Social Awareness

I love that the elementary schools in our district do a great job promoting social awareness through the "Positivity Project".  Each week / month there is a new character trait identified and then staff watch that the students are following through with these traits - such as gratitude, empathy, kindness etc.  We also established "friendship benches" out on the playground.  It may be called something different, but such a great premise.  They are told if they are feeling alone, or want to play but don't have anyone to play with they should sit on the bench and others will see them and include them.  So far, I think this has been successful.  

Social awareness involves the ability to understand and empathize with others, particularly with people from different backgrounds than one’s own.  This is feeling compassion for others, understanding historical and social norms when in different settings, and recognizing supports such as taking others' perspectives, showing empathy and compassion, and showing concern for the feelings of others.  To help my students become more socially aware, I model empathy and respect in how I interact with them. It's easy to get frustrated as a teacher during the school day. I remind myself that, however I behave, I am influencing what my students believe is acceptable behavior. I acknowledge my students' feelings and tell them that I feel those emotions, too.  I also think that social awareness is present in my classroom through the use of collaborative lab groups.   Learning collaboratively is social, and we discuss what learning collaboratively looks like, sounds like, and feels like.  

Social awareness is a critical skill for building relationships. Students need to think of other's in order to build friendships. We need to consider other's feelings, and be able to put ourselves in other's shoes. Reading body language and change their actions based on non-verbal feedback is a strong skill to possess.

One way I address this is my sessions is to have everyone greet each other at the beginning of our class and ask 1 question ex. How are you?, What did you do this weekend?  If my student is working on articulation I remind them to look at their peer's body langue and decide if their communication partner understood them  We look at body language to determine if we need to slow the rate of speech, say it again, or over-articulate our words.  I also stress the importance of saying please and thank you when sharing or requesting items.  These small actions and adjustments help build strong relationships with peers and adults  through self-awareness. 

Social awareness is the ability to recognize and appreciate the emotions, viewpoints, and experiences of others. It supports the development of respectful relationships and encourages the growth of inclusive, caring communities. By fostering empathy, social awareness helps minimize conflict and enhances effective teamwork. One specific way I encourage social awareness in my Intro to Engineering Design class is through collaborative group projects where students must consider diverse perspectives and user needs when designing solutions. For example, students might be tasked with creating a product for individuals with limited mobility, requiring them to research, empathize, and design with inclusivity in mind. This approach builds teamwork and fosters empathy and real-world awareness of how engineering impacts different communities.

Social awareness encapsulates how we understand what other people think and feel. One example of this is how we read body language. One way I encourage social awareness is by explicitly acknowledging how I would like a question to be answered, like "Raise your hand" or "Feel free to blurt". This also comes with setting boundaries in addressing interruptions or talking out of turn. This way, my students have a clear idea of what's expected of them and become more socially aware.

Social Awareness is the importance of understanding other people’s feelings, perspectives, and backgrounds.  It’s not just empathy but it’s also about recognizing how social differences affect behavior and interactions.

I would try to do a group project to encourage social awareness if I had time to do this in my classroom or maybe it could be an extra credit community project.  Students working together on a community project promotes communication and cooperation to achieve a common goal.  It would help them understand how different people contribute to a team and how their actions impact others.  

A key learning about social awareness is understanding others' perspectives, empathizing, and respecting diversity, which helps students build strong, positive relationships. In my classroom, I encourage social awareness by facilitating group discussions where students share personal experiences and listen to their peers. This practice not only helps them recognize and respect different viewpoints but also develops empathy and collaborative skills.

Social awareness is being able to understand how others may think or feel and being able to recognize both non-verbal and verbal cues.

In a first grade classroom we are often asking..."how does that make you feel" or "how do you think that made your friend feel". There is a lot of feelings talk about character feelings, friends feeling and our own feelings. I feel this is one we do really well in the primary classrooms!

Social awareness is the ability to consider other peoples feelings regardless of background or culture.

I use a lot of texts in my classroom to encourage social awareness. I try to include not just the feeling but what may have caused the character to feel the way we did. We begin with a lot of discussions and then more to writing about those topics.

Social awareness is the ability to understand and empathize with others' perspectives, emotions, and experiences. It involves recognizing and respecting the diversity of individuals and cultures within a community and valuing the importance of collaboration and teamwork.

In my math classroom, I encourage social awareness through collaborative problem-solving activities that promote empathy and understanding among students.  One specific way I do this is by incorporating group projects or cooperative learning tasks into our math curriculum.  For example, I might assign a complex problem-solving task that requires students to work together in small groups to brainstorm solutions, share ideas, and collaborate on a final solution.  Before starting the activity, I facilitate a discussion about the importance of listening to others, considering multiple perspectives, and respecting each other's contributions.  During the activity, I encourage students to communicate openly, actively listen to their peers, and offer support and encouragement to one another. After completing the task, I facilitate a debriefing session where students reflect on their collaborative experience, discuss what they learned from working together, and identify any challenges they encountered.  By engaging in collaborative problem-solving activities, students develop social awareness by learning to appreciate the strengths and perspectives of their peers, practicing effective communication and teamwork skills, and building empathy and respect within the math classroom community.  This fosters a positive and inclusive learning environment where students feel valued, supported, and empowered to succeed together.