Mirror Game Guide Teacher Guide
Feelings Faces Mirror Game
Pre-K social-emotional learning lesson (30 Minutes)
SUBJECT Self-Awareness & SEL
LEARNING OBJECTIVE
Students will identify and mimic 4 basic emotions (happy, sad, mad, scared) using mirrors and peer facial cues.
KEY VOCABULARY
Happy Sad Mad Scared
PREPARATION & MATERIALS
Handheld mirrors (1 per child), Feelings Slides, Script, Draw Your Feeling Worksheet, crayons.
Instructional Arc: 30-Minute Pathway
01. Warm-Up
Feelings Song (5m)
02. Modeling
Teacher & Mirror (7m)
03. Practice
Students Mirror (8m)
04. Share
Partner Mirror (5m)
05. Reflect
Draw & Close (5m)
Step-by-Step Lesson Execution
1 Warm-Up Song: "If You're Happy & You Know It"
5 mins
Gather students in a circle. Introduce the song with specific feelings-based physical actions.
Happy Verse: "If you're happy and you know it, show a smile..."
Sad Verse: "If you're sad and you know it, rub your eyes / make a frown..."
Mad Verse: "If you're mad and you know it, cross your arms..."
Scared Verse: "If you're scared and you know it, hide your face..."
2 Teacher Modeling with Mirror
7 mins
Introduce the concept of using a mirror to observe facial clues. Show physical characteristics of emotions on your own face.
Happy Clues: Corners of mouth go up, cheeks puff up, eyes crinkle.
Sad Clues: Corners of mouth go down, heavy chin, eyes watery or small.
Mad Clues: Eyebrows squeeze together, mouth in flat line, teeth might press.
Scared Clues: Eyes wide open, mouth open wide, hands near face.
Feelings Faces Mirror Game β’ Lesson Guide Page 1 of 2
Teacher Guide
Feelings Faces Mirror Game
Step 3-5, Differentiation & Classroom Assessment
SUBJECT Self-Awareness & SEL
Step-by-Step Lesson Execution (Continued)
3 Students Mimic and Label in Handheld Mirrors
8 mins
Distribute Handheld Mirrors Set to students. Go through slide by slide. Call out an emotion. Have students look in their mirrors, make that feeling face, and freeze. Let them identify which parts of their face are moving.
4 Partner Check-In and Share
5 mins
Put students in pairs. One partner makes a face from the slides; the other partner names the feeling. Switch roles. Promote looking at the partner's eyes and mouth for visual cues.
5 Reflective Closing & "Draw Your Feeling" Sheet
5 mins
Gather students back. Ask: "When did you feel HAPPY today? When did you feel MAD?" Hand out the Draw Your Feeling Sheet . Have them color and draw their current face.
Differentiation Strategies
For Support: Use physical "Emotion Cards" with real-world pictures of faces alongside mirrors. Assist with physical tactile prompts ("touch your eyebrows").
For Challenge: Introduce a 5th feeling (Surprised or Excited). Ask them to explain why an eye widen indicates being scared versus surprised.
Management Tips
Mirror Safety: Set strong guidelines: "Mirrors stay in our hands, we do not touch faces or hit other surfaces with them."
Focus Sign: "Mirrors down, eyes on me!" - Have students place mirrors face-down on their laps or the carpet to focus during transitions.
Playful Observational Checklist
EMOTION SHAPES Child mimics happy, sad, mad, and scared facial expressions correctly on request.
PEER RECOGNITION Child identifies peer emotions by looking at mouth and eye expressions during game.
SEL CONNECTION Child names a specific time they felt happy/sad today during closing circle.
Feelings Faces Mirror Game β’ Lesson Guide Page 2 of 2
Feelings Faces Slides Pre-K SEL Circle Time Slide 1 of 6
The Mirror Game
Feelings Faces!
Let's look in our mirrors and discover how we show our emotions today!
Get your mirrors ready!
π Happy π’ Sad π‘ Mad π¨ Scared
Feeling #1 Slide 2 of 6
Happy Face! π
What to look for:
Big smile with corners pointing up
Cheeks are puffy and high
Eyes look crinkly and sparkling
Look in your Mirror!
Show us your biggest, happiest smile! Can you see your teeth?
"I feel happy when I play with my friends!"
Feeling #2 Slide 3 of 6
Sad Face... π’
What to look for:
Mouth corners pointing down
Heavy chin or pouting lip
Eyes looking down, maybe watery
Look in your Mirror!
Make a gentle frown. Let's see your sad mouth shape.
"I feel sad when I have to stop playing."
Feeling #3 Slide 4 of 6
Mad Face! π‘
What to look for:
Eyebrows squeezed down and together
Mouth tightly closed in a flat line
Staring eyes, maybe a red cheeks look
Look in your Mirror!
Squeeze your eyebrows together! Can you feel them pinch?
