Lesson Plan
Emotion Detective Yearlong Plan
Students will progressively build emotional vocabulary, self-awareness, and coping skills over 25 weekly 15-minute sessions, culminating in an individualized emotion-regulation plan.
Regular short check-ins and focused skill-building reinforce emotion identification, thought–behavior linkage, and coping strategy mastery to foster resilience in 8th graders.
Audience
Time
Approach
Materials
Prep
Prepare Yearlong Materials
10 minutes
Step 1
Week 1: Introduction & Emotion Vocabulary
15 minutes
Step 2
Week 2: Deep Dive – Happy & Related Emotions
15 minutes
Step 3
Week 3: Exploring Sadness
15 minutes
Step 4
Week 4: Understanding Anger
15 minutes
Step 5
Week 5: Managing Frustration
15 minutes
Step 6
Week 6: Navigating Anxiety
15 minutes
Step 7
Week 7: Harnessing Excitement
15 minutes
Step 8
Week 8: Surprise & Confusion
15 minutes
Step 9
Week 9: Cultivating Calm
15 minutes
Step 10
Week 10: Embarrassment & Shame
15 minutes
Step 11
Week 11: Pride & Confidence
15 minutes
Step 12
Week 12: Disappointment & Letdown
15 minutes
Step 13
Week 13: Mixed & Complex Emotions
15 minutes
Step 14
Week 14: Thoughts Identification & Reframing
15 minutes
Step 15
Week 15: Behavior Recognition & Reflection
15 minutes
Step 16
Week 16: Coping Strategy – Deep Breathing
15 minutes
Step 17
Week 17: Coping Strategy – Grounding
15 minutes
Step 18
Week 18: Coping Strategy – Positive Self-Talk
15 minutes
Step 19
Week 19: Coping Strategy – Physical Movement
15 minutes
Step 20
Week 20: Coping Strategy – Count to Ten
15 minutes
Step 21
Week 21: Coping Strategy – Visualization
15 minutes
Step 22
Week 22: Coping Strategy – Journaling
15 minutes
Step 23
Week 23: Strategy Selection & Practice
15 minutes
Step 24
Week 24: Building an Emotion-Regulation Plan
15 minutes
Step 25
Week 25: Reflection & Future Planning
15 minutes
Slide Deck
Emotion Detective
Objective
Emotion Identification
Thoughts & Behaviors Labeling
Practice Coping Strategy
Reflection & Next Steps
Worksheet
Activity
Activity
