Friendly Faces: Social Cues
Students will be able to identify and respond to visual social cues (happy, sad) by observing facial expressions.
Understanding social cues helps students better interpret emotions in others and interact more effectively in social situations, reducing frustration and building connections.
4th Grade Students with Severe Learning Disabilities (Nonverbal, Autistic)
Visual aids, direct instruction, and interactive practice with emotions.
Prep
Preparation Steps
10 minutes
- Review the Friendly Faces Slide Deck for familiarity.
* Print out copies of the Emotion Matching Worksheet.
* Gather drawing materials (crayons, markers, paper) for each student.
* Ensure a quiet and comfortable learning environment, minimizing distractions.
Step 1
Warm-Up: How Do You Feel?
3 minutes
- Teacher: Greet students and ask them to show with their hands how they are feeling today (e.g., thumbs up for good, thumbs down for not so good).
* Observe student responses. For nonverbal students, observe body language or offer picture cards of emotions for them to point to.
* Introduce the idea that we can often tell how people feel by looking at their faces.
Step 2
Introducing Happy and Sad
7 minutes
- Teacher: Present the Friendly Faces Slide Deck (Slides 1-4).
* Teacher: Point to the 'Happy Face' slide. Explain: "This person is happy! See their smile? Their eyes look bright and their mouth is curved up."
* Teacher: Model a happy face. Encourage students to imitate if they are comfortable.
* Teacher: Point to the 'Sad Face' slide. Explain: "This person is sad. See their mouth is curved down? Their eyes might look a little watery."
* Teacher: Model a sad face.
* Teacher: Use simple gestures or prompts for students to identify happy vs. sad from the slides, e.g., "Point to happy," "Show me sad with your face."
Step 3
Interactive Practice: Emotion Matching
7 minutes
- Teacher: Distribute the Emotion Matching Worksheet and drawing materials.
* Teacher: Guide students through the worksheet. "Look at the faces. Draw a line from the happy face to the happy word/picture. Draw a line from the sad face to the sad word/picture."
* Teacher: For students who benefit from more direct support, provide hand-over-hand guidance or point to the correct matches. Encourage students to draw a happy or sad face next to the correct words on the worksheet.
Step 4
Cool-Down: Show Me!
3 minutes
- Teacher: "Okay, everyone! Let's show one more time. Can you show me a happy face?" (Pause for responses).
* Teacher: "Great! Now, can you show me a sad face?" (Pause for responses).
* Teacher: Review what was learned: "Today we learned about happy and sad faces. Knowing how people feel helps us be good friends!"
* Collect worksheets. Provide positive reinforcement.
