Lesson Plan
Grief: Feeling Our Feelings Lesson Plan
Students will recognize grief as a natural reaction to loss and practice identifying and articulating their emotions related to it.
Understanding grief helps students cope with loss, express feelings healthily, and build emotional resilience. This lesson provides a safe space for students to explore their emotions.
Audience
Elementary School Students
Time
30 minutes
Approach
Interactive discussion, personal reflection, and a creative activity.
Materials
Whiteboard or projector, Grief: Feeling Our Feelings Slide Deck, My Grief Journey Worksheet, Discussion Cards Activity, Markers or colored pencils, Paper/drawing supplies, and Emotion Charades Game
Prep
Teacher Preparation
15 minutes
- Review the Grief: Feeling Our Feelings Lesson Plan and all supporting materials.
- Prepare the whiteboard or projector for the Grief: Feeling Our Feelings Slide Deck.
- Print copies of the My Grief Journey Worksheet.
- Cut out the Discussion Cards Activity cards.
- Gather markers, colored pencils, and drawing paper.
- Familiarize yourself with the Emotion Charades Game rules and prepare any necessary props (optional).
Step 1
Warm-Up: What is a Feeling?
5 minutes
- Display the first slide of the Grief: Feeling Our Feelings Slide Deck.
- Ask students: "What are some different feelings we can have?" (e.g., happy, sad, angry, surprised).
- Discuss that feelings are normal and everyone has them. Explain that today we will talk about a feeling called grief.
Step 2
Introducing Grief
8 minutes
- Present the slides on grief from the Grief: Feeling Our Feelings Slide Deck.
- Define grief as a normal feeling we have when we lose something or someone important to us.
- Give age-appropriate examples of loss (e.g., a pet moving away, a favorite toy breaking, a friend moving schools, a grandparent passing away).
- Emphasize that grief looks different for everyone and there's no right or wrong way to grieve.
Step 3
Exploring Feelings with the Worksheet
7 minutes
- Distribute the My Grief Journey Worksheet.
- Guide students through the worksheet, encouraging them to draw or write about a loss they've experienced and the feelings they had.
- Circulate and provide support, affirming their feelings without judgment.
Step 4
Group Discussion: Sharing and Listening
7 minutes
- Transition to the Discussion Cards Activity.
- Explain rules for respectful sharing and listening (e.g., one person speaks at a time, no interrupting, it's okay to pass).
- Use the discussion cards to prompt sharing about feelings related to loss. Facilitate a supportive and empathetic environment.
Step 5
Cool Down: Emotion Charades
3 minutes
- End the lesson with the Emotion Charades Game.
- Students take turns acting out an emotion they might feel when grieving (e.g., sadness, anger, confusion, quietness).
- Other students guess the emotion. This helps to normalize and recognize different expressions of grief.
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Slide Deck
Grief: Feeling Our Feelings
Understanding and expressing our emotions when we experience loss.
Welcome students. Begin by asking, "What are some different feelings we can have?" Encourage a range of answers (happy, sad, angry, surprised, excited). Emphasize that all feelings are normal and everyone experiences them. Introduce that today we will be talking about a specific feeling called grief.
What Are Feelings?
- Everyone has feelings!
- Feelings help us understand ourselves and the world.
- Feelings are normal and important.
Ask students what they think feelings are. Guide the discussion to define feelings as internal experiences that tell us how we react to things happening around us. Explain that feelings are a natural part of being human.
What is Grief?
Grief is a feeling we have when we lose something or someone important to us.
It's a natural and normal reaction to loss.
Introduce the term 'grief.' Explain it in simple terms: a big, strong feeling we have when something important to us is gone. Provide examples of loss relevant to elementary students, such as:
- A pet moving away or passing away
- A favorite toy breaking
- A friend moving to a new school
- A grandparent or family member passing away
- Losing something special, like a drawing or a game.
Emphasize that grief is a normal response to any kind of loss, big or small to them.
Grief Can Feel Like Many Things
When we grieve, we might feel many different emotions:
- Sadness
- Anger
- Confusion
- Loneliness
- Worry
- Tiredness
There's no right or wrong way to feel.
Discuss that grief isn't just one feeling. It can bring many different emotions. Ask students what feelings they might have if they lost a pet or a favorite toy. Prompt them to think beyond just 'sad.' List some common feelings associated with grief: sadness, anger, confusion, loneliness, even guilt or worry. Stress that everyone's grief looks different.
