Feelings & Body Signals

Overview

In this 30-minute session, preschool students (15 in class) will explore the connection between emotions and body signals. Through group discussion and role-play, children learn how different feelings are expressed non-verbally, enhancing their emotional literacy and body awareness.

---

Links to New Zealand Curriculum Refresh

Learning Area: Health and Physical Education (NZ Curriculum)

• Strand: Personal Health and Physical Development
• Key Competencies: Managing Self, Relating to Others, Participating and Contributing
• Achievement Objective:
  • At this stage (Preschool/Year 0): Students begin to recognise, describe, and express ideas about themselves and others.
  • Focus: Developing awareness of feelings through body language, recognising and expressing emotions appropriately.
• Health Curriculum Focus:
  • Developing understanding of feelings and how they relate to physical sensations and behaviours.
  • Learning to express emotions safely and appropriately through movement and non-verbal signals.

Competencies Targeted:

• Managing Self: Recognising emotions and linking them to body signals
• Relating to Others: Understanding others' emotions through observation of body language
• Communication: Expressing feelings through movement and gestures

---

Learning Outcomes (WALT)

• Recognise different emotions by observing body signals.
• Express their feelings using body language and movement.
• Participate in group discussions and role-play to explore emotional expression.
• Reflect on how their bodies show feelings.

---

Materials

• Emotion cards with simple faces (happy, sad, angry, scared, surprised)
• Space for movement (open classroom area or mat)
• Soft music for role-play transitions (optional)

---

Lesson Breakdown

1. Introduction & Warm-up (5 minutes)

• Circle time: Teacher welcomes students and introduces the lesson’s focus: "How does our body show feelings?"
• Show simple emotion cards one at a time.
• Ask children to imitate the facial expression and body posture that matches each emotion.
• Use simple language e.g., "When we feel happy, we smile and may jump or dance."

2. Group Discussion - Body Signals & Feelings (7 minutes)

• Use questions to prompt discussion, supporting language for all learners, including those with learning barriers:
  • "Can you show me how your body feels when you’re happy/sad/scared?"
  • "What do you do when you feel angry?"
• Teacher models using body language: slumped shoulders for sad, hands on hips for angry, etc.
• Encourage students to describe their feelings in their own words, using simple vocabulary and sentence stems:
  • "I feel ___ when my body feels ___."

3. Role-Play Activity (12 minutes)

• Divide children into pairs or small groups.
• Assign or let them choose an emotion card.
• Each group acts out their emotion using only their body and facial expressions — no words.
• Other children guess the emotion being expressed.
• Teacher supports children with autism or dyslexia by providing visual supports and prompting gentle guidance.

4. Reflection & Sharing (5 minutes)

• Sit back together. Discuss how we used our bodies to show how we feel.
• Use guided questions to encourage metacognitive reflection:
  • "How did you show happy/sad/scared through your body?"
  • "Did your body feel different when you showed different feelings?"
• Invite children to share their favourite emotion and how they show it.

---

Assessment

Formative assessment through observation:

• Teacher notes each student’s ability to:
  • Recognise and name emotions,
  • Demonstrate understanding of body language connected to emotions,
  • Participate in role-play expressing feelings non-verbally,
  • Reflect verbally or non-verbally on their emotional expression.

Reflection checklist for teacher:

• Does the student recognize at least two different emotions?
• Can the student express emotions using body signals during role play?
• Does the student engage respectfully with peers during discussion and activities?

---

Teaching Tips for Diverse Learners

• Use clear visual cues and gestures to support verbal language.
• Provide extra encouragement and modelling for children with autism to interpret and use body language.
• Allow alternative means of expression (e.g., drawing feelings) for children who struggle with verbal reflection.
• Keep instructions simple, with repetition and short segments to maintain attention span.

---

Links to Curriculum Resources & Pedagogy Support

This lesson aligns with principles of:

• Inclusive Practice: Offering varied expression options, mindful of neurodiversity and cultural differences.
• Holistic Development: Addressing emotional, physical, and communicative development integrated into health education.
• Active Learning: Hands-on role-play to engage learners kinesthetically and socially.

---

Summary

Time	Activity	Focus
5 min	Introduction & Warm-up	Body language for feelings
7 min	Group Discussion	Recognising & naming feelings
12 min	Role-Play & Guessing Game	Expressing feelings non-verbally
5 min	Reflection & Sharing	Connecting body & emotions

This highly interactive and sensory-rich approach supports preschoolers’ development of self-awareness and communication skills in engagement with their peers, fully aligned with the New Zealand Curriculum Health and Physical Education strand and key competencies .