CASEL Standards

Self-Awareness

Social Awareness
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Objectives

Students will be able to demonstrate self-awareness by participating in peer interviews and talking about their strengths and challenges. Students will be able to demonstrate social awareness by practicing active listening and asking effective follow-up questions.
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Assessment

Students will be assed on their ability to identify self-awareness.

Students will be assessed on their ability to accurately talk about their own strengths and challenges.

Students will be assessed based on their ability to actively listen during the interview and ask appropriate follow-up questions.
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Lesson Key Points

Understanding the concept of self-awareness and being objective about strengths and challenges.

Practicing active listening skills and formulating effective follow-up questions based on answers given.
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Vocabulary

• Self-Awareness (for this lesson): the ability to recognize one’s own strengths and challenges
• Active Listening: being fully engaged and giving someone your full attention while listening
• Follow-Up Question: being able to ask further questions about what someone has said to obtain more details and information
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Introduction

Introduce the idea of self-awareness and the ability to be honest and objective about strengths and challenges. Provide examples to the class of someone not having self-awareness.

Example: A student makes a vase in art class and says that their vase is the best. They do not see that their vase needs work and that they could learn and try again to improve and make a usable vase next time.
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Partner/Team Activity

Check for understanding by instructing students to work in teams to come up with their own example of a student with self-awareness vs. a student without self-awareness.
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Individual Practice

Ask students to work individually to create a list of three of their strengths and three of their challenges. Review the definitions of Active Listening and Follow-Up Questions. Scaffold as needed.
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Work Period

Pair students, or allow them to choose a partner. Students will take turns interviewing each other based on the strengths and challenges list. Students should use the format Question, Answer, Follow-Up, Answer, Question, etc. Provide the following example if needed:

Interviewer (question): What is one of your strengths?

Interviewee (answer): Scoring layups on the basketball team.

Interviewer (follow-up): When did you learn how to do a layup?

Interviewee (answer): My mom taught me when I was 8 years old.

Interviewer (question): What is a challenge of yours?

Interviewee (answer): Doing push-ups in gym class.

Interviewer (follow-up): Why do you think push-ups are hard for you?

Interviewee (answer): My arms are really weak, so I’m practicing at home to get stronger.
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Closing

Bring the class back together to allow students to share on thing they learned about their partner during the interview and to share a follow-up question they were asked about a strength or challenge.

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Access the downloadable Developing Self-Awareness Through Peer Interviews Lesson Plan and Activity here.

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