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My Inner Weather Report

Lesson Plan

My Inner Weather Report

Students will learn to identify and name their emotions, developing a personalized system to track their internal emotional states like a weather report.

Understanding and naming emotions is a crucial skill for self-awareness and healthy emotional regulation. This lesson provides a practical, relatable framework for students to articulate their feelings, leading to improved communication and coping strategies.

Audience

7th Grade Student

Time

30 minutes

Approach

Through guided instruction and personal reflection.

Materials

Prep

Review Materials

10 minutes

Step 1

Introduction: What's Your Inner Weather?

5 minutes

  • Begin by asking students: "Have you ever noticed how your feelings can change throughout the day, much like the weather?"
    - Introduce the concept of emotions as an 'inner weather report.'
    - Present the first few slides of Understanding Your Climate to set the stage.

Step 2

Exploring Emotional Vocabulary

10 minutes

  • Use the middle slides of the Understanding Your Climate to discuss a range of emotions and their characteristics.
    - Encourage students to share different words for feelings they experience (e.g., instead of just 'sad,' consider 'gloomy,' 'downcast,' 'disappointed').
    - Facilitate a brief discussion on how different 'weather conditions' (emotions) might feel in their bodies.

Step 3

Creating Your Daily Emotional Forecast Log

10 minutes

  • Introduce the Daily Emotional Forecast Log.
    - Explain how students will use this journal to track their emotions, much like a weather report, noting the emotion, its intensity, and what might have caused it.
    - Guide students through the first entry as an example, connecting it back to the 'inner weather' metaphor.

Step 4

Wrap-up and Reflection

5 minutes

  • Ask students to share one new emotion word they learned or a way they might describe their 'inner weather' in the future.
    - Emphasize that identifying and naming emotions is a journey, and the Daily Emotional Forecast Log is a tool to help them on that path.
    - Assign the Daily Emotional Forecast Log as a daily practice.
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Slide Deck

What's Your Inner Weather?

Have you ever noticed how your feelings can change, just like the weather outside?

Today, we're going to become meteorologists of our own emotions!

Welcome students and set an inviting tone. Ask them to think about how their mood changes throughout the day. This helps activate prior knowledge and connect to the weather metaphor.

Your Emotions: An Inner Weather Report

Think of your feelings as your own personal weather report.

  • Sunny? You might feel joyful, peaceful, or excited.
  • Cloudy? Perhaps thoughtful, calm, or a little quiet.
  • Stormy? Could be frustration, anger, or sadness brewing.

Introduce the central metaphor. Explain that emotions aren't good or bad, just like weather isn't good or bad; it simply 'is.'

Beyond Sunny or Stormy

Just like there's more than just 'rain' (drizzle, downpour, mist), there's more than just 'happy' or 'sad.'

Let's expand our emotional vocabulary to give our 'inner weather report' more detail!

Transition to exploring different emotions. Encourage students to think beyond basic emotions and consider nuances. Use the analogy of different types of rain or sunshine.

Emotional Forecast: Key Terms

  • Joyful: Feeling great happiness.
  • Calm: Feeling peaceful and relaxed.
  • Frustrated: Feeling annoyed or upset because you can't do something.
  • Anxious: Feeling worried, nervous, or uneasy.
  • Content: Feeling satisfied or pleased.
  • Gloomy: Feeling somewhat sad or depressed.

Display a variety of emotion words. Encourage students to read them aloud or share any they recognize. Ask them how these emotions might feel physically.

Your Daily Emotional Forecast Log

You'll use your Daily Emotional Forecast Log to:

  1. Observe: Notice how you're feeling.
  2. Name: Identify the specific emotion.
  3. Track: Record when and why it changed, just like a daily weather report!

This helps you understand your emotional climate over time.

Explain how the journal will work. Emphasize that it's a tool for self-discovery, not a judgment tool. Connect it back to the weather report idea – observing and recording.

Becoming Your Own Meteorologist

By tracking your inner weather, you'll become an expert at understanding yourself!

This will help you:

  • Understand why you feel a certain way.
  • Communicate your feelings more clearly.
  • Develop strategies to navigate your emotional landscape.

Conclude by reiterating the purpose of the activity: building self-awareness. Reinforce that it's a personal journey.

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Journal

Daily Emotional Forecast Log

Your Mission: Become a meteorologist of your own feelings! Use this log to track your inner weather report each day. Remember, all weather (and all emotions) are okay. The goal is to observe and understand.

Date:

Morning Forecast (e.g., after waking up, before school starts)

1. What is your dominant "inner weather" right now? (Choose a word or draw a small picture)



2. How intense is this feeling?

  • A light breeze (mild)
  • A steady shower (moderate)
  • A full-blown storm! (intense)



3. What might be causing this emotional weather? (Think about what just happened, what you're thinking about, etc.)






Afternoon Forecast (e.g., during or after school)

1. What is your dominant "inner weather" right now? (Choose a word or draw a small picture)



2. How intense is this feeling?

  • A light breeze (mild)
  • A steady shower (moderate)
  • A full-blown storm! (intense)



3. What might be causing this emotional weather? (Think about what just happened, what you're thinking about, etc.)






Evening Reflection (e.g., before bed)

1. What was the most common "inner weather" you experienced today?



2. What was one new thing you learned about your emotions today?






3. If you could send a "weather alert" to your future self about your emotions today, what would it say?











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