As a preschool teacher, you know the importance of helping children understand and manage their emotions. Young learners can experience a range of feelings, and teaching them to ‘change the channel’ on their big feelings is a vital skill. In this blog post, we introduce an interactive lesson plan featuring a Preschool Change the Channel worksheet with tracing practice and a three-picture sorting activity featuring Everyday Speech plant characters, Shelly and Sunny.
Understanding Big Feelings in Preschoolers
Preschool children often experience intense emotions but may lack the tools to express or manage them effectively. As educators, it’s our role to provide strategies that help them navigate these feelings in a healthy way.
Lesson Plan Overview
Preschool Change the Channel Worksheet
Objective: Students will learn to identify their emotions and use strategies to ‘change the channel’.
Materials: Printable ‘Change the Channel’ worksheet, pencils or crayons, quiet workspace.
Duration: 30 minutes
Introduction to Emotions (5-10 minutes)
Start by discussing feelings with your class. Use simple language to describe different emotions and ask students to share how they feel today. This introduction sets a supportive tone for the lesson.
The ‘Change the Channel’ Concept (5 minutes)
Introduce the concept of ‘changing the channel’ on their feelings. Explain that just like on a TV, they can ‘change the channel’ in their minds to feel calmer.
Activity: Worksheet Fun with Shelly and Sunny (15-20 minutes)
- Worksheet Distribution: Hand out the ‘Change the Channel’ worksheets. The worksheet includes tracing practice to help with fine motor skills and a three-picture sorting activity.
- Tracing Practice: The worksheet starts with tracing, a calming activity that helps focus the children’s minds.
- Sorting Activity: Next, engage the students with a sorting task. It includes pictures of Shelly and Sunny. The children sort these images to show how Shelly goes from jealous to calm.
- Discussion: After the activity, discuss with the children how Shelly and Sunny might ‘change the channel’ on their feelings. This reinforces the concept in a relatable way.
Cool-Down and Reflection (5 minutes)
End the lesson with a quiet time for reflection. Encourage students to think about times they’ve felt like Shelly and how they might ‘change the channel’ next time.
Simple, No-Prep Activity Ideas
To reinforce the learning from this lesson, consider these additional activities:
- Emotion Charades: Play a game where children act out different emotions and others guess what they are.
- Feelings Circle Time: Have a daily or weekly circle time where students share their feelings.
- Emotion Storytime: Read a story about emotions and discuss the characters’ feelings.
Conclusion
This lesson plan is designed to empower preschoolers to understand and manage their emotions creatively and effectively. By incorporating the ‘Change the Channel’ concept into your teaching, you’re helping to lay the foundation for emotional intelligence and resilience in young learners.
Sample Video
Students learn best from watching real students their own age model skills. Try out this sample video-modeling lesson below. We offer our entire Social-Emotional Learning platform free for 30 days here!
Related Blog Posts:
Preschool Feelings Detective Activity
Box Breathing: A Simple Technique to Help Students Regain Calm and Focus
