Lesson Outcomes
National Curriculum
Resources: Magnifying glasses, emotion fans, pens, pencils. (Optional: sticky notes)
Handout 1: The handout provides photographs of children displaying different emotions for the pupils to ‘scan’ and detect emotions.
Handout 2: The handout provides a script for the teacher delivering the lesson with examples of emotions and how they may present in the body.
Starter
Use the starter slides to remind the children of the previous lesson and their emotion fans. Start the lesson with a feelings check-in using the sentence starter on the slide. The teacher and any other staff in the classroom should model their own emotions first.
Main Teaching
Using the presentation slides, explain that we can recognise emotions through our own bodies and the bodies of others. Ask the children to give themselves a big, tight hug: what did they feel in their body? Ask the children to clench their fists for 10 seconds: what did they feel in their body? Ask the children to wiggle and do a silly dance for 30 seconds: what did they feel in their body? Using the video, the children will think about how different emotions present themselves physically in their body and be shown some examples. They will have the opportunity to share how they feel and compare the differences, highlighting that the same emotion can feel different in others. They will be introduced to the idea of being a detective and ‘scanning’ their body to look for clues as to how they are feeling.
Task: Explain that it is not always easy to recognise feelings - so they need detecting! Using magnifying glasses, ask the children to scan the photographs of children showing different emotions. In small groups, the children should identify how the children in the pictures are feeling, using their emotion fans from the previous lesson. Teachers may wish to provide children with sticky notes so that they can label the emotions they detect. Children should be encouraged to use their feelings fans to support them.
Main Teaching
Bring the children together and share what they discovered in the photographs. Ask them whether we can always see emotions in other people. The teacher should explain what happens in their body that the children might not see. For example, ‘When I lead assembly, my hands feel sweaty because I am a little nervous’.
Note: If the teacher is not comfortable sharing personal experiences, a script has been provided in the handouts.
Task: Invite the children to share their own examples and, using the same photos from the detective activity, ask the children if there are clues we might not be able to see. Challenge the children to think about some behaviours, such as crying, that might be linked to more than one emotion.
Plenary
Throughout the unit, children will be encouraged to share their feelings with an appropriate adult. Ask the children to picture their special person and, if they would like to, share who it is with a partner. This might also be a good opportunity for the children to add any extra emotions that they discovered in this lesson to their fans.
Note: Some adults might not have the skills or capacity to listen and respond appropriately to children’s different emotions. Sensitively use this opportunity to guide the children to consider adults around them who are good at listening and have the emotional space to do so.
Teacher Mastery
Interoception, often described as our ‘eighth sense’, is the ability to notice and interpret internal body signals, such as a fast heartbeat, butterflies in the stomach, or tense muscles, helping us recognise and understand our emotions. This lesson is designed to help children begin developing this skill. In the days and weeks that follow, teachers and supporting staff should continue to model and reinforce it wherever possible, for example by saying to a child, ‘I notice your body is… Can you tell me how you feel?’
When modelling personal examples, teachers should be mindful that some children may find it harder to read body cues than others, including children who are neurodivergent or who process sensory information differently, so avoid implying there is only one ‘right’ way bodies show emotion.
When discussing ‘invisible’ clues, such as a fast heartbeat or sweaty hands, reassure children that not being able to see someone's feelings does not mean those feelings are not real or important, reinforcing the value of checking in with others rather than assuming how they feel based on appearance alone. If teachers and supporting adults are not comfortable sharing personal examples, the provided script offers a useful alternative, but where possible, authentic modelling from familiar adults remains the most powerful way to normalise emotional experiences for children.
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