Understanding Our Emotions

Lesson Overview

Subject: PSHE
Year Group: Year 2
Lesson Duration: 40 minutes
Class Size: 8 students
Curriculum Area: Health and Well-being (Curriculum for Wales)
Specific Skill Focus: Understanding and Expressing Emotions

This lesson is designed to help Year 2 pupils explore their emotions using The Colour Monster by Anna Llenas. Pupils will engage in storytelling, discussion, and hands-on activities to develop emotional literacy and self-awareness.

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Lesson Objectives

By the end of this lesson, pupils will be able to:

✅ Recognise different emotions and associate them with colours
✅ Describe how different emotions feel and when they might experience them
✅ Begin to understand how to regulate emotions through discussion and creative tasks

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Lesson Structure

1. Introduction (5 minutes) – Setting the Scene 🌈

• Gather students in a circle and ask:
  • “How are you feeling today?” (Encourage simple responses – happy, sad, excited, tired.)
• Show the book The Colour Monster and ask:
  • “What do you think this book is about?”
• Discuss how the monster looks confused and mixed up with different colours, just like we sometimes feel more than one emotion at the same time.

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2. Story Exploration (10 minutes) – Reading and Discussion 📖

• Read The Colour Monster aloud, using expressive tones to bring emotions to life.
• After each emotion is introduced in the book, pause to discuss:
  • How does this emotion feel in our bodies? (E.g., “What happens when we feel sad? Do we feel heavy or quiet?”)
  • When do we feel this emotion? (Encourage personal examples.)
• As you read, display corresponding coloured emotion jars (coloured cups or paper visuals).

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3. Active Engagement (10 minutes) – Sorting Activity 🎨

• Give each pair of students a set of emotion cards with pictures of different facial expressions.
• Students work together to:
  • Identify the emotion shown
  • Match it to the correct colour from The Colour Monster (e.g., yellow = happiness, blue = sadness)
• Encourage pupils to describe a time they felt this way and what helped them manage it.

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4. Creative Expression (10 minutes) – My Own Colour Monster ✍️

• Each pupil receives a blank monster outline.
• Ask them to colour their monster to match how they’re feeling today. They can use more than one colour if they feel mixed emotions.
• Once finished, pupils explain their choices in a small group or to a partner.
• Encourage discussion: “What could we do if we feel a tricky emotion like anger or fear?”

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5. Reflection and Closing (5 minutes) – What We’ve Learned 🤔

• Recap the main emotions and colours.
• Introduce a simple emotional check-in for future lessons:
  • Each morning, students can place a small token in a coloured jar to show how they’re feeling.
• End with a calming breathing exercise:
  • “Breathe in happiness (big breath in), breathe out worry (slow breath out).”
• Praise participation and remind students that it’s okay to feel all emotions.

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Assessment & Differentiation

Formative Assessment:

✔️ Observe students’ engagement and verbal responses during the discussion.
✔️ Assess matching accuracy in the sorting activity.
✔️ Note how pupils describe their emotions in their colouring task.

Differentiation:

✅ For pupils who need extra support: Provide visual cues, offer simpler emotional vocabulary, and scaffold responses.
✅ For pupils needing a challenge: Ask them to describe strategies for managing emotions and explain how they differ in various situations.

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Resources Needed

🎨 The Colour Monster book
🎨 Printed emotion cards
🎨 Blank monster outlines + colouring pencils/crayons
🎨 Colour-coded jars or cups

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Teacher’s Reflection After the Lesson

• Did students engage with the concept of emotions through colour?
• Were any students particularly interested or struggling with certain emotions?
• How can this be built upon in the next lesson?

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This lesson blends storytelling, discussion, and creative expression to ensure pupils engage deeply with the topic of emotions. It lays the foundation for emotional intelligence and well-being in a fun and unforgettable way! 😊🌈