Friendly Faces: Social Cues

Melissa Premo

Tier 2

Lesson Plan

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.

Audience

4th Grade Students with Severe Learning Disabilities (Nonverbal, Autistic)

Time

20 minutes

Approach

Visual aids, direct instruction, and interactive practice with emotions.

Materials

Friendly Faces Slide Deck, Emotion Matching Worksheet, and Drawing materials (crayons, markers, paper)

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.

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Slide Deck

Friendly Faces: Social Cues

How do we know how someone feels?

We can look at their face!

(Image: Simple drawing of two cartoon faces, one neutral, one with a slight smile)

Introduce the lesson by asking students to think about how they show feelings. Explain that today we will learn about recognizing feelings in others by looking at their faces. Emphasize that we're looking at "friendly faces" to help them understand.

Happy Face!

This person is HAPPY! 😊

See their big smile?
Their mouth goes up!
Their eyes look bright!

(Image: Simple, clear drawing of a very happy cartoon face with a wide smile and bright eyes.)

Point to the happy face. Use clear, simple language. Emphasize the visual cues: upturned mouth, bright eyes. Model a happy face and encourage students to imitate if they are comfortable and able.

Sad Face...

This person is SAD. 😔

See their mouth goes down?
Their eyes might look watery.

(Image: Simple, clear drawing of a sad cartoon face with a downturned mouth and a tear.)

Point to the sad face. Explain the visual cues: downturned mouth, sometimes watery eyes. Model a sad face. Use careful language not to evoke actual sadness, but to help identify the expression.

Happy or Sad?

Can you tell the difference?

Look at these two faces. Which one is happy? Which one is sad?

(Image: Side-by-side simple drawings of a happy face and a sad face, without labels, for identification.)

Quickly review both emotions. Ask students to point to happy/sad on the screen or show with their own faces. Prepare to transition to the worksheet activity.

Worksheet

Emotion Matching Fun!

Name: __________________________

Instructions: Look at the faces below.
Draw a line from the face to the correct word. Then, draw a face in the empty box.

Section 1: Match the Faces!

(Image: Simple drawing of a happy cartoon face with a smile)

HAPPY
(Image: Simple drawing of a sad cartoon face with a downturned mouth)

SAD

Section 2: Draw Your Own!

Draw a HAPPY face:
Draw a SAD face: