Lesson Plan
Emotion Detective Lesson Plan
Students will identify and label four basic emotions—happy, sad, angry, and surprised—using visual cards and a feelings chart in a guided one-on-one session.
Building emotional awareness helps children recognize and communicate their feelings, laying the foundation for self-regulation, empathy, and positive social interactions.
Audience
Kindergarten
Time
15 minutes
Approach
Guided visual matching with discussion
Materials
Prep
Prepare Materials
5 minutes
- Print and laminate the Emotion Expression Cards.
- Print the Feelings Chart Poster and place it within the learning area.
- Review each emotion face and label to ensure familiarity before the session.
Step 1
Introduction
2 minutes
- Greet the student warmly and invite them to sit together.
- Explain: “Today you are my Emotion Detective! We’ll look at pictures of faces and name the feelings.”
Step 2
Emotion Identification Activity
5 minutes
- Show one card from the Emotion Expression Cards.
- Ask: “What emotion do you think this is?”
- Encourage use of vocabulary: happy, sad, angry, surprised.
- Offer prompts or choices if the student needs support.
Step 3
Feelings Chart Placement
5 minutes
- Invite the student to place the matched card on the correct section of the Feelings Chart Poster.
- Ask: “Can you tell me about a time you felt this way?”
- Listen and validate the student’s experiences.
Step 4
Wrap-Up and Feedback
3 minutes
- Review all four emotions by pointing to each on the chart.
- Praise the student’s detective work: “Great job naming and finding feelings!”
- Encourage them to notice emotions in themselves and others during the day.
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Slide Deck
Emotion Detective
Today you are my Emotion Detective!
Let’s explore feelings together.
Greet the student warmly. Say: “Welcome, Emotion Detective! Today we’ll look at feelings and learn to name them.”
Objective
By the end of our session, you will be able to:
• Name four feelings: happy, sad, angry, surprised
Explain the goal for the session. Read the objective aloud.
Materials
Show and point to each material as you introduce it.
Happy
This is a happy face from our Emotion Expression Cards.
Can you tell me a time you felt happy?
Ask: “What emotion do you see?” Wait for response. Then say: “Yes! This is Happy.” Follow with: “Can you tell me a time you felt happy?”
Sad
This is a sad face from our Emotion Expression Cards.
Can you tell me a time you felt sad?
Ask: “What emotion is this?” After identifying, say: “Correct—this is Sad.” Then prompt: “When have you felt sad?”
Angry
This is an angry face from our Emotion Expression Cards.
Can you tell me a time you felt angry?
Ask student to name the emotion before revealing. Say: “Great! This is Angry.” Then ask: “What makes you feel angry?”
Surprised
This is a surprised face from our Emotion Expression Cards.
Can you tell me a time you felt surprised?
Prompt: “What do you think this face shows?” After they say, say: “Yes—that’s surprised.” Then ask: “What surprised you recently?”
Feelings Chart
Let’s match each card to our Feelings Chart Poster.
Place Happy, Sad, Angry, and Surprised in the right spots.
Display the chart and invite the student to place each card in the correct spot. Ask them to name the emotion as they place it.
Review & Wrap-Up
We named all four emotions:
• Happy
• Sad
• Angry
• Surprised
Great job being an Emotion Detective!
Point to each emotion on the chart and ask the student to name it. Praise their detective work and encourage them to notice feelings during the day.
Activity
Emotion Exploration Activity
Description: A hands-on, tactile card-placement activity designed for a one-on-one, 15-minute session. Students will sort emotion cards on a feelings chart and discuss personal experiences to deepen emotional awareness.
Objective:
Students will accurately match and place four emotion cards—happy, sad, angry, surprised—onto the Feelings Chart Poster and articulate a moment they experienced each emotion.
Materials:
- Emotion Expression Cards
- Feelings Chart Poster
- (Optional) Velcro dots or magnets for attaching cards to the chart
Preparation (5 minutes)
- Lay the Feelings Chart Poster flat on the table or secure it to a magnetic board.
- Shuffle the Emotion Expression Cards and place them face down in a pile.
- Attach Velcro dots or magnets to the back of each card and chart section if using.
Steps
1. Card Selection (3 minutes)
- Invite the student to pick one card from the face-down pile.
- Ask: “What emotion do you think this is?”
- Prompt vocabulary: happy, sad, angry, surprised.
2. Matching (4 minutes)
- Encourage the student to place the card on the matching section of the Feelings Chart Poster.
- Guide them to say aloud: “This is a _____ face.”
3. Personal Connection (4 minutes)
- Once placed, ask: “Can you tell me about a time you felt ______?”
- Listen, validate, and model empathetic responses (“I understand how that feels!”).
4. Mystery Match (3 minutes)
- Shuffle all cards face down again.
- Have the student choose another without looking.
- Repeat matching and personal-connection questions.
5. Closure (1 minute)
- Review all four emotions on the poster together: Happy, Sad, Angry, Surprised.
- Praise the student: “You did great work being an Emotion Detective today!”
Extension:
If time allows, invite the student to draw one of the emotion faces in a sketchbook and label it with the emotion word.
Worksheet
Emotion Detective Worksheet
Part 1: Match and Glue
Cut out the emotion words at the bottom. Glue each word under the correct face.
- 😊 (Happy face)
____________ - 😢 (Sad face)
____________ - 😠 (Angry face)
____________ - 😲 (Surprised face)
____________
Words to cut out:
[ ] Happy [ ] Sad [ ] Angry [ ] Surprised
Part 2: Think & Draw
Choose one of the emotions above. Draw a picture of a time you felt that way, then write a sentence about it.
Drawing space:
Write about your drawing:
I felt __________ when ____________________________________________.
Answer Key
Emotion Detective Answer Key
Part 1: Match and Glue
For each face, students should glue the matching emotion word. Use the visual cues (mouth shape, eyebrows) to guide identification.
- 😊 (Happy face)
Answer: Happy
Reasoning: The mouth curves upward in a smile, and the eyes appear bright. Students can remember that happy faces look like a big smile. - 😢 (Sad face)
Answer: Sad
Reasoning: The mouth curves downward, and the eyes may look droopy or have a tear. This signals sadness. - 😠 (Angry face)
Answer: Angry
Reasoning: The eyebrows are drawn down and together, and the mouth is a straight line or a frown. This shows anger or frustration. - 😲 (Surprised face)
Answer: Surprised
Reasoning: The eyebrows are raised, and the mouth is an open “O.” This expression indicates surprise.
Part 2: Think & Draw
Students choose one emotion from above, draw a personal experience, then write a sentence. There is no single correct answer, but here are sample responses to guide grading:
• If the student picks Happy:
• Sample drawing: A birthday party with cake.
• Sample sentence: “I felt happy when I blew out the candles on my birthday cake.”
• If the student picks Sad:
• Sample drawing: A broken toy or a friend moving away.
• Sample sentence: “I felt sad when my toy car broke.”
• If the student picks Angry:
• Sample drawing: A child with furrowed brows after someone took a toy.
• Sample sentence: “I felt angry when my brother grabbed my truck.”
• If the student picks Surprised:
• Sample drawing: A gift being opened or a jack-in-the-box popping up.
• Sample sentence: “I felt surprised when I saw a puppy under the table.”
Grading Notes for Part 2
- Check that the student:
- Names the chosen emotion correctly in the sentence.
- Describes a plausible scenario that matches the emotion.
- Uses a complete sentence structure (capital letter, spaces, and end punctuation).
Praise students for sharing personal experiences and using emotion vocabulary accurately!