Lesson Plan
What's Your Emotional Weather Report?
Students will be able to identify and label at least three complex emotions (e.g., frustration, anxiety, joy) beyond basic feelings in given scenarios.
Understanding and accurately labeling complex emotions helps students develop greater self-awareness, improve communication, and navigate social situations more effectively in their daily lives and future endeavors.
Audience
12th Grade Students
Time
30 minutes
Approach
Interactive discussion, visual aids, and scenario analysis.
Materials
Slide Deck: The Emotions Wheel, Worksheet: Emotions Vocabulary List, Activity: Real-World Scenarios Activity, Whiteboard or projector, and Markers or pens
Prep
Review Materials and Set Up
10 minutes
- Review the Lesson Plan, Slide Deck: The Emotions Wheel, Worksheet: Emotions Vocabulary List, and Activity: Real-World Scenarios Activity.
- Ensure projector or whiteboard is ready.
- Print or prepare digital copies of the Worksheet: Emotions Vocabulary List and Activity: Real-World Scenarios Activity.
Step 1
Vocabulary Warm-Up
5 minutes
- Begin by asking students: "When someone asks, 'How are you feeling?', what are some common answers you hear?" (e.g., good, fine, okay, bad, tired).
- Transition by saying: "Today, we're going to dive deeper than 'fine' or 'bad' and explore the rich vocabulary of our emotional landscape. Let's think about how we can be more specific."
- Distribute the Worksheet: Emotions Vocabulary List. Ask students to quickly brainstorm and write down as many emotion words as they can in one minute. Share a few aloud.
Step 2
Introducing the Emotions Wheel
10 minutes
- Present the Slide Deck: The Emotions Wheel.
- Explain that the Emotions Wheel helps us understand how basic emotions can lead to more complex feelings.
- Guide students through the wheel, starting from the center (basic emotions) and moving outwards (more specific/complex emotions).
- Ask students to identify a few emotions they wrote down on their Worksheet: Emotions Vocabulary List and locate them on the wheel. Introduce new words from the wheel as needed.
Step 3
Scenario Analysis
10 minutes
- Distribute the Activity: Real-World Scenarios Activity.
- Explain that students will work individually or in pairs to read the provided scenarios and identify the complex emotions the characters might be feeling, using their Worksheet: Emotions Vocabulary List and the Emotions Wheel as resources.
- After a few minutes, bring the class back together and discuss one or two scenarios as a whole group, encouraging students to justify their emotional labels.
Step 4
Journaling Prompt
5 minutes
- Present the final slide with the journaling prompt.
- Ask students to reflect on a recent situation where they felt a complex emotion but might have just said 'I'm fine.' Encourage them to use specific vocabulary from the Emotions Wheel or Worksheet: Emotions Vocabulary List to describe what they truly felt.
- Collect Worksheet: Emotions Vocabulary List and Activity: Real-World Scenarios Activity or review for completion.
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Slide Deck
What's Your Emotional Weather Report?
Understanding the many shades of feeling within us.
Today, we'll learn to identify and express complex emotions more precisely!
Welcome students and introduce the lesson's theme of exploring emotions beyond basic labels. Explain the metaphor of an 'emotional weather report.'
Beyond "Fine" or "Bad"
When someone asks, "How are you feeling?"
What are some common answers you hear?
- "Good!"
- "Fine."
- "Okay."
- "Tired."
- "Bad."
Are these always what we truly feel?
Initiate a quick discussion. Ask students to share common, quick responses they give or hear when asked about their feelings. Guide them to see how these are often surface-level.
The Emotions Wheel: Your Emotional Compass
A tool to help us explore and name a wider range of emotions.
- Starts with basic emotions in the center.
- Branches out to more specific and nuanced feelings.
- Helps us understand what we're feeling and why.
Introduce the Emotions Wheel as a tool to expand their emotional vocabulary. Emphasize that it's a guide, not a definitive list.
How the Wheel Works
From Core to Complex
- Start at the center: Identify a basic emotion (e.g., Sad, Happy, Angry).
