Duration: 15 minutes
SPIRIT Skills:
- Emotional awareness, regulation and communication
- Empathy
Brief Description:
The activity begins with a group circle to introduce the core emotional vocabulary and to start building a safe and expressive group climate.
Children sit in a circle with the teacher. An illustrated chart shows 5–6 basic emotions (e.g., happy, sad, scared, angry, calm, excited). The teacher points to each and says: “Can you think of a time when you felt…?” Students share short stories or examples
How does this develop particular SPIRIT skills
- Promotes emotional awareness by prompting children to recall and name personal emotional experiences
- Encourages attentive listening and mutual respect
- Fosters a safe emotional environment that supports later teamwork and creativity.
What do we want to achieve regarding SPIRIT skill development (student understanding and/or behaviour)?
- Students become more confident expressing emotions in front of peers
- Students begin to recognize emotions in others by listening to shared examples
- The group begins to build trust and emotional openness.
Academic/Curriculum Objective connection
- Language: practicing oral expression and storytelling
- Citizenship: learning respectful listening and empathy in group settings.
Materials and tools needed for implementation
- Emotion chart with images/icons (can include weather/colour metaphors)
- A soft item (e.g., plush ball) to pass around when speaking.
Preparation notes
- Prepare a visible and clear emotion chart
- Arrange the space in a circle
- Practice a few examples in advance to model sharing
Guided Questions
- When did you last feel this emotion?
- What did your face or body feel like at that moment?
- What helped you feel better (or stay with) that feeling?
Stage Debriefing Questions (Optional)
- How does it feel to talk about emotions in a group?
- Did you learn something new about a classmate today?
Tips and Tricks for dealing with stage challenges
- Some children may feel shy – let them pass or give the option to just point to an emotion
- Model vulnerability with a personal example to open the space
- Keep the rhythm going by using a soft object to signal who speaks next.