Creating Emotion Word Banks

Overview

This 45-minute session is Lesson 2 in a 3-lesson unit on "Expressing Emotions Through Poetry" for Year 3 students (ages 7-8). The lesson focuses on expanding students’ vocabulary and emotional understanding by creating emotion word banks, promoting collaborative learning, and applying this rich vocabulary in poetic writing. The activities are aligned with the National Curriculum for England, specifically targeting English programmes of study for Year 3.

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National Curriculum Links

• English: Reading – Comprehension
  • Draw on knowledge of vocabulary to understand texts (Year 3 Programme of Study).
• English: Writing – Composition
  • Plan writing by discussing and recording ideas; draft and write by organising paragraphs around a theme (Year 3).
• English: Writing – Vocabulary, Grammar and Punctuation
  • Use expanded noun phrases and descriptive language to convey meaning clearly (Year 3).
• PSHE (Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education)
  • Recognise and understand a range of feelings in self and others (Year 3).

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Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson, pupils will:

• Identify and select a range of emotion-related vocabulary to describe specific feelings.
• Create and organise a personal word bank of descriptive words and phrases linked to chosen emotions.
• Collaborate with a partner to discuss word banks and explore usage in poetry.
• Compose a short poem using their word banks to express emotions vividly through language.
• Develop awareness of how descriptive words enhance mood and meaning in poetry.

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Resources Needed

• Large paper or whiteboard for group brainstorming
• Individual whiteboards or notebooks for word banks
• Emotion cards or pictures depicting various emotions (e.g., happy, sad, excited, anxious)
• Thesauruses (print or digital) for vocabulary enrichment
• Coloured pens and pencils
• Sample short poems displaying rich emotional language (prepared by teacher)

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Lesson Structure

1. Introduction (5 minutes)

• Recap previous lesson: Briefly revisit how poetry can express feelings and emotions.
• Introduce today’s focus: creating emotion word banks as a tool to enrich poetic language.
• Share learning objectives with the class in child-friendly language.

Teacher prompts:

"Last time, we talked about how poems can show feelings. Today, we're going to collect all the best words to describe those feelings so our poems become even more colourful and strong."

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2. Emotion Word Bank Creation (10 minutes)

• Activity:
  1. Display 4-5 emotion cards on the board (e.g., joy, fear, surprise, anger, calm).
  2. Whole class brainstorm: Generate descriptive words and phrases for each emotion, with the teacher recording suggestions visibly. Prompt with questions like:
     • What words tell us someone is feeling this way?
     • What might we see, hear, or feel when someone is this emotion?
  3. Students then choose one or two emotions they feel comfortable with and create their own word bank in notebooks or on whiteboards, including adjectives, similes, and metaphorical phrases.

Differentiation:

• Support lower-attaining learners with a starter list of words for each emotion.
• Encourage advanced learners to include figurative language such as metaphors or onomatopoeia.

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3. Partner Sharing & Discussion (8 minutes)

• Pair up students to share their emotion word banks.
• Pairs discuss which words stand out and how they might be used in poetry to express emotions effectively.
• Encourage use of questions to deepen thinking:

  "Why does the word ‘shivering’ make the feeling of fear clearer?"
  "Can you think of a way to ‘show’ anger without saying the word itself?"

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4. Group Poem Writing Activity (15 minutes)

• Organise students into small groups of 4-5.
• Each group selects an emotion from their word banks and collaboratively composes a short poem (4-6 lines).
• Prompt groups to use a mix of nouns, adjectives, similes, and verbs from their emotion banks to create vivid images.
• Teacher circulates to support language choices and encourage creativity.

Example Prompt:

"Let’s write a poem about ‘joy’. What words from your banks can paint a happy picture for someone reading your poem?"

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5. Sharing & Plenary (7 minutes)

• Groups read their poems aloud to the class.
• Positive peer feedback focusing on use of descriptive emotion words.
• Recap the importance of rich vocabulary in poetry.
• Highlight how word banks can help with future poetry writing.

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Assessment

• Formative: Observations during brainstorming, partner discussions, and group writing to assess vocabulary use and understanding of emotions.
• Summative: Evaluate group poems against success criteria: use of emotion words, clarity of feeling conveyed, and creativity in expression.

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Extension Activities for Advanced Learners

• Create emotion word banks for more complex or abstract emotions like nostalgia or anticipation.
• Write individual longer poems (8-10 lines) incorporating personification or alliteration based on their word banks.
• Explore synonyms and antonyms to expand vocabulary further and create emotional contrast in poetry.
• Peer-teach a small part of the lesson, helping others find richer words.

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Useful Teacher Tips

• Use visual aids and emotive storytelling to engage learners emotionally.
• Model how to think about emotions deeply — not just as words but as sensations, images, and experiences.
• Encourage expressive read-alouds of poems to hear emotion in language.
• Celebrate all attempts at using new vocabulary to boost confidence.

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This lesson encourages emotional literacy alongside literacy skills, nurturing empathy and creativity key for holistic development in Year 3 learners.