"I feel mad when my toy gets taken away!"
Feeling #4 Slide 5 of 6
Scared Face! π¨
What to look for:
Eyes open very, very wide
Mouth open, chin dropped down
Hands might come up to your face
Look in your Mirror!
Open your eyes wide! How big can you make them?
"I feel scared when I hear loud thunder storms!"
Partner Game Slide 6 of 6
Partner Mirror Check-In!
Turn to your neighbor. One partner makes a face from our slides, the other partner guesses the feeling!
Happy π
Sad π’
Mad π‘
Scared π¨
How did your partner do? Give them a high five! Let's Draw Next! π¨
Teacher Script with Prompts Instructional Support
Teacher Script & Prompts
Verbal cues, physical actions, and transitions for Pre-K
Support Level Detailed Facilitation
Usage Tip: Text in bold quotes is spoken. Text in [bracketed italics] represents movements and gestures.
Warm-Up & Song Script (5 Mins)
"Good morning, my happy helpers! Today we are going to explore how we show feelings on our faces. Letβs warm up our faces together!"
"If you're happy and you know it, show a smile! [Smile]
If you're sad and you know it, make a frown... [Frown]
If you're mad and you know it, squeeze your brows! [Scowl]
If you're scared and you know it, hide your eyes! [Gasp]"
"Wonderful! Your faces are ready. Let's see what our feelings look like inside a mirror!"
Mirror Modeling & Guided Cues (15 Mins)
[Hold up your large teacher mirror. Point to your mouth.]
"Look at my face. When I smile, the corners of my mouth go way up to my nose! This is my Happy Face. Pick up your mirrors. Look inside! Show me your Happy Face! Can you see your cheeks puff up?"
"Now let's try another. When my mouth goes down and eyes look heavy... that's my Sad Face. [Make sad face]. Look in your mirror. Make a gentle frown. What do your lips look like?"
"Let's look at Mad! When I'm mad, my eyebrows squeeze together tight! [Make mad face]. Try that in your mirror. Squeeze those brows! Do they look like tiny worms pinching?"
"Finally, look at Scared! [Gasps and opens eyes wide]. My eyes go wide and my mouth pops open! Look in your mirror. How wide can you open your eyes?"
Partner Mirror Check-In Script (5 Mins)
"Now, turn to your partner! One of you will make an emotion face, and the other will guess which emotion it is. If you see their mouth pointing up, yell 'Happy!' If their brows are squeezed, yell 'Mad!' Let's play!"
[Observe partner play. Help scaffold: "Look at Bobby's mouth. Is it a smile or a frown? What does that tell you?"]
Closing & Drawing Transition (5 Mins)
"We used our mirrors to see our beautiful feelings faces! To close, letβs think: when did you feel HAPPY today? When did you feel MAD? Let's take out our crayons and draw our feelings face on our sheet!"
Feelings Faces Mirror Game β’ Facilitation Script Page 1 of 1
Handheld Mirrors Set Handheld Feelings Mirrors
Activity Manipulatives: Cut out along the dotted lines!
Part 1
How to Play: Cut out each mirror. Hold it up and make the matching feeling face inside the frame! Ask a partner to guess!
CUT OUT THIS MIRROR
π HAPPY
My Happy Mirror
Look inside and show a giant smile!
Happy Face Checklist:
Mouth corners up
Puffy cheeks
CUT OUT THIS MIRROR
π’ SAD
My Sad Mirror
Look inside and let's see a gentle frown.
Sad Face Checklist:
Mouth corners down
Drooping shoulders
Feelings Faces Mirror Game β’ Handheld Mirrors Set Page 1 of 2
Handheld Feelings Mirrors
Activity Manipulatives: Cut out along the dotted lines!
Part 2
How to Play: Cut out each mirror. Hold it up and make the matching feeling face inside the frame! Ask a partner to guess!
CUT OUT THIS MIRROR
π‘ MAD
My Mad Mirror
Look inside and squeeze your eyebrows together tight!
Mad Face Checklist:
Eyebrows squeezed
Mouth tightly shut
CUT OUT THIS MIRROR
π¨ SCARED
My Scared Mirror
Look inside and open your eyes super wide!
Scared Face Checklist:
Eyes open wide
Mouth open wide
Feelings Faces Mirror Game β’ Handheld Mirrors Set Page 2 of 2
Draw Your Feeling Sheet Draw Your Feeling
How do you feel right now?
Name
Date
My Feeling Mirror Look in your mirror! How does your face look today? Draw your eyes, eyebrows, nose, and mouth inside the mirror below to show your feeling!
β¨
β¨
Circle the word that matches your drawing!
π Happy
π’ Sad
π‘ Mad
π¨ Scared
Feelings Faces Mirror Game β’ Draw Your Feeling Sheet Page 1 of 1