Emotional Literacy: Naming Feelings Level: Lower Elementary (K-2) Timeframe: 20-30 Minutes Concepts: • Emotional Vocabulary • Emotions • Mindfulness

Call him Voldemort, Harry. Always use the proper name for things. Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself. —J.K. Rowling

Emotional Literacy: Naming Feelings Level: Lower Elementary (K-2) Timeframe: 20-30 minutes Concepts: • Emotional Vocabulary • Emotions • Mindfulness

Big Ideas For This Lesson Emotional Literacy is defined as,“the ability to identify, understand, and respond to emotions in oneself and others in a healthy manner.” 1,2 Pretty straightforward right? Consider, however, that there are over 4,000 emotional words in the English language 3 and that we typically only express/ hear a handful of these. The real power in teaching Emotional Vocabulary is in fostering the ability to name our Emotions.2, 4 By naming our emotions we bring conscious awareness to our experience and thereby decrease the power of unconscious emotions to drive our thoughts and behaviors. 5 Quite often the simple act of naming an emotion releases that experience and eliminates the need for any further action. This may sound counterintuitive and overly simplistic at first, but it really can be that easy. Awareness is a powerful tool in creating change. The ability to use emotional vocabulary is integral to our mindfulness practice. Through mindfulness we learn to become observers of our thoughts and emotions rather than letting our thoughts and emotions control us. We can also understand this through the lens of neuroscience. The brain is wired for survival (lizard- brain) and tends to fear what it does not know. Once a danger is identified, it can then be addressed by the frontal lobe and the brain’s alarm system is deactivated. The primary purpose of every emotion is to motivate us to take action to return to homeostasis. The Latin root of emotion is actually “to move out.” In this way we can understand that all emotions are helpful; sadness attracts attention, fear alerts us to danger, and happiness reinforces beneficial experiences. If we can name the emotion we can begin to understand what motivates our actions.

Essential Vocabulary Materials Emotional Literacy • Feelings Flash Cards Emotional Vocabulary • Feeling Faces: SEL Journal Page Emotions • Select a read-aloud book focused on a variety of emotions Feelings Synonyms • Book suggestions listed at end of this lesson

Preparation 1. Print and laminate the Feelings Flash Cards. 2. Print a second set of Feelings Flash Cards and create a poster for your classroom.

Teaching Script BUILDING BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE & CONCEPT MODELING (I DO)

Begin by asking students what feelings or emotions they know. When a student suggests an emotion, ask them to show you that emotion on their face or with their body.

What does it look like to be happy (excited, sad, mad)?

As students suggest emotions, hold up the corresponding Feeling Face Card and point out the similarities between the child and the card.

I notice that Sarah was smiling when she showed us ‘happy’ and I see a smile on this person’s face for ‘happy.’

GUIDED PRACTICE (WE DO)

Today we are going to read a story and see if we can figure out what the characters are feeling and we can learn some new feeling words! Read aloud one of the suggested books, or any story you know in which the characters experience a variety of emotions. Prompt students to identify the emotions and to ‘act them out’ on their own bodies. Engage students in a discussion about emotions/feelings and how important it is to know the names for emotions/feelings.

Sometimes, when we feel an emotion, it seems to take over our body. I’ve seen students get so angry that they scream and cry and throw things. But guess what? We have a special power inside of us with our mindfulness. If we can name our emotions, they have less power over us. We can use an I-Statement with ourselves, e.g., ‘I feel angry when my sister takes my toy. I’m going to take a deep breath and give her an I-Statement.’ Let’s practice naming our feelings.

Teaching Note: For older students, facilitate a whole class brainstorm by holding up flashcards of emotions and asking students to name 3-5 synonyms for each emotion. Emphasize that it’s good to know lots of names of emotions.

REINFORCING LESSON CONCEPTS (YOU DO)

Explain to students that they are going to play a game of charades. You will invite ‘actors’ to come up one by one and give them an emotion to act out. Then students in the audience can guess what emotion it is. Invite 3-5 students up and make sure to include a wide range of emotions, especially if they learned a new one today. Point out the physical traits that each emotion produces and how it feels in their bodies.

Teaching Note: As an extension, you can have the students explain a time when they have felt that emotion.

For a final discussion, reinforce with students that they will feel all kinds of emotions in their lives and that’s okay; that’s what makes us special as human beings.

What we have to practice is what we do with our feelings. Do we decide to hit someone when we are angry? Or do we take a deep breath and use an I Statement? But we can’t do an I-Statement unless we actually know what we are feeling. So that’s why we practice noticing our feelings.

Have students complete the Feeling Faces: SEL Journal Page for today.

