Feeling Some Kind of Way

Levi Dacken
Kindergarten/Social Emotional Learning

Common Core Standards:

Self-Awareness
A1. 1.a Identify basic personal emotions.
A1. 2.a Recognize emotions as natural and important

Self-Management
B1. 1.a Identify personal behaviors or reactions when experience basic emotions.
B1. 2.a Describe verbal and nonverbal ways to express emotions in different settings.
B1. 3.a Identify and begin to use strategies to regulate emotions and manage behaviors.

Lesson Summary:
Students will learn about basic emotions, including how to recognize these emotions when they feel them for
themselves and how to describe these emotions (both verbally and nonverbally). The teacher will read a
book to the class that is focused on basic human emotions and then the students will do an activity focused
on a range of emotions. After, they will use an app to help learn healthy ways to manage emotional reactions
and behaviors. Finally, the class will discuss these techniques together and share what they have learned
with one another.

Estimated Duration:
This lesson will be about two hours long and will be divided up into four 30-minute class periods.

Commentary:
This lesson should be approached with the utmost empathy and thoughtfulness, as everyone experiences
emotions in varying degrees – some people “feel” more/bigger than others and that’s okay! The main
draw/hook will be the incentive for the class to watch the fantastic Disney Pixar film Inside Out at the end of
the week, once we’ve learned what every emotion is/does.

Instructional Procedures:

Day 1:
First 5 minutes: Students will be shown the trailer for Disney Pixar’s Inside Out. The teacher will then
explain that they will be learning all about emotions!

10-20 minutes: Pre-assessment will be given to students to assess what they already know about the basic
emotions. These emotions are: Happy, Sad, Angry, and Scared. (Sleepy/Tired, Calm, and Silly are optional
and can be given if there is enough time.)
Last 5-10 minutes: The teacher will read aloud to the class the first book of the My Little Box of Emotions
box set: How Do I Feel? (or a similar emotion-based children’s book). The class may discuss how they are
feeling at that point too.

Day 2:
First 10 minutes: The teacher will read aloud the subsequent books in the My Little Box of Emotions box
set, which cover the individual basic emotions.

10-15 minutes: The teacher will discuss these emotions and remind the students that they are all perfectly
normal emotions to feel. You feel them, she feels them, even teachers feel them too! Teacher will also define
the words: Mindfulness, Self-awareness, Nonverbal cue, and Verbal cue. Then, the teacher will demonstrate
what the verbal and nonverbal cues of each emotion looks like.

Last 5-10 minutes: The students will act out the verbal and nonverbal cues of those emotions. For example,
the teacher could ask the students to show them a happy face and all the kids will show the teacher (and each
other) their big smiles.

Day 3:
First 5 minutes: The teacher will define self-management and explain how and why some emotions can get
bigger and bigger if we don’t learn to manage them constructively.

15-20 minutes: Students will be allowed access to the app Breathe, Think, Do with Sesame, during which
they will play games that will help them learn problem solving skills and teach them about self-control when
it comes to feelings.

Last 5-10 minutes: Together, both teacher and students will discuss what they have learned from the app
about self-control and problem solving. The teacher will ask what students what they should do if they feel
sad, happy, angry, or scared. These coping/self-management answers will be written on the Smartboard and
printed out afterward to be added to the “homework” packets that will be sent home at the send of the week.

Day 4:
First 10 minutes: The teacher will continue the discussion about self-management and/or allow students
more time to use the app. Mostly, this time should be used to reinforce the ideas they have learned
throughout the week.

Last 20 minutes: Post-assessment will be given.

Day 5:
Students will spend the time watching Disney Pixar’s Inside Out as a reward for finishing the lesson!

Pre-Assessment:
Prior to the reading, students will be given a hands-on activity (to be completed individually) to assess what
they know about the basic emotions. Each student will be given one laminated blank face template and a
pack of Play-Doh. The teacher will say the name of a basic emotion out loud, without giving any verbal or
nonverbal cues, and the students will be told to create a face on their template that matches that emotion. The
order of the emotions will be: Happy, Sad, Angry, and Scared. (Optional: Tired/Sleepy, Calm and Silly!)

For example, the teacher would say “The emotion I’m feeling is SAD, show me what a SAD face looks
like,” and the students would create a Play-Doh frown and maybe some Play-Doh tears coming out of their
blank face’s Play-Doh eyes.

Upon the construction of each Play-Doh face, the teacher will pause the activity, write that emotion on the
Smartboard, and ask what sorts of things make the students feel that emotion. There are no wrong answers.
This part is just to start to get the kids to think about those characteristics.

Scoring Guidelines:
The teacher should use their best judgement to determine which students have some understanding of
the basic emotions already. Artistic merit isn’t of concern. If the student’s Play-Doh face is confusing
or messy, the teacher may ask the student to describe what the face looks or even “feels” like to them
and why. If a student doesn’t know what any emotions look like or can’t make them with Play-Doh,
the teacher may also engage and ask the student to show them what their own face looks like when
they feel one of the basic emotions.

