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SELF-AWARENESS PRE-K-6th GRADES
Self-Awareness Competencies
Pre-K - 2nd Grades
Indicators of Self-Awareness
3rd - 6th Grades
Indicators of Self-Awareness
1. Demonstrate an awareness of one’s emotions.
● Describes simple emotions in self.
● Describes simple emotions such as: happy, sad, excitement and fear.
● Describes several situations where emotions and feelings are linked to behaviors.
● Identifies and communicates an emotion/feeling and the situations that cause them.
● Identifies and demonstrates how basic emotions feel, look, and sound.
● Identifies basic emotions and different intensities based on physical and verbal cues.
● Predicts emotions based on situational cues.
● Recognizes how emotions and the intensity of the emotions can change in different situations.
● Recognizes or recalls different emotions one feels in given situations.
● Describes what triggers one’s emotions in a specific situation.
● Recognize that negative emotions are indicators of situations in need of attention.
● Describes how emotional states contribute to or detract from problem solving.
● Recognizes how thoughts and emotions are linked together and to behavior.
● Recognizes and labels emotions and discusses the link to behavior.
● Recognizes or recalls accurate statements about the relationship between emotions and behaviors.
● Describes how emotions affect behavior.
● Analyzes how emotions influence choices and success.
2. Demonstrate an awareness of personal qualities and interests, strengths, and challenges.
● Identifies one’s likes and dislikes.
● List one’s likes and dislikes.
● Identifies personal strengths and challenges.
● Describe how one’s identified personal strengths can support others.
● Demonstrates awareness that personal qualities and interests affect decision-making.
● Describes and assesses personal strengths related to an accomplishment.
● Describes one’s personal qualities/skills that contribute to success in school and at home.
● Analyzes the personal qualities that contribute to or detract from one’s participation in school, community, and home.
● Describes, prioritizes, and plans to develop personal skills and interests.
3. Demonstrate a sense of personal responsibility and advocacy.
● Describes situations when one feels confident and/or in need of help.
● Identifies situations when it is appropriate to communicate needs, ideas, and desires.
● Demonstrates the ability to be assertive in a respectful way.
● Advocates for themselves by asking for help.
● Defines what it means to be responsible and identifies ways one can be responsible in everyday life in school and in the community.
● Identifies multiple things one is responsible for at school and at home.
● Describes the benefits of being responsible at school, home and in the community.
● Describes how taking personal responsibility can lead to success at school, home and in the community.
● Demonstrates the ability to take responsibility for one’s choices.
4. Identifies external and community resources and supports.
● Identifies how and where to get help from peers, home, school, and community supports.
● Identifies at least one adult they trust.
● Describes situations where one seeks help from trusted adults.
● Recognizes how and where to get help in an emergency.
● Identifies peer, home, school, and community resources to help solve problems.
● Identifies where one could go for support when in need.
● Describes how to get support from others in completing a task, solving a problem, or resolving a conflict.
● Recognizes outside influences on the development of personal characteristics and discern whether those influences are supportive or non-supportive.
SEL Academic Integrated Strategies for Self-Awareness
Pre-K 2nd Grades
3rd - 6th Grades
● Assume the best; students want to learn content, procedures, and behavior.
● Focus on a safe, welcoming class climate; use that verbiage with the class
● Greet students individually at the door.
● Tell individual students you missed them when returning from an absence.
● Call students by name and correctly pronounce students’ names.
● Appropriately acknowledge students’ ethnic and cultural backgrounds.
● Display a variety of cultural examples in your room décor.
● Circulate among student seating arrangements during work time.
● Pepper in gratitude all day for students following expectations and noticeable improvements.
● Teach procedures explicitly, rehearsing often, praising progress.
● Establish shared classroom rules and expectations and consequences so that students can see the impact of their own actions and behaviors on outcomes.
● Help students identify and articulate emotions.
● Provide age-appropriate vocabulary words (e.g. happy, sad, hurt, mad, angry, etc.).
● Have students make or draw age-appropriate faces to depict feelings/emotions.
● Ask students to brainstorm age-appropriate things they can do to improve the way they feel.
● Validate students’ emotions by responding with empathy, such as saying, “I’m sorry that you are feeling angry,” which strengthens the trusting relationship with the student.
● When students are experiencing negative emotions, routinely ask, “Would you like to change the way you feel? What are some things you might be able to do right now to change the way you feel?”
● Use writing or pair shares to reflect on their feelings and how their feelings affected their own behavior as well as the impact of their feelings and actions on others.
● Set up a peace or quiet corner where kids can go and reflect on their feelings.
● Listen deeply to what students say and reflect on what you heard about their feelings (e.g., “It sounds like you’re feeling very frustrated right now,” “You’re feeling really excited right now, I can tell by the big smile on your face.“).
