Lesson 202: Naming emotions

❤️ SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING (40 Lessons) • 🟢 A. Understanding Myself

← Back to Level 1

Objective

I can use simple feeling words like happy, sad, angry, scared, calm, and excited to name my emotions. I can match feeling words to faces and short stories, and say safe "I feel…" sentences.

Materials

Mini-lesson — Using words for feelings

A feeling is what happens on the inside. We use emotion words to tell others how we feel.

Some feeling words

  • Happy — I feel good inside. I might smile or laugh.
  • Sad — I feel low or upset. I might cry or feel like crying.
  • Angry — I feel hot and tight. I might frown or want to shout.
  • Scared — I feel worried or unsafe. My heart might beat fast.
  • Calm — I feel peaceful. My body is relaxed.
  • Excited — I feel full of energy in a happy way.
  • Proud — I feel good about something I did well.
  • Worried — I keep thinking about something that might go wrong.

Matching words to faces

  • Look at the eyes, mouth, and body.
  • Is the mouth smiling or turned down?
  • Are the eyebrows relaxed or pulled in?
  • Does the body look calm or tight?

"I feel…" sentences

  • "I feel happy when I play with my friend."
  • "I feel sad when my toy breaks."
  • "I feel angry when someone pushes me."
  • "I feel scared when there is a loud storm."

All emotions are okay. If a feeling is very big or hard, we should talk to a trusted adult helper.

Picture strip: Emotion word row

Guided Practice — Match faces and feeling words

You and an adult will practise matching feeling words to faces and stories.

  1. On a page, the adult draws or shows four simple faces: happy, sad, angry, and scared.
  2. Under each face, write the feeling word in pencil: "happy", "sad", "angry", "scared". The adult can help you trace.
  3. Point to one face. The adult asks, "What feeling word matches this face?" Say the word out loud.
  4. Now the adult tells a very short story, for example: "My ice cream fell on the ground." You choose which feeling word fits best and say, "I feel sad."
  5. Repeat with other stories, such as:
    • "My friend pushed me in line." (angry)
    • "I am going on a fun trip." (excited or happy)
    • "There is a loud storm at night." (scared)
  6. Take turns. You make up a tiny story and let the adult guess the best feeling word. Then swap again.
Tracing Pad
Tracing snapshot for print
Tip: Say a full "I feel…" sentence as you trace, such as "I feel proud of my work."

Practice — Emotion word stories

Use this practice to help your child connect feeling words to short everyday stories.

  1. Draw a quick two-column chart on a page. At the top of the first column, write "Little story". At the top of the second column, write "Feeling word".
  2. In the first column, the adult writes or draws three or four tiny stories, for example:
    • "I lost my favourite pencil."
    • "My friend shares a snack with me."
    • "I have to speak in front of the class."
    • "I finished a big puzzle all by myself."
  3. For each story, talk together about which feeling word fits best (happy, sad, angry, scared, calm, excited, proud, worried).
  4. In the second column, the child writes or traces the feeling word next to the story. Then they say a full sentence, such as:
    • "I feel sad when I lose my pencil."
    • "I feel happy when my friend shares a snack."
    • "I feel worried when I speak in front of the class."
    • "I feel proud when I finish a big puzzle."
  5. If a story could have more than one feeling, talk about that too. For example, a new trip might feel excited and scared at the same time.

Quick Check — Naming emotions

Answer each question about feeling words, faces, and short stories.

1) What does an emotion word do?

Emotion words help us tell how we feel on the inside.

2) Which is an emotion word?

"Happy" is a feeling word. "Pencil" and "table" are not feelings.

3) You see a face with teary eyes and a mouth turned down. Which word fits best?

Teary eyes and a turned-down mouth are clues for sad.

4) Your heart is beating fast. Your tummy feels wobbly. Which feeling word might fit?

A fast heart and wobbly tummy can be clues for scared.

5) Which sentence is a good "I feel…" sentence?

"I feel…" sentences talk about your own feelings.

6) Which feeling word might fit this story: "My friend shared their snack with me"?

Most children would feel happy in this story.

7) Which feeling word might fit this story: "I broke something that I worked hard on, but I fixed it and finished"?

When you finish something hard, you can feel proud.

8) Which sentence is true about emotions?

All emotions are okay. We still need to choose safe, kind actions.

9) Your feeling is very big and hard to handle. What is the best thing to do?

Talking to a trusted adult is the safest choice.

10) What is one big goal of this lesson?

We want to learn feeling words and use them in safe "I feel…" sentences.

Assessment (parent/teacher)

Exit ticket (student)

Next time I will practise…

← Lesson 201 Lesson 203 →