Introduction to Social Emotional Health
Lesson Hook: "A Day in Our Shoes"
Objective:
Today, we're going to explore social emotional health and its importance in our daily lives. We’ll start with a fun activity that encourages empathy and understanding among classmates.
Activity Instructions:
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Empathy Safari Preparation:
- Before coming to class, each student will think of a situation they might experience at school or at home that can make them feel happy, sad, excited, or anxious. Examples could be making a new friend, taking a test, or losing a favorite toy.
- On a small piece of paper, write down a brief description of this situation but try to express only how you feel. For instance, instead of saying, "I lost my favorite toy," you might write, "I felt really sad and alone when something important to me was gone."
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Creating the Empathy Circle:
- Once everyone arrives, we'll form a large circle on the carpet.
- Each student will take turns sharing their feelings from the piece of paper without revealing the actual situation. Encourage everyone to focus on the emotions being expressed.
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Guessing Game:
- After someone shares their emotion, the rest of the class can use their imagination to guess what scenario might have caused that feeling. This helps us connect with understanding and empathy for each other's experiences.
Reflecting on the Activity:
- After everyone has had a turn, we will gather our thoughts and discuss:
- Did you learn something new about your classmates?
- How did hearing others express their feelings make you feel?
Conclusion:
This activity helps us appreciate the different feelings we experience and illustrates how important it is to support each other. Understanding our emotions and those of others is a vital part of social emotional health, and that’s what we will dive deeper into today!
Ready to Begin?
Let’s jump into our discussion on social emotional health! Are you ready to take a closer look at how our feelings connect us?