● Create class roles and responsibilities that emphasize individual strengths, areas to improve, and personal and group goals. For example, students might be assigned the roles of cleaning the white board, arranging chairs, or displaying student work.
● Lead a class activity that asks students to identify feelings they might have in different situations using vocabulary (e.g., lead discussions using questions such as, “How would you feel if you got a new kitten or puppy?,” “How would you feel if your pet was sick?,” “How would you feel if your friend didn’t invite you to their birthday party?”).
● Routinely tell students authentic reasons why you, as their teacher, feel happy and optimistic for them and their future.
● Choose colored wrist bands to identify emotions.
● Create a class Empathy Meter.
● Post the lesson outcomes and have students recite lesson outcomes.
● Assume the best; students want to learn content, procedures, and behavior.
● Focus on a safe, welcoming class climate; use that verbiage with the class.
● Greet students individually at the door.
● Tell individual students you missed them when returning from an absence.
● Call students by name and correctly pronounce students' names.
● Appropriately acknowledge students’ ethnic and cultural backgrounds.
● Display a variety of cultural examples in your room decor.
● Circulate among student seating arrangements during work time.
● Pepper in gratitude all day for students following expectations and noticeable improvements.
● Teach procedures explicitly, rehearsing often, praising progress.
● Establish shared classroom rules and expectations and consequences so that students can see the impact of their own actions and behaviors on outcomes.
● Help students identify and articulate emotions.
● Create a book of feeling words using photographs taken of the students demonstrating those feelings. Discuss with students how one might act differently depending on the emotion.
● Ask students to brainstorm age-appropriate things they can do to improve the way they feel.
● Validate students’ emotions by responding with empathy, such as saying, “I’m sorry that you are feeling angry,” which strengthens the trusting relationship with the student.
● Create a peace or cozy corner where students can go and reflect on their feelings.
● Create activities that focus on identification of feelings.
● Have students compose a list of interests; then, work with them to match those to a career or job.
● Redirect negative behaviors with empathy and remind students to use words to explain what they are feeling and what they need.
● Routinely tell students authentic reasons why you, as their teacher, feel happy and optimistic for them and their future.
● Set up small-group discussions that allow students to discuss how and why emotions can influence our behaviors (e.g., what happens when we get angry?).
● Have students draw a Venn diagram comparing/contrasting the emotions of two people.
● Choose colored wrist bands to identify emotions.
● Create a class Empathy Meter.
● Post the lesson outcomes and have students recite lesson outcomes.
Healthy Lifestyles SEL Teaching Activities for Self-Awareness
● Provide opportunities for students to learn about a variety of topics to identify likes and dislikes.
● Play a bingo game in which students find classmates with similar characteristics or likes and dislikes.
● Redirect negative behaviors and remind students to use words to explain what they are feeling and what they need.
● Discuss expected vs unexpected behaviors during play and sports activities.
● Ask students to describe aspects of an activity that might be frustrating or difficult.
● Draw an ‘anger thermometer,’ and ask students to discuss why they might move up and down the thermometer; discuss the physical responses as they move higher.
● Ask students to role-play situations in which they use refusal skills to address negative peer pressure.
● Discuss expected vs unexpected behaviors during play and sports activities.
● Ask students to describe aspects of an activity that might be frustrating or difficult.
Humanities SEL Teaching Activities for Self-Awareness
● Read stories or show picture books with themes and ask students to discover the words or phrases used to describe emotions.
● Ask students to create an “All about Me Report” or “This is Your Life” storybook using pictures and language to describe themselves and their families.
● Utilize children's literature to predict and discuss how choices affect the outcome of the story. Use questions such as, “What if the character did this instead…would the outcome be different?”
● Using picture books, ask students to identify likes and dislikes of each character.
● Role-play with students ‘what if…’ situations around seeking help and how to find an adult they trust.
● Do a “show and tell” presentation for students about a hobby or a skill. Identify a job where having that skill would be beneficial.
● Have students identify from pictures how they are feeling or draw a picture.
● Have students play charades by putting feeling words down on slips of paper to act out.
● Create and use character puppets to exemplify the quality of a character from a story or a historical event.
● Identify and communicate who or where students can go for help based on a need.
● Teach school-wide expectations using visual cues and connecting them to rules used in the classroom.
● Discuss with student’s rules that a community helper must follow and the consequences of not following them.
● Have students define trust and list the qualities of a person they would trust.
● Ask students to research a career/occupation and share what they liked and disliked about it.
● Use stories and books to discuss the characters’ feelings and how those feelings affected others and ultimately the outcome of the story.
● Have students generate additional vocabulary words that extend their emotions vocabulary.
● Have students write a letter to an adult they admire explaining why they consider them to be their role model.
● As a journal activity, invite students to analyze what is easy or difficult for them in school.
