The Importance of Teaching Emotional Awareness to Kids: Emotional Regulation Series Part 7

Teaching emotional awareness to kids is one of the most powerful ways you can help them understand themselves and others! It’s the foundation of emotional regulation— because before kids can manage their feelings, they need to know what they are feeling in the first place. In this 7th post of our 8-part series on Emotional Regulation, we will explore what emotional awareness really is, how it looks in the classroom, and several practical steps for you to help your students grow in this essential SEL skill. It’s going to be great, so let’s jump right in!

What is Emotional Awareness?

Emotional awareness is the ability to recognize and understand your own emotions and those of others. It might sound really simple, but for young kids, it’s a HUGE developmental leap. 

Most kids come to school knowing emotion words like “happy”, “sad”, and “mad”, but that’s usually the full extent of their emotional vocabulary. Without a deeper understanding of their feelings, they can become overwhelmed and dysregulated very quickly.

Emotional Awareness vs. Emotional Regulation: What’s the Difference?

You might be wondering if emotional awareness and emotional regulation are the same thing. While they are related, they’re not quite the same. 

Emotional awareness is about noticing and understanding feelings. 

Emotional regulation is about managing those feelings in positive ways. 

Emotional awareness is ESSENTIAL for emotional regulation. If a child cannot recognize and name a variety of their feelings, they will struggle to regulate them productively. That’s why teaching emotional awareness to kids early in elementary school is so important— it sets the stage for everything else! 

What Emotional Awareness Looks Like for Pre-K – 2nd Grades:

• Students can name what they’re feeling using age-appropriate language.
• They can identify where they feel different emotions in their bodies.
• They begin to understand what might be causing these feelings. 
• They start to show empathy to their peers when they’re feeling big emotions. 

For a Child Who Lacks These Important Skills, You Might See:

• Frequent verbal or physical outbursts
• Refusing to talk to others
• Difficulty transitioning between tasks or handling changes
• Poor relationships with peers and/or adults

Why Are Some Kids Not Emotionally Aware Yet?

While it’s important to remember that every child develops differently, it’s good to know that there are other reasons why some kids struggle to learn emotional awareness more than their peers. 

This can be because of:

• Limited exposure to emotional vocabulary at home
• Traumatic or inconsistent home environments 
• Neurodiverse needs that affect the development of social-emotional skills
• Being young— emotional awareness takes time to develop!

For these kids, it’s not that they want to be disruptive in class— it’s just that they haven’t yet developed the tools they need to become emotionally aware. 

…And that’s exactly where you come in!

How to Teach Emotional Awareness in the Classroom

Teaching emotional awareness to kids doesn’t require a full overhaul of your curriculum. It just takes some intentionality, lots of repetition, and a few great tools.

Here are 7 ways you can make emotional awareness part of your daily teaching:

1. Use and Teach Emotional Vocabulary

First, lay the foundation. Teach students basic emotion words AND more advanced ones.

Basic Emotion Words

• Happy 
• Sad 
• Mad/Angry 
• Scared
• Tired

Expanded Emotion Words

• Proud
• Curious
• Frustrated
• Embarrassed
• Confused

Model these words throughout your daily speech, so your students have real-life examples.

For a more extensive list of emotion words WITH kid-friendly definitions, check out the Feelings & Emotions SEL Curriculum.

2. Incorporate Visuals

You can also incorporate visuals that show different emotions throughout your classroom. The more they see examples of a variety of feelings AND talk about them, the better their understanding of emotional awareness will be!

The colorful emotions visuals included in the Feelings & Emotions SEL Curriculum include pictures of real kids demonstrating each feeling. Use these during emotion check-in times (like a Feelings Circle) or as a beautiful bulletin board display!

3. Play Games

Next, play fun games! You know anything that’s labeled a “game” is instantly (magically?!) so much more exciting. 

Use these Emotion Match Up Cards to sneak in a little emotional awareness learning— disguised as a super fun game!

4. Read Social Stories

Social stories are another great way to help students understand abstract concepts and learn about appropriate ways to respond in different situations. 

The social skills story in the Feelings & Emotions SEL Curriculum is the perfect tool to help your students think about different emotions and what they look like.

5. Make Space for Self-Reflection

Also, use emotion check-in cards to encourage students to share their feelings with each other and you during a designated time each day or in the calm down corner. 

Use them as a whole class, in small groups, or for individual students. 

6. Incorporate Writing & Drawing 

Writing is another great way for students to self-reflect about their emotions. 

Use writing activity pages to encourage students to process their thoughts in written or picture form. They can use these pages to write letters to a peer or to themselves. 

When students feel seen and heard, they feel safe and can focus more on academics.

6. Foster Empathy

Finally, foster empathy in your classroom. Help students learn to listen to their bodies and recognize the clues their peers’ bodies give them when feeling different emotions. 

Use scenario cards to help students pause and think about how others would feel in different situations. 

By learning and practicing these important pieces of emotional awareness, students will begin to solve problems more easily and feel better quicker!

Finish Strong!

Make life easier for yourself by grabbing the done-for-you Feelings & Emotions SEL Curriculum. It includes enough low-prep lessons and engaging resources for you to use the ENTIRE YEAR!

If you missed the previous posts in the Emotional Regulation Series, check them out here: 

• Part 1: Favorite Calming & Sensory Tools
• Part 2: Calm Down Strategies
• Part 3: Relaxation Techniques
• Part 4: Breathing Exercises
• Part 5: Mindfulness Techniques
• Part 6: Creating a Calm Down Corner

**Stay tuned for the final segment in the series about the best emotional regulation books for kids!

Teaching emotional awareness to kids is about so much more than managing behaviors. It’s about empowering children to know themselves and connect with others. The payoff of emotionally aware kids will be fewer meltdowns, better peer relationships, and a more peaceful learning environment for everyone. 

You’ve got this— one giggle, one feeling, and one regulated child at a time! 

Let me know if you have any questions about anything you see here. Don’t forget to pin this post to refer to it later!

Other posts you may enjoy:

The POWER of Teaching Active Listening Skills to Elementary Students

4 Powerful Ways to Manage Strong Emotions in the Classroom

11 ENGAGING Ways to Teach Social-Emotional Learning in the Classroom