Comfortable and Uncomfortable Feelings

Overview

This is Lesson 3 of 7 in the Year 3 unit "Feelings and Positive Thinking" designed according to the National Curriculum for England PSHE framework. The 45-minute lesson focuses on enhancing pupils’ understanding of comfortable versus uncomfortable feelings through engaging, age-appropriate role-play and reflective discussions.

National Curriculum Links

Health and Wellbeing (PSHE Association Programme of Study):

Pupils should learn: to recognise a range of feelings and develop vocabulary to describe these feelings accurately.
Key Stage 2 relevant statements:
- "To recognise and respond appropriately to a wider range of feelings in others."
- "To understand how feelings can affect behaviour and how to manage uncomfortable feelings."
- "To develop strategies to manage challenging situations and ask for help when needed."

Learning Objectives

By the end of the lesson, pupils will:

Identify and differentiate between comfortable (positive/welcoming) and uncomfortable (negative/unwelcome) feelings.
Express feelings through verbal and non-verbal communication during role-play.
Reflect on their own and others’ emotional experiences in a safe, supportive environment.
Develop simple strategies to manage uncomfortable feelings positively.

Resources Required

Emotion cards depicting various feelings (happy, calm, nervous, scared, excited, angry, sad, confused).
Scenario cards for role-play reflecting everyday situations (e.g., making a new friend, losing a toy, being in trouble).
Large feelings chart with split columns: ‘Comfortable Feelings’ and ‘Uncomfortable Feelings’.
Emoji stickers or coloured tokens (green for comfortable, red for uncomfortable).
Space for role-play activities.
Reflective journal or worksheets for pupils (optional).

Lesson Structure

1. Introduction (5 minutes)

Recall and Connect:
Begin with a quick recap of lessons 1 & 2 about feelings and positive thinking. Ask pupils:
“Can you remember some feelings you learnt about?” Write a few responses on the board.
Set Learning Intention:
“Today, we are going to look more closely at what makes us feel comfortable or uncomfortable and how we can express these feelings in a safe way.”

2. Exploring Comfortable vs Uncomfortable Feelings (10 minutes)

Display the feelings chart with two columns: ‘Comfortable’ and ‘Uncomfortable.’
Introduce emotion cards one-by-one, and as a class, decide where each feeling belongs, giving reasons.
Encourage pupils to use feeling vocabulary accurately, e.g., “I feel anxious when I don’t understand something.”
Use prompts such as:
“How does this feeling make our body feel?”
“Can someone give an example of when they might feel this?”

3. Role-Play Activity (20 minutes)

Group Work: Divide the class into small groups of 3-4 pupils.
Distribute scenario cards to each group – scenarios should include both comfortable and uncomfortable situations.
Pupils take turns role-playing the scenario, focusing on expressing the feelings involved. Encourage the use of emotion words and body language.
After each role-play, groups discuss:
- Which feelings were comfortable/uncomfortable?
- How did the characters respond?
- What could they do to manage any uncomfortable feelings?
Circulate to support groups and ask probing questions that deepen understanding.
Optional: Groups can assign tokens to their feelings on the emotion cards or chart.

4. Class Discussion and Reflective Sharing (7 minutes)

Invite volunteers to share their favourite role-play experiences.
Facilitate a whole-class discussion on strategies used to handle uncomfortable feelings (e.g., deep breaths, asking for help, positive self-talk).
Summarise key points on managing feelings positively.
Emphasise the importance of a safe environment for sharing feelings and showing respect for others’ experiences.

5. Plenary and Assessment (3 minutes)

Quick quiz: show a feeling card and ask, “Is this a comfortable or uncomfortable feeling?”
Use thumbs up/down or emoji tokens to check understanding.
Ask pupils to reflect silently or jot down one new thing they learnt today about feelings.
Collect any reflective journals/worksheets if used.

Assessment Opportunities

Formative: Observations during group discussions and role-play (engagement, accurate use of vocabulary, empathy shown).
Verbal: Responses to questioning and participation in the plenary quiz.
Written (optional): Short reflection or drawing of a comfortable and an uncomfortable feeling and strategies to manage them.

Differentiation

Support: Provide sentence starters or emotion word banks for pupils who need help expressing feelings. Visual cues from emotion cards aid understanding.
Challenge: Encourage more articulate learners to describe causes and consequences of feelings or suggest additional coping strategies.

Extension Ideas

Invite pupils to keep a daily feelings diary at home noting times they felt comfortable or uncomfortable and how they responded.
Create a "Feelings Wall" in the classroom where pupils anonymously post notes about how they felt that day.

Behaviour and Safeguarding Notes

Establish clear ground rules for respect and confidentiality—feelings are personal and must be treated sensitively.
Encourage active listening and kindness.
Remind pupils they can opt out of role-play if uncomfortable but encourage gentle participation.

This lesson plan not only aligns with the statutory PSHE national curriculum but also creatively develops pupils’ emotional literacy through active engagement, ensuring Year 3 students gain meaningful, practical understanding of their feelings within a supportive classroom environment.