Identifying Feelings Lesson Plan

1. Have students brainstorm as many different feelings as they can and list them on the board. Group similar feelings (ie angry, mad, furious, etc.) together. Discuss why feelings are neutral and why only the way we handle them can be labeled as good or bad.

2. Draw a three columned table on the board. Label the tops of the columns with the following terms: Situation, Physical Cues, and Body Language. Taking each feeling or group of feelings one at a time, have students work their way through the chart. The examples described below use “anger” for the purpose of demonstration:

• Examples of situations that might result in angry feelings. Students can use situations they have experienced or imagine situations that might apply.
• The physical cues that often accompany angry feelings (for example, racing heart, sweaty palms, loud voice, etc.) Point out to students that when they start to notice themselves experiencing these physical cues, that this is their body’s way of telling them that they are experiencing intense feelings. The goal is for students to recognize these signs early on before the anger gets out of control.
• Body language cues that often accompany angry feelings (clenched fists, angry face, folded arms, etc.) Point out to students that when they see these “clues” in another person, that person may be angry. This helps students to start to identify angry feelings in others, whether the feelings are verbalized or not.

For more advanced groups, students can be divided into small groups of four or five to work on this activity. In this case, students should be given a paper copy of the chart to record their responses. For this format, have students share their answers with the whole group when they are finished.

3. Expand the activity with discussion questions:

• Why are feelings neutral rather than good or bad?
• Why do people sometimes describe their feelings as good or bad?
• Why is it important to be specific when describing feelings?
• How might recognizing the physical cues for feelings in ourselves help us manage our feelings better?
• How can recognizing angry body language be helpful in our interactions with others?
• Why does the same situation affect different people differently?
• Does everyone have the same feelings? Why or why not?

4. Follow up this activity by bringing the learning gained here into the real world. Give students practice in identifying body language and recognizing their own internal cues. Help them learn how to use this knowledge to address feelings before they get too intense. Early recognition and identification of feelings is one of the keys to good coping skills.

You may also be interested in Positive Thinking Lesson Plan or Problem Solving Lesson Plan.

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