● Have students complete a persuasive writing assignment on an activity or study of interest.
● Have students interview a classmate, then report on their unique characteristics.
● Assign students a personal reflection journal activity on how a decision has impacted their life.
● Ask students to write about things they are responsible for at home and school.
● Routinely give students the opportunity to reflect on what they like to read or what kinds of stories or poems they prefer. Also, ask students why they like to read the types of materials they identified. “Why do you think you liked this story especially?” “Why do you think you like reading these kinds of books?”
● Ask students to name the emotions experienced by characters in a story and discuss how they were affected by those emotions.
● Have students demonstrate a responsible act through a creative medium (e.g., comic strip, video, poetry, song, etc.).
● Have students draw self-portraits and include descriptions of interests, skills, and character traits they possess.
● Ask students to identify their own personal strengths and weaknesses that they would like to work on in an art project or to describe in simple words or sentences in a journal activity.
SEL Direct Instruction Resources for Self-Awareness
Curriculum Resources
Pre-K
K
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
Unit 1:
Being My Best Self
1.1: If You Feel It and You Know It
1.2: Peek-a-Boo Emotions
1.5: How We Change
1.1: Feelings Charades
1.2: Feelings Surprise
1.5: Things That Change
1.1: All About Emotions
1.2: What's Causing Those Feelings?
1.3: Feel, Think, Act
1.5: Think Like a Caterpillar
1.1: What's That Emotion?
1.2: Feelings Connections
1.3: Responding to Our Emotions With Thoughts and Actions
1.5: Change Happens
1.1: How Are You Feeling?
1.2: Swap a Thought
1.3: Thought Connections
1.5: Have a Growth Mindset
1.1: I Just Have This Feeling
1.2: Helpful Self-Talk
1.3: Pop That Thought Bubble
1.5: Caterpillar Thoughts
1.1: I've Got A Feeling
1.2: An Optimistic Mindset
1.3: Pop That Thought! Comics
1.5: To Change Like a Caterpillar
1.1: Feeling Like Myself
1.2: Using Healthy Self-Talk to Create an Optimistic Mindset
1.3: Pop! There Goes the Thought
1.5: Thinking Like a Caterpillar
Unit 2:
Valuing Each Other
2.1 Diversity Is Awesome
2.3 Some Do/Some Don't
2.1 Differences Make Life Interesting
2.3 Things Can Be For Anyone
2.1 Differences Add Value
2.3 Don't Judge a Book By It's Cover
2.1 What Makes Us Awesome?
2.3 Break the Sterotype Boxes
2.1 Appreciating Others
2.3 Pop That Stereotype
2.1 Appreciating Others' Contributions
2.3 Breaking Stereotypes
2.1 Awesome Together
2.3 Sterotype Detectives
2.1 Diversity and Appreciating the Strength of Others
2.3 Thinking Outside the Box
Unit 3:
Communicating With Each Other
3.3: What Do You Say?
Unit 4:
Learning From Each Other
4.4: Learning to Compromise
4.5: Making Amends
4.4: Compromising With Others
4.5: Making Amends and Forgiving
4.4: Compromising to Solve Problems
4.5: Taking Responsibility and Making Amends
4.4: Ways to Compromise
4.5: Taking Responsibility for Mistakes
4.4: Working Things Out
4.5: Correcting Mistakes by Making Amends
4.4: Let's STEP It Up
4.5: Making Mistakes and Making Amends
4.4: Practice Makes Perfect
4.5: Making Amends When You Make a Mistake
4.4: Working Through Conflict
4.5: Make a Point of Making Amends
Strand 1:
Health Foundations and Protective Factors of Healthy Self
Standard K.HF.1
Standard K.HF.2
Standard K.HF.3
Standard 1.HF.1
Standard 1.HF.2
Standard 1.HF.3
Standard 2.HF.1
Standard 2.HF.2
Standard 2.HF.3
Standard 2.HF.4
Standard 2.HF.5
Standard 3.HF.1
Standard 3.HF.2
Standard 3.HF.3
Standard 3.HF.4
Standard 3.HF.5
Standard 4.HF.1
Standard 4.HF.2
Standard 4.HF.3
Standard 4.HF.4
Standard 5.HF.1
Standard 5.HF.2
Standard 5.HF.3
Standard 5.HF.4
Standard 6.HF.1
Standard 6.HF.2
Standard 6.HF.3
Standard 6.HF.4
Standard 6.HF.5
Unit 1:
Getting Focused
L1: How Our Brains Work
L2: Mindful Awareness
L3: Focused Awareness: The Core Practice
L1: How Our Brains Work
L2: Mindful Awareness
L3: Focused Awareness: The Core Practice
L1: How Our Brains Work
L2: Mindful Awareness
