Emotion Charades Circle

Overview

In this activity, students take turns silently acting out emotions from their charades cards while classmates guess which emotion is being portrayed. This helps students practice recognizing body language, facial expressions, and nonverbal cues.

Materials

• Emotion Charades Cards (each card names one of the common emotions: happy, sad, angry, scared, excited)
• Open space where students can form a circle

Instructions

1. Form a Circle (2 minutes)
   • Have students stand or sit in a circle so everyone can see each other clearly.
2. Distribute Cards (1 minute)
   • Hand out one charades card to each student. Remind them to keep their emotion hidden from others.
3. Acting and Guessing (15 minutes)
   • One student at a time steps into the middle of the circle.
   • They silently act out the emotion on their card for up to 30 seconds.
   • Classmates call out guesses. The actor gives thumbs-up when someone names the correct emotion.
   • Discuss quickly which body or face cues led to the correct guess.
   • Return the card, mix up the order, and invite the next student to act.
4. Rotate Until Completion
   • Continue until every student has had at least one turn acting and one turn guessing.

Guiding Questions

• What clues in the actor’s body told you they were (e.g.) “angry”?
• How did the actor change their facial expression or posture for “sad” versus “excited”?
• Which emotion was hardest to guess and why?

Follow-Up Discussion Points

• Talk about how we use these same cues in real life to understand how friends feel.
• Ask: “Have you ever seen someone acting like that in real life? What emotion were they feeling?”
• Highlight that people sometimes hide how they feel—what other clues might help us notice?

Extension

• In small groups, students create two-step charades: first show the body cue, then use a short sound (e.g., a sigh for sadness). Classmates guess both parts.

Peer Listening Pairs

Overview

In this activity, students work in pairs to practice active listening and supportive responses. Partner A will share a brief personal experience related to an emotion, while Partner B uses counseling-inspired techniques to listen and encourage.

Materials

• Peer Listening Pairs Guide handout (this sheet)
• Feelings Journal Prompt Sheet (optional for jotting notes)
• Pencils or pens

Instructions

1. Form Pairs (1 minute)
   • Have students find a partner and sit facing each other.
   • Decide who will be Partner A (speaker) and Partner B (listener) first.
2. Partner A Shares (5 minutes)
   • Partner A picks one of these prompts or uses their own:
     • “A time I felt ____ was when…”
     • “I noticed my body felt ____ when I…”
     • “I showed my emotion by…”
   • Partner A speaks for 2–3 minutes without interruption.
3. Partner B Listens Actively (5 minutes)
   • Maintain eye contact and nod to show you’re listening.
   • Use supportive phrases:
     • “I hear you…”
     • “That sounds like it felt ____.”
     • “Thank you for sharing that.”
   • Reflect back key words: “So you felt ____ because ____.”
   • Ask one open-ended question: “What helped you at that moment?”
4. Switch Roles (10 minutes)
   • Partner B becomes the speaker and shares their own experience.
   • Partner A now practices active listening using the same steps.
5. Whole-Class Debrief (5 minutes)
   • Invite a few volunteers to share how it felt to speak and to listen.
   • Discuss: “Which listening skill was most helpful?” and “How did it feel when someone really heard you?”

Guiding Questions

• What body language helped you show you were listening?
• How did it feel to have someone repeat back what you said?
• Which supportive phrase or question made the sharing easier?

Reflection Extension

• After the pairs activity, ask students to complete in their journals:
  “Today, I felt heard when ____ and I can help others feel heard by ____.”
  
  
  

Feelings Journal Prompt

Take a few minutes to think about today’s lesson and write your answers below. Be honest and share as much as you’d like.

1. Today I felt _______________________ because ________________________________________________________.

1. I noticed this emotion in my body here: _________________________________________________________________.

1. One new thing I learned about emotions today is ________________________________________________________.

1. A way I can support a friend when they feel a strong emotion (like sad or angry) is __________________________.

1. I can help others feel heard by ________________________________________________________________________.