Lesson Plan
Name It to Tame It Lesson Plan
Students will accurately label their current emotion and identify two intensity levels using an emotion scale to enhance self-awareness and regulation.
Building emotion vocabulary and intensity awareness fosters self-awareness, supports emotional regulation, and lays groundwork for healthier coping strategies.
Audience
10th Grade
Time
30 minutes
Approach
Scaffold vocabulary with sorting activities and personal reflection.
Prep
Teacher Preparation
10 minutes
- Review the Emotion Literacy Mini-Lesson content and notes
- Prepare digital display of Feelings and Intensities Slides
- Print one set per pair of the Emotion Scale Card Sort
- Copy a My Emotion Thermometer worksheet for each student
- Set up exit tickets: print or prepare digitally the Exit Ticket What’s My Number
Step 1
Do Now: Mood Meter Check
5 minutes
- Distribute or display a quick mood meter chart
- Ask students to place themselves on the meter and write down their current emotion and intensity level
- Collect initial responses for later reference
Step 2
Mini-Lesson on Emotion Families
8 minutes
- Present Feelings and Intensities Slides
- Define key emotion families (e.g., joy, sadness, anger, fear) and model labeling intensities (low, medium, high)
- Reference examples from Emotion Literacy Mini-Lesson
Step 3
Card Sort Activity
7 minutes
- In pairs, students receive a set of Emotion Scale Card Sort
- Match each emotion word to its appropriate intensity level on the scale
- Circulate to prompt discussion and correct misconceptions
Step 4
Personal Emotion Thermometer
7 minutes
- Distribute My Emotion Thermometer worksheets
- Students select their current emotion and color or mark two intensity levels
- Encourage brief reflection: What triggered this feeling and intensity?
Step 5
Exit Share: New Word Learned
3 minutes
- Hand out Exit Ticket What’s My Number
- Students write one new emotion term they learned and their self-rated intensity
- Collect for quick assessment and follow-up planning
Slide Deck
Feelings and Intensities
Today we’ll explore how emotions are grouped into families and how we can rate our feelings on a scale from low to high intensity.
Welcome students and introduce today’s focus on identifying and scaling emotions. Encourage engagement by connecting to real experiences.
Emotion Families
• Definition: Groups of related emotions that share common qualities
• Common Families:
– Joy (e.g., content, happy, excited)
– Sadness (e.g., disappointed, sad, devastated)
– Anger (e.g., annoyed, angry, furious)
– Fear (e.g., uneasy, afraid, terrified)
Define emotion families clearly and give everyday examples. Ask students to share one example of each family.
Intensity Scale
Emotions occur on a continuum:
• Low Intensity (1–3): Subtle, manageable feelings
• Medium Intensity (4–7): Noticeable, may affect mood
• High Intensity (8–10): Intense, can be overwhelming
Explain the scale visually—draw a thermometer or number line on the board. Emphasize that intensity is subjective.
Examples of Intensities
Joy Family
• Low (3): content
• Medium (6): happy
• High (9): ecstatic
Sadness Family
• Low (3): disappointed
• Medium (6): sad
• High (9): devastated
Walk through each example slowly. Ask: “Have you ever felt ‘ecstatic’? What made you rate yourself a 9?”
Your Turn: Identify Intensity
For each emotion below:
- Anxious
- Calm
- Furious
- Hopeful
• Name its family
• Decide: Low, Medium, or High intensity
Have students talk in pairs for 1–2 minutes. Circulate and prompt with questions like, “Why did you choose medium instead of high?”
Next Activity: Card Sort
Get ready to match emotion words to intensity levels in the Emotion Scale Card Sort.
Guide transition to the card sort. Remind students to use what they’ve learned about families and intensities.
Activity
Emotion Scale Card Sort Activity
Description: In pairs, students will sort emotion word cards into Low (1–3), Medium (4–7), or High (8–10) intensity categories. This hands-on exercise reinforces emotion vocabulary, intensity scaling, and collaborative discussion.
Materials:
- Sets of emotion word cards (one set per pair)
- Header cards: Low Intensity (1–3), Medium Intensity (4–7), High Intensity (8–10)
Procedure:
- Shuffle each set of emotion word cards and give one set to each pair.
- Place the three header cards on the table, leaving space beneath each.
- Together, sort each emotion word into the category you think matches its intensity level.
- Discuss any differences in your sorting and explain your reasoning to each other.
Cards (cut apart before class):
- Joy Family:
• content (Low)
• happy (Medium)
• ecstatic (High) - Sadness Family:
• disappointed (Low)
• sad (Medium)
• devastated (High) - Anger Family:
• annoyed (Low)
• angry (Medium)
• furious (High) - Fear Family:
• uneasy (Low)
• afraid (Medium)
• terrified (High)
Teacher Notes:
- Remind students of the 1–10 intensity scale from the Feelings and Intensities Slides.
- Circulate and prompt pairs: “Why did you choose Medium instead of High?” or “Which family does this word belong to?”
- Debrief common challenges and highlight the subjectivity of intensity ratings.
Worksheet
My Emotion Thermometer
Part 1: Mark Your Emotion on the Thermometer
Below is a scale from 1 (low intensity) to 10 (high intensity). On the line, draw an “X” where your current emotion falls, and write the emotion word next to it.
1 ───────────────────────── [ ]
2 ───────────────────────── [ ]
3 ───────────────────────── [ ]
4 ───────────────────────── [ ]
5 ───────────────────────── [ ]
6 ───────────────────────── [ ]
7 ───────────────────────── [ ]
8 ───────────────────────── [ ]
9 ───────────────────────── [ ]
10 ───────────────────────── [ ]
Current Emotion: ____________________
Part 2: Reflection Questions
- What triggered this emotion?
- Why did you rate this feeling at the intensity you chose?
- How is this intensity affecting your thoughts or actions right now?
- What is one strategy you could use to help regulate or cope with this emotion at this intensity?
- Think of another time you felt this emotion at a different intensity (higher or lower). Describe that situation and how it compared to how you feel now.
Cool Down
Exit Ticket: What’s My Number?
- Write one new emotion word you learned today:
- On a scale from 1 (low intensity) to 10 (high intensity), what number would you assign this emotion right now?
- Why did you choose that number?
- How could knowing this intensity help you manage or regulate your emotions?