Self-Compassion
GRADES 3-5

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Learning Goal

Students will understand the importance of self-compassion.

Learning Objectives

By the end of the lessons, students will be able to:

  • Identify the importance of self-compassion
  • Identify methods for practicing self-compassion
Learning Summary

Practicing self-compassion is correlated with greater levels of happiness, optimism, life satisfaction, and success. This lesson introduces students to the concepts of self-compassion, taking the skill of practicing compassion towards others and applying it to themselves.

The lesson starts with a Mindful Moment in which students simply write or draw the things that make them happy. The lesson then moves to defining and identifying the importance of self-compassion. Students engage in the Sunshine Compassion activity in which students pass around a sunshine printout, or creation of their own, and have each peer write something compassionate towards them. The class finishes with a journal reflection to identify the impact of self-compassion on their emotional state.

computer icon Online Teaching Tips for Self-Compassion

Provide students with enough time to write down their thoughts during the mindful moment. For both live and recorded, the Sunshine Self-Compassion activity can be adapted to students writing their own positive affirmations on the rays of the sunshine versus them passing around the paper in class. Make sure to add in your own personal examples of how you practice self-compassion!

For live delivery, use the introduction time as an open discussion to review self-talk and compassion.

For a recorded delivery, use the slide deck to review terms visually and provide wait time during the introduction for students to consider their own self-talk and self-compassion. 

CASEL Competencies

Self-awareness: The abilities to understand one’s own emotions, thoughts, and values and how they influence behavior across contexts. This includes capacities to recognize one’s strengths and limitations with a well-grounded sense of confidence and purpose.