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Thought Detectives

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Allan Cuellar

Tier 2
For Schools

Lesson Plan

Thought Detectives Plan

Students will discover how thoughts influence their feelings and actions and practice turning unhelpful thoughts into helpful ones.

Helping 4th–5th graders spot and change negative thoughts boosts their confidence, mood, and problem-solving skills.

Audience

4th/5th Grade Students

Time

45 minutes

Approach

Interactive slides, simple examples, group and pair work

Materials

  • Projector and Computer, - Timer, - Whiteboard and Markers, - Thought Detectives Slide Deck, - Thought Detective Worksheet, - Case Discussion Cards, and - Reflection Journal Template

Prep

Prepare Materials

10 minutes

  • Print one Thought Detective Worksheet per student
  • Print and cut apart the Case Discussion Cards
  • Set out reflection journals or print the Reflection Journal Template
  • Load the Thought Detectives Slide Deck, test any media
  • Arrange desks in pairs or small groups and have whiteboard markers ready

Step 1

Warm-Up: Detective Hats On

5 minutes

  • Ask each child to think of one thought from today (e.g., “I hope we have pizza,” “I can’t do this math”).
  • Go around, have them share aloud
  • On the board, draw two columns: Helpful vs. Unhelpful, and list each thought under the right column
  • Use simple sentence starters: “I thought that…”

Step 2

Teach the Thought→Feeling→Action Cycle

10 minutes

  • Show slide illustrating: Thought → Feeling → Action
  • Use a simple example (e.g., “I forgot my snack” → hungry/sad → ask or feel grumpy)
  • Ask volunteers: What do you think, feel, and do if your pencil breaks?
  • Draw their answers on the board

Step 3

Small-Group Case Talks

15 minutes

  • In groups of 3–4, give each group 1–2 Case Discussion Cards
  • Read the scenario together
  • Answer these on the worksheet:
    • What could you think?
    • How would you feel?
    • What might you do?
    • How could you think more helpfully?
  • Circulate, prompt with “What else could you tell yourself?”

Step 4

Practice Rewriting Thoughts

10 minutes

  • Hand out the Thought Detective Worksheet
  • Students pick one unhelpful thought, draw or write it, note the feeling and action
  • Then draw/write a helpful thought and how they’d feel/do differently
  • Pair-share and use stems: “Another way is…” or “I can tell myself…”

Step 5

Reflection & Closing

5 minutes

  • Have students write in their Reflection Journal Template:
    • One thing I learned
    • One new thought I will try
  • Invite a few to share their ideas
  • Reinforce: Being a “Thought Detective” helps you feel and act your best every day.
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Slide Deck

Thought Detectives

How our thoughts, feelings, and actions connect

Welcome to our “Thought Detectives” session! Invite students to be curious as we explore how thoughts, feelings, and actions connect.

What We’ll Learn

• What thoughts, feelings, and actions are
• How they work together
• How to change unhelpful thoughts

Read each goal aloud. Encourage simple examples from students (e.g., “I’m cold” → ask how that feels).

Thought → Feeling → Action

Thought → Feeling → Action

Example:
• Thought: “I forgot my snack.”
• Feeling: Hungry or sad
• Action: I might ask for food or feel grumpy

Show or draw the cycle: Thought → Feeling → Action. Use the example on the slide and invite another.

Example Scenario

Your friend laughs while looking at you.
• What might you think?
• How would that make you feel?
• What could you do?

Read the scenario aloud. Have students call out ideas and jot them on the board or chart.

Group Talk Prompts

• What else could you think?
• How does that thought make you feel?
• What could you do next?

Prompt groups to use these questions as they discuss their case cards.

Changing Unhelpful Thoughts

  1. Notice the thought
  2. Ask: “Is it helpful?”
  3. Think of a kinder thought
  4. See how you feel now

Explain each step with friendly language and model with a new example: “I can never do this” → “I’ll try my best.”

Reflection Time

• One thing I learned:
• A new thought I’ll try:

Draw or write your answers

Have students write or draw in their journals. Invite a few to share aloud.

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Warm Up

Warm-Up: Detective Hats On

Objective: Notice how our thoughts can help us or hold us back.

  1. Think of a thought you had today.
    • Example: “I wonder what we’ll do at recess.”
    • Example: “I can’t finish this puzzle.”
  2. Take turns sharing your thought aloud. Start with: “I thought that…”
  3. On the board, the teacher draws two columns: Helpful Thoughts and Unhelpful Thoughts.
  4. After each share, as a class decide: Is this thought helpful or unhelpful? Write it under that column.
  5. Pick one thought in the Unhelpful column and ask: “What is a kinder or more helpful thought you could have instead?”

→ Reflection: How did sorting your thoughts make you feel?


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Discussion

Case Discussion Cards

Use these cards for small-group discussions. Each group draws a card, reads the scenario aloud, and works through the guiding questions.

Card 1
Scenario: You forgot your homework at home and your teacher reminds the class to turn theirs in.

  1. What unhelpful thought might you have?
  2. How would that thought make you feel?
  3. What behavior might follow from that feeling?
  4. How could you reframe the thought more helpfully?



Card 2
Scenario: You see two classmates whispering and they stop when you walk by.

  1. What unhelpful thought might pop into your head?
  2. What feeling would result?
  3. How might you act on that feeling?
  4. Suggest a balanced alternative thought.



Card 3
Scenario: Your friend didn’t include you in their weekend plans.

  1. What unhelpful thought could you have?
  2. How does that thought influence your feeling?
  3. What behavior might you choose?
  4. Brainstorm a more balanced way to think about it.



Card 4
Scenario: You get a lower grade than you expected on a quiz.

  1. What’s the first negative thought that comes to mind?
  2. How does that thought make you feel?
  3. What might you do next?
  4. How can you reframe the thought to feel more hopeful?



Card 5
Scenario: You spill juice on your science project right before class starts.

  1. Identify an unhelpful thought you might have.
  2. What feeling follows?
  3. What action could result from that feeling?
  4. Propose a balanced thought alternative.



Card 6
Scenario: You didn’t make the team you tried out for.

  1. What negative thought might you assume?
  2. How would you feel in that moment?
  3. What behavior might follow?
  4. Reframe the thought in a more positive or realistic way.



Card 7
Scenario: A friend doesn’t reply to your message all day.

  1. What unhelpful thought could arise?
  2. What emotion does that thought trigger?
  3. How might you respond or behave?
  4. Offer a more balanced thought.



Card 8
Scenario: You lose a close game during recess.

  1. What thought might cross your mind immediately?
  2. What feeling goes with that thought?
  3. What behavior could follow?
  4. Suggest a helpful reframe of the original thought.
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