Exploring Our Emotions

Overview

This engaging 45-minute Health lesson draws upon the animated film Inside Out to help Year 2 students explore emotions, understand their own feelings, and learn how to build inclusive and respectful relationships. The lesson aligns with the NSW Personal Development, Health and Physical Education (PDHPE) Syllabus and is carefully structured to support social and emotional learning in a creative and meaningful way.

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Curriculum Links

Stage 1 – Year 2

• PD1-3: Recognises and describes strategies people use to manage change, challenges and emotions.
• PD1-9: Identifies ways to develop respectful relationships.

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Learning Intentions

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

• Identify and label a range of emotions using characters from Inside Out.
• Recognise how different experiences cause different emotional responses in themselves and others.
• Suggest simple respectful strategies to respond to the emotions of themselves and others.

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Success Criteria

• I can name at least four different emotions and describe how they feel.
• I can explain why someone may feel a certain way.
• I can show respectful ways to help someone experiencing a strong emotion.

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Materials Needed

• Short clip or still images from Inside Out showcasing each emotion (Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust)
• Emotion flash cards (visuals with faces and names)
• “Feelings Matching” worksheet (prepared in advance)
• A large "Emotion Traffic Light" poster
• Mini whiteboards and markers (one per student)
• Coloured dot stickers (red, yellow, green)
• Speakers/macbook for playing Inside Out clip
• Butcher’s paper and textas for group work

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Lesson Steps

1. Welcome & Warm-Up (5 mins)

Activity: Emoji Charades

• Teacher makes a silly sad/happy/angry face. Ask the students to guess the emotion.
• Invite a few students to take turns acting out an emotion for the class.
• Ask: “How do you know they’re feeling sad/happy?” to elicit emotional cues (face, body language, tone).

Purpose: Activates prior knowledge and prepares students for deeper emotional vocabulary.

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2. Introduction with Inside Out (10 mins)

Activity: Film & Feelings

• Show a curated 3-minute clip from Inside Out highlighting each of the five major emotions. Alternatively, use still images if clips are not permitted.
• As each character appears, pause and ask:
  • “What is this emotion?”
  • “What colour is this character and why do you think that is?”
  • “Have you ever felt this way? What happened?”

Teacher tip: You may use a visual anchor chart on the board with each character’s name, face, and associated feeling word.

Purpose: Visual storytelling makes abstract emotions tangible and engaging for children.

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3. Class Discussion (5 mins)

Focus Questions:

• “How do our faces and bodies change when we feel different emotions?”
• “Are some emotions bad?”
• “How can we tell how someone else is feeling?”

Goal: Use the discussion to help children understand emotional literacy—there are no 'bad' emotions; all are valid and useful.

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4. Group Activity – Emotion Traffic Lights (10 mins)

Instructions:

• Display the "Emotion Traffic Light" poster:

  • Green: Feelings that feel nice (joy, excitement, loved).
  • Yellow: Mixed or unsure feelings (confused, silly, curious).
  • Red: Strong or uncomfortable emotions (anger, fear, sadness).

• In groups of 4 (pre-arranged), each child is given a handful of emotion flashcards. As a team, they must sort each into the correct part of the traffic light.

• Groups present back their biggest surprise or disagreement. Reinforce that emotions belong in more than one category depending on context.

Purpose: Builds critical thinking around the complexity of emotions and encourages respectful group discussions.

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5. Individual Work – “My Emotion Guide” (10 mins)

Activity: Personal Reflection Worksheet

Students complete a three-part worksheet:

• Part 1: Draw a time they felt Joy/Sadness/Anger.
• Part 2: Write or draw what helped them during that feeling.
• Part 3: Write or draw what they could do if a friend felt that way (e.g., “If Lucy felt scared, I would sit with her.”)

Differentiation: Students who need support can use sentence starters or emotion stickers instead of full writing.

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6. Closing Circle – Emotional Check-In (5 mins)

Using coloured dot stickers (Red = Upset, Yellow = Okay, Green = Happy), students place a sticker on the chart to show how they're feeling right now.

Ask:

• “What can we do to help our class feel more green?”
• “What can we do if someone puts a red sticker tomorrow?”

Encourage thoughtful responses such as listening, giving space, inviting to play, or talking to a teacher.

Create a class Emotion Support Plan to display.

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Assessment

Formative Assessment Throughout Lesson:

• Observing group cooperation in traffic light sorting.
• Student responses during discussion.
• Clarity and empathy shown in “My Emotion Guide” worksheet.
• Quality of ideas in final check-in circle.

Document notable contributions/anecdotal notes on student insight for evidence of understanding.

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Extension Opportunities

• Drama Integration: Students create a short skit acting out one emotion and how to help.
• Library Follow-Up: Read The Colour Monster or When I’m Feeling… series during quiet reading to continue emotional conversations.
• Other Curriculum Links: Supplement with English outcomes (EN1-1A: communicating ideas) and Drama (DRAS1.1: expressing feelings and ideas).

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Teacher Reflection (Post-Lesson)

Consider:

• Which students showed increased empathy or vocabulary around emotions?
• Was the traffic light group format effective for your classroom?
• How might this integrate into broader wellbeing frameworks or morning check-ins?

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Additional Notes

• This lesson intentionally centres Australian students by using visuals, familiar language, and accessible classroom routines.
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives could be integrated by exploring cultural ways of managing emotions and respecting community Elders’ teachings on social behaviour in future lessons.

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Conclusion

This creative and emotionally intelligent lesson does more than teach names for feelings—it cultivates empathy, reinforces respectful choices, and creates space for student voices about their inner worlds. Using Inside Out as an anchor, it supports NSW standards while deeply engaging young learners in social-emotional growth.