Emotion Charades

Overview

In this second lesson of “Drama for Newcomers,” students explore how feelings can be shown non-verbally. They will play charades using emotion gestures, facial expressions, and body language, then reflect on what helped them understand one another.

Learning intentions

• Students will demonstrate emotions through facial expression, posture, and movement.
• Students will work safely and respectfully with partners during performance.
• Students will describe and interpret classmates’ emotional choices using simple drama vocabulary.
• Students will connect non-verbal cues to empathy and understanding.

Success criteria

• I can show a clear emotion using my face and body (not just my hands).
• I can watch others closely and guess emotions respectfully.
• I can give a kind, specific comment about what I noticed in someone’s performance.
• I can follow class expectations for collaborative drama.

Curriculum links

• Drama: physical expression to communicate feelings and ideas.
• Communication: expressing thoughts and understanding through performance and response.
• Core competencies: communicating, thinking critically/creatively, and personal/social responsibility during group work.

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 0–5 min: Welcome and warm-up

• Circle with quick check-in questions: “How are you feeling today?” Invite students to show it with a facial expression only.
• Teacher models: freeze-frame pose for three seconds, then reset.

2. 5–12 min: Movement to match feelings

• Teacher calls an emotion (e.g., happy, worried, excited, proud, upset, calm). Students move without talking, using levels (low/medium/high) and tempo (slow/fast).
• Quick “mirror” practice: in pairs, one person leads a feeling movement; partner mirrors.

3. 12–18 min: Charades rules and role model

• Explain the game: Performer shows an emotion; Group guesses; no words during the round.
• Set expectations: “One performer,” “Respectful guessing,” “Hands and space stay safe,” and “Kind feedback only.”

4. 18–38 min: Main game—Feelings Charades

• Divide class into two groups rotating on a simple schedule so everyone performs.
• Each round:
• Performer chooses an emotion card (or teacher assigns if needed).
• Performer has 20 seconds to show the emotion without speaking.
• Guessing group has 10 seconds to discuss and then one student shares the guess.
• Teacher asks one prompt: “What did you notice that showed that feeling?”
• Emotions to keep age-appropriate and newcomer-friendly:
• happy, sad, excited, surprised, worried, angry (mild), calm, nervous, proud.

5. 38–48 min: Feedback “Notice–Feel–Try”

• In pairs, students practice giving short feedback using a sentence stem:
• “I noticed your ____.”
• “I felt ____ when I saw it.”
• “Next time, you could try ____.”
• Teacher models one example with an exaggerated but respectful performance.

6. 48–57 min: Quick whole-class transfer

• “Tableau to Story”: Teacher says a simple scenario: “You lost your favourite toy” or “You got a good grade.”
• Students create a 3-part frozen sequence (before, feeling, after) using non-verbal cues only.
• Volunteers share; classmates identify the emotion and one physical cue they saw.

7. 57–60 min: Exit reflection

• Students complete an oral exit ticket (or short written/drawn response): “The emotion I showed best was ____ because ____.”
• Teacher collects 3–5 responses for planning Lesson 3 groupings.

Resources

• Emotion picture cards (faces and body cues for: happy, sad, excited, worried, proud, calm, nervous, surprised)
• Space markers for safe performance area (tape on floor or cones)
• Sentence stems on chart paper: “I noticed… / I felt… / Next time…”
• Timer (phone or classroom timer)
• Partner mirrors option (no equipment needed; teacher models “mirror” stance)
• Optional feelings props (simple scarves or paper strips) to support non-verbal expression (kept minimal)

Assessment

• Observation checklist during charades: clear emotion expression, safe movement, respectful collaboration.
• Informal performance assessment: ability to sustain an emotion pose/sequence for several seconds.
• Formative feedback from peers using “Notice–Feel–Try” stems (quality of observations and kindness).

Differentiation

• Support:
• Offer a reduced set of 6–8 emotion cards for students who need less choice.
• Provide gesture cues for each emotion (e.g., “worried = hands near face, glance side to side”).
• Allow partner performance first before whole-group guessing.
• Extension:
• Ask advanced performers to show “same situation, different feelings” (e.g., nervous vs. excited before a presentation).
• Challenge students to add a movement transition (how they move from one emotion to another).
• EAL learners:
• Emphasize non-verbal communication first; allow pointing to picture cards for guesses.
• Use consistent prompts and sentence stems; keep teacher language simple and repeat key phrases.
• SEN/Additional needs:
• Give clear start/stop signals for freezing; provide a predictable rotation.
• Seat options for observation breaks and a private “coach cue” (teacher whisper prompt) if needed.