Lesson: Feelings

Year: 0 | Subject: Personal, Social and Emotional Development | Time Allocation: 100%

Class/Set: ____________ Date/Term: ____________

LO (WALT): To recognise and name the feelings of happy and sad.

Success Criteria (WILF):

1. I can use my face to show a happy expression and a sad expression.
2. I can identify if a character in a story is feeling happy or sad.
3. I can name one thing that makes me feel happy and one thing that makes me feel sad.

1. Starter (15% - 20 minutes)

Justification: Establishes a safe emotional environment and uses immediate visual feedback to hook the children.

• Gather: Bring the children to the carpet in a circle for a focused session.
• Introduce: Show the children the 'Magic Mirror'.
• Model: Look into the mirror and pull a very clear happy face (wide eyes, big smile).
• Ask: "Look at my face. How do you think I am feeling? How can you tell?"
• Explain: Point to your mouth turning up and your "twinkly" eyes.
• Invite: Pass the mirror around the circle. Each child looks into the mirror and practices their 'Big Happy Smile'.
• Repeat: Perform the same sequence for a 'Sad Face' (downward mouth, drooping shoulders, perhaps a pretend tear).
• Discuss: Briefly talk about how our bodies feel when we are happy (bouncy, light) versus sad (heavy, quiet).

2. Main Activity (70% - 90 minutes)

Justification: Combines adult-led explicit instruction with child-initiated continuous provision to embed emotional literacy through play and sensory exploration.

Teacher Input (20%):

• Narrate: Read a short, age-appropriate story or use puppets to describe two scenarios.
• Script: "Class, listen to my friend, Barnaby Bear. Barnaby was walking in the park and he dropped his ice cream right on the floor! Oh no. Let's look at Barnaby's face. Is he happy or is he sad?"
• Demonstrate: Use a 'Feelings Fan' or large A4 cards showing a clear happy face and a clear sad face.
• Explain: "When we are sad, our mouth might turn down like a crescent moon. When we are happy, our mouth turns up like a sunshine smile."
• Model: Show the children the 'Emotion Sorting Tray'.
• Explain: "Today, we have photos of children's faces. We need to decide if they are wearing a sunshine smile or a crescent moon frown."
• Check: Hold up a photo of a crying child. Ask the children to "Put on the face" they see in the photo.

Student Task (50% - Continuous Provision):

• Facilitate: Set up the following 'Invitations to Play' across the classroom environment.
• Provision 1 (Creative): Model: Show children how to use yellow and blue playdough on 'Face Mats' (laminated sheets with blank heads). Task: Children create playdough features to show a happy or sad face.
• Provision 2 (Small World): Explain: Place 'Emotion Stones' or small figures in the sand pit. Task: Children act out stories where the characters find something they like (happy) or lose a toy (sad).
• Provision 3 (Literacy/Oracy): Scribe: Sit with children at the 'Writing Table'. Task: Children draw a picture of what makes them happy. The teacher or TA marks the "Success Criteria" by scribing the child's words underneath (e.g., "I am happy when I go to the park").
• Provision 4 (Malleable/Sensory): Invite: Use a 'Tuff Tray' filled with shaving foam or coloured sand. Task: Children use their fingers to draw 'Happy Faces' and 'Sad Faces' in the texture, describing the shapes they are making.

3. Plenary (15% - 20 minutes)

Justification: Consolidates learning through a physical game to check for individual understanding and emotional mirroring.

• Game: Play 'Emotional Statues'.
• Explain: "We are going to dance to some music. When the music stops, I will shout a feeling. You must turn into a statue with that feeling on your face!"
• Action: Play upbeat music. Stop and shout "HAPPY!" Observe children's facial expressions.
• Action: Play slower, melancholic music. Stop and shout "SAD!" Observe children's body language (slumping, frowning).
• Review: Ask the children to give a 'thumbs up' if they found it easy to spot a happy face today.
• Reflect: Remind the children that it is okay to feel sad sometimes, and they can always tell a 'Grown-up' or a 'Talk Partner'.

4. Resources

• A large, safe 'Magic Mirror'.
• Feelings puppets (e.g., Barnaby Bear) or 'The Colour Monster' book.
• A4 Emotion Cards (Happy/Sad).
• Playdough (Yellow for happy, Blue for sad) and laminated face mats.
• Tuff Tray and sensory materials (shaving foam/sand).
• Small world figures and 'Emotion Stones'.
• Drawing paper and felt-tip pens.

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⚠ TEACHER’S GUIDANCE

💡 Pedagogical Pulse

• Carpet Session Etiquette: For Year 0, ensure the 'Starter' is delivered on the carpet to minimize distractions. Use a "Talking Stick" or "Feelings Pebble" to manage turn-taking during the circle time.
• Oracy Focus: At this age, children may have the emotional vocabulary but lack the phonetic skills to write. Focus heavily on 'Talk for Learning'. Encourage children to use full sentences: "The boy is happy because..."
• Misconception Alert: Children often think you can only be happy or sad. If a child suggests another emotion (like 'angry' or 'scared'), acknowledge it as a "big feeling" but gently guide them back to the core focus of the lesson to ensure the 'Low Access' threshold is maintained.
• SEND Support: For children with ASD or social communication difficulties, provide 'Emotion Fans' with real-life photographs rather than illustrations to help them map expressions to real human faces.

🎯 Task Mapping & Solutions

• Task A: Playdough Faces

  • Student Action: Creating a smile or frown using playdough.
  • Teacher Key: Observe if the child correctly orients the "curve" of the mouth. A happy smile should curve upwards; a sad frown should curve downwards.

• Task B: Emotion Sorting

  • Student Action: Placing photographs into 'Happy' or 'Sad' hoops.
  • Teacher Key: Check for accurate sorting. If a child misplaces a photo, ask: "Look at their eyes. Are they crying or sparkling?" This prompts the child to self-correct based on visual evidence.

• Task C: Drawing 'What Makes Me Happy'

  • Student Action: Drawing a personal experience and explaining it.
  • Teacher Key: The 'Answer' here is subjective. The pedagogical goal is the link between the internal feeling and the external event. Ensure the scribed sentence matches the child's intent (e.g., "I am happy when I play with my dog").

• Task D: Emotional Statues

  • Student Action: Mimicking emotions on command.
  • Teacher Key: This is your primary assessment point. Note any children who struggle to change their expression or who look to peers for cues, as they may require further intervention in 1:1 emotional literacy sessions.