GRADES K-3
Specific Session Objectives
1. Students will express feelings verbally and nonverbally
2. Students will identify emotional patterns
Session Materials:
1. Open space large enough for students to move about
freely, but not too large
2. Copy of Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are
Session Content
1. Warm-up Space Walk: Coach the students to do the following:
Begin by walking around the room. Allow your body to
relax. Shake out your arms and legs, take a breath and exhale loudly, letting
out worries and fears. Let your mind be free of whatever thoughts are in
it. Let your eyes relax, focus on nothing in particular. Do not bump into
others. Do not talk. Just listen to my voice. Allow your self to wander
around the room. You have no particular place to go. Feel the space around
you as you walk, feel the floor beneath your feet, feel the air around
you, let your body relax. Now start slowing down. Be ready to come to a
stop. It is time to stop. Let your body be still, not stiff. Look straight
in front of you. Let your eyes go deeply in an object or person in front
of you. Feel the colors and shapes and textures of what you are looking
at. How is this object or person that you are looking at feeling today?
Now begin walking again. Feel a weight on top of your head. It does not
hurt, but it is very heavy. Keep walking. Now let the weight go. Feel a
weight on your back. Keep walking, but show how heavy this weight is by
changing your walk. Continue being careful to not bump into others. Let
the weight on your back go. Take a deep breath and let it out. Continue
walking until you have a found a partner. Walk with your partner until
you come to a stop. All teams should now come to stop. Please take a seat
with your partner.
2. Presentation and Dramatization of the Story:
A. Read only first three pages out loud: "The night Max
wore his wolf suit and made mischief of one kind I or another I his mother
called him WILD THING! and Max said "I'LL EAT YOU UP!" so he was sent to
bed without eating anything." Show the pictures and ask students to discuss
things Max is doing to make mischief. Ask them to recall things they have
done that were considered "mischief" by their parents, guardians, teachers,
brothers or sisters.
B. Dramatize the first part of the story. Explain that the purpose of the dramatization is to understand Max's emotions and his mother's emotions. Ask students to choose who is A and who is B in their team. First the As will play Max and Bs will play Max's mother. Ask the As to pantomime either an action that got them into trouble or an action of Max's that got him in trouble. Bs will play the role of the mother. Bs will stop their partners' actions by saying: "WILD THING!" As playing Max respond: "I'LL EAT YOU UP!" Encourage students to show their feelings. As teams work, rotate around the room. Use the command "Freeze" to stop the action the action. Interview the actors to probe for feelings. Reverse roles and ask Bs to play Max and As to play Max's mother.
C. Finish reading the story. Then ask all the As to sit on one side of the room and all of the Bs to sit on the other. Next, announce that students will act out the rest of the story. As will be Max and the Bs will be the Wild Things. Ask the Bs to form a forest of wild things. Explain that as you read the story, As will wander into the forest of Wild Things created by Bs. No talking is needed. Everyone needs to listen to the story. Wild things need to listen especially for Max's command "BE STILL!" which they must follow. Reverse the roles. The important part of this section of the drama is the moment when Max sends the wild things off to bed with no supper, when Max is repeating the behavior of his mother.
D. Cool Down - Repeat the Space Walk warm-up exercise with the entire class to erase the energy caused by the wild things. End with the class coming together standing in a circle.
E. Feeling Review: Ask students to find a space that is
all their own. Explain that they are going to become statues that show
Max's feelings. Coach the students as follows:
You are a going to become different statues that show
Max's feelings. Show me the moment when your mother discovers you "making
mischief." Unfreeze. Show me the moment when you are sent to your room
without eating anything. Unfreeze. Show me the moment when you order the
wild things off to bed without their supper. Unfreeze. Show me the moment
when your are lonely. Unfreeze. Show me the moment when you return home
and find your dinner waiting for you. Unfreeze.
As you observe students taking different emotional poses, comment on their facial expressions and posture to help students recognize and nonverbal emotional expression.
3. Reflect: Lead a discussion using the following questions.
Insert other feelings as demonstrated or mentioned by your group. Purpose
of this discussion is to encourage students to recognize patterns in their
emotional life.
What are times when you feel happy? mad? sad'? lonely?
How do you behave when you feel happy? mad? sad? lonely?
How do other people behave when they are happy? mad?
sad? lonely?
Session Assessment
1. Ask students if they recognize patterns of behavior
in the story. Discuss.
2. Ask students to think about and then identify times
when their behavior repeats itself.
