Introducing
Dealing
withContinents
Feeling
How to use these notes
• Create a cool-down corner . Do this in the classroom
where children can go when they feel emotionally
overwhelmed. Provide a safe, private area, with
somewhere to sit and cushions to curl up on, cuddle or
punch. Work with the class to establish a simple set of
rules for using the cool-down corner.
• Develop the ‘feelings toolbox’ concept. Do this
from the back of the books. Get an old toolbox, or cut a
cardboard box into the shape of a toolbox. Take photos
of children acting out the coping strategies described
in the books. Write a simple instruction to go with each
photo, e.g. ‘Take ten deep breaths’. Laminate these to
make ‘tips cards’ to put in the toolbox. Encourage pupils
to use the toolbox when they are finding it difficult to
cope with a feeling. Put the feelings toolbox in the cooldown corner if you have one.
• Make sets of feelings cards. Use the cards to play
games of snap, memory, bingo, or any other game in
which pupils match emotion words to illustrations of
children exhibiting those emotions. (Activity 1).
These teacher notes and independent activities can be
used to introduce pupils to recognising, naming and
dealing with their feelings. These activities are suitable for
pupils from Reception to Year 2. All the activities included
are stand-alone, but by using them alongside the books
in the series Dealing with Feeling, children can explore
the topics in more detail.
Curriculum links
Quoted below are early learning goals from the Statutory
Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage, 2012 and
objectives from the non-statutory programme of study
for PSHE at Key Stage 1, November 2011.
Early Years
Personal, social and emotional development
Managing feelings and behaviour: children talk about
how they and others show feelings, talk about their own
and others’ behaviour, and its consequences, and know
that some behaviour is unacceptable. They work as part
of a group or class, and understand and follow the rules.
They adjust their behaviour to different situations, and
take changes of routine in their stride.
Angry
• Listen to ‘Mars, the Bringer of War’, from The Planets
suite by Gustav Holst. Ask pupils how they think the
god described in the music is feeling (angry!) Ask: ‘What
does anger sound like?’ Pupils work in groups to create
angry soundscapes using musical instruments. Groups
perform their compositions for the rest of the class.
• Ask: ‘If you could paint the feeling of anger, what would
your painting look like? What colours would you use?
How would you put the paint on the paper?’ Challenge
pupils to create paintings that express the feeling of
anger.
Caring
• Work together as a whole class to compose a chant, rap
or rhyme about acting in a caring way towards others.
Perform it for other classes.
• Use technology to draw a picture to illustrate the
feeling of caring (e.g. a digital picture showing a person
acting in a caring way).
• Think, draw and write about times when you feel cared
for (Activity 2).
Happy
• Use plasticine, clay or kitchen foil to create figures of
Key Stage 1
PSHE
Pupils should be taught:
1c. to recognise, name and deal with their feelings in a
positive way
4a. to recognise how their behaviour affects other people.
General Activities
• Create a ‘forest of feelings’ display. Make a tree for
each feeling, with the name of the feeling written on
the trunk, and leaves showing various aspects of the
feeling (e.g. words describing the feeling and pictures/
photos showing facial expressions, body language and
other behaviours associated with the feeling).
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Websites
people expressing happiness through body language
(e.g. jumping for joy, dancing, doing a high five,
cartwheeling, laughing, etc.)
• In a PE lesson, work on creating a dance, based around
an up-tempo piece of music, that expresses the feeling
of happiness.
Jealous
• Read and discuss a picture book story that has a theme
of jealousy, for example, Ebb and Flo and the New
Friend by Jane Simmons, Angelina’s Baby Sister by
Katharine Holland, or Three Hens and a Peacock by
Lester L. Laminack and Henry Cole.
• Work together to write a poem about feeling jealous.
Proud
• Discuss the tips in the Pride Toolbox on page 22 of
Dealing with Feeling... Proud, in order to encourage
pupils to identify things they are proud of.
• Ask pupils to draw a picture to show themselves doing
something that makes them feel proud.
Worry
• Read and discuss a picture book that explores the
theme of feeling worried; for example, The Huge Bag
of Worries, by Virginia Ironside and Frank Rodgers. Ask:
In the story, what things did Jenny worry about? Ask
pupils to share some of the things that make them feel
worried. You could also ask pupils to draw their own
worries as little monsters, in the way Jenny’s worries are
illustrated in the book.
• Introduce and read the book Dealing with Feeling…
Worried. Discuss ways of dealing with your own worries,
and ways of helping someone else who is feeling
worried.
• Ask children to design a comfort object to use when
they get worried (Activity 3).
Use these websites to find out more about dealing with
feelings.
• The website of the PSHE Association has a lot of
resources and useful links for teaching PSHE. www.
pshe-association.org.uk
• Winston’s Wish, the charity for bereaved children, has
links to a wide range of teaching resources on the
subject of bereavement. www.winstonswish.org.uk
• This website by BBC Scotland consists of an interactive
story about feelings, together with resources for parents
and teachers. www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/education/
health/feelings
The full list of titles in the series are:
•Angry
•Caring
•Happy
•Jealous
•Proud
•Sad
•Shy
•Worried
For more information on the titles, please visit
the website: www.raintreepublishers.co.uk/
product/9781406250411
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Activity 1: Feelings cards
Name ______________________________________ Date ______________________
Cut out the pictures and words along the dotted lines, then find the pairs.
angry
sad
caring
jealous
shy
happy
proud
worried
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Activity 2: Feeling cared for and being
caring
Name ______________________________________ Date ______________________
When do you feel cared for?
I feel cared for when
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
Draw a picture to show this.
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Activity 2: Feeling cared for and being
caring (continued)
Name ______________________________________ Date ______________________
What do you do to care for others?
I care for
________________________________________________________________
by ______________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
Draw a picture to show this.
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Activity 3: Comfort objects
Name ______________________________________ Date ______________________
You are going to design and make a comfort object you can use when
you feel worried.
1. Draw a picture of the comfort object you want to make.
2. Talk about your picture with your teacher.
3. Make your comfort object.
4. Stick a photo here.
5. What’s the best thing about your
comfort object? Tell a friend or your
teacher.
6. If you could change just one thing
about your comfort object, what
would it be? Tell a friend or your
teacher.
Learning outcome: Design and make a comfort object
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