💛 SELGrade 3Lesson 1
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Recognize Emotions in Depth

How to use: Download the PDF to print the worksheet. Then use this page to repeat activities and check answers.

Learning Objectives

  • 1Name emotions in depth
  • 2Match each emotion to the situation or body feeling that triggers it
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Mini Lesson

Everyone feels emotions every single day — joy, anger, fear, sadness, and many more. At Grade 3, you are ready to go deeper: instead of just naming a feeling, you will learn what causes it and how your body signals it.

What is an emotion trigger?

  • A trigger is the event or situation that starts a feeling.
  • Example: Getting a surprise gift leads to joy (heart lifts, smile appears).
  • Example: Someone takes your things without asking leads to anger (face feels hot, fists may tighten).

Body clues help you identify emotions

  • Joy — warm chest, wide eyes, energy to move or smile.
  • Fear — fast heartbeat, goosebumps, wanting to freeze or run.
  • Sadness — heavy feeling, eyes sting, low energy.
  • Embarrassment — hot cheeks, looking away, wanting to hide.

Why does it matter?

  • Knowing your triggers helps you predict how you might feel.
  • Noticing body clues helps you name the emotion before it takes over.
  • When you can name an emotion, you can choose how to respond wisely.
Six emotion faces with body cue labelsA grid showing six emotion faces: Joy (warm chest), Anger (hot face), Fear (fast heartbeat), Sadness (heavy feeling), Embarrassment (hot cheeks), and Excitement (butterflies).Emotions & Body CluesJoywarm chestAngerhot faceFearfast heartbeatSadnessheavy feelingEmbarrassmenthot cheeksExcitementbutterflies
Six emotion faces — Joy, Anger, Fear, Sadness, Embarrassment, and Excitement — each with a body-clue label.
Trigger to emotion to body response flowA three-step flow showing Trigger leads to Emotion leads to Body Response, with three examples: surprise gift/Joy/warm chest, item taken/Anger/hot face, and loud noise/Fear/fast heartbeat.How Emotions WorkTriggeran eventhappensEmotionyou feelsomethingBodysends asignalsurprise giftJoywarm chestitem takenAngerhot faceloud noiseFearfast heartbeatNaming emotions helps you respond wisely.
A three-step flow (Trigger, Emotion, Body Response) with three worked examples.
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Self-check: Can you think of one trigger for the emotion "excitement"?

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Guided Practice

Draw a face showing a feeling from this lesson on your paper. Then use the Tracing Pad to practice the feeling words.

Tracing Pad

Tip: As you trace each emotion word, think of one time you felt that feeling.

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Exercises

Tap an emotion on the left, then tap its matching trigger or body feeling on the right.

1. What is an emotion trigger?

2. Which body clue most often matches the emotion "joy"?

3. Which situation would most likely trigger anger?

4. How does fear usually feel in your body?

5. A close friend moves to another city. What emotion does this most likely trigger?

6. Which body clue best matches embarrassment?

7. Why is it helpful to name an emotion when you feel it?

8. What body feeling often goes with excitement?

9. What are the three parts of how an emotion works?

10. How does knowing your emotion triggers help you?

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Assessment

Parent / Teacher Checklist

Lesson 2 →