Discuss. Encourage students to not only describe their
patterns of behaviors but also their feelings.
3. You may ask students to draw a picture of a themselves
which expresses a repeated emotion that has become a pattern in their life.
Relevant References in Gole man's Emotional Intelligence:
pp.46-48, 96-98, 259-260, 275-276.
Developed by Barbara Jo Maier
GRADES 4-5
Specific Session Objectives
1. Students will express feelings verbally and nonverbally
2. Students will identify people or places that trigger
emotions, so they can recognize emotional patterns
Session Materials
1. Open space large enough for students to move about
freely
2. Large pieces of paper, enough for each student to
have two sheets
3. Colored pens, pencils, markers
4. Selections of music that sound angry, peaceful or
happy and sad
Session Content
1. Warm up - Space Walk: Coach students to do the following:
A. Begin by walking around the room.
Allow your body to relax. Shake out your arms and legs, take a breath and
exhale loudly, letting out worries and fears. Let your mind be free of
whatever thoughts are in it. Let your eyes relax, focus on nothing in particular.
Do not bump into others. Do not talk. Just listen to my voice. Allow your
self to wander around the room. You have no particular place to go. Feel
the space around you as you walk, feel the floor beneath your feet, feel
the air around you, let your body relax. Now start slowing down. Be ready
to come to a stop. It is time to stop. Let your body be still, not stiff.
Look straight in front of you. Let your eyes go deeply in an object or
person in front of you. Feel the colors and shapes and textures of what
you are looking at. How is this object or person that you are looking at
feeling today? Now begin walking again. Feel a weight on top of your head.
It does not hurt, but it is very heavy. Keep walking. Now let the weight
go. Feel a weight on your back. Keep walking, but show how heavy this weight
is by changing your walk. Continue being careful to not bump into others.
Let the weight on your back go. Take a deep breath and let it out. Continue
walking until you have a found a space that is all your own and then sit,
then lay down and be as comfortable as you can be.
B. Ask students to close their eyes and imagine the things you suggest: What is a place or person that makes you feel angry? See that place or person. Listen to the sounds around you. What does it smell like? What colors do you notice? Erase that picture in your mind. Imagine a place or person that makes you feel peaceful or happy. See the colors, listen to the sounds. Enjoy this picture, this place, this time. Now let it go. Take a deep breath and let it out slowly. Next imagine a person or place that make you feel sad. Look around in this place or at the person. What are all the things you can see? hear? smell? touch? We aren't staying here long. Look at the person or place and then let the picture go. Take a deep breath and let it out slowly.
2. Presentation: Invite students to take two sheets of
paper.
A. Instruct them to take the first sheet of paper and
scribble all over it.
B. On the second sheet of paper ask students to draw
one of the pictures they just imagined:
a. A place or person that makes them
feel angry
b. A place or person that makes them
feel peaceful and happy
c. A place or person that makes them
feel sad
C. After everyone has finished, ask students to place their pictures on the floor, putting pictures that have the same '"feel" to them next to each other.
D. Invite students to take a walk in the "Emotional Gallery." Each student is to walk around the gallery to select a picture they relate to in some way. They are to stand next to the picture they select. When everyone has made a choice, ask each person to state in one sentence what feelings they see expressed in the picture and why they feel connected to the picture.
E. Divide the class into groups of 4, putting people in groups based on the pictures they selected. Put people into groups with pictures that express similar feelings.
F. In groups, ask students to tell each other about times when they have felt the emotions expressed in the picture they have selected. Suggest that students begin with the phrase "This picture reminds me of the time when I felt..." Groups are to select key moments from each group member's description and make a frozen picture of the incident. If there are four people in the group, the group will stage four frozen moments that represent the most interesting or emotional moments shared by each group member. All group members are to be part of each frozen picture. Encourage groups to plan the order of images and rehearse. Ask groups to suggest a title for their sequence of scenes.
G. Ask each group to present their sequence of scenes to the class. As each picture is staged, take turns asking different students not in the moment to describe what the frozen picture expresses to them. Point out to students how places and people trigger certain emotions in each of us. Also point out how body language communicates emotions.
Session Assessment
1. In a large group, ask students to share what they
have learned about which places and people in their lives trigger certain
emotions.
2. Ask students if they can identify patterns of behavior
that are based on feelings triggered by certain people and places. Ask
students to record their insights on the back sides of their "scribble
art."
Relevant References in Goleman's Emotional Intelligence:
pp.46-48, 96-98, 259-260, 275-276, 289-296.
