SEL Final Review

This lesson is a final review of every SEL skill you have practiced this year. Social and Emotional Learning is grouped into five big competencies — five different ways your inner life and your relationships work together. They are not separate boxes; they are five sides of the same person. Knowing them by name helps you choose the right skill at the right moment.

The Five SEL Competencies

1. Self-Awareness — knowing what you feel, what you value, and what you are good at.
2. Self-Management — handling feelings, impulses, time, and habits in a healthy way.
3. Social Awareness — noticing what other people feel and need, and reading the room.
4. Relationship Skills — listening, communicating, cooperating, and resolving conflict.
5. Responsible Decision-Making — thinking before you choose, and owning the result.

1 — Self-Awareness

Self-Awareness is the inside view. It is the skill of noticing what is happening inside you — emotions, triggers, body signals, strengths, values — without judging it. When you can name a feeling and what set it off, you stop being pushed around by your emotions.

• Identify and name a wide range of feelings precisely.
• Notice triggers — what set the feeling off, inside or outside.
• Know your strengths, interests, and values — what matters to you.
• Spot how a feeling shows up in your body so you can catch it early.

2 — Self-Management

Self-Management is what you do AFTER you notice. It is the skill of managing strong feelings, impulses, time, and habits so you can reach your goals. Self-management does not mean hiding feelings — it means choosing your response on purpose.

• Use a calming strategy: slow breath, count, take space.
• Use kind self-talk to bounce back from mistakes.
• Set small goals and break them into steps.
• Build healthy habits: sleep, focus, time management.

3 — Social Awareness

Social Awareness is the outside view. It is empathy plus perspective-taking — the skill of noticing what other people feel, need, and experience, especially people who are different from you. It includes reading the room, recognizing fairness, and respecting others.

• Notice the feelings behind a face, a tone, or a silence.
• Take another person’s perspective — what is it like for THEM?
• Use inclusive language and actions so people feel they belong.
• Recognize unfairness or harm and choose to care.

4 — Relationship Skills

Relationship Skills are how you act with other people. Listening, communicating clearly, cooperating, asking for help, and resolving conflict are all relationship skills. Strong relationships are not luck — they are built one skill at a time.

• Listen actively — face the person, eyes up, no interrupting.
• Use I-statements to share feelings without attacking.
• Cooperate on a shared goal and give clear feedback kindly.
• Resolve conflict in steps: pause, listen, agree on next move.

5 — Responsible Decision-Making

Decision-Making pulls all the other competencies together. It is the skill of thinking BEFORE you choose, weighing the choice against your values and the impact on others, and owning the result afterwards. Good decisions are not just smart — they are ethical and reflective.

• Pause and name the choice clearly before you act.
• List the options and the likely consequences of each.
• Check the choice against your values and the impact on others.
• Own the result, reflect, and adjust for next time.

How the Five Connect

The five competencies are loops, not steps. You notice a feeling (Self-Awareness), choose a calming response (Self-Management), pick up that a friend looks worried (Social Awareness), ask kindly what is going on (Relationship Skills), and decide together what to do next (Decision-Making). One real moment can use all five.