Emotions Intro Activity

Lesson: Emotions

Unit: Mental and Emotional Health

Age: Middle or High School

Prep: In the gym (or area where you can have a lot of space) set up some equipment that can easily be knocked over and have cones around it. Also secretly talk to one student before class and tell them that they must intentionally disobey an instruction that you give, at which point you will yell and send them to the office. It’s also a good idea to talk to your principal and the student's parents/guardian beforehand to make sure that it is okay. My principal and the kid’s parents loved the idea when I explained it to them, but your district might be different.

How I do the activity:

At the beginning of class I make it a point to show up late (usually 2-5) minutes and act as though I’m very flustered. I inform the students that I have been having a very bad day so far and that I am not in a good mood, so it would be in their best interest to not upset me. From here I have my students go through their beginning of class routine of writing in journals and passing out papers, and if I hear any talking I sternly (without yelling) tell them to be quiet. Once my students are done writing, I inform them that I need a pick-me-up so we will be going to the gym to do an energizer.

Once we get to the gym I draw my student’s attention to the equipment set up and tell them I will be extremely upset if they go near it or disrupt it. After I have done this I will explain the energizer (I usually do Bocce with beanbags) and have the students play. Once a few minutes go by I will give my “secret student” a nod or wink, at which point they will knock over the equipment or go in the coned off area. As soon as the student does this I explode, yelling at the student and sending them to the office. I then inform the class that we will no longer have energizers and that I better not hear a peep out of them the entire walk back to the class.

I continue to scowl the whole way back and tell them to sit down and remain quiet once we make it back. Finally once we make it back to the room and they’re all seated I will walk up to the front of the class, break into a big smile, and say “alright, now what were some of the Emotions that you were feeling during the last 15 minutes?” After the momentary silence and confusion breaks I explain to the students that it was all an act, send for my “secret student” to come back, give him/her a round of applause, and we begin a discussion about how they felt. This usually lasts 5-10 minutes, and then I move into my PowerPoint discussion about Emotions.

Although unorthodox, I love activity as it is a great way to loosen up the students and get them talking about emotions before we even begin the main part of the lesson.