Developed by Barbara Jo Maier
GRADES 6-8
Specific Session Objectives
1. Students will express feelings verbally and nonverbally
2. Students will identify emotional patterns
Session Materials
1. Open space large enough for students to move about
freely, but not too large
2. Colored "emotion" tags, one for each student. Create an equal amount of tags labeled as follows: Angry, Sad, Nervous, Ashamed, Proud, Shocked
3. Write on the board these synonyms which match the emotions
on the tags:
Angry: outraged, exasperated, vexed, annoyed, irritated,
furious, resentful
Sad: cheerless, gloomy, melancholy, lonely, dejected,
depressed
Nervous: anxious, concerned, afraid, wary, edgy, frightened
Embarrassed: guilty, ashamed, remorseful, humiliated,
mortified regretful
Proud: happy, joyful, delighted, amused, thrilled, satisfied,
ecstatic
Shocked: surprised, astonished, amazed, full of wonder
4. A selection of music
5. Optional: Pieces of music that match the emotions named above
SESSION CONTENT
1. Warm-up:
A. Give each student an "emotion" tag as they enter the
room.
B. Ask students to form two circles, equal in number,
one inside of the other. Play a selection of music and ask both circles
to walk around in opposite directions from each other. Tell students that
when the music stops, they should stop and face the person they are opposite
in the other circle. Instruct the inner circle to share first. Each time
the music stops, call out sentence starters from the list below. Ask students
to repeat what you say and then finish the sentence.
a. One thing that makes me angry is
b. One thing that makes me sad is
c. One thing that makes me nervous
is
d. One time I felt guilty was when
e. I felt really proud when
f. I was really shocked when
C. Ask people wearing the "Angry," "Sad," and "Nervous"
emotion tags to make the outer circle, leaving the "Embarrassed," "Proud,"
and "Shocked" people in the inner circle. Mixing up the circles give people
different listeners.
D. Play the music and when it stops ask the outer circle
to freeze as a statue, showing the emotion that you call out. The person
on the inner circle observes the person opposite them and then describes
to their partner how the person's body is showing the emotion. Rotate the
frozen emotion statues back and forth between inner and outer circles,
using not the emotions on the tags, but synonyms from the board.
E. Have students form groups according to their emotional
tags.
2. Presentation:
A. In groups, ask students to tell each other about times
when they have felt the emotion they are wearing or when they have seen
others feel it. Encourage students to share not only the incident, but
what behaviors the emotion made them or the person they observed do. Each
group is to select a key moment from each person's description and make
a frozen picture of the incident. All group members are to be part of each
frozen picture. Encourage groups to plan the order of images and rehearse.
B. Ask each group to present their sequence of emotional images to the class. While each group is presenting a specific emotion, play appropriate music, if available. Announce to the class that when the music stops, scenes are to come to life, with characters in the scenes improvising the dialogue. When the music resumes, students are to resume the frozen image they were in and then move on to their next image. Allow at least one image in each group to come alive.
C. Cool Down - Space Walk: Coach the students to do the following:
Begin by walking around the room. Allow your body to relax. Shake out your arms and legs, take a breath and exhale loudly, letting out worries and fears. Let your mind be free of whatever thoughts are in it. Let your eyes relax, focus on nothing in particular. Do not bump into others. Do not talk. Just listen to my voice. Allow your self to wander around the room. You have no particular place to go. Feel the space around you as you walk, feel the floor beneath your feet, feel the air around you, let your body relax. Now start slowing down. Be ready to come to a stop. It is time to stop. Let your body be still, not stiff. Look straight in front of you. Let your eyes go deeply in an object or person in front of you. Feel the colors and shapes and textures of what you are looking at. How is this object or person that you are looking at feeling today? Now begin walking again. Feel a weight on top of your head. it does not hurt, but it is very heavy. Keep walking. Now let the weight go. Feel a weight on your back. Keep walking, but show how heavy this weight is by changing your walk. Continue being careful to not bump into others. Let the weight on your back go. Take a deep breath and let it out. Continue walking until you have a found a partner. Walk with your partner until you come to a stop. All teams should now come to stop. Please take a seat with your partner.
D. In pairs, ask students to select if they want to be
A, the reporter, or B, the person being interviewed. A's task is to get
as much information about B's patterns of emotions and behavior. B may
choose to answer as him/herself or as an imagined person. A should take
notes and be ready to report to the whole group. A may ask questions such
as "How often do you feel ______? What do you do when you feel_____? Reverse
roles.
