In this lesson students will learn to identify basic feels happy, sad, scared and mad

This lesson is designed to be taught in person in 15 minutes sections over the course of 1-2 weeks.

Artwork credit for faces happy, sad, scared, mad: Katie Willard

To teach this lesson, you will need an understanding of basic child development.

This lesson alignes with Health Education Standards for 3-year olds

Mental and Emotional Health

Standard HE 3 yr.3.1
With prompting and support, express, identify, and label emotions (for example, happy, sad, angry, afraid) and feelings (for example, thirsty, hungry, hot, cold, tired).

Learning Intentions:

• Students will be able to identify happy, sad, scared, and mad

Success Criteria:

• Students will identify emotions happy, sad, scared, and mad.

Student Background Knowledge

Students needs no prior background knowledge before completing this lesson.

Strategies for Diverse Learners

Visual supports are available and may be used to provide an alternative answering method for limited verbal students.  The lesson can be individualized by using situations and events which are familar to the student.

Instructional Procedures:

Lessons and activities are intended to be taught during 15 minute sessions across a 1-2 week period of time.  Select the activities which will be relevlent to your students.

Introduce the happy, sad, scared, and mad faces (attached at bottom of section).   Demonstrate each feeling to student.  Talk about things that make you happy, sad, scared and mad.  

Hand out happy and sad faces on to each child taped on popscicle stick.  The teacher stands in front and models happy or sad using facial expressions and body language.  Have the students hold up appropriate stick.  Repeat with mad and scared faces.  (Feeling faces are attached at bottom of section.)

Put the happy, sad, scared, mad faces in paper bag (faces attached at bottom of section).  Have students pick out a face, then practice making that face in the mirror.

Have students draw happy, sad, scared, and/or mad faces on pictures.

Have children cut out children/situaltions from magazines and sort them into feeling catefories of happy, sad, scared and mad.

Using whipped toping, shaving cream, or finger paint, have students draw faces (happy, sad, etc) in sensory medium.

Place feelings poster near door.  Have students identify their own feelings by pointing to the appropriate feeling as they transition to other locations in their day. (Emotion chart attached at bottom of section may be used as poster.)

Sing  If your happy and you know it

Watch clips from from the following and talk about emotions Danel Tiger and friends display

Daniel Gets Mad/Katirna Gets mad

Duckling Goes Home/Daniel Feels Left Out

Something special for Dad/I love you Mom

Daniel gets a shot/A stormy night

Play Daniel Tiger Neighborhood Guess the Feeling Guess the Feeling

Artwork Credit 

Happy © 2021 by Katie Willard is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0 

Mad © 2021 by Katie Willard is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0 

Sad © 2021 by Katie Willard is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0 

Scared © 2021 by Katie Willard is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0 

Formative assesment: observe the student in classroom activities.

Summative assesment: