Every child deserves an education that includes a feeling of emotional safety. For students to be able to do this, they need effective communication skills. A recent children's film, Inside Out, highlighted the need for children to be able to process and share their feelings. As teachers, we can enhance this through direct instruction in the language of emotion, whether this is through writing or oral communication.
My co-teachers and I decided to address this by tying in a bit of digital culture. I searched for emotional emojis (using the very popular FaceBook symbols) and developed a chart.
My co-teachers and I decided to address this by tying in a bit of digital culture. I searched for emotional emojis (using the very popular FaceBook symbols) and developed a chart.
We began the lesson by playing a game we call Pass the Plate. This is a brainstorming activity using a plastic plate and water based marker to add some novelty. On one side of the plate was an emoji, and on the back side students had to brainstorm words that might match the emotion.
Then we gave each student their own emoji chart. As you can see, they could add words and symbols for any emotion they felt was not included. Next we asked them to write in their journal in response to a prompt that had an emotional context.
We found that students were much more likely to use emotional terms in their writing, with greater variety than the typical "sad" or "happy" terms we usually received. Students now keep their emoji charts in their writing notebooks for easy access.
We found that students were much more likely to use emotional terms in their writing, with greater variety than the typical "sad" or "happy" terms we usually received. Students now keep their emoji charts in their writing notebooks for easy access.
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