PBSIS Social Skill Lesson 2
SESSION 2: Identifying Feelings
Sections / Materials / TimeI. Review Group Rules / Rules Poster / 5 minutes
II. Identifying Feelings / Flipchart, My Body poster / 15 minutes
III. Feelings Game / Feelings Game cards, hat or container / 20 minutes
IV. Homework Activity / Homework Handout / 5 minutes
SESSION 2: Identifying Feelings
I. Review Group Rules (5 minutes)
· Briefly remind students about the group rules and why they are important.
II. Identifying Feelings (20 minutes)
· Purpose: To have students learn the common feelings people have and the different physical signals associated with each feeling.
o NOTE: Younger students may need direct instruction on feelings. Based on the skill level of students pick the appropriate skill instruction below.
FOR YOUNGER STUDENTS OR STUDENTS WHO ARE NOT FAMILIAR WITH FEELINGS:
· NOTE: Skill instructors can use Feelings Game Cards or a book describing feelings to provide a visual for students. Additionally, live modeling of expressions associated with the different feelings would be beneficial to the students.
· Provide students with a visual representation of a person experiencing a feeling (using Feelings Game Cards, book, or model). Tell students the name of the feeling, a brief description of the feeling, when a person may experience this feeling (provide age-appropriate example), and how it makes a person feel (provide physical and cognitive characteristics).
s Example for “sad”: Show students the Feelings Game Card depicting sad. This is what someone can look like when they feel sad. Being sad means that you are upset, unhappy, or feel bad. You are not happy when you are sad. Like if your best friend moved away to a different school, you would feel sad because you miss seeing your friend every day. Or if you cannot play outside because it is raining, you may feel sad because you wanted to go outside in the sun. When people feel sad they will often have a frown on their face, they don’t want to play or do fun things, and sometimes they will cry when they are sad.
· Provide students with a personal example of experiencing the feeling described previously (include why and associated characteristics).
s Example for “sad”: One time I was sad because I had just adopted a puppy named Spot. He was very cute and I loved him right when I first met him. When I took Spot home I noticed that my nose began running and I started sneezing and coughing a lot. It turned out I was allergic to Spot – his hair made me sneeze, cough and feel sick. I had to give Spot away and I was very sad. I cried when I had to give him away and I did not want to do anything fun for several days because I felt very down and unhappy.
· Has anyone ever been <insert feeling described previously, e.g. sad> before? Ask students to describe what made them have that feeling and how they felt.
· Go through this process with several feelings.
· The feelings we talked about are examples of feelings that all people experience at some point. There are times when we all have feelings that make us feel good, like being happy or excited, and there are times when we all have feelings that do not make us feel good, like when we feel sad or mad. The important thing to know is that we all experience different feelings and it is normal and okay for us to have these feelings. Today we are going to learn more about feelings and how different feelings can make us behave.
FOR OLDER STUDENTS OR STUDENTS WHO ARE FAMILIAR WITH FEELINGS:
· Ask students to name different feelings they have experienced. List out on flip chart. If needed, give prompts to students to help them identify different feelings.
· These are examples of different feelings that all people experience at some point. There are times when we all have feelings that make us feel good, like being happy or excited, and there are times when we all have feelings that do not make us feel good, like when we feel sad or mad. The important thing to know is that we all experience different feelings and it is normal and okay for us to have these feelings. Today we are going to learn more about feelings and how different feelings can make us behave.
· I am going to act out a feeling and I want you to try to figure out what feeling it is. Look at my face and body for clues. If you think you know the answer raise your hand, but keep your guess to yourself until I call on you.
· The instructor should act out the emotion sad.
s Tip: When modeling emotions exaggerate expressions and actions
s Tip: Ideas for acting out sad: frown, scrunch face as if about to cry, hang your head, walk slowly, slump shoulders, sigh loudly
· Ask, how am I feeling? Call on students until the correct answer is given. That’s right, I’m sad. What were the clues that told you I was sad? Prompt students to describe the following:
Facial expression (e.g., scrunched up face, downward eyes/mouth)
Body cues (e.g., slumped shoulders, head down)
Sounds (e.g. sighs)
Behavior (e.g. walking slowly, putting head down on desk)
· We can often tell how people are feeling by looking at clues in how they look and what they do, like the looks on their face, the way they are standing, the sounds they make and how they act.
