Whole Earth Curriculum WEC

Lesson 04 — Reading Feelings

Learners read feelings from three clues — face, voice, and body — and practice guessing a classmate's feeling, then checking their guess by asking.

D02 P1: Emotional & Social Awareness D02.S2 45 minutes Draft

Objectives

Essential question

How can I tell how a classmate feels?

facevoicebodyclueguess

Materials

Standard materials

Low-tech / no-cost

Enriched / lab & device

Works in different contexts

Three cards show where the feeling "sad" shows up — on the face (frown and tear), in the voice (a soft "oh…" with wavy lines), and in the body (slumped shoulders and arms hugging in). A strip below shows the check step "Are you feeling sad?" with yes and no answers, teaching that a guess must be checked by asking.
Three cards show where the feeling "sad" shows up — on the face (frown and tear), in the voice (a soft "oh…" with wavy lines), and in the body (slumped shoulders and arms hugging in). A strip below shows the check step "Are you feeling sad?" with yes and no answers, teaching that a guess must be checked by asking.

Lesson 4 — Reading Feelings

Summary

Learners discover that feelings show up in three places — the face, the voice, and the body — and practice reading those clues to guess how a classmate feels. They learn that a guess is a guess, and checking it by asking is the kind, careful step.

Objectives

  • Guess how a classmate feels by reading their face, voice, or body. (D02.S2.01.01)

Connection

People show feelings even before they say a word: a frown, a quiet voice, tight shoulders. When you learn to read these clues, you become a better friend, because you can notice how someone feels and ask if they are okay.

Materials

  • Feeling face cards (happy, sad, angry, scared, calm)
  • Paper and crayons

Preparation

  • Arrange a circle for gathering.
  • Set out the feeling face cards where all can see them.

Facilitator note

Empathy is a skill children build by noticing others (CASEL’s relationship and social-awareness competencies). Keep guessing light and playful, and always add the safety step: a guess must be checked, because faces can fool us. A learner may carry feelings this lesson touches; keep the tone warm and give space. No learner needs to see faces to read feelings: voice and body clues — and asking — are a complete, non-visual path. For a learner with low vision, lead with voice and body and describe the faces aloud. Read the procedure aloud; model each feeling with face, voice, and body.

Procedure

  1. Gather (5 min). Sit in a circle. Think: how do you know when a friend is happy without them telling you?
  2. Three clues (10 min). Feelings show up in three places: your face (a smile, a frown), your voice (loud, soft, shaky), and your body (jumping, curled up, arms crossed). Meet the feeling cards and say each feeling in all three ways.
  3. Feeling charades (15 min). One person picks a feeling and shows it with face, voice, and body — no words. The others guess. Then the actor says if the guess was right.
  4. Check your guess (10 min). Guess is a guess — faces can fool us. Practice the kind question: “Are you feeling sad?” Ask it with a soft voice and wait for the answer.
  5. Close (5 min). Remember: to understand a friend, look, listen, and ask. Reading feelings takes all three.

Differentiation

  • Support: Limit to two or three feelings; model each clue one at a time. For a learner with low vision, use voice and body only and say the face clue aloud (e.g., “her mouth is smiling”).
  • Extension: Have learners show the same feeling two different ways (a quiet sad and a loud sad) and discuss how feelings are not all one shape.

Assessment

  • Formative (observation): Can the learner point to the face, voice, or body clue that reveals a feeling?
  • Peer (guess-and-check): Did the learner check their guess by asking the actor?

Resources