Lesson Plan
EQ Exploration Roadmap
Students will recognize and label their emotions in various scenarios and practice self-management strategies through interactive activities and personal reflection to build CASEL’s self-awareness and self-management skills.
Developing emotional intelligence helps students understand and regulate their feelings, leading to better decision-making, relationships, and classroom behavior.
Audience
4th Grade Class
Time
45 minutes
Approach
Interactive scenarios, role-play, journaling, and reflection.
Materials
Digital projector for Journey to Self-Awareness slide deck, Prepared emotion scenario cards, Whiteboard and markers, Printed My Mood Map worksheets, Printed Feelings Exit Ticket slips, and Props for Emotion Charades
Prep
Prepare Materials
10 minutes
- Review the Journey to Self-Awareness slide deck and note key discussion points
- Print and cut out emotion scenario cards illustrating real-life contexts
- Make copies of the My Mood Map worksheets and Feelings Exit Ticket slips
- Gather props for the Emotion Charades game
- Arrange seating for whole-class discussion
Step 1
Introduction & Scenario Exploration
5 minutes
- Display slides 1–3 of Journey to Self-Awareness to define self-awareness
- Present 2–3 emotion scenario cards and ask students: “What might this person feel and why?”
- Invite volunteers to share and label the emotion
- Note student responses on the whiteboard to assess understanding
Step 2
Emotion Charades
10 minutes
- Divide class into small teams
- Explain rules: one student acts out an emotion from the Emotion Charades deck without words; teammates guess
- Rotate roles so each student practices recognizing and expressing emotions
- Teacher observes and notes students who need extra support
Step 3
My Mood Map Journaling
10 minutes
- Distribute My Mood Map worksheets
- Prompt: “Recall a moment today when you felt a strong emotion. Draw the emotion on the map, label it, and describe what triggered it.”
- Encourage use of color, symbols, and words to express intensity
- Circulate to provide guidance and support self-awareness
Step 4
Self-Management Strategies Discussion
15 minutes
- Reconvene for whole-class sharing: students volunteer to explain their mood maps
- On the whiteboard, list strategies for managing each shared emotion (e.g., deep breathing, taking a break)
- Use slides 4–5 of Journey to Self-Awareness to introduce self-management techniques
- Role-play one strategy as a class and discuss how it helps regulate emotions
Step 5
Feelings Exit Ticket
5 minutes
- Hand out Feelings Exit Ticket slips
- Prompt: “Name one emotion you felt today and one strategy you’ll use next time.”
- Collect tickets to assess student learning and plan follow-up support
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Slide Deck
Journey to Self-Awareness
Today we will explore how to recognize our feelings and understand what makes us feel that way. We’ll also learn simple strategies to manage our emotions so we can feel our best.
Welcome everyone! Today we begin our “Journey to Self-Awareness.” Explain that emotional intelligence helps us understand ourselves and others. Tell students they’ll learn to notice their feelings, understand why they feel that way, and practice ways to manage emotions.
What is Self-Awareness?
Self-awareness means noticing how we feel and understanding why we feel that way.
• Recognize your emotions
• Understand your triggers
• Think about past experiences
Introduce the concept of self-awareness. Ask: “Can anyone name a feeling you’ve had today?” Use student responses to connect to the slide’s definition and bullets.
Spot the Emotion
Look at these situations and decide:
- Emma lost her favorite toy.
- Jay got picked first for the game.
What might they feel? Why?
Display 2–3 scenario cards from the Emotion Scenario deck. Ask volunteers to read each scenario aloud, then invite the class to name the emotion and explain why the person might feel that way.
What is Self-Management?
Self-management is using strategies to handle our emotions so we can keep learning and get along with others.
• Take deep breaths
• Count to five
• Take a break
• Talk to a friend or teacher
Define self-management. Ask students: “What do you do when you feel upset or excited?” Collect answers and show how they match the bullets.
Try a Deep Breathing Exercise
Let’s practice together:
- Sit up straight and relax your shoulders.
- Breathe in slowly for a count of 4.
- Hold your breath for a count of 2.
- Breathe out slowly for a count of 4.
- Repeat 3 times and notice how you feel.
Lead the class in a guided breathing exercise. Model each step slowly, then invite students to follow along. Afterward, ask how they feel.
Activity
Emotion Charades
Objective: Students will practice identifying and expressing a range of emotions through nonverbal cues, strengthening their self-awareness and emotion-recognition skills.
Materials:
- A set of printed and cut emotion cards (e.g., happy, sad, frustrated, surprised, proud)
- Timer or stopwatch (optional)
Preparation:
- Assemble and shuffle the emotion cards.
- Arrange seating so teams of 4–5 can huddle together.
Instructions:
- Divide the class into small teams of 4–5 students.
- Place the shuffled emotion cards face-down in a stack.
- One student from Team A draws a card, silently reads the emotion, and then acts out that feeling using only facial expressions and body movements—no words or sounds allowed.
- Team A has up to 60 seconds (or teacher-decided time) to guess the emotion. If they guess correctly, they earn 1 point; if not, the card is returned to the bottom of the deck with no points awarded.
- Rotate so each student has a turn acting and guessing. Continue until all cards have been used or time runs out.
- Tally points; celebrate both correct guesses and creative acting.
Follow-Up Discussion:
- Ask: “Which nonverbal clues helped you guess most easily?”
- Encourage students to name body language cues (e.g., shoulders slumped, fists clenched, wide smile).
- Highlight how noticing these cues helps us read our own and others’ feelings.
Variation for Extension:
- Include more nuanced emotions (e.g., disappointed, relieved, proud).
- Challenge teams to act out a short scenario rather than a single word (for advanced practice).
Journal
My Mood Map
Use this page to explore a strong emotion you felt today. Start by drawing a map of your mood, then answer the reflection questions below.
Step 1: Draw Your Mood Map
• Draw a large circle to represent yourself.
• Inside the circle, color, draw symbols, or write words that show how you felt.
Step 2: Reflection Questions
- What emotion did you map?
- What happened to trigger this emotion?
- How strong was this emotion on a scale of 1 (low) to 10 (high)?
- Where did you feel this emotion in your body?
- What thoughts were you having when you felt this way?
- What is one self-management strategy you can try next time to help you feel better?
Cool Down
Feelings Exit Ticket
Use this quick exit ticket to reflect on today’s lesson and plan for next time.
- One emotion I felt today was:
- One strategy I will use next time to help me manage this feeling is:
Thank you for sharing your thoughts!