Feelings and Friends Facilitation Guide Feelings & Friends
Tier 2 Social-Emotional Learning • 1st Grade
Duration
15 Mins
Objective
Students will identify and name emotions in themselves and others, understanding that others have different feelings.
Audience
Small group of 1st Grade students (Tier 2 intervention context).
Approach
Interactive discussion, visual aids, and scenario-based roleplay.
Preparation
5 minutes prep time
Review Slide Deck and discussion points.
Print and cut Empathy Scenario Cards.
Print Feeling Faces Worksheets.
Materials
Feelings & Friends Slide Deck
Empathy Scenario Cards
Feeling Faces Worksheet
The "Why"
Understanding empathy helps students build stronger friendships, resolve conflicts peacefully, and create a supportive community.
Step-by-Step Guide
1
Warm-Up: What's Your Feeling?
3 MINS
Display Slide 2 and ask: "How are you feeling right now?"
Each student shares one feeling word and a brief "why" (e.g., "I feel happy because I love learning with my friends!").
2
Introducing Empathy
4 MINS
Display Slide 3 . Define empathy: "Empathy is understanding how someone else feels, even if you don't feel the same way."
Use Slide 4 to discuss facial expressions and body language. Ask: "How can you tell if someone is happy? Sad? Mad?"
3
Empathy Scenario Practice
5 MINS
Display Slide 5 . Explain you will read stories from the Empathy Scenario Cards .
For each card, ask: "How do you think [Character] is feeling?" and "What could you do to show you understand and care?"
4
Cool-Down: Show Your Feelings
3 MINS
Display Slide 6 . Hand out the Feeling Faces Worksheet .
Prompt: "Draw a face showing how you'd feel if your friend shared their toy with you."
Reiterate the importance of noticing and caring about others' feelings before concluding.
Feelings and Friends Slide Deck Feelings & Friends
Understanding Empathy Together
TEACHER NOTES: Welcome the students and introduce the topic of feelings. Ask them if they know what empathy means.
How Are You Feeling Today?
Share one feeling word and why you feel that way!
TEACHER NOTES: Ask each student to share one feeling word and why they feel that way. This helps activate prior knowledge and builds a safe space.
What is Empathy?
Empathy means understanding how someone else feels...
...even if you don't feel the same way!
It's like putting yourself in their shoes!
TEACHER NOTES: Introduce empathy simply. Use the "shoes" metaphor. Example: friend dropping ice cream.
Spotting Feelings
How can you tell how someone is feeling?
😊 Happy
😢 Sad
😡 Mad
😨 Scared
🤩 Excited
TEACHER NOTES: Discuss emotions. Ask students to show the facial expression for each and describe what their body might do.
Empathy Practice!
Let's listen to some stories and think about feelings.
Listen
Think
Share
TEACHER NOTES: Read the short stories from the scenario cards. Ask about feelings and supportive actions. Remind them to listen carefully.
Show Your Feelings
Draw a face showing how you would feel in this situation:
"Your friend shares their favorite toy with you!"
TEACHER NOTES: Explain the worksheet activity. Offer help as needed. Collect worksheets at the end.
Feelings and Friends Scenario Cards Empathy Scenario Cards
Teacher Instruction: Cut out these cards along the dotted lines. Read one story at a time to the group and use the questions to lead a discussion about empathy.
Scenario 1
Lily built a tall tower of blocks, and then her little brother accidentally knocked it over. Lily's eyes started to water, and she looked down at the mess.
Discussion Questions
How do you think Lily is feeling?
What could you say or do to show Lily you care?
Scenario 2
Tom was playing soccer, and he scored a goal! He jumped up and down with a big smile on his face, cheering loudly.
Discussion Questions
How do you think Tom is feeling?
What could you say or do to show Tom you understand his excitement?
Scenario 3
Maria's mom told her it was time to leave the park, but Maria wanted to stay and play longer. She crossed her arms and made a frown.
Discussion Questions
How do you think Maria is feeling?
What could you say or do if you were her friend and saw her feeling this way?
Scenario 4
Aiden brought his favorite stuffed animal to school for show-and-tell. When it was his turn, he stood up tall and spoke clearly about his toy, even though he felt a little nervous.
Discussion Questions
How do you think Aiden is feeling?
What could you say or do to encourage Aiden and show him you're proud?
Feeling Faces Worksheet Feeling Faces
Draw the face and write the feeling word!
Name:
Date:
Situation 1: Your friend is crying because they lost their favorite toy.
Draw face here
What feeling is this?
Situation 2: Someone helped you pick up all your pencils after they spilled.
Draw face here
What feeling is this?
Situation 3: You see a new student sitting alone at lunch. How might they feel?
Draw face here
What feeling is this?
I care about my friends' feelings!
