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Rainy Day Feelings

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Lesson Plan

Rainy Day Feelings Lesson Plan

Students will explore the metaphor of April showers to identify and express feelings of sadness and learn coping strategies through discussion, reflection, and a creative craft.

This Tier 2 small-group lesson builds emotional literacy by giving 4th graders tools to recognize, share, and manage sadness in a supportive setting, strengthening resilience and peer connections.

Audience

4th Grade

Time

30 minutes

Approach

Discussion, reflection worksheet, craft activity

Materials

Rainy Day Reflection Worksheet, Emotions Identification Chart, Feeling Umbrella Craft Template, Colored Pencils or Markers, and Tissue Paper Scraps

Prep

Prepare Materials

10 minutes

Step 1

Warm-Up Discussion

5 minutes

  • Invite students to close their eyes and imagine raindrops falling softly
  • Ask: “How might rain be like our feelings sometimes?”
  • Introduce the metaphor: April showers = sadness with the promise of growth
  • Show the Emotions Identification Chart and point out words for sadness

Step 2

Reflection Worksheet

10 minutes

  • Distribute the Rainy Day Reflection Worksheet
  • Prompt students to write or draw a recent time they felt sad (“rainy moment”)
  • Encourage them to label their feelings using the chart
  • Circulate, validate their experiences, and help with labels

Step 3

Feeling Umbrella Craft

10 minutes

  • Give each student a Feeling Umbrella Craft Template
  • Instruct them to decorate the umbrella handle with colors that feel comforting
  • Tear or glue tissue paper raindrops; on each drop, students write a coping strategy (deep breath, talk to friend, etc.)
  • As they work, play soft rain sounds and encourage calm focus

Step 4

Share & Close

5 minutes

  • Invite volunteers to share one coping raindrop from their umbrella
  • Reinforce that expressing sadness helps it to pass, like rain nourishing flowers
  • Conclude by having the group say together: “April showers bring me strength.”
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Slide Deck

Rainy Day Feelings

Tier 2 Small-Group Lesson | 4th Grade | 30 Minutes

April Showers • Sadness • Growth

Welcome everyone! Introduce yourself and explain that today we’ll use the idea of April showers—rain—to talk about our feelings, especially sadness.
Invite students to take a deep breath and get settled.

Lesson Objectives

• Explore how rain can be a metaphor for sadness
• Identify and label our feelings of sadness
• Practice a reflection activity about a “rainy moment”
• Create a coping-strategy craft (Feeling Umbrella)
• Share and support one another

Read each objective aloud. Emphasize that recognizing feelings and learning ways to cope helps us grow stronger.

April Showers & Sadness

• Soft raindrops = gentle feelings of sadness
• Heavy storms = intense emotions
• After the rain, flowers grow—our strength grows too!

Question: How have you felt “rainy” before?

Ask: “How might rain be like our feelings sometimes?” Encourage quick responses. Explain that, like rain, sadness can feel heavy but also helps us grow.

Emotions Identification Chart

Use this chart to find words for sadness and related feelings:

Emotions Identification Chart

• Choose the word that best fits your “rainy moment”

Point to words on the chart: “sad,” “lonely,” “disappointed,” and others. Invite volunteers to read a word and share a time they felt that emotion.

Reflection Activity

  1. Take your Rainy Day Reflection Worksheet.
  2. Draw or write about a recent “rainy moment” when you felt sad.
  3. Label the feeling using our chart.
  4. Add a sentence or picture of what happened.

Hand out the reflection worksheets. Remind students they can draw or write. Walk around, validate, and help them label feelings.

Feeling Umbrella Craft

  1. Grab a Feeling Umbrella Craft Template.
  2. Decorate the handle with comforting colors.
  3. Tear or glue tissue-paper raindrops onto the umbrella.
  4. On each raindrop, write a coping strategy (e.g., deep breath, talk to a friend).

Demonstrate tearing tissue for raindrops and decorating the handle.
Encourage students to think of real strategies and write one per drop.

Share & Close

• Volunteer to share one raindrop strategy.
• Remember: expressing sadness helps it pass, just as rain nourishes flowers.

Group Chant:
“April showers bring me strength.”

Invite a few volunteers to share one coping strategy from their umbrella.
End by having the group say together: “April showers bring me strength.”

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Worksheet

Rainy Day Reflection Worksheet

Name: ______________________ Date: _____________

1. Describe Your Rainy Moment

Think of a recent time you felt sad — a “rainy moment.” Describe what happened and how you felt.







2. Draw Your Rainy Moment

Draw a picture that shows your rainy moment and your feelings below.












3. Label Your Feelings

Use the Emotions Identification Chart to find words that match how you felt. Write at least two feeling words:







4. Coping Raindrop

Think of one thing you can do to help yourself feel better when you have a rainy moment. Write your coping strategy and explain why it helps.







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Activity

Emotions Identification Chart

When you’re feeling sad, choosing the right word can help you share exactly how you feel. Use this chart to find words that match the kind of “rainy moment” you’ve experienced.

Mild Sadness (gentle, light feelings)
• blue
• down
• gloomy
• low
• wistful

Moderate Sadness (noticeable, heavier feelings)
• sad
• unhappy
• disappointed
• lonely
• discouraged
• sorrowful

Strong Sadness (deep, intense feelings)
• miserable
• heartbroken
• devastated
• depressed
• despairing
• desolate

How to use the chart:

  1. Think about how heavy or gentle your feelings felt during your rainy moment.
  2. Look in the column that best matches (Mild, Moderate, or Strong).
  3. Choose one or two words to write on your worksheet or craft raindrops.

You’ve got the words—now you can tell your story!

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Activity

Feeling Umbrella Craft Template

Use this template to create your Feeling Umbrella. Decorate the umbrella and glue your coping-strategy raindrops onto it.

1. Decorate the umbrella

/ \
/ \
\ /
_________________/
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Color or pattern the umbrella canopy and handle with markers or colored pencils.

2. Cut or tear out coping-strategy raindrops

/ \ / \ / \ / \
_/ _/ _/ _/

/ \ / \ / \ / \
_/ _/ _/ _/

On each raindrop, write one thing you can do to feel better when you’re sad. Then glue the raindrops onto your umbrella.

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