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My Inner Weather Report

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Lesson Plan

Emotional Climate Check

Students will be able to identify and describe their current emotional state using weather metaphors, expand their emotional vocabulary, and understand what aspects of their emotions they can and cannot control.

Understanding and communicating emotions is a crucial life skill. This lesson provides a fun and accessible way for 3rd graders to articulate their feelings, helping them develop self-awareness, better manage their emotional responses, and understand that while they may not control every feeling, they can control their reactions.

Audience

3rd Grade Students

Time

20 minutes

Approach

Through guided discussion and creative expression using weather metaphors, connected to the 'Circle of Control' concept.

Materials

Whiteboard or Projector, Feeling Forecast Fun, and Today's Inner Weather

Prep

Review Materials

5 minutes

  • Review the Feeling Forecast Fun and Today's Inner Weather to familiarize yourself with the content, especially the new 'Circle of Control' slides.
    - Ensure projector or whiteboard is ready for display.
    - Consider having some extra paper or drawing supplies available for students who might want to draw their 'inner weather' and their circle of control.

Step 1

Introduction & Warm-Up

5 minutes

  • Begin by displaying the Today's Inner Weather on the screen.
    * Ask students to complete the warm-up individually, thinking about how their emotions feel like different types of weather.
    * Briefly discuss a few student examples, focusing on respectful sharing and active listening.

Step 2

Slide Deck Presentation: Feeling Forecast Fun & Circle of Control

10 minutes

  • Transition to the Feeling Forecast Fun slide deck.
    * Go through each slide, explaining how different weather conditions can represent various emotional states.
    * Encourage students to share examples of when they might feel like a 'sunny' or 'stormy' day.
    * Introduce and discuss the 'Circle of Control' in relation to emotions, helping students identify what they can control (their actions, reactions) and what they cannot control (the initial feeling, others' emotions).

Step 3

Wrap-Up & Sharing

5 minutes

  • Ask students to reflect on what they've learned about describing their emotions using weather and the 'Circle of Control'.
    * Invite a few students to share their current 'inner weather report' with the class, explaining why they chose that weather and what they can control about their response.
    * Emphasize that it's okay to feel different kinds of 'weather' throughout the day, and that recognizing it and understanding what they can control is the first step to understanding themselves and others.
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Slide Deck

Feeling Forecast Fun!

What's your inner weather report today?

Welcome students and introduce the idea of exploring our feelings. Ask: "Have you ever noticed how your feelings can change, just like the weather?"

Sunny Day Feelings

  • Sunny: Happy, joyful, bright, cheerful, excited
  • When do you feel sunny?

Explain that we'll be using weather to describe how we feel. Ask students to think about what 'sunny' might feel like emotionally.

Cloudy Day Feelings

  • Cloudy: A little sad, gloomy, quiet, thoughtful, calm
  • When do you feel cloudy?

Discuss 'cloudy' feelings. Ask: "What kind of feelings make you feel a bit grey or dull?"

Rainy Day Feelings

  • Rainy: Sad, tearful, disappointed, down, upset
  • It's okay to have rainy days!

Talk about 'rainy' feelings. Emphasize that it's okay to feel rainy sometimes.

Stormy Day Feelings

  • Stormy: Angry, frustrated, upset, furious, stressed
  • What does a 'stormy' feeling feel like in your body?

Move to 'stormy' feelings. Discuss how these feelings might be intense and what they might look like.

Windy Day Feelings

  • Windy: Anxious, nervous, restless, buzzing, energetic
  • When do you feel a bit windy inside?

Introduce 'windy' feelings, linking them to restlessness or nervousness.

Breezy Day Feelings

  • Breezy: Calm, relaxed, peaceful, chill, content
  • How do you make yourself feel breezy?

Explain 'breezy' feelings as calm and relaxed.

What Can I Control?

Some things we can change, and some things we can't!

Introduce the idea that while we can't always choose our feelings, we can choose what we do about them. Ask: "Have you ever felt a big feeling, like a stormy feeling, and wondered what to do?"

My Circle of Control

Inside my circle (things I CAN control):

  • My words
  • My actions
  • My effort
  • My attitude
  • How I react

Outside my circle (things I CANNOT control):

  • The actual weather outside
  • What others say or do
  • How others feel
  • Things that happen to me that I can't change

Clearly explain what falls inside and outside the circle. Use simple, relatable examples for 3rd graders.

Inner Weather & My Circle

You might feel "stormy" inside, but you can choose to:

  • Take deep breaths
  • Ask for help
  • Talk about your feelings
  • Find a calm activity

You can't always control the storm, but you can control your umbrella!

Connect the weather metaphor directly to the circle of control. Emphasize that all feelings are okay, but our responses are within our control. Ask: "If you have a 'rainy' feeling, what can you do?"

Your Inner Weather Report!

Your feelings can change, just like the weather!

  • It's okay to feel different kinds of weather.
  • What's your inner weather report right now? What can you control about how you respond?

Encourage students to think about their own inner weather and how it changes. Reiterate that all feelings are okay, but our reactions are within our control. Ask: "What's your inner weather right now, and what can you control about how you respond to it?"

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Warm Up

Today's Inner Weather Report

Instructions: Think about how you are feeling right now. If your feelings were like weather, what kind of weather would it be? Draw or write about your inner weather in the space below.

My Inner Weather Is...












What does your inner weather feel like? Describe it in 1-2 sentences.







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