PROJECT EXSEL

Donna Klein K-2
Literature

Today I Feel Silly and Other Moods that Make My Day
By Jamie Lee Curtis

Synopsis of Story:
A tale that tells the story of one girl’s ever changing moods. It helps identify a variety of moods and their causes.

SEL Understandings

• Understanding events trigger feelings. Each person has different triggers. What makes you excited might make me sad and vice versa.
• Recognizing we all have many feelings and that feelings are neither right or wrong.They're normal.
• Knowing feelings shift and change
• Recognizing feelings influence our behavior
• Knowing feelings can be managed
• Recognizing that feelings have expressions in our bodies

Objectives

SEL:

• Students will be able to identify a feeling they experienced in the past week and name the triggering event.
• Students will identify other situations that will trigger a feeling or mood change for them.

Literacy:

• Students will either begin a journal or learn how writing about emotional experiences can enrich an existing journal.

Pre-reading
If you have a journal read a brief excerpt in which you share a feeling about some positive experience (preferably in the classroom) in your life. Tell students that journal writing is a great way for thinking about things, including feelings. Ask volunteers to share a feeling they experienced in the last few days that they wish to remember. Ask what the feeling is, what caused them to feel that way, and how long the feeling lasted. Model this for them.

When sharing time is over, tell students you want to read a book that is written like a journal. Show the book and ask someone to read the title. Ask students, "What is the difference between a feeling and a mood?" Help students to understand that a feeling lasts only a short time while a mood can last a long time. Tell them you will read the book as if you were the little girl and were reading from your journal.

Discussion Questions

What, if anything, surprise you about this story?
Have you ever felt like the character in the story? When?
Where do you feel your feelings in your body?
Is it easy for you to name your feelings? Why or why not?
What were some of the things that made the main character's mood change?
What made her feel great, discouraged etc.?
What makes your mood change?
How long do your moods last?

Activity

Stand Up, Sit Down - Prior to this activity write down twenty events that might trigger an emotion in your students (e.g. Snow starts to fall outside, the cafeteria is serving hot dogs today). Make sure that you have some events that would get a variety of responses both negative and positive. Follow these procedures:

1. Tell students that they will be doing an activity called Stand Up, Sit Down to see what triggers different emotions in us. Say, " I will read a statement and if anyone agrees with it that person will stand up for a moment, look around at whomever is standing with you and who is not, and then sit down and wait for the next statement. There are no right or wrong answers." As an example, say "I feel disappointed when there are hot dogs for lunch." Watch to make sure that students understand the directions. Let them know that you made up statements that may not express your true feelings.

2. Facilitate the activity but do not comment on who is or is not standing unless you suspect that some students are just trying to follow their friend's lead.

3. At the end of the activity elicit from the group the concept that people react differently to the same events. What triggers joy in me may make someone else feel frustrated.

4. Ask the class to pretend that they are the girl in the book and they are sitting down to write about today in their journals. Give paper to students and ask them to begin their journal entry with today's date on top. If they already have a writer's journal, ask students to use it. Encourage them to write about an emotional experience. If they wish they can add a picture.

Class Extension

• Have a journal "reading". Divide the class into small groups of four or five. Ask them to take turns sharing journal entries (either the one that made up or a entry from a real journal. Bring in refreshments for a celebration at the end.
• Have students interview each other to find out what triggers the strongest feelings in each. Each day have a different each student "introduce" their partner and their triggers.
• Listen to music and draw how it makes you feel
• Take pictures of students and have them “wear” a feeling. Turn this activity into a bulletin board
• Add an "Emotional Triggers" section to your Feelings Wall.
• Write poems or stories about your feelings. Encourage students to do the same.
• Model your mood shifts and tell children what you are feeling and why. Keep a personal journal and share your reflections with your students.
• Have students and identify triggering events in other books they read.

Home and Family Extension

Inform parents about your study of emotional cues and triggers and ask them to share their own with their children. Ask parents to encourage children to use their journals. Invite parents into the classroom to check out the Feelings Wall.

Teacher Reflection

Do I have difficulty distinguishing between my thoughts and my feelings? Do I use my feelings to help clarify my decisions? Am I guilty of being mad or sad without paying attention to the nuances of feelings? Am I aware of my shifting moods? Can I change a negative feeling into a positive one?