Post-Assessment:
After the lesson is finished, students will be given another hands-on activity (again, to be completed
individually) to assess what they have learned about the basic emotions. Each student will be given one
laminated blank face template and a pack of Play-Doh. The teacher will give verbal cues of a basic emotion
out loud, without giving any nonverbal cues, and the students will be told to shout out what emotion the
teacher is feeling. When they have said the correct answer, they will create a face on their template that
matches that emotion. The order of the emotions will be: Scared, Angry, Sad, and Happy. (Optional:
Tired/Sleepy, Calm and Silly!)
For example, for the “scared” emotion, the teacher might say something like: “Eeek! A spider! I don’t like
spiders, they’re so creepy crawly! What emotion am I feeling?” When the students guess “scared”, the
teacher will tell them to make a scared face on their blank face template.

Scoring Guidelines:
The teacher should use their best judgement to determine which students have successfully
 completed the lesson. Students who show an understanding all 4 basic emotions will be considered to
have mastered the lesson. Students who show an understands of less than 3 basic emotions should be
given challenges/reminders about the basic emotions throughout the school year. Example: asking
the student to “Show me your happy face” when they arrive to class in the morning.

Differentiated Instructional Support

Instruction can be differentiated for both students who are challenged by or not challenged enough by the
verbal & nonverbal cues of this lesson with a game of charades! Accelerated students (or those who seem to
have a solid grasp of the concepts) will be divided into the “feelers group” who will act out the nonverbal
cues of basic emotions for the first round. Those students struggling with the concepts (or those who seem to
have an average grasp) will be divided into the “seers group” who will watch the “feelers group” act out
nonverbal cues and can shout out the emotions as they perceive them. For the second round, both groups will
get to guess as the teacher provides verbal cues to emotions.

Additionally, the individualized books from can be assigned/sent home with those students who are
struggling with a understanding particular emotion or simply want to know more about one!

Side note: Students who are neurodivergent may have trouble grasping the concepts of certain or all basic
emotions. In this case, the child’s parents and/or counselor will be consulted before the lesson to prepare
individualized studies.

Technology Extension
Emotions & Self-Awareness | Development for… | PBS KIDS for Parents – Tips, tools, and tons of
resources for the parents/guardians of young kids that focuses on their social emotional learning at all ages!

Touch and Learn - Emotions on the App Store (apple.com) – A cheap, basic, easy app to help build
emotional-awareness and empathy.

Hopster Saturday Club for kids on the App Store (apple.com) – A free app with a cartoony vibe that is sure
to reel kids in. The best part is that it has more interactive face-building activities to help reinforce nonverbal
emotional cues!

Homework Options and Home Connections

Each student will be sent home with a packet that includes: an illustrated chart of the basic emotions, a few
extra pages of the blank faces template to draw on, and a note for parents listing the various ways of
coping/management that were discussed in class to help them and their children deal with their emotions.
The students will be encouraged to practice their verbal and nonverbal emotional cues at home and parent
will be encouraged to join in!

Interdisciplinary Connections
Arts & Crafts: The blank faces activity will engage students’ creative sides with the wide variety of
expressions. This hands-on activity will also focus on honing fine motor skills when molding Play-Doh.

Language Arts: New vocabulary will be learned in general, but some verbal cues/descriptive words for the
emotions may be current or future sight words. The teach will also be engaging in active reading and the
students in active listening.

Social Studies: As this subject is Social Emotional Learning, students will engage with one another in a
social setting, learning to express their emotions as well as recognize the emotions of their peers. Both verbal
and nonverbal cues fall under this discipline also.

*Theatre: If optional “emotional charades” is enacted, some students will engage in physical acting and
others in active audience participation.

Materials and Resources:

For teachers Smartboard, internet access, digital copy of Disney Pixar’s Inside Out, My Little Box
of Emotions book set (or similar reading material), laminated illustrated feelings chart
to be posted in the classroom after the lesson, 1 pre-printed paper packet per student
(includes: 1 copy of illustrated feelings chart, 6 copies of the blank faces template, 1
copy of note to parents)

Optional: A Little SPOT of Emotion box set

For students iPads with the app Breathe, Think, Do with Sesame pre-loaded (or access to a
classroom computer with internet connection to visit the website), laminated blank
face templates (1 per student), Play-Doh (multi-color packs preferred)

Optional: Washable markers can be used instead of Play-Doh

Key Vocabulary
Mindfulness, Nonverbal cue, Personal Emotions – Basic, Self-awareness, Self-management, Verbal cue

Additional Notes

Social emotional learning is not something that can be easily given a letter grade. However, progress with
emotional growth after the lesson should be acknowledged per student and all emotional development
(positive or negative) should reported to parents/guardians!