3 ways to develop Social Awareness in preschoolers
According to CASEL, social awareness is understanding the feelings, needs, and perspectives of others and empathizing with them, irrespective of their cultures, contexts, social and economic backgrounds. It instills in them the understanding of social norms, behaviors, enables them to look beyond themselves and respect others.
Where on one hand, self-awareness is about focusing inwards, on the other hand, social awareness is about focusing outwards. The skill of social awareness develops emotional intelligence through empathy. Empathy is to take other people’s feelings into thoughtful consideration and then we can make an intelligent decision in response to those feelings. Strong empathy skills also help us get along better with others who see things distinctively from us. Careful listening with empathy can help avoid these misunderstandings. (Goleman)
Here are 3 social awareness activities for kids which help in promoting positive relationships with others, solving social problems, effectively communicating emotions, and being empathetic towards others.
1. Acknowledging emotions through communication
By verbalising feelings, kids keep in touch with themselves and it allows others to get to know them better. The more they practise verbalising their feelings, the more skilled they will become at understanding their own behaviour and saying what is troubling them.
To make things easier for kids who are yet to learn social cues, how emotions work and how to respect others, media is the key. Through visual media, young children learn and identify emotions easily as compared to just verbal cues. Caregivers and teachers can show the kids a visual clip and then ask them what they noticed in the characters in terms of expressions of the body and the face.This helps in understanding non-verbal cues. Non-verbal cues help kids in understanding how their emotions can make others feel. This activity builds up the emotion of empathy in children as kids can put themselves in the shoes of others before making any decision.
2. Active listening through storytime
Recital is one way where kids participate in active listening as it broadens their scope of imagination, makes them as creative as they want to be, and helps to understand others more as there are no set instructions. Storytime at home or in the classroom should be encouraged. Asking questions during storytime or reading time to help students reflect on the feelings of characters. Inviting other kids to share if they have experienced similar feelings. Hearing other students’ answers helps children to consider a different perspective and become more socially aware.Helping and listening skills are useful throughout life, for developing relationships.
3. Group activities
Participating in group activities develops skills of compassion, communication, tolerance, problem-solving, and empathy. Playing board games at home or group classroom activities builds social skills. children should be taught that each member of the group has a specific role as a part of the team. They should respect others by recognizing the efforts put in by others. Activities like, Creative solutions (weareteachers), performing skits, Mirror, Mirror (theinspiredtreehouse), and service projects, are meaningful ways that help kids to connect with their peers.
Social situations cannot be predicted but through practice, children can be taught to perform in different situations. As they get aware of others around them, they pick up behaviors from their peers and caregivers (Bandura,1961). It also helps in building a healthy constructive environment. Social awareness is a skill that helps a child to develop many other skills and understands his or her role in society as an individual. It helps to bridge cultural differences and racial biases. These social-emotional skills are important for students to develop to ensure their success in school, employment, or social environments.