Using Books: Emotional Literacy

Forum Activity Objective: To plan and be intentional about using books to encourage children’s emotional literacy

Instructions: Choose a storybook and read or review it. Use this form to plan a lesson with related language and activities that teach children emotional literacy. A resource list with storybooks that support children's emotional and social development is on the Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning website: http://csefel.vanderbilt.edu/documents/booklist.pdf

Include the following information in your post:
Book name: Include title and Author
Lesson objective: Statement of what you want the children to know/do at the end of the lesson.
Language: List some specific language to use to talk about feelings and emotion words to teach while reading or looking at the book with children. For instance, you could ask: “What do you think the boy feels when the dog runs toward him? Why do you think that?
Activities:  This can be as simple as planning to ask children to describe times they have felt angry or to invite children to act out a story where characters express strong emotions. These activities could tie to discussions you had about a character in the book feeling angry or feeling intense emotions.

Be sure to include all 4 components in your post.  Also read other's posts for additional ideas on books and activities to teach emotional literacy.

Book name:Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse
Lesson objective:Understanding mad and angry feelings
Language: "What happened that caused Lilly to become angry?" "Why did Lilly get so upset after opening her purse when Mr. Slinger returned it?
Activities: Have one child show an emotion without verbally saying what it is, other children will guess acted emotion.

Book Title: The Rainbow Fish --Marcus Pfizer

Lesson Objective: Friendship (How to be a good friend)

Language: Talk about feelings; Jealousy, sadness, loneliness, happiness.
How did the other fish feel about Rainbow fish not sharing? How did he feel when others started ignoring him? What did Rainbow fish do in order to make friends?

Activities: Have a time dedicated to making new friends, have each child pick a new person to sit with or be near. Ask them to bring their favorite item from home, and how they would feel if someone wouldn't share their favorite thing. Make a Rainbow fish and have students trade materials with friends and discuss how it made them feel using the different items.

Book:  Heart Prints By PK Hallinan

Objective:  By the end of this lesson students will be able to use emotional vocabulary words to describe how they are feeling and how their actions made others feel. Students will know 5 emotional vocabulary words to use.  

Language:  "How many Heart Prints will you leave today?"  "How did it make you feel when someone does something nice for you?"  "What word/s can you use to describe that feeling?"  (Side note, I teach Kindergarten so these questions are more appropriate for their age group)

Activities:  I have a few activities planned for this lesson.  First we will read the book and discuss what emotional words are used in the book.  We will then make a list of words on the board and the children will have to write down 5 that they can use daily.  Secondly we will discuss what KINDNESS means and how we can so kindness to others.  I have cards made with pictures on them to show acts of kindness and we will discuss each.  At the end of the lesson I will have a special snack of Hersey's Hugs & Kisses with a tag on it that says "Hugs and Kisses just for you to show some kindness for all you do!"

Book name- The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle

Lesson Objective- The children will learn about using appropriate social skills and treating others with respect.

Language- After introducing the book and title and parts of the book, I will ask the children if they have ever felt grouchy?  What does grouchy mean?  What would be something that would make you grouchy?  After reading the story, we will talk about how the ladybug was grouchy and does not treat others well.  We will discuss the concept of bullying and how what the ladybug did was also a form of bullying.  

Activities: We will complete an activity where the children will identify behaviors/feelings and decide if they are bullying or not.  The children will come up and draw an activity out of the bag and place it on the correct side of the board or in the correct column on a feelings board.  Ideas are: waiting turns, taking somone's toy, pushing, sharing, taking turns, hitting, asking to play and cutting in line.  

Book Name:  Chrysanthemum

Lesson objective:  Students will gain understanding of how their words and actions can hurt someone's feelings and also how kind words and actions can help someone feel better about themselves.

Language:  We will talk about how Chrysanthemum loved everything about her name until she started school.  We will discuss what happened at school and how her classmates treated her, identifying how she was feeling by looking for clues in the pictures, and discussing new vocabulary such as "wilted" and "jealous".  We will also discuss what Chrysanthemum's parents and Mrs. Twinkle said and did that helped her feel better.

Activities:  Students will be invited to share with everyone what they do when they feel upset and identify someone or something that makes them feel better.  As a group we will practice how to tell someone when our feelings have been hurt.  Students can share about a time when they helped someone feel better, and as a group, come up with ways we can help solve problems in our classroom so no one feels like Chrysanthemum did.

Book Name:  Glad Monster, Sad Monster by Ed Emberly

Lesson Objective: Practice identifying and naming feelings by looking at faces

Language: Read book and have children make feeling faces for each emotion.  Picture walk, notice facial features to help children learn how faces show feelings and ask children to share times when he/she has felt this way.  If children can't think of a time I will share a time to model talking about that feeling.

Activity: Have each child create own "monster" feeling face by cutting out a green circle and then identifying which feeling he/she will make.  Have an assortment of  eyes and mouths that illustrate facial expressions and a variety of collage materials available. Encourage the children to think about how the feeling looks on a face and choose the features that show that feeling.  Have book available for reference.  Display faces in classroom, group and label by feelings they made.

Book: The Rainbow Fish

Objective: Friendship  

Language: Feelings = jealous, sad, lonely, happy
How did the other fish feel about Rainbow Fish not sharing his beautiful scales? How did Rainbow Fish feel when the other fish started to ignore him? How did Rainbow fish change so others wanted to be his friend again? Ask about comparisons...

Activities: Make a Rainbow fish and act out the story - first refusing and then sharing the beautiful scales on the Rainbow Fish. Talk about how this made each child feel.  Make new friends, have each child pick a person to sit with and introduce themselves. Draw a picture/journal the Rainbow Fish.

Book name: My Many Colored Days by Dr. Seuss
Lesson objective: Identifying Feelings
Language: Since the feelings are described with color words, ask the preschoolers, "Which feeling do you think this color is showing? Do you think it's a good or a bad feeling? "
Activities: After labeling the different feelings in the book, the preschoolers practice labeling their own feelings by drawing how they feel in their journals.

Book name: The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and The Big Hungry Bear by Don &
Audrey Wood

Lesson objective: Reading others emotions in specific situations and tying into personal experiences.

Language: How doe the mouse feel when he picks that strawberry?  (Excitement/proud/happy) How do you know?   How does the mouse feel now? (scared) How do you know?  Why is he feeling like that?  

Activities: Mouse was feeling scared when he heard the Bear coming.  What are some ways he tried to make himself feel better?  (be brave, hide)What things make you feel scared like little mouse? How do you make yourself feel better when you are feeling scared?

Book:   The Very Lonely Firefly by Eric Carle

Lesson Objectives:  How does it feel to be the only one and then to be part of the group.

Language:  What did the animals feel in the story?  Why do you think they felt that way?  Have you ever been alone or the only one?  How did you feel?  How do you think the firefly felt when he found the group?  The family saw the fireworks.  How do you think they felt?  How are fireworks like fireflies?

Activities:  Label the feelings of the characters on each page as you read it a second time.  If students do not know more definitive words for the feelings, introduce them.  Have the students act out the feelings and give an example when they would feel it.

Feelings:
Lonely
fear
anger
curiosity
happy
excited
peaceful
belonging

Book Name: The Way I Feel by Janan Cain

Lesson Objective: The students will identify several emotions by looking for facial and body expressions.

Language: While reading the book, point out the specific emotions: silly, scared, disappointed,happy, sad, angry, thankful, frustrated, shy, bored, excited, jealous, and proud.  Identify the facial expressions and body language that give cues to the emotion's name.  

Activities:  Have the students sit in a circle and practice making the emotions with their faces and bodies.  Have them share a time when they may have felt one of those emotions, and then journal about it by drawing a picture and writing the name of the emotion.

