Summary of "108 - Social-Emotional Learning and Trauma - Session 1 - Lesson 1"

Overview

This lesson introduces self-awareness as the first component of Social-Emotional Learning (SEL). It links SEL to academic success, provides key statistics about students’ attitudes toward school, defines self-awareness, and presents a practical three-part framework teachers can use to plan lessons that develop students’ self-awareness.

Key statistics

Only about 25% of students have a positive outlook on school (implying 75% view school negatively).
Students spend approximately 1,170 hours per year in school, so a negative experience has a large impact.
83% of students show increased social skills when SEL is applied with intentional planning.
9 out of 10 students with high academic success also demonstrate high emotional intelligence.

Core definition and guiding question

Self-awareness: conscious knowledge of one’s feelings and reactions — understanding how thoughts influence behavior and how behavior impacts others.

Guiding reflection question for teaching:

“How does my presence affect myself and those around me?”

Reflection quote

“As my awareness increases, my control over my own being increases.” — William Schutz

Suggested short activity: title a page “self-awareness,” have teachers (or students) reflect briefly on the quote and jot down their thoughts.

Three-part framework for teaching self-awareness

Use these three focus areas to structure lessons and activities.

1. Thought patterns (self-talk)

Teach students to notice and describe how they think about events and themselves.
Help students distinguish negative versus positive self-talk and promote growth-mindset language (e.g., “I can try/learn” vs. “I can’t”).
Encourage conscious reflection on internal dialogue as the first step to change.

2. Emotion patterns (mood and emotion recognition)

Teach students to identify and name their emotions (“I’m sad,” “I’m mad,” etc.).
Emphasize that verbalizing emotions is a first step toward regulation and problem-solving.
Build emotion vocabulary and routine check-ins so students can communicate feelings reliably.

3. Behavior patterns (observable actions and responses)

Help students connect thought + emotion to their behavior and recognize recurring reactions in situations.
Teach appropriate, constructive responses for different emotions (what to do when feeling sad, angry, etc.).
Foster strategies that follow from awareness of thoughts and emotions — behavior often follows thought/emotion.

Classroom implementation guidance

Plan SEL lessons intentionally and integrate them into the school day (for example, tie short SEL activities into math, reading, or morning routines).
Use the guiding reflection question as a lesson anchor for students to consider the impact of their presence.
Quick reflective activity: give students one minute to write about the William Schutz quote on a “self-awareness” page.
Teach students (including kindergarteners) to:
- identify their self-talk,
- name their emotions,
- choose appropriate actions to regulate and re-engage in learning.
Expect behavior change to follow work on thoughts and emotions; scaffold skills sequentially.
The instructor will share three ready-to-use K–12 SEL lesson plans in the next session.