Objectives
- Recognize one's mood and make a healthy (fit) choice.
Info to Know
This unit introduces mood. Students will learn that their feelings and emotions put them in a mood and that their mood influences their choices. Four essential concepts form an understanding of mood:
- Mood (along with recharge) is a key influencer of fit choices.
- Mood is your motivation. Mood can be "I will make a healthy choice," or "I won't make a healthy choice."
- Self-motivation strategies can help you motivate your mood.
- Your mood can change throughout the day.
Set The Stage
When you are feeling an unpleasant emotion, like anger or loneliness, it can be difficult and counter intuitive to make a healthy choice. It is well-known that making one healthy choice can help you motivate your mood. Thus, leading you to make additional healthy choices. In this lesson, you’ll help kids get really good at identifying their own moods and other people’s moods, which can help them make healthy choices every day.
To use this with your students click here.
Captivate
Identifying Feelings
Students partner with a friend. First, one partner selects a word from the class Feelings and Emotions Chart, created in Lesson 1, then and acts it out. Next, the other partner guesses the feeling. Then they both decide if the feeling influences an “I will” mood or an “I won’t” mood. Switch roles and play again. (Refer to slide 1 of slideshow.)
Educate
Identifying How Feelings Affect Mood
Children identify the feelings and emotions, and the resulting mood for each slide scenario. Encourage children to talk about times when they turned an “I won’t” mood around to “I will.”
Examples of fit choices include doing a physical activity, eating healthy snacks (for energy, not to feed boredom), stretching, resting, and/or relaxing without screen time.
Check for understanding: How does your mood influence your choices?
Activate
Encourage Talk About Feelings
Encourage kids to play mood-guessing game with their friends and family to practice the skill of recognizing their mood so they can decide what fit choices to make.
Close the Lesson
Remind kids that when they stop and think about their feelings and emotions, they are more aware of their mood and can make better choices. One fit choice leads to another!
Grade: 3-5
Time: 20 Minutes
What You'll Need
Resources
Materials
- Slideshow
- Feelings Chart
- Markers
- Poster Board or White Board
Health Education Standards
- Standard 1: Core Concepts–Express feelings in a healthy way. Use self-control and impulse-control strategies to promote health.
- Standard 4: Interpersonal Communication
- Standard 5: Decision-Making
- Standard 7: Self-Management
Social and Emotional Learning Competencies
- Responsible Decision-Making
- Self-Management
Extend the Lesson
- Play the fitGame, Emotion Commotion.
- Read Breathing Techniques to Inspire Mindfulness in Kids to learn how you can help your students relax and become more mindful of their feelings and emotions.