This cheat sheet helps K–1 students name feelings, read simple face clues, and choose safe ways to respond. Young learners often feel big emotions before they have the words to explain them. A clear reference with large words, friendly faces, and simple sentence frames helps children talk about feelings with confidence.
The most important ideas are to notice the feeling, name it, and choose a helpful action. Students can use sentence frames like, “I feel happy,” “I feel sad,” or “I need help.” They also learn that all feelings are okay, but not all actions are okay.
Safe choices include taking deep breaths, asking for a break, using kind words, or talking to a trusted adult.
Key Facts
- A feeling is something you notice inside your body, such as happy, sad, angry, scared, or calm.
- A helpful sentence frame is: I feel ____ because ____.
- All feelings are okay, but hurting people, throwing things, or using mean words is not okay.
- When you feel angry, you can stop, take 3 deep breaths, and use words to say what you need.
- When you feel sad, you can say, “I need help,” “I need a hug,” or “I need a quiet minute.”
- Face clues can help you guess a feeling, such as tears for sad, a smile for happy, or eyebrows down for angry.
- A calm-down choice is a safe action that helps your body feel steady, such as breathing, counting, drawing, or asking for help.
Vocabulary
- Feeling
- A feeling is an emotion you notice in your mind or body.
- Happy
- Happy means you feel good, glad, or pleased.
- Sad
- Sad means you feel unhappy, hurt, or like you might cry.
- Angry
- Angry means you feel upset because something feels unfair, wrong, or frustrating.
- Scared
- Scared means you feel worried or unsafe and may want help.
- Calm
- Calm means your body feels quiet, safe, and steady.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Saying “bad feelings” is a mistake because feelings are not bad. Some feelings are uncomfortable, but they still give us important information.
- Using hands to hit when angry is a mistake because anger is okay but hurting others is not safe. Use words, take space, or ask an adult for help.
- Laughing at someone who is sad is a mistake because it can hurt their feelings more. A kinder choice is to say, “Are you okay?”
- Guessing a feeling from one clue only is a mistake because faces and bodies can show feelings in different ways. Listen to the person’s words too.
- Keeping every feeling secret is a mistake because trusted adults can help. It is okay to say, “I feel ____ and I need help.”
Practice Questions
- 1 You see 4 faces: 2 happy faces, 1 sad face, and 1 angry face. How many faces are there in all?
- 2 Mia takes 3 deep breaths, then takes 2 more deep breaths. How many deep breaths did Mia take?
- 3 Circle the feeling word that matches this clue: tears on cheeks and a frown. The choices are happy, sad, or calm.
- 4 A friend looks angry and says, “That was mine.” What is a kind and safe thing you could say or do?