Naming Our Feelings

Overview

In this third lesson of Friendship and Feelings, students build on recognising helpful friendship behaviours by naming a wider range of emotions. They explore how feelings may change according to a situation, experience or body clue, and practise explaining feelings safely and respectfully.

Learning intentions

• WALT name a range of emotions.
• WALT describe how feelings can change in different situations.
• WALT connect a feeling with a situation or body clue.
• WALT use the sentence frame, “I feel ___ because ___.”

Success criteria

• I can name at least five different feelings.
• I can connect a feeling to a situation or body clue.
• I can explain that feelings can change.
• I can use “I feel ___ because ___” to communicate respectfully.

Curriculum links

• Bodies | Minds / Self-care: Strong emotions can affect the way people behave in different situations.
• Bodies | Minds: Storytelling and role-play help us explore how experiences and learning shape feelings and behaviours.
• Health and PE key competencies: managing self and relating to others.

Lesson structure (45 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Welcome and emotional check-in. Teacher welcomes students, explains that all feelings are valid and students may pass or share privately, then opens the feelings hook and learning intention. Students choose a colour, gesture or facial expression that shows how they feel today; no one needs to explain.

2. 5–12 min · Emotion wheel teaching. Teacher displays the emotion wheel and body-clue examples and introduces familiar and more precise words such as happy, excited, proud, worried, nervous, sad, angry, frustrated, calm and surprised. Model that the same event can create different feelings for different people and that feelings can change. Students select and say or point to feelings, then identify possible body clues, such as a fast heartbeat, tense muscles, tears, smiling or relaxed breathing.

3. 12–20 min · Facial-expression charades. Teacher demonstrates a respectful charade and reminds students not to guess personal experiences or tease classmates. In turn, each student chooses an emotion picture or word and acts it using face and body; the others guess and explain which clues helped them. Revisit the charades instructions and discussion prompts.

4. 20–28 min · Scenario matching. Teacher reads four or five neutral scenarios from the scenario matching slides, such as receiving kind words, losing a game, hearing unexpected news, joining a new activity or helping a friend. Students discuss which feelings might fit, using the feelings and scenarios worksheet to match or draw a feeling and add a body clue. Emphasise that more than one answer can be reasonable.

5. 28–38 min · Personal feeling thermometers. Teacher models a thermometer from calm/coping to very strong feelings, explaining that intensity can rise or fall and that people experience emotions differently. Students complete the personal feeling thermometer by choosing one feeling, adding colours or symbols for its intensity, and drawing or writing a situation and body clue. Students may use words, pictures, colour coding or movement choices instead of writing.

6. 38–43 min · Speaking practice and extension. Teacher models, “I feel nervous because I am speaking to the group,” and prompts students to practise with a partner or privately with the teacher. Students complete “I feel ___ because ___” using a fictional or everyday situation. Advanced learners identify mixed emotions, such as excited and nervous, and explain how the feelings might change before, during and after an event. Use the sentence-frame and mixed-emotions prompt.

7. 43–45 min · Plenary and exit check. Teacher returns to the review and exit prompt and invites students to share one new feeling word or body clue. Students complete the final box on the reflection and exit response: name one feeling, one situation or clue, and one way feelings can change.

Resources

• the Naming Our Feelings slide deck
• the feelings, scenarios and thermometer worksheet
• Emotion wheel display or projected image
• Emotion word and picture cards
• Coloured pencils or felt-tip pens
• Whiteboard and markers
• Optional read-aloud text about changing feelings
• Timer

Assessment

• Listen during the emotion wheel and charades for accurate emotion vocabulary and recognition of facial or body clues.
• Check scenario matches and thermometers for a clear connection between a feeling, situation and/or body clue; accept multiple appropriate interpretations.
• Use the exit response to identify students who can name five feelings and explain that feelings may change. Record students needing further support or a private follow-up.

Differentiation

• Provide emotion pictures, a colour-coded emotion wheel, word banks and sentence starters. Accept pointing, drawing, signing, movement or oral responses instead of extended writing.
• Use a dyslexia-friendly sans-serif font, large clear text, generous spacing, short instructions and read aloud all worksheet and slide text. Allow extra processing time and a scribe or speech-to-text option.
• Offer private check-ins and fictional scenarios for students who do not wish to discuss personal feelings. Avoid requiring eye contact, performance or disclosure.
• Pair students thoughtfully, model each task first, and reduce the number of scenarios for students who need a smaller workload. Extension students compare two possible feelings for one scenario, identify mixed emotions and explain how intensity might change.