L3: Focused Awareness: The Core Practice
L1: How Our Brains Work
L2: Mindful Awareness
L3: Focused Awareness: The Core Practice
L1: How Our Brains Work
L2: Mindful Awareness
L3: Focused Awareness: The Core Practice
L1: How Our Brains Work
L2: Mindful Awareness
L3: Focused Awareness: The Core Practice
L1: How Our Brains Work
L2: Mindful Awareness
L3: Focused Awareness: The Core Practice
L1: How Our Brains Work
L2: Mindful Awareness
L3: Focused Awareness: The Core Practice
Unit 2:
Sharpening Your Senses
L4: Mindful Listening
L5: Mindful Seeing
L6: Mindful Smelling
L7: Mindful Tasting
L8: Mindful Movement
L9: Mindful Movement
L4: Mindful Listening
L5: Mindful Seeing
L6: Mindful Smelling
L7: Mindful Tasting
L8: Mindful Movement
L9: Mindful Movement
L4: Mindful Listening
L5: Mindful Seeing
L6: Mindful Smelling
L7: Mindful Tasting
L8: Mindful Movement
L9: Mindful Movement
L4: Mindful Listening
L5: Mindful Seeing
L6: Mindful Smelling
L7: Mindful Tasting
L8: Mindful Movement
L9: Mindful Movement
L4: Mindful Listening
L5: Mindful Seeing
L6: Mindful Smelling
L7: Mindful Tasting
L8: Mindful Movement
L9: Mindful Movement
L4: Mindful Listening
L5: Mindful Seeing
L6: Mindful Smelling
L7: Mindful Tasting
L8: Mindful Movement
L9: Mindful Movement
L4: Mindful Listening
L5: Mindful Seeing
L6: Mindful Smelling
L7: Mindful Tasting
L8: Mindful Movement
L9: Mindful Movement
L4: Mindful Listening
L5: Mindful Seeing
L6: Mindful Smelling
L7: Mindful Tasting
L8: Mindful Movement
L9: Mindful Movement
Unit 3:
It’s All About Attitude
L10: Perspective Taking
L11: Choosing Optimism
L12: Appreciating Happy Experiences
L10: Perspective Taking
L11: Choosing Optimism
L12: Appreciating Happy Experiences
L10: Perspective Taking
L11: Choosing Optimism
L12: Appreciating Happy Experiences
L10: Perspective Taking
L11: Choosing Optimism
L12: Appreciating Happy Experiences
L10: Perspective Taking
L11: Choosing Optimism
L12: Appreciating Happy Experiences
L10: Perspective Taking
L11: Choosing Optimism
L12: Appreciating Happy Experiences
L10: Perspective Taking
L11: Choosing Optimism
L12: Appreciating Happy Experiences
L10: Perspective Taking
L11: Choosing Optimism
L12: Appreciating Happy Experiences
Unit 4:
Taking Action Mindfully
L13: Expressing Gratitude
L14: Performing Acts of Kindness
L15: Taking Mindful Action in the World
L13: Expressing Gratitude
L14: Performing Acts of Kindness
L15: Taking Mindful Action in the World
L13: Expressing Gratitude
L14: Performing Acts of Kindness
L15: Taking Mindful Action in the World
L13: Expressing Gratitude
L14: Performing Acts of Kindness
L15: Taking Mindful Action in the World
L13: Expressing Gratitude
L14: Performing Acts of Kindness
L15: Taking Mindful Action in the World
L13: Expressing Gratitude
L14: Performing Acts of Kindness
L15: Taking Mindful Action in the World
L13: Expressing Gratitude
L14: Performing Acts of Kindness
L15: Taking Mindful Action in the World
L13: Expressing Gratitude
L14: Performing Acts of Kindness
L15: Taking Mindful Action in the World
Health Lessons
3-1: Self-Esteem
SEL
Introduction to Growth Mindset
My Support Circles Cooperating with Others
Pure Edge Brain Breaks
Training Manual
Pure Edge Brain Breaks Training Manual
Strategies for educators and learners to support social, emotional, and academic development through mindful movement and rest.
● Arrival: Engaging in a Mindful Minute offers learners a chance to check in with themselves at the start of the day.
● Large Group/Circle Time: Simple breathing exercises will visually hold attention in the large group setting.
● Small Group: Small group offers time to give feedback and answer questions.
● Refocus Between Lessons: Bring in a little movement and breathing as a brain break to re-energize learners.
● Before Testing: Use mindful breathing exercises to help learners focus and relieve testing-related stress.
● Lining Up: Help learners stay calm during the transition to and from the classroom.
● Recess: Refocus and calm down after recess.
● Create a Calming Center: Have a Breathing Ball available for learners to access in a quiet area.
● Departure: A gratitude activity is a great way to start off or wrap up the day.
