Feelings and Emotions

A thematic unit on "Feelings and Emotions" for young students focuses on helping children identify, understand, and express their emotions in a healthy and constructive way. This unit on feelings supportas various of the curriculum while discovering more about the way we think and feel.

 

Objectives

Here are some general learning objectives realted to feelings and emotions. 

• Students will be able to identify and name basic emotions such as happiness, sadness, anger, fear, and surprise.
• Students will recognize how emotions are connected to thoughts and behaviors.
• Students will learn strategies for managing and expressing emotions appropriately.
• Students will develop empathy by understanding how others feel.
• Students will practice using language to communicate their feelings.

 

Introduction

Begin by asking students how they are feeling today. Introduce the idea that we all have different feelings and that it’s okay to feel different emotions at different times. Some people may even feel differently than other about the same thing.

What is the difference between feelings and emotions? Both words are often use interchangably.

• Emotions are  immediate, automatic responses that involve physical reactions and are often instinctual. Common emotions include happiness, anger, fear, sadness, surprise, and disgust.
• Feelings are are the personal, subjective experiences that result from emotions, shaped by individual interpretation and thought processes. 

Feelings are more personal and longer-lasting than emotions. For example, the emotion of fear might lead to the feeling of anxiety.

Let's start by making a list of emotions. Have student name different emotions and write them on a list. 

 

K-W-L

Make a K-W-L about Feelings and Emotions. At the beginning of the unit, write what students know and want to know about emotions. At the end of the unti, list some items students learned about emotions. 

 

 

Vocabulary

Make a list of different feelings and emotions on large chart paper. As new feelings are discovered in stories and other resources, add them to the list.

Here are some emotion vocabulary - great for word walls for reading and writing, scavenger hunts, or role play. 

 

Make tabbed flip cards on a key ring to reference feelings. These are great to use in modeling feelings about situations and with characters in stories. 

  

Play games to practice identifying basic emotions

  

 

Model Expressing Feelings with core board and fringe vocabuary. Use this board, or modify it as needed using our Grid Books template.  Model how students can share their feelings throughout the day, as well as, ask for appropriate sensory activities to aid with self regulation. This is also a great visual support to discuss feelings of characters in books.

 

Matching

Match the feelings. 

Play Memory Matching

 

Storytime

There are so many beautiful picture books about feelings. Choose stories in line with interests and objectives of individual students and classroom needs. Here are articles about some favorite feelings stories with numberous additional activities and visuals. 

• The Color Monster by Anna Llenas (basic emotions: happiness, anger, saddness, calm, love, etc. )
• The Boy With Big, Big Feelings by Britney Winn Lee (strong feelings)
• Bear Fells Sick by Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman (care, sick)
• Grumpy Monkey by Suzanne Lang (grumpy, supporting others)
• I Believe I Can by Grace Byers (brave, confidence, worthy, self-esteem)
• I Love You Blue Kangaroo by Emma Chichester Clark (love, jealousy, worry)
• Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems (frustration, despair) 
• Nobody Hugs a Cactus by Carter Goodrich (lonely, friendship, kindness)
• Ruby Finds A Worry by Tom Percival  (worry, coping, anxiety) 
• Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon by Patty Lovell (proud, concepts of bullying)
• The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper (perserverence, saddness, happiness, etc.)

Write your own story. Add things that make you feel the corresponding emotion. 

 

 

 

Videos

Check out these great videos about feelings and Emotions. 

• Sesame Street (ages 2-5 years) offers a wealth of videos for young children such as this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwmnHOzytIU
• Rocket Kids (ages 4-10 years), "Know Your Emotions": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKQIOVjxmfs
• Inside Out: (ages 3+) "Guess the Feeling":  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOkyKyVFnSs&t=24s

 

Express Your Feelings

Role Play feelings. Make a class book about feelings. Take pictures of students imitating feeling pictures and put together in a book with one feeling per page. Have students label feelings. 

 

Play Charades or HeadBandz; students guess the emotion. 

 

Roll the Dice and act out the feeling. 

 

Emojis

Emojis are a great way to express feelings. Hold up emoji puppets to show feelings on a topic. 

Exchange Emoji Feelings Cards. 

 

Language and Discussion

Ask open ended questions to have students talk about situations when they feel strong emotions. 

 

"What's behind your angry mask? Help students understand that anger usually has another emotion underneath it. Sometimes if a student is feeling one emotion, they may show it as anger, and can learn to unpack that emtion and help them, and those around them, figure out what is really bothering them." (Written by Jon Estrada)

Look at poetry that express different feelings. Write your own. 

 

Writing

How are you feeling today? 

Write about different feelings. 

 

Label the Pumpkin Feelings

Make a class book- each student colors and describes their feelings monster. (Use with Glad Monster, Sad Monster by Ed Emberley and Anne Miranda or Color Monster by Anna Llenas.)

 

Music and Movement

So many visuals to choose for the song, "If Your Happy And You Know It"

 

Try the Grid Books Tool! Here you can make tabbed music books. 

Listen to different forms of music: classical, rap, rock, country.... etc. Draw, write, or paint to describe how the music makes you feel. 

 

Self-Monitoring

Create spaces for students to self-monitor their feelings. Show and practice with visuals, and then have a place where students can check in and mark their feeling. 

 

Students can mark how they feel as part of the morning ro

Students can wear a wristband and point to the feeling. 

Or mark on a contiuum of strong feelings. 

  

 

Cause and Effect

Draw connections to emotions we feel and the actions around us. Here is a story that shows an event and the reaction by the baby duck. 

Or connect the action caused by the emotion. 

 

Strategies for Managing Feelings

Create activities to practice ways to manage strong feelings. 

 

Create book or visuals that give ideas to help with strong feelings for real situations. 

 

 

Fine Motor & Art

Laminate blank faces. Use playdough or other mediums to make faces with emotions. 

Cut out feeling expressions. Stick them by characters in a story, on bulletin boards, or even next to plants!

 

Print coloring pages of different emotions. Use various materials to color while talking about the feeling. 

Make a claming jar. Fill a clear container with  3/4 water, 1 bottle of clear glue, glitter, and 1 drop of food coloring (optional). 

 

 

Math

Include feelings and emotion pictures in simple math activities and math centers. Try a graphing activity. 

Include counting cards in a math center. 

 

Continue the patterns. Act out as you make the pattern. 

 

Articulation and Speech

Embed curriculum content in speech therapy! Here is a Sorting Pictures template. Practice the /d/ sound (or use other artic pictures) as you say and sort by how they make you feel. 

Sing a song with speech sounds. 

Have fun learning and playing together!