Understanding Emotions Lesson Grade 1 SEL Happy, Sad, Angry, Scared Activities

Help your 1st graders recognize and express emotions with this fun SEL lesson! This Understanding Emotions Lesson for Grade 1 focuses on the four core feelings—happy, sad, angry, and scared—through interactive slides, games, and printable worksheets. Perfect for SEL instruction, morning meetings, or counseling groups, this ready-to-use resource makes learning about feelings hands-on, engaging, and age-appropriate. What Students Will Learn: How to identify the feelings happy, sad, angry, and scared What emotions look and sound like in different situations Why it’s important to recognize and talk about feelings Positive ways to respond when experiencing strong emotions What’s Included: Teaching Slides (PDF): Clear explanations of happy, sad, angry, and scared Prompts for class discussion (with suggested answers) Emotion Charades Game: printable cards for students to act out and guess emotions Feeling Faces Worksheet: students draw and label each of the four emotions Journaling Page: “Today I felt ___ because ___.” with helping words for support Perfect For: Grade 1 SEL lessons Understanding feelings and emotions activities Morning meetings or circle time School counseling or character education Printable & movement-based activities Why Teachers Love It: No prep required – just print or project and go Developmentally appropriate for 1st graders Combines visual, hands-on, and movement-based learning Builds empathy, self-awareness, and emotional vocabulary Give your students the tools to understand their feelings and respect others’ emotions with this engaging Grade 1 SEL lesson.