Book: Fox makes friends by Adam Relf

Lesson Objectives: Helping them make friends and to understand how others may feel at the beginning of the year when they don't know anyone.

Language: How is Fox feeling about not having friends? How does Fox feel at the end of the story?

Activities: Have you every felt like Fox is feeling? Who made you feel better?

Book name: If You’re Happy and You Know it! by Jane Cabrera (Ages 3-6)
Lesson Objective: Understanding of the feeling happy and how to express it using their voices and body.
Language: What made the elephant happy? What does the monkeys do with his body to show happiness? What did the giraffe do? What does your body look like when you're happy?
Activity: Act out the movements stating "if you feel help move like the monkey!" Invite children to show us their happy movement.

Book name: The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn

Lesson objective: Kindergartners will identify and process the various emotions experienced when away from their “adult at home.” They will process the emotions they are experiencing while starting kindergarten. They will learn about what it means to feel brave.

Language:
• How is Chester feeling when he asks his mom if he can stay home?
• How does Chester feel after his mom shares her secret with him? Does he feel brave? Feeling brave means to face a new situation with courage. As you start kindergarten, do you feel brave? What are you feeling?
• How did Mrs. Raccoon feel while watching Chester enter the school?

Activities: Make a “bravery bracelet” with the students and discuss the idea that the bracelet is a reminder that they are brave and loved by their adult at home. Remind them that even when the bracelet is off, they are still brave and their adult’s love sticks with them wherever they go. Send the bracelet home with a note for the guardian that summarizes The Kissing Hand and encourages them to give their child’s bracelet a kiss.  

Book: No David, by David Shannon

Objective: Introduce expectations for the classroom as well as discuss how David feels when he's told no, and how he feels when his mother says she loves him at the end.

Language:

Safe, love, polite, follow directions, silly
The questions I usually ask during the story:
What is David doing? Why did his mother say no? Why does David need clothes? How did David feel when his mother said no? How does David feel when he gets in trouble? How does David feel at the end of the story?

Activity:

Usually after reading this book we make a list of classroom rules to make sure everyone stays safe.

I would read the book
The Way I Feel.

I want them to learn how to describe their feelings

I would ask questions throughout the book such as:
What do you do when you feel that way? ___________

Resolving my feeling makes me_____________
Activity:

Showing visual aids about the way they feel, describe the picture and how they would solve it

Book name: Glad Monster Sad Monster by Ed Emberley & Anne Miranda

Lesson objective: Students will be able to identify different feelings by looking at the different facial expressions on the monsters.

Language: "what feeling is the monster showing on his face?" "do you feel the same way as the monster?" "have you ever felt like the monster felt?" "what face do you make when you feel happy?"

Activity: While I am reading I would stop throughout the book and discuss with the children the feelings of the monster and how they can identify with them. After we are done reading Iwould have the students make a sad monster face and a happy monster face. Then we would go over different scenarios and they would hold up which feeling would be appropriate.

Book name: The Feelings Book by Todd Parr

Lesson objective: Students can recognize moments of when they felt these different emotions.

Language: When was a time when you felt ______...etc. Can you tell me why you felt that way?

Activities:  Students will pick out one of the feelings that was listed in the book and create a self-portrait of themselves expressing that feeling.

Book Name:  Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes
Objective:  Students will identify how Chrysanthemum feels about her name at the beginning, middle and end of the book.  We will discuss what caused her feelings to change.  
Language:  After reading the story, I will ask students think about how Chrysanthemum feels about her name at the beginning, after she goes to school and at the end after Mrs. Twinkle names her baby Chrysanthemum.  We will go through the book again looking for picture clues and I will point out feeling vocabulary words from the story to check our answers about Chrysanthemum was feeling at different points in the book.
Activity:  Have students take turns showing their happy face, excited face, scared face, sad face, and angry face to a friend or at large group.  A mirror is helpful for students to "see" how they look when making the chosen face.  This could lead to a discussion about whether friends at school have said unkind things at school that make them feel scared, sad or angry and what to do about it.