Self Awareness Teaching Resources
Help your students develop self awareness with activities, printables and more social and emotional teaching resources designed specifically for primary school students.
Created by teachers, for teachers, this collection is full of digital and printable activities designed to help students recognise 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 primary 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 to 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 behaviour 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 empathise 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 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 improve. For example, a student might say 'I am very good at singing, but I would like to practise 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 identify (and celebrate) the strengths of others. This will help them build better relationships in the long run.
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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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Managing Anger Worksheet (Upper Primary)
Help older students identify and manage angry feelings with this self-reflection and action plan worksheet.
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Emotional Self-Regulation Poster
Promote emotional awareness and self-regulation in your classroom with this classroom poster.
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Managing Big Emotions Posters
Help students manage emotions such as anger, fear, worry, sadness and happiness with this colourful set of posters for your primary school classroom.
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Self-Esteem Heart Activity
Help students boost their self-esteem with this lovely heart-themed activity
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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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Exploring My Strengths Worksheet
Explore individual strengths with this My Strengths Worksheet.
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Calming Strategies Chatterbox Template
Help your students choose and apply strategies when they need to calm down with this handy chatterbox template.
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Empathy Poster Set
Enhance student understanding of empathy and why it is important with this set of 4 classroom posters.
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The Feelings Flow - Poster
Help students understand the transient nature of emotions with this simple poem about feelings.
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I Am Not Always Right Mini-Book
Help your students learn how to cope when they make a mistake with this social story mini-book.
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Building Self-Esteem Worksheet
Explore everything there is to know about self-esteem with your students using this cloze worksheet.
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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 or Fixed Mindset Sorting Activity
Help students understand the difference between a fixed mindset and a growth mindset with this sorting activity.
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Calm-Down Strategy Cards
Help your students choose and apply strategies when they need to calm down with this comprehensive set of calm-down strategy cards.
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Synonym Poster Pack - Emotions Chart Display
Blend social-emotional learning and vocabulary building activities with a set of 15 emotional synonyms anchor charts.
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How Would You Feel? Scenario Cards
Foster students’ emotional intelligence and develop emotional vocabulary by exploring a range of real-life scenarios.
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I Wish I Could – Worksheet
A comprehension worksheet for a comic from the Year 2 magazine (Issue 3).
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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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'My Curious Mind' Growth Mindset Art Activity
A creative visual art activity, inspired by Professor Stephen Hawking, to use when learning about growth mindset.
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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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My Emotional Triggers Worksheet
Help your early years students explore the situations that trigger them to experience certain emotional responses with this 2-page emotional triggers worksheet.
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Growth Mindset Discussion Cards
Explore growth mindset with your students with this set of discussion cards.
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Self-Esteem Survey Worksheet
Explore self-esteem with your students with this printable self-esteem survey.
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Focusing on Strengths Sorting Cards
Identify individual strengths with this set of strength vocabulary task cards.
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What Is Anger? Poster
Teach your students to understand and manage anger with this informative classroom display poster.
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Understanding and Managing Anxiety Teaching Presentation
Teach your students about anxious feelings with this comprehensive guide to understanding and managing anxiety.
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Managing Anxiety Scenario Cards
Explore ways to manage anxiety in a variety of real-life situations with this set of 16 scenario cards.
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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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Angry Outbursts – Comprehension Worksheet
Explore emotional awareness and healthy calming strategies with this comic-style comprehension passage and accompanying questions.
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Positive Affirmation Cards for Kids
A set of 24 inspiring positive affirmation cards to encourage a growth mindset, self-confidence and self-belief.
- Self Awareness Posters
- Self Awareness Worksheets
- Self Awareness Templates
- Self Awareness Labels, Signs & Decorations
- Self Awareness Games
- Self Awareness for Foundation Year
- Self Awareness for Year 1
- Self Awareness for Year 2
- Self Awareness for Year 3
- Self Awareness for Year 4
- Self Awareness for Year 5
- Self Awareness for Year 6