Feelings, Choices, Support

Overview

Students explore how everyday experiences can affect feelings and learn simple strategies for emotional regulation. Through discussion, role-play, and reflection, they practise identifying trusted people and choosing helpful actions when feelings become strong or relationships feel challenging.

Learning intentions

• WALT recognise and name a range of feelings.
• WALT notice how feelings can affect our bodies, thoughts, and actions.
• WALT practise strategies that help us manage strong feelings.
• WALT identify trusted people who can support us.

Success criteria

• I can name a feeling and describe how it might feel in my body.
• I can choose a safe strategy to help manage a strong feeling.
• I can explain how a situation might affect different people in different ways.
• I can name a trusted adult or support person I could talk to.

Curriculum links

• Health Education — Self-care: recognising everyday habits and experiences that affect emotional and physical development.
• Health Education — Self-care: learning to manage feelings and understand others to build relationships.
• Health Education — Self and others: recovering from setbacks through emotional regulation, problem-solving, and support networks.
• Health and Physical Education key competencies: managing self, relating to others, and participating and contributing.

Lesson structure (30 minutes)

1. 0–4 min · Welcome and emotional check-in. Teacher welcomes the five students and displays the opening feelings image and check-in prompt, reminding them that everyone may feel differently and students may pass if they do not wish to share. Students silently choose a feeling word, facial expression, or gesture to show how they are arriving.

2. 4–10 min · Notice and name feelings. Teacher uses the feelings teaching slides to introduce calm, happy, worried, frustrated, sad, and excited, modelling language such as, “I feel frustrated when…”. Ask, “Where might you notice this feeling in your body?” and “Could two people feel differently in the same situation?” Students discuss with a partner, then contribute examples; the teacher records respectful, non-personal responses.

3. 10–17 min · Strategy modelling. Teacher presents the regulation strategy slides and models a simple sequence: pause, take three slow breaths, name the feeling, choose a safe action, and ask for help. Demonstrate strategies such as breathing slowly, counting, stretching, taking a quiet space, drawing, talking to someone, or trying again. Students practise the breathing and stretching strategies together, then identify which might help in different situations.

4. 17–24 min · Small-group scenarios and role-play. Teacher shows the scenario prompts one at a time, for example: “Your game does not go the way you hoped”, “Someone leaves you out”, or “You make a mistake in your work”. In pairs or as a group of three, students discuss: “How might the person feel?”, “What could they do next?”, and “Who could help?” Students role-play one safe response, using the sentence frame, “I might feel ____. I could ____. I could ask ____ for help.” Avoid asking students to disclose real upsetting experiences.

5. 24–28 min · Individual reflection. Teacher distributes the feelings and support reflection sheet and explains that students may draw or write. Students complete a feeling/body clue, one helpful strategy, and a trusted person they could approach. Circulate and conference quietly, checking that each student can identify at least one safe support person.

6. 28–30 min · Plenary and exit response. Teacher returns to the closing reflection slide and asks, “What is one kind or safe choice we can make when feelings are strong?” Students share one idea or complete the sentence aloud: “When I feel ____, I can ____.” End by reinforcing that asking a trusted adult for help is a strength, not a failure.

Resources

• the feelings, strategies, scenarios, and reflection slide deck
• the feelings and support reflection sheet
• Whiteboard and marker
• Pencils and colouring tools
• Optional calm space, cushion, or sensory object
• Timer

Assessment

• Listen during the check-in and discussion for accurate feeling vocabulary and recognition that people can respond differently to the same event.
• Observe role-plays for safe regulation strategies, respectful listening, problem-solving, and appropriate help-seeking.
• Review the reflection sheet: students should identify one body clue, one helpful strategy, and one trusted support person. Follow up privately with any student who cannot identify a safe adult.

Differentiation

• Provide feeling picture cues, gesture choices, and sentence starters: “I notice…”, “I could…”, and “I can ask…”.
• Allow students to draw, point, act, or dictate responses rather than requiring extended writing.
• For students who need support, reduce the number of feeling choices, rehearse the role-play with the teacher, and offer a quiet space or movement break.
• Use names and examples familiar to the class, while respecting different whānau, cultural, and community support networks. Accept trusted adults such as a parent, caregiver, kaumātua, teacher, coach, or another safe person nominated by the child.
• Extend confident students by asking them to explain why a strategy may help and how they could support a friend without trying to solve the whole problem themselves.