EVIDENCE OF CONCEPT ATTAINMENT

Reflect on it Journal it

• What is the name of your emotion? Have students complete the Feeling • What triggered your emotion? Faces: SEL Journal Page for this lesson, drawing faces showing different feelings. Where in your body did you feel this • Allow students to use mirrors (if you have emotion? them) to see their own faces expressing • What are you going to do about it? the emotions!

EXTENSIONS

Classroom School-wide

• Incorporate emotion words into • Post emotion words and definitions in vocabulary lessons. public spaces. • Give students just a few minutes on • Combine emotional literacy with foreign a daily basis to practice using a new language acquisition and post feeling emotion word in a three-word words in other languages. sentence; think I-Statements! • Consider how identification of emotions can be incorporated throughout the Create a whole class feelings face book, • school day or even discipline practices e.g., Emotions Matching Game.5 (e.g., Ask students to identify their • Encourage students to identify feelings before proceeding with emotions of characters with the About disciplinary action). Face 6 computer game. • Teach students a song about emotions, e.g., “If You’re Happy and You Know It,” but create other verses (see example at the end of this lesson). • Expand students’ emotional vocabulary using this extensive Emotions Word List.2

REFERENCES

1. Emotional Literacy. (n.d.). Retrieved July 5, 2015, from http://eqi.org/elit.htm

2. Feeling Words. (n.d.). Retrieved July 5, 2015, from http://eqi.org/fw.htm

3. Alter, A. (2013, May 29). The Power of Names. Retrieved July 5, 2015, from http://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/the-power-of-names

4. Brackett, M., Elias, M., & Intagliata, C. (2013, August 9). Reading, Writing, ‘Rithmetic . . . and Respect? Retrieved July 5, 2015, from http://www.sciencefriday.com/segment/08/09/2013/ reading-writing-rithmetic-and-respect.html

5. B-Inspired Mama. (2012, July 11). DIY Kids Emotions Game & Emotions Download-B InspiredMama.com. Retrieved from http://b-inspiredmama.com/kids-emotion-matching-game-with-free/

6. PBS Kids. (n.d.). Arthur . Games . About Face. Retrieved April 19, 2016, from http://pbskids.org/arthur/games/aboutface/aboutface.html

7. Free Printable Flashcards - Emotion Flash Cards. (n.d.). Retrieved July 12, 2016, from http:// www.free-math-handwriting-and-reading-worksheets.com/free-printable-flashcards.html

READ-ALOUD SUGGESTIONS FOR EMOTIONAL LITERACY: NAMING FEELINGS

A to Z: Do You Ever Feel Like Me? A Guessing Alphabet Game of Feelings, Words, and Other Cool Stuff by Bonnie Hausman Feelings by Aliki Feelings to Share from A to Z by Todd Snow Happy Hippo, Angry Duck: A Book of Moods by Sandra Boynton How Are You Peeling? by Saxton Freymann In My Heart: A Book of Feelings by Jo Whek Lots of Feelings by Shelley Rotner Pink Tiara Cookies for Three by Maria Dismondy The Day the Crayons Came Home by Drew Daywalt The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle The Grumpy Morning by Pamela Duncan Edwards The Pout Pout Fish by Deborah Diesen The Way I Feel by Janan Cain The Word Collector by Sonja Wimmer Today I Feel Silly and Other Moods That Make My Day by Jamie Lee Curtis

IF YOU’RE HAPPY AND YOU KNOW IT (WITH OTHER FEELINGS)

If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands (clap clap). If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands (clap clap). If you’re happy and you know it, then your face will surely show it. If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands (clap clap).

If you’re sad and you know it, wipe your tears (wipe wipe). If you’re sad and you know it, wipe your tears (wipe wipe). If you’re sad and you know it, then your face will surely show it. If you’re sad and you know it, wipe your tears (wipe wipe).

If you’re proud and you know it, say “Hurray!” (hurr-ay!). If you’re proud and you know it, say “Hurray!” (hurr-ay!). If you’re proud and you know it, then your face will surely show it. If you’re proud and you know it, say “Hurray!” (hurr-ay!).

If you’re angry and you know it, stomp your feet (stomp, stomp). If you’re angry and you know it, stomp your feet (stomp, stomp). If you’re angry and you know it, then your face will surely show it. If you’re angry and you know it, stomp your feet (stomp, stomp).

If you’re excited and you know it, pump your fists (pump pump). If you’re excited and you know it, pump your fists (pump pump). If you’re excited and you know it, then your face will surely show it. If you’re excited and you know it, pump your fists (pump pump).