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Curriculum

Classroom

LA T3.05Words for Feelings

The adult names feelings as they happen, the child's, the adult's, and other children's, and at calm times shows realistic photographs of faces so the child learns to point to, show, and name happy, sad, angry, and scared.

Age 18 mo–3Work 5 of 8 in Books, Stories, and Conversation

Safety

  • Check laminated photographs for peeling edges and sharp corners; loose laminate film is a choking hazard.
  • The mirror is shatterproof acrylic, never glass, and is screwed to the wall.

Presentation

  1. 1

    Through the day, name feelings when they happen, in one short sentence and a calm voice: "You are laughing. You are happy." "You are crying. You are sad that Mama left." Name your own feelings too: "I am tired today."

  2. 2

    Say what the face and body show, and the cause when you know it: "Your fists are tight and you are shouting. You are angry. You wanted the truck." Accept the feeling and stop the action if needed: "You are angry. I will not let you hit."

  3. 3

    Name other children's feelings and show a caring action: "Leo is crying. He is sad. He bumped his head. Let's bring him his cloth."

  4. 4

    For the photograph lesson, choose a calm time, never a moment when the child is upset. Sit with the child and show two photographs with very different feelings: happy and sad.

  5. 5

    Name each one and point to what shows it: "This boy is happy. He is smiling." "This girl is sad. She has tears."

  6. 6

    Ask, "Show me the sad face." Wait for the child to point. This is the point of interest: the child points to the feeling the adult named.

  7. 7

    Go to the mirror together. Make a happy face and then a sad face, and invite the child to make each one: "Show me a happy face."

  8. 8

    Add angry and scared one at a time, on other days, once the child points to the first two without mistakes. Return the photographs to the shelf with the child.

Extensions, easiest to hardest

  1. The child names the feeling on a photograph ("What is he feeling?") once they are talking freely
  2. Matching two photographs of different people with the same feeling
  3. Books with realistic photographs of feelings, read with a pause for the child to name the feeling
  4. Talking about a feeling from earlier in the day: "You were scared when the truck was loud."
  5. The child names their own feeling in the moment: "I sad." "I mad."

Control of error

None in the material. The adult repeats the correct feeling word without asking the child to say it again, and checks the name against what the child's face and body show.

Ready to move on when the child…

  • Points to happy and sad on photographs when they are named, then to angry and scared
  • Makes a happy, sad, or angry face when asked
  • Uses a feeling word about themselves ("sad", "happy", "mad")
  • Looks at, comforts, or brings an adult to a child who is upset

Guide note

All feelings are named and accepted; hurtful actions are stopped. Do not tell the child "Don't cry" or "You're fine", and do not ask a toddler to explain why they feel something. The photograph lesson is never used while the child is upset: at that moment the adult names the feeling and comforts the child. Realistic photographs are used instead of cartoon or emoji faces because the child is learning to read the faces of real people. Ask families for their words for feelings in the home language and use them. At home, parents name feelings the same way during the day.

Try “pink tower”, “tummy”, “diaper”, “grace and courtesy”, or “October”.