Expressing Emotions

Overview

This 45-minute lesson introduces Year 3 students to the concept of expressing emotions through poetry. It aligns with the statutory requirements of the National Curriculum for English (England) focusing on Spoken Language, Reading, and Writing. Students will begin to build an emotional vocabulary and appreciate how poets use language to express feelings. This is the first of three lessons in the unit "Expressing Emotions Through Poetry."

National Curriculum Links

Reading - comprehension (Year 3)

Understand what they read, in books they can read independently, by drawing inferences such as inferring characters’ feelings, thoughts and motives from their actions, and justifying inferences with evidence
Reference: English Programmes of Study - Reading, Years 3 and 4

Writing - composition (Year 3)

Plan their writing by discussing writing similar to that which they are planning to write, learning from its structure, vocabulary and grammar

Spoken Language

Articulate and justify answers, arguments and opinions
Participate in discussions, presentations, performances, role play, improvisations and debates

Learning Objectives

By the end of the lesson, pupils will:

Identify and describe a variety of emotions using appropriate vocabulary (National Curriculum: Reading – drawing inferences about feelings)
Understand how poets use words and phrases to convey different emotions (Reading comprehension)
Begin to build a personal word bank of emotion-related vocabulary to use in creative writing (Composition and Spoken Language)
Engage in collaborative discussions to express and explain feelings (Spoken Language)

Resources

Copies of selected excerpts from Today, I Feel by Gervase Phinn (age-appropriate poems expressing different emotions)
Whiteboard and markers or interactive whiteboard
Emotion word mats (colourful sheets with words describing different feelings)
Large paper and markers for class brainstorming
Individual notebooks or paper for jotting down new words
Feelings flashcards (illustrations with emotion words)

Lesson Structure

1. Starter Activity – Emotion Charades (8 minutes)

Aim: Activate students’ prior knowledge about emotions
Pupils play a quick game where the teacher or a pupil acts out an emotion (e.g., happy, sad, scared, excited) without speaking.
Class guesses the emotion and discusses briefly what clues told them the feeling.
This encourages non-verbal expression understanding and primes vocabulary awareness.

2. Introduction to Emotions & Poetry (7 minutes)

Teacher explains: “Poets often write about feelings and emotions, using special words to help readers understand how they feel.”
Read aloud selected excerpts from Today, I Feel with expressive intonation, pause to highlight words and phrases that describe emotions (e.g., ‘lonely,’ ‘joyful,’ ‘worried’).
Discuss: Ask pupils how the poem’s words made them feel or picture in their mind.

3. Group Brainstorm – Building an Emotion Word Bank (10 minutes)

In groups of 5, pupils brainstorm words and phrases that express emotions inspired by the poem and their own ideas. Use emotion word mats and feelings flashcards as prompts.
Groups add words to a large class mind map on the whiteboard, grouped by emotion types (e.g., happy, angry, scared).
Teacher models writing more complex or descriptive phrases inspired by pupils’ contributions (e.g., “my heart feels light like a balloon”).

4. Vocabulary Exploration and Use (12 minutes)

Each pupil copies five new emotion words or phrases into their notebook.
In pairs, pupils practise using these words in simple sentences (“I feel __ when __.”).
Volunteers share sentences aloud, fostering speaking and listening skills as per the Spoken Language objective.
Teacher provides scaffolding to extend sentences or include similes/metaphors from the poem style.

5. Reflection and Mini Assessment (5 minutes)

Verbal quiz: Teacher asks quick questions like: “Which word means feeling very happy?” or “How could you describe being scared without saying ‘scared’?”
Pupils respond individually or in pairs, demonstrating understanding of emotional vocabulary and expression.

6. Plenary – Exit Ticket (3 minutes)

Pupils write or draw one new emotion word or phrase they learned today on a sticky note and place it on a board labelled ‘Our Emotional Vocabulary’.
This will be revisited in future lessons to build continuity and track progress.

Differentiation

Support: Pupils needing extra help can work with an adult to explore basic emotions and use word mats. Sentence starters provided: “I feel ___ when ___.”
Challenge (Extension Activities):
- Write a short four-line poem focused on one emotion using sensory language.
- Create own metaphors or similes to describe feelings (e.g., “My anger is like a volcano ready to explode”).
- Act out an emotion and write descriptive sentences for the class to guess.
- Reflect on why the poet might have chosen certain words to describe feelings, deepening inference skills.

Assessment

Formative assessment through:

Observation of participation in discussions and group brainstorming
Accuracy and creativity in sentence construction using new words
Responses in verbal quiz and exit ticket activity demonstrating understanding of emotion vocabulary
Teacher notes on pupils’ ability to infer and express feelings based on reading excerpts

Homework / Extension

Ask pupils to keep a simple ‘Emotion Diary’ for two days, writing one sentence or drawing one picture each day about how they felt and why.
Bring one interesting emotion-related word or phrase to the next lesson to share with the class.

Reflection and Next Steps

Review the effectiveness of the group brainstorming and poem reading to ensure all pupils engaged with emotions vocabulary.
Plan for subsequent lessons to deepen poetry writing skills, focusing on creating their own poems to express emotions using today’s vocabulary foundation.
Integrate cross-curricular links with PSHE (Personal, Social, Health and Economic education), reinforcing emotional literacy.

Teaching Instructions