Feelings and Friendships

Learning Objectives and Curriculum Links

• WALT: Identify and name different feelings and understand how to express them appropriately.
• WALT: Develop positive interactions and friendships with peers.
• Curriculum Alignment: Australian Curriculum v9 - Personal and Social Capability (Level 1)
• Recognise emotions in themselves and others and demonstrate care and empathy.
• Interact positively with others in a range of situations.
• Communicate feelings and needs clearly and respectfully.

Success Criteria

• I can name different feelings and explain what makes me feel that way.
• I can show kindness and respect to my friends.
• I can use words and actions to express my feelings.

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Lesson Duration: 70 minutes

Class size: 6 students Year level: Prep–Year 1

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Resources

• Feelings flashcards with simple faces (happy, sad, angry, excited, shy)
• Emotion masks or headbands
• "Feelings" worksheet (draw and match faces to feelings)
• Friendship colouring sheet with simple scenarios
• Soft balls or bean bags for group games
• Dyslexia-friendly font versions of worksheets
• Visual timetable for the lesson stages

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Lesson Outline and Timing

1. Warm-up Circle Activity – “Feelings Faces” (10 minutes)

• Gather students in a circle.
• Show flashcards of different feelings one at a time.
• Students mimic the facial expression and say the feeling aloud.
• Teacher models simple sentences, e.g. "I feel happy when I play."
• Differentiation: For students requiring language support, provide picture-word cues and allow miming without speaking initially.
• Extension: Ask advanced learners to share a story or example about a time they felt this way.

2. Interactive Story and Discussion – “A Day with My Feelings” (10 minutes)

• Teacher reads a short story about a character experiencing different feelings throughout their day.
• Pause to ask students how the character might feel and what could help them feel better.
• Record responses on a feelings chart (a poster with faces and words).
• Differentiation: Use visual supports and repeat key vocabulary clearly.
• Extension: Encourage advanced learners to predict what the character might do next.

3. Hands-On Activity – “Emotion Masks” Role Play (15 minutes)

• Provide each student with an emotion mask or headband.
• Students take turns role-playing a situation where they might feel that emotion.
• Peers guess the emotion and suggest kind actions or words to help.
• Reinforce naming feelings and showing empathy.
• Differentiation: Scaffold with sentence starters: "I feel ___ because..." or "If you feel ___, I can..."
• Extension: Have advanced learners create their own scenarios for the group to act out.

4. Worksheet Activity – “Match the Feeling” (15 minutes)

• Students complete a worksheet featuring faces and scenarios to match feelings.
• Use dyslexia-friendly fonts and clear icons for support.
• Teacher and aides provide individual help where needed.
• Differentiation: Offer a simplified version with fewer options or allow drawing instead of writing.
• Extension: Have advanced students write a simple sentence describing their own feelings linked to the worksheet.

5. Friendship Circle Game – “Kindness Pass” (10 minutes)

• Students sit in a circle and pass a soft ball while saying a kind thing they can do for a friend.
• Encourage using kind language and positive body language.
• Celebrate everyone’s contributions.
• Differentiation: Provide examples and sentence starters visually.
• Extension: Challenge advanced learners to think of more complex ways to show kindness.

6. Calm Down Reflection and Journaling – “My Feelings Today” (10 minutes)

• Guide the class in a calming breathing exercise.
• Students draw or write (with support) something about how they felt today and what helped them.
• Share reflections voluntarily.
• Support students with dyslexia by allowing drawing or voice recording instead of writing.
• Extension learners can write a longer reflection or create a feelings diary page.

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Differentiation Strategies

• Use multiple modalities (visual, auditory, kinaesthetic).
• Provide sentence starters and vocabulary support.
• Simplify tasks or instructions for students needing support.
• Use peer support and encourage turn-taking in discussions.
• For dyslexic students, use dyslexia-friendly fonts, colour overlays, and avoid visual clutter.
• Provide extension tasks for early finishers or advanced learners to deepen their understanding.

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This lesson is designed to be engaging, hands-on, and supports emotional literacy—a key part of wellbeing for K-1 students, aligned with the Australian Curriculum’s Personal and Social Capability standards. The activities foster understanding of emotions, empathy, and positive relationships, essential for foundational social skills in young children.