Enrichment · Wellbeing

Real situations to put
a name to a feeling.

Choose an age group, the feelings you want to practice and where the situations happen. You get a deck of cards to read aloud, each with a question that moves the talk from what someone feels to what they could do next.

Make a deckWhat you get

Make a deck of scenario cards

The worked example is made up: a grade 4 morning circle and a high school advisory. Saved on this device only.

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What you get

Enrichment · WellbeingFree

What you finish with
A deck of 6, 9 or 12 situation cards for one age group, each with a question to talk about and the feelings people often name, with starred and used cards and notes on how it went.
Who it is for
Teachers, school counselors and parents leading a talk about feelings with children and teens from kindergarten to grade 12.
Format
Browser deck maker with saved decks. Prints the cards as a cut-out sheet or as a list; presents one card at a time; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
Free. No account, no sign-in and nothing to install. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Wellbeing space in Caveat Enrichment.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Choose the age group, and narrow the feelings or places if you are working on something specific.
  2. Read a card aloud and let students name the feeling before anyone looks at the answer line.
  3. Ask the question on the card, then ask what else the person could do.
  4. Swap any card that does not fit your group, and star the ones that worked.
  5. Note how it went so the next deck starts from what you learned.

Make a deck

Why practice with situations

From a situation to a choice1Read the situationOut loud, slowly, once ortwice2Name the feelingStudents say it before anyonechecks the card3Notice the bodyHot face, tight fists, a heavychest4Say how bigA little, medium or a lot, onfingers5Think of choicesTwo or three things the personcould do6Pick one and try itRole-play it in pairsFrom a situation to a choice1Read the situationOut loud, slowly, once or twice2Name the feelingStudents say it before anyone checks thecard3Notice the bodyHot face, tight fists, a heavy chest4Say how bigA little, medium or a lot, on fingers5Think of choicesTwo or three things the person could do6Pick one and try itRole-play it in pairs
Drawn for this page. Naming a feeling before talking about what to do is the order most social-emotional programs teach.

Naming comes first

Putting a feeling into words is a skill in itself. In brain-imaging studies, labeling an emotion lowered activity in the amygdala, the part of the brain that reacts to threat. A shared word also gives a class a way to talk about it later.

Low stakes, real practice

A made-up situation lets students talk about anger or embarrassment without talking about themselves. The skills carry over: in an analysis of 213 school programs, students who practiced social and emotional skills did better on those skills, on behavior and on grades.

When a card hits close to home

A situation can remind a student of something real. Let them pass, check in with them privately afterward, and involve the school counselor if what they share worries you.

Sources

  1. Lieberman, M. D., et al. (2007). Putting feelings into words: Affect labeling disrupts amygdala activity in response to affective stimuli. Psychological Science, 18(5), 421 to 428. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2007.01916.x
  2. Durlak, J. A., Weissberg, R. P., Dymnicki, A. B., Taylor, R. D., & Schellinger, K. B. (2011). The impact of enhancing students’ social and emotional learning: A meta-analysis of school-based universal interventions. Child Development, 82(1), 405 to 432. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01564.x
  3. Taylor, R. D., Oberle, E., Durlak, J. A., & Weissberg, R. P. (2017). Promoting positive youth development through school-based social and emotional learning interventions: A meta-analysis of follow-up effects. Child Development, 88(4), 1156 to 1171. doi:10.1111/cdev.12864
  4. CASEL: What is the CASEL framework? Self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision-making (casel.org).

The situations were written for this page and are made up. These cards support a conversation about feelings; they are not an assessment of any child. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.