Lesson 3 — Feelings in My Body

Summary

Learners learn that feelings are not only in the mind — they show up in the body. They meet four feeling spots: a fast heartbeat (excited or scared), a fluttery tummy (nervous), hot cheeks (mad or embarrassed), and heavy shoulders (sad). They practice noticing and naming the feeling their own body is showing them.

Objectives

• Notice where a feeling shows up in the body, such as a fast heartbeat when excited, and name the feeling. (D03.S1.02.02)

Connection

Think of a time you waited for a surprise — maybe a gift or a visitor. Did your heart beat fast and your body feel light and bouncy? That is the feeling of excitement showing up in your body. Feelings have homes in your body. When you learn their homes, you can read what your body is telling you.

Materials

• Feeling-in-the-body cards (fast heartbeat, fluttery tummy, hot cheeks, heavy shoulders)
• A bell or shaker (optional)

Preparation

• Print or draw the four feeling-in-the-body cards.
• Have the bell or shaker ready for the quiet body-check.
• Arrange a circle for gathering and the acting game.

Facilitator note

This lesson is written to the learner (“you”) so it works in a classroom and for a self-directed learner. Prepare the cards and bell, then guide the body-check and acting game. This spirals up from Grade 1’s body signals (hunger, thirst, tiredness) and from Grade 2 Unit 1’s feeling vocabulary — now feelings and bodies come together. Handle feelings with care: never require a learner to share a private feeling aloud, and never make a feeling “good” or “bad.” A fast heartbeat from excitement and one from fear are both okay to have. Offer writing or drawing as equal ways to share. Hold up each feeling card as you name it, so learners who are deaf or hard of hearing can follow the acting game without needing to hear the word. There is no correct answer — noticing is the skill.

Procedure

1. Gather (5 min). Sit still and put a hand on your chest. Can you feel your heartbeat? It is always there, steady and quiet. Sometimes it changes when you feel something.
2. Meet four feeling spots (15 min). Feelings show up in the body. Meet four: fast heartbeat — your heart drums when you are excited or scared; fluttery tummy — your tummy flutters when you are nervous; hot cheeks — your cheeks warm when you are mad or embarrassed; heavy shoulders — your shoulders droop when you are sad. Act out each one and touch the spot.
3. Acting game (10 min). When you hear a feeling (or see its card held up), act it out and touch the spot: “You are excited!” — fast heartbeat. “You are nervous!” — fluttery tummy. “You are mad!” — hot cheeks. “You are sad!” — heavy shoulders.
4. Body-check now (10 min). Close your eyes for a quiet moment. What is your body feeling right now — fast heart, fluttery tummy, warm cheeks, or heavy shoulders? Name it to yourself, then share with a partner only if you want.
5. Close (5 min). Your body tells you how you feel. Listening to it is a way of being kind to yourself.

Differentiation

• Support: Introduce one feeling spot at a time and act it out together before moving on.
• Extension: Ask learners to name a time they felt each feeling and where exactly it showed up for them.

Assessment

• Formative (observation): Can the learner match a feeling to its body spot and name one feeling their own body is showing them?

Resources

• World Health Organization — global health and wellbeing reference: https://www.who.int/

Home connection

Ask someone at home where a feeling shows up in their body, and share where it shows up in yours.