8 • MODULE SIX: COPING WITH EMOTIONS
ACTIVITY THREE
Mix and Match Feelings- Introduce the activity by reminding the children that feelings are also expressed non-verbally,
through ‘body language.’ Understanding how our body reacts to feelings helps us think about the
feeling and express it the way we choose. - The facilitator says a simple sentence in three different ways and each time asks the children to
guess what emotion is being expressed:
Sentence A: “I was asked to go to the Principal’s office.”
Say it with excitement as if it is an honor and you expect to get some good news. Ask the children
what sort of feeling or emotion you are expressing.
Sentence B: “I was asked to go to the Principal’s office.”
Say it as if you were fed up of going there, so you are bored. Ask the children what sort of feeling
or emotion you are expressing.
Sentence C: “I was asked to go to the Principal’s office.”
Say it as if you were irritated and angry, as if it was an unfair event taking place. Ask the children
what sort of feeling or emotion you are expressing. - Divide the children into groups of three or four. You should have at least four or five groups.
- Give each group five “feeling statements” and ask them to place them in front of the group on
the floor or on a table, depending on where the children are sitting. - The following feeling statements may be used:
- When I am angry;
- When I am very sad;
- When I am happy;
- When I feel scared; and/or
- When I feel nervous.
- Next give each group one set of body statements that describe these feelings. The groups have
to match the body statement with the feeling. Once they have completed one set, they move
onto the next set and then the next. Give out one set at a time. When the groups finish, each will
have a grid like this:
StatementsFeeling Statement Set One Set Two Set ThreeWhen I am angry I feel tension in my neck My breathing becomes My head is about
and shoulders shallow and quick to burst