Understanding Our Emotions

Lesson Overview

• Subject: PSHE
• Topic: Emotional Literacy
• Year Group: Year 5
• Lesson Duration: 30 minutes
• Class Size: 30 pupils
• SEN Consideration: A third of the class is on the SEN register
• Focus Areas: Emotional regulation, conflict resolution, discussion-based learning, paired activities, reflection

Curriculum Links – UK PSHE Education

This lesson aligns with the PSHE Association’s Programme of Study (KS2) under the core theme of Health and Wellbeing, specifically:

• H17 – Recognising feelings and how they affect thoughts and behaviour.
• H19 – Strategies to manage feelings in a range of situations.
• R12 – Skills to resolve conflicts positively and fairly.

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Lesson Objectives

By the end of this lesson, pupils will:

1. Identify and name a range of different emotions.
2. Understand how emotions influence behaviour and interactions.
3. Practise a simple strategy for managing emotions in tricky situations.

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Lesson Structure

1. Starter Activity – The ‘Emotion Jar' (5 minutes)

Purpose: Gets children thinking about emotions and sets a foundation for discussion.

• Prepare a small jar (or an imaginary one) with slips of paper inside, each listing a different emotion (e.g. excitement, frustration, disappointment, pride).
• Ask a pupil to pick one slip and read the emotion aloud.
• In pairs, children discuss:
  • Have you ever felt this emotion?
  • What might cause someone to feel this way?
• Take quick class feedback on a few emotions to draw out different experiences.

SEN Consideration: Provide visuals of facial expressions to support understanding of different emotions.

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2. Main Activity – ‘Emotion Switchboard’ (15 minutes total)

Part 1 – What Emotions Look Like (7 minutes)

Purpose: Encourages discussion on recognising emotional cues in others.

• Display four key emotions on the board: Happy, Angry, Worried, Confused.
• In pairs, pupils discuss:
  • What does this emotion look like on someone’s face?
  • What body language might show this emotion?
• Select pairs to act out an emotion (no words, only expressions and gestures).
• Class guesses which emotion is being presented and discusses how they knew.

SEN Consideration: Use emotion cards with faces/body language depicted for additional support.

Part 2 – Solving Conflict (8 minutes)

Purpose: Provides a structured approach to handling emotional situations.

• Introduce the simple Stop-Think-Respond method:
  1. Stop – Pause before reacting.
  2. Think – What emotion are you feeling? What do you want to happen?
  3. Respond – Choose a calm approach.
• Give pairs a short scenario (e.g. "Your friend didn’t pick you for their team", "Someone took your seat at lunch").
• One partner reacts without thinking, the other follows Stop-Think-Respond.
• Swap roles and discuss:
  • What worked better?
  • How did taking time to think help?

SEN Consideration: Offer visual cue cards for Stop-Think-Respond to scaffold their thinking.

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3. Reflective Task – My Personal Toolbox (5 minutes)

Purpose: Encourages self-awareness and personal emotional strategies.

• Each pupil writes or draws two personal strategies they could use when dealing with a strong emotion (e.g. deep breathing, counting to ten, talking to a friend).
• Share a few examples with the class.
• End the lesson with a group affirmation, e.g., "We can control our emotions and handle challenges calmly."

SEN Consideration: Provide sentence starters (e.g. "When I feel upset, I can...") to aid reflection.

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Assessment for Learning (AfL)

✅ Observations during discussions and role-play.
✅ Listening to explanations during Stop-Think-Respond.
✅ Reviewing personal strategy cards for self-regulation ideas.

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Resources Needed

• Emotion Jar (or word cards)
• Emotion visual aids
• Scenario cards
• Sentence starters for reflection

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Adaptations for Diverse Learners

✔ Use visuals and gesture-based prompts for SEN support.
✔ Provide additional adult support for group discussions.
✔ Allow verbal responses for pupils who struggle with writing.
✔ Offer role-play scenarios with clear prompts for confidence-building.

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Key Takeaway Message

Emotions are normal, but how we handle them is our choice! This lesson will help children build emotional awareness and practical conflict-resolution skills they can use in everyday life.

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Teacher Reflection After Lesson

📝 Did engagement levels remain high?
📝 Which discussion techniques worked best?
📝 How can strategies introduced today be reinforced in future lessons?

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This plan is designed to be engaging, discussion-based, and inclusive for all Year 5 pupils, supporting their emotional development in an interactive and structured way. 😊