Expressing Our Feelings
It's important to let our feelings out in healthy ways:
- Talk to a grown-up you trust (parent, teacher, counselor).
- Draw pictures or write in a journal.
- Play and be active.
- Cry if you need to.
Sharing helps us feel better!
Explain that it's okay and healthy to express these feelings. Ask students, "How do you show your feelings?" (e.g., crying, talking, drawing, playing). Introduce safe ways to express grief, like talking to a trusted adult, drawing, writing in a journal, or doing something calming. Reiterate that keeping feelings inside can make them feel bigger and harder to manage.
Let's Explore Our Feelings!
We are going to do some activities to help us think about our feelings when we experience loss.
Remember to be kind to yourself and to others as we share.
Briefly introduce the worksheet and activity they are about to do. Explain that these tools will help them think about and share their own feelings. Encourage them to be brave and kind to themselves and others.
Worksheet
My Grief Journey
Sometimes, we lose things or people that are very important to us. This can make us feel many different emotions. It's okay to feel them all.
1. What did you lose? (Draw or write about something or someone important you lost. It could be a pet, a toy, a friend moving, or something else.)
2. How did you feel when you lost it? (Draw or write about the feelings you had or still have. You can draw different faces or use words to describe them.)
3. What helps you when you feel sad or upset about your loss? (Draw or write about something that makes you feel a little better, like talking to someone, drawing, playing, or hugging a loved one.)
Discussion
Discussion Cards Activity: Sharing Our Feelings
Instructions for Teachers:
- Print and cut out these cards.
- Explain to students the rules for respectful sharing and listening: one person speaks at a time, no interrupting, it's okay to pass if you don't want to share, and listen with empathy.
- Have students sit in a circle or small groups. Allow each student to pick a card and share their thoughts or feelings. You can go around the circle or allow volunteers.
Card 1
What does it mean to lose something important to you?
Card 2
Can you name two feelings you might have if you lost a pet?
Card 3
If a friend moved away, how might your feelings change over time?
Card 4
What is one way you can show your feelings when you are sad?
Card 5
Why is it important to talk about our feelings when we are grieving?
Card 6
What is one thing someone can do to help you when you are feeling grief?
Card 7
Can you think of a time you felt confused or angry about a loss? What happened?
Card 8
What is a comforting activity you like to do when you are feeling down?
Activity
Emotion Drawing Activity: What Does Grief Feel Like?
Instructions for Teachers:
- Provide each student with a blank piece of paper and coloring supplies (crayons, markers, colored pencils).
- Explain that grief can bring many different feelings, and sometimes it's hard to find the right words. Drawing can help us show what's inside.
- Ask students to draw different emotions they might feel when experiencing loss or grief. They can draw faces, colors, shapes, or even abstract images that represent how those feelings look to them.
- Encourage them to think about:
- What color feels like sadness? Anger? Confusion?
- What shape represents a heavy feeling? A worried feeling?
- What kind of lines express frustration or quietness?
- After drawing, invite students to share one of their emotion drawings with a partner or the class, explaining what emotion it represents and why they drew it that way. Remind them that there is no right or wrong answer.
My Grief Emotions
Draw the feelings you might have when you are grieving. Use colors, shapes, and pictures to show how these feelings look to you. You can draw many different feelings!
Game
Emotion Charades Game: Show Your Feelings
Instructions for Teachers:
- Explain that sometimes we feel things so strongly, we can almost see them! This game helps us practice showing feelings without using words.
- Write various emotions related to grief on small slips of paper (e.g., Sadness, Anger, Confusion, Worry, Loneliness, Calm, Tiredness, Frustration, Emptiness, Love, Happy Memory, Missing Someone).
- Fold the slips of paper and put them in a hat or bag.
- Divide students into two teams (optional, or play as one big group).
- One student from a team (or a volunteer) picks a slip of paper. Without speaking, they act out the emotion written on the paper.
- Their team members (or the rest of the class) try to guess the emotion. Set a time limit for guessing (e.g., 30 seconds).
- If the emotion is guessed correctly, the student can briefly explain when they might feel that emotion during grief. If it is not guessed, the student can say the emotion and explain it.
- Emphasize that there are no points, just fun and learning how many different ways feelings can look. Remind students to be respectful and encouraging.
Emotion Ideas for Slips of Paper:
- Sadness
- Anger
- Confusion
- Worry
- Loneliness
- Missing Someone
- Remembering Happy Times
- Frustration
- Feeling Quiet
- Surprise (at a feeling)
- Tiredness
- Love (for the person/thing lost)