Unmixed Emotions: Matching Faces to Bodies

Without realizing it kids know how to read emotions through facial expressions and body postures. (And if they can't, this is good practice!)

Objectives

Children participating will be able to verbally express cause and effect relationships between feelings and behavior SE V
ages 4-5 can make analogies Lang. IIA
ages 3-4 can tell what action is going on in picture Lang. IB
ages 2-2 ½ years can demonstrate simple action words Lang. IIIB
and they can also recognize fine detail and given a choice of two, points to correct picture Lang. IB

Materials

Emotion pictures: face cards, 4x4" card showing happy, sad, mad, afraid, surprise, etc. and body cards, 4x4", showing simple bodies that express the facial emotions. Game board: 8x12", divided into 6 spaces -- 3 above and 3 below.
SEE ILLUSTRATION

 
 
 

Procedures

1. Show the happy face card and have that emotion identified. Ask each child, "What things make you happy? Show me how you look when you're happy. Stand up and show me with your whole body." Put the body cards on the table. "Find a body that matches the happy face." Repeat this procedure with each emotion face card.

2. Place the game board on the table. "Now we are going to play a game with these pictures. Watch carefully!" Put three face cards on the top row and two body cards below their matching faces. Leave one body space blank. Place the other emotion cards on the table. "Find the missing body." Allow time for one of the children to notice the analogy and explain, perhaps with prompting, to the other children.

3. Always using the top row for face cards and the bottom row for body cards, continue the procedure until each child has had a turn. Either a face or body card could be matched. To simplify the game, show a child one emotion picture. Give a choice of two grossly different facial expressions or body postures to choose from for his "missing" picture.