Session Assessment
I. In a large group, ask anyone who wishes to share what
they have learned about patterns in their emotions and behaviors.
2. You may ask students to draw a picture of a themselves which expresses a repeated emotion that has become a pattern in their life.
Relevant References in Goleman's Emotional Intelligence:
pp.46-48, 96-98, 259-260, 27%276, 289-296.
Developed by Barbara Jo Maier
GRADES 9-12
Specific Session Objectives
1 - Students will identify emotional patterns and behavior
associated with anger
2. Students will express feelings verbally and nonverbally
Session Materials
1. Open space large enough for students to move about
freely
2. A selection of music
3. The commands PLAY, STOP, DUB, REVERSE, REWIND, FAST
FORWARD are written on the board.
SESSION CONTENT
I. Warm-up:
A. Announce to students that today's
class will focus on anger. Ask students to suggest verbs and phrases that
name all the different forms of anger. Write these on the board. To get
them started you may suggest: "all steamed up" or "hot under the collar."
B. Next, ask students to form two
circles, equal in number, one inside of the other. Play a selection of
music and ask both circles to walk around in opposite directions from each
other. Tell students that when the music stops, they should stop and face
the person they are opposite in the other circle. Instruct the inner circle
to share first. Each time the music stops, call out sentence starters from
the list below. Ask students to repeat what you say and then finish the
sentence.
a. I am really
great at
b. I feel
out of control when
c. Usually
I like to
d. When I
get angry what I do is
e. I felt
really proud when
f. I get so
jealous when
g. The color
red reminds me of
C. Ask half the people from the inner
circle to trade places with the same number of people in the outer circle.
Mixing up the circles give people different listeners.
D. Play the music and when it stops
ask the outer circle to freeze as a statue, showing the emotion that you
call out. The person on the inner circle observes the person opposite them
and then describes to their partner how the person's body is showing the
emotion. Rotate the frozen emotion statues back and forth between inner
and outer circles. Here is a list of possible emotions to call out: fury,
sorrow, annoyed, blissful, exasperated, embarrassed, furious
E. Ask students to be seated. Brainstorm
a list of all the different situations in which people in the class have
gotten angry. Jot them on the board.
F. Ask students to break up into groups
of 3. Each student is to select a situation from the list on the board
of a time when a person got angry.
2. Presentation:
A. Announce to students that the purpose
of this exercise is not to resolve personal issues but to explore why and
how we get angry. Direct students to set up two chairs facing each other.
One person sits in one of the chairs facing the empty chair. The other
two people observe. The person seated is in the movie, the observers are
in charge of the remote control.
B. The person in the chair is to imagine
a situation in which a person, real or imagined, made them really angry.
They are to picture this person sitting in the empty chair opposite them.
Encourage the seated person to see the clothes this person is wearing,
how the person's hair is today, how this person is sitting, what cologne
or perfume this person might be wearing, etc.
C. Announce that when students hear
you say "PLAY", the seated person is to say and do all the things they
need or want to say and do to this person they imagine in the empty chair
across from them.. If the observers feel they have things to say that further
express what the seated person is saying, then they are invited to stand
behind the person and DUB in their feelings. The two observers may call
PAUSE at any time. When PAUSE is called, the seated person is asked to
state the problem and his/her feelings. Observers say PLAY for the seated
person to resume the expression of anger. At any time and as often as they
choose observers may call out REVERSE. The seated person must change chairs
and reverse rotes. Again observers step behind the seated person to say
things that further express what the seated person is saying, DUBbing in
emotions. Observers may call out FAST FORWARD. The seated person must then
put the expression of anger in FAST FORWARD. Observers may call out REWIND.
The seated person must replay the scene backwards until the observers call
STOP. Reminder:
PAUSE means that the action stops and the seated person
has to state the problem and his/her feelings. PLAY is the command that
resumes the action, just like the remote control of a VCR. STOP is the
command for the movie to end. Remind students again that the purpose of
this exercise iS to explore situations that make us angry and what we do
when in those circumstances.
D. Rotate so that all three people
are actors in the Mad Movie.
E. After all students have made a
movie, ask students to take out a sheet of paper.
i. Give them three minutes to hst
all the things that make them angry.
ii. Next, on a scale of I to 5, ask
students to rank the items, with I being a situation or person that can
trigger their strongest feelings of anger and 5 a situation or person the
triggers only mild feelings of anger.
iii. Give them three minutes to list
all the things they do when they are angry. This is a list of facial expressions,
gestures, body posture.
iv. Finally, ask students to list
things they know they can do to put a STOP to level 1 feelings of anger.
