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Are You a Mood Detective?

Lesson Plan

Mood Detective Training

Students will be able to identify and describe various emotions and understand how their body feels during different moods, developing a foundational understanding of self-awareness and self-reflection.

Understanding our moods helps us navigate our day, build better relationships, and manage challenges. This lesson provides students with essential tools to become more emotionally intelligent and self-aware.

Audience

4th Grade Class

Time

45 minutes

Approach

Through engaging activities and discussion, students will explore emotions and their physical manifestations.

Materials

Whiteboard or projector, Markers or pens, Cracking the Emotion Code Slide Deck, Emotion Charades Game Cards, and Today's Mood Report Cool Down

Prep

Review Materials

15 minutes

Step 1

Warm-Up: What's the Vibe?

5 minutes

  1. Begin by asking students: "What's the 'vibe' of our classroom right now? What does that even mean?"
    2. Encourage a few students to share their initial thoughts on what 'vibe' or 'mood' means to them. Connect it to feelings.

Step 2

Introduction: Mood Detectives Assemble!

10 minutes

  1. Introduce the concept of being a "Mood Detective" using the Cracking the Emotion Code Slide Deck.
    2. Explain that mood detectives investigate feelings, both their own and others

  2. Use slides 1-3 to set the stage and introduce key vocabulary like 'emotion,' 'mood,' and 'self-awareness.'
    4. Facilitate a brief discussion on why it's helpful to be a mood detective (e.g., understanding ourselves, getting along with others).

Step 3

Activity: Emotion Charades

15 minutes

  1. Divide students into small groups (3-4 students per group).
    2. Explain the rules of Emotion Charades Game: One student acts out an emotion from a card without speaking, while their group tries to guess the emotion.
    3. Emphasize that students should try to show physical cues for each emotion.
    4. After each guess, have the group briefly discuss: "How did you know? What physical clues did you see?"
    5. Circulate around the room, providing support and prompting deeper thinking.

Step 4

Discussion: My Body, My Mood Barometer

10 minutes

  1. Bring the class back together.
    2. Lead a discussion using slides 4-6 of the Cracking the Emotion Code Slide Deck about how different emotions feel in our bodies.
    3. Ask questions like: "Where do you feel anger? What about excitement?"
    4. Encourage students to share examples of how their bodies tell them what mood they're in (e.g., 'butterflies in my stomach' for nervousness).

Step 5

Cool Down: Today's Mood Report

5 minutes

  1. Distribute the Today's Mood Report Cool Down worksheet.
    2. Instruct students to complete it individually, reflecting on their current mood and how it feels in their body.
    3. Collect the cool-down slips as an informal assessment of understanding and self-reflection.
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Slide Deck

Welcome, Mood Detectives!

Are you ready to investigate? 🕵️‍♀️
We're going to become experts at understanding feelings!

Welcome students and introduce the exciting idea of becoming a 'Mood Detective.' Ask them what they think a detective does and how that might relate to feelings.

Emotions vs. Moods

Emotions:

  • Quick feelings (happy, sad, surprised, angry)
  • Like a flash of lightning!

Moods:

  • Longer-lasting feelings (joyful, grumpy, calm)
  • Like the weather—it can last for a while!

Introduce the key terms 'emotion' and 'mood.' Explain that emotions are quick feelings, and moods are longer-lasting. Give simple examples for each.

Your Mood Superpower: Self-Awareness

Self-awareness means:

  • Knowing your own feelings.
  • Understanding why you feel them.
  • It helps you be in charge of YOU!

Explain what self-awareness means in simple terms: knowing yourself and your feelings. Emphasize that it's a superpower for understanding why we feel the way we do.

Where Do You Feel Your Feelings?

Our bodies give us clues about our moods!

  • Where do you feel excited?
  • Where do you feel nervous?
  • Where do you feel calm?

Transition to discussing how emotions feel in the body. Ask students to think about where they feel different emotions. This sets up the discussion portion of the lesson.

Body Clues: Examples!

Happy:

  • Light heart, big smile, bouncy energy

Nervous:

  • Wobbly knees, butterflies in stomach, quick breath

Angry:

  • Tight muscles, hot face, fists clenched

Provide examples of physical sensations connected to specific emotions. Encourage students to share their own experiences. Make it relatable.

Be a Mood Detective Every Day!

Keep an eye out for those body clues.

  • What is your body telling you right now?
  • The more you practice, the better you become!

Summarize the importance of being a mood detective. Reinforce that noticing body clues helps us understand our emotions. Connect it to the cool-down activity.

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Game

Emotion Charades Game Cards

Instructions for Students:

  1. In your small group, one person will pick an emotion card.
  2. Act out the emotion without speaking. Use your face, your body, and your movements to show how that emotion feels.
  3. Your teammates will try to guess the emotion.
  4. Once they guess it, briefly discuss: "What clues did you see? How did my body show that emotion?"
  5. Take turns so everyone gets a chance to act!

Emotion Cards (Cut these out!)

Card 1

Emotion: Happy












Card 2

Emotion: Sad












Card 3

Emotion: Angry












Card 4

Emotion: Surprised












Card 5

Emotion: Scared












Card 6

Emotion: Excited












Card 7

Emotion: Confused












Card 8

Emotion: Proud












Card 9

Emotion: Shy












Card 10

Emotion: Frustrated












Card 11

Emotion: Calm












Card 12

Emotion: Annoyed












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Cool Down

Today's Mood Report

Name: ________________________

Date: ________________________

Be a Mood Detective!

  1. What emotion or mood are you feeling right now?
    (Circle one or write your own!)Happy | Sad | Calm | Excited | Tired | Grumpy | Confused | CuriousMy own word: ________________________







  2. How does this mood feel in your body? (Check all that apply, or write your own!)







    • 🔲 My heart is beating fast.
    • 🔲 My tummy feels fluttery.
    • 🔲 My muscles feel tight.
    • 🔲 I feel relaxed and loose.
    • 🔲 My face feels warm.
    • 🔲 I have a lot of energy.
    • 🔲 I feel slow and heavy.
    • 🔲 Other: ___________________________________________
  3. What is one thing that might be making you feel this way?























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