· Feelings also make our body do things on the inside. For example, sometimes when I am nervous my hands get sweaty (For students that may benefit from visual prompts, put up My Body poster and draw water droplets by the hands). Ask students how their body feels on the inside when they have different feelings.
s Tip: Use the poster to prompt sensations and feelings for different body parts and draw different sensations when possible (e.g., sweating, feeling hot, flushed cheeks, butterflies in stomach, racing thoughts, inability to focus, racing heart, etc.).
s Tip: Skill instructor may need to act out being sad again and tell students sensations associated with being sad. I’m going to act out being sad again but this time I’m going to tell you how my body feels on the inside. Again, exaggerate the expressions and actions associated with being sad. Say, my stomach feels funny, my head feels warm, and I feel like there is a big lump in my throat.
s Tip: Demonstrate as many feelings as necessary for students to understand the physical cues for feelings.
III. Feelings Game (20 minutes)
· Purpose: To give students the opportunity to practice identifying feelings and associated expressions, behavior and physical sensations.
· See Feelings Game Cards handout – cut out list of feelings.
· Place the feelings cards into a hat or container
· Conduct activity:
s We are now going to play the Feelings Game. Each of you is going to have a turn to pick out a piece of paper that has a feeling on it and act it out. Just like I did before. The other group members will try to figure out what the feeling is.
The game can be played with or without verbal clues. If verbal clues are used, instruct students that they can say words that describe physical sensations associated with the feeling (e.g., heart racing, hot), but they cannot say the name or synonym of the feeling while acting.
s Choose a student and have them pick a feeling card.
For students who have difficulty reading, privately tell each student what feeling they pulled out of the container.
Tip: For students who are shy or having difficulty acting out the feeling, give them ideas for how to act. You can tell them suggestions before and during their role-play.
s If the group has been unable to guess the feeling after 2 minutes the skill instructor should help the group arrive at the appropriate answer.
s After each feeling has been identified by the group, discuss how the group was able to tell how the student was feeling.
What was it about the way (student name) looked and acted that let you know he was (list feeling, e.g. angry)
TIP: Prompt descriptions about facial expressions, body cues, sounds, mannerisms, and behavior.
s Ask the students to share a time they experienced that feeling and how they acted, or a time they saw someone else act in a way that suggested they were experiencing that feeling.
s Celebrate each actor’s efforts!
s Conclusion of activity:
Today we learned about many different feelings. Something important we learned is that feelings have a big effect on what we look like on the outside and how we act. Ask, do people look different when they are mad verses sad? Yes, that’s right. Each emotion has different physical signals in our bodies. Give examples of student performance that demonstrated link between feeling and physical signals (e.g. person who was angry squinted their eyes and clenched fists but a person who was sad had a frown and had their hand hanging down). Paying attention to these cues will let us know how we and others are feeling.
One thing we are going to talk about during this group is how important it is to know how we are feeling. This seems like it should be easy – we should know when we are sad or mad – but sometimes it can be hard for us to stop and look for the clues and then we end up acting in a way that gets us in trouble because of our feelings. That is why it is important to pay attention to the clues our bodies give us. If we know how we are feeling it can help us to behave in ways that will not get us in trouble. Knowing our feelings will help us control and change our behavior so we are successful.
IV. Assign homework activity and departure (5 minutes)
· Purpose: Have students review skills about feelings discussed in session.
· Pass out the Homework Sheet and explain to students that they should draw a picture of a feeling they have felt before the next session.
s NOTE: Students can also be given the My Body handout and asked to draw how their body feels on the inside.
TIP: Suggest attending to challenging situations (i.e. when they were feeling mad, sad, worried, etc)
Feelings Game Cards
Mad/ Happy
Surprised
/ Frustrated
Excited
/ Embarrassed
Scared
/ Bored
Sad
/ Worried
Session 2 Homework
My Feelings
Directions: Draw a feeling you had and how your body felt. Include what was going on around you when you felt that emotion.
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NJ PBSIS (2014). NJPBSIS is sponsored by New Jersey Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs in collaboration with The Boggs Center, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. PBSIS is funded by I.D.E.A., Part B. www.njpbs.org