- Move outward: Discover more specific feelings related to that core emotion.
Example: Feeling Sad might lead you to feel Lonely or Disappointed.
Walk through an example with the students, showing how a core emotion like 'sad' can lead to 'lonely,' 'vulnerable,' 'disappointed,' etc. Encourage them to look at their own brainstormed lists and try to find where their words fit.
Using the Wheel: An Example
Imagine you studied really hard for a test, but you didn't do as well as you hoped. You might feel a core emotion of...
Sad?
Using the wheel, can you find more specific words to describe that sadness?
(e.g., disappointed, discouraged, frustrated)
Provide a practical example of how to use the wheel. Ask students for input on how they might feel in this scenario, then guide them to use the wheel to find more precise words.
Scenario Analysis: Put It to Practice!
Now, let's apply the Emotions Wheel to some real-world situations.
- You'll get a handout with different scenarios.
- For each scenario, identify the complex emotions the character might be feeling.
- Use the Emotions Wheel and your Emotions Vocabulary List to help you!
Explain the upcoming activity. Remind students to use the Emotions Wheel and their vocabulary lists to analyze scenarios.
Your Emotional Weather Report
Think about a recent time you felt a complex emotion but might have just said, "I'm fine."
What were you truly feeling? Use specific words from our vocabulary today to describe it.
Conclude the lesson by asking students to reflect individually. This prompt encourages self-awareness and practical application of the lesson's concepts.
Worksheet
Emotions Vocabulary List
Name: ____________________________
Part 1: Brainstorming Emotions (5 minutes)
In the space below, quickly write down as many emotion words as you can think of. Don't worry about whether they are simple or complex – just get them down!
Part 2: Expanding Your Emotional Vocabulary
Now, using the Emotions Wheel and our class discussion, add at least 10 new complex emotion words to your list. For each word, briefly define it in your own words.
- Emotion:
Definition: - Emotion:
Definition: - Emotion:
Definition: - Emotion:
Definition: - Emotion:
Definition: - Emotion:
Definition: - Emotion:
Definition: - Emotion:
Definition: - Emotion:
Definition: - Emotion:
Definition:
Activity
Real-World Scenarios Activity
Name: ____________________________
Read each scenario below. Using your Emotions Vocabulary List and the Emotions Wheel as guides, identify at least two complex emotions the character might be feeling. Explain why you chose those emotions.
Scenario 1: The Group Project
Sarah has been working tirelessly on a group project, completing her parts ahead of schedule and even helping other team members. However, the deadline is tomorrow, and two of her teammates still haven't submitted their sections, jeopardizing the entire grade. When she tries to talk to them, they shrug it off, saying, "We'll get to it." She feels a knot in her stomach and her jaw is tight.
What complex emotions might Sarah be feeling?
- _________________________
Why? - _________________________
Why?
Scenario 2: The College Application
Mark just received an email from his dream university. He clicks it open, heart pounding. The first sentence reads, "We regret to inform you..." He stops reading, closes his laptop, and walks away feeling deflated and like all his hard work was for nothing.
What complex emotions might Mark be feeling?
- _________________________
Why? - _________________________
Why?
Scenario 3: The Unexpected Opportunity
Javier has always loved photography, but never thought he could pursue it seriously. Yesterday, his art teacher told him about a prestigious summer photography program, encouraging him to apply and even offering to write a letter of recommendation. Javier is excited, but also feels a sense of unease, wondering if he's truly good enough.
What complex emotions might Javier be feeling?
- _________________________
Why? - _________________________
Why?
Scenario 4: A Friend's Secret
Chloe's best friend, Emily, confided in her about a difficult family situation and made her promise not to tell anyone. Later that day, another close friend, Liam, mentioned he noticed Emily seemed upset and asked Chloe if everything was okay. Chloe wants to help Emily but also feels torn between her loyalty to Emily's secret and her desire to be honest with Liam, who is also a good friend to Emily.
What complex emotions might Chloe be feeling?
- _________________________
Why? - _________________________
Why?