding of everything growth mindset with this set of exit tickets.
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Identifying Emotions Interactive Activity
Help your students identify and explore common emotions with this engaging digital activity.
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Empathy Worksheet Pack
Unlock a world of empathy with our SEL worksheet pack – download now and embark on a journey to nurture kindness and understanding with your students.
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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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Exploring My Strengths Worksheet
Explore individual strengths with this My Strengths Worksheet.
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Self-Esteem Activity Mini-Book
Build up your student's self-esteem with this activity mini book template.
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How Big Emotions Feel in My Body – Poster
Help your students identify the signs their body gives them that they are experiencing a "big" emotion with this informative classroom poster.
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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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The Power of YET Poster Set
Encourage your students to change their growth mindset with this set of posters.
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Growth Mindset Interactive Activity
Engage students in spending time looking at how to grow their growth mindset with this interactive activity.
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Growth Mindset Flipbook
Explore the topic of growing your mindset with your students using this engaging flipbook template.
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Ways to Build Self-Esteem Classroom Poster
Nurture your students by providing them with simple ways to build up their self-esteem with this set of classroom posters.
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Growth Mindset Mini-Book
Teach your students about growth mindset with this printable book, perfect for your social emotional lessons!
- 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