Session Assessment
In a large group, ask anyone who wishes to share what
they have learned about their own "Mad Movies," their own emotional patterns
and behavior associated with anger.
Relevant References in Goleman's Emotional Intelligence:
pp.56 - 77, 189 - 199, 234 - 239, 256 - 260.
Developed by Barbara Jo Maier
GRADES 9-Adult
A Musical Exploration of Insight
Objectives: Participants will listen to and examine a specific song and utilize the images and ideas it evokes in them to reflect on and examine their own personal thoughts or views.
Materials:
Music- "Galileo," by The Indigo Girls off the album,
Rights of Passage
Tape or CD player
Stamps, envelopes and paper for participants
Printed lyrics for the song
Nametags for each participant
SESSION CONTENT:
1. Nametags will be distributed to all students and an
introduction will be given. Participants will be instructed that they will
be acting as, "Inventors", "Discoverors", "Creators", "Thinkers", and "Conquorers."
Discuss meanings of the word, INSIGHT.
2. Listen to the song, "Galileo." Instruct participants to follow the lyrics with the sheets distributed first. Have them just listen and follow along first, then play the song again with lower volume. Have students, on paper, write down feelings that this song sparks in them. Have them also include , if they can, the first impression this song had on them. (ex. If this is the first time they heard it, what are their reactions? Does this song have a past with them? Are they fans of it? Never liked it?)
3. Process Drama-In role, the leader informs participant that they, as exceptional leaders witn incredible insightful ideas, have all the power in the world to make changes and help improve their world around them. They are to find other people like them and jointly decide on what they are to accomplish. Groups will be determined by color codes on their nametags. Groups are: Inventorsi Creators, Thinkers, Conquorers and Discoverors. Based on their personal views and beliefs, have them develop one group idea or plan or a group of individual ones. These plans can be anything from solving a simple problem like how to keep sand of your bathing suit at the beach to acheiving world peace. Each plan or idea should be thought out in terms of steps to make it work and details on how it will be incorporated. REMIND participants that they have the power to change the world today and they will!!
4. After all groups have finished and come back together. Ask if any woul like to share. After groups have shared and there have been some questions asked. Step out of role with the participants. Distribute paper and envelopes. Tell the participants that today they are to call on their own insight to write themselves a letter. include in this brief letter something they woul like to change in their own life. STRESS the fact that this is not to imply something negative. It should be something that they would like to do, or change, invent , conquer or create. It could be big or small but as personal as they like. It could be how they want to change the world...
5. After participants have self-addressed their envelopes. Have them seal them. Tell them they will receive them at the full-moon. Replay the song, and one by one during the song, have them drop them into a central "mailbag." For the remainder of the song, instruct them to reflect on their own goals wishes and dreams and how they can and will... change the way the world thinks or exsists.
Assessment: Talk about what was included in the letters. Tell the participants to remember how the letter makes them feel when they receive it.
Distribute small tokens like photos of GALILEO or other
thing to remind them of their power of insight.
Developed by Tommy Jarmiolowski
Galileo
words and music by Emily Saliers
Galileo's head was on the block/the crime was looking
up the truth/ as the bombshells of my daily fears explode I try to trace
them to my youth/then you had to bring up reincarnation over a couple of
beers the other night/ now I'm serving time for mistakes made by another
in another lifetime/ how long till my soul gets it right can any human
being ever reach that kind of light I call on the resting soul of
Galileo king of night vsion king of insight /I think
about my fear of motion /which I never could explain some other fool across
the ocean years ago must have crashed his little airplane/ how long till
mx soul gets it right can any human being ever reach that kind of light
I call on the resting soul of Galileo king of night vsion king of insigh/
I'm not making a joke you know me I take everything so seriously/ if we
wait for the time till all souls get it right then at least I know there'll
be no nuclear annihilation in my lifetime I'm still not
right/ I offer thanks to those before me that's all I've got to say /maybe
you squandered big bucks in your lifetime now I have to pay /but then again
it feels like some sort of inspiration to let the next life off the hook
or she'll say look what I had to overcome from my last life I think I'll
write a book/ how long till my soul gets it right can any human being ever
reach that kind of light I call on the resting soul of Galileo king of
night vsion king of insight how long, how long, how long...
