Making Connections with Our Feelings

Building academic language

Word

• Provide student-friendly definitions of the vocabulary words for the students in the form of prewritten cards and/or visuals. Incorporate home language definitions as needed.
• Explain that emotions are what we call our feelings or how we explain how we are feeling on the inside. We use many different words to explain how we feel.
• Read aloud a list of feeling words: anxious, worried, happy, sad, excited, and scared. As you read the words aloud, provide examples of when you might feel that way. Say, "I feel happy when it is my birthday."
• Have students stand up and practice showing how different feelings look on their faces and bodies as you repeat the feeling words again.

Sentence

• Display precut Mindfulness: Guide to Feelings Cards and the Vocabulary Cards on the board for students to reference.
• Read aloud Wemberly Worried by Kevin Henks
• Pause as you read to point out the feeling words and ask the students to reflect on how the main character might be feeling.
• Have students refer to the feeling cards and use sentence frames as they share their reflections. For example, "I think she feels ____ because ____."

Discourse

• Pass out the Understanding Feelings worksheet to each student.
• Read aloud the directions and provide a home language glossary as needed.
• Have students complete the worksheet independently.