Lesson Plan

Sometimes We Feel Mad KINDERGARTEN | Unit 2 | Lesson 8

Objective Bold–Teacher’s script

With adult prompting, students will be able to give at Italics–Anticipated student responses
least one reason why they think someone is feeling mad.

Brain Builder (3 min.)

Let’s warm up our brains with a Brain Builder: Level 3 of My Turn, Your Turn!

Have kids stand. Play video and observe how many can successfully do the challenge.

Getting Started (2–3 min.)

What feelings have we talked about so far? Happy. Sad.

Today we’re going to talk about feeling mad. Raise your hand if you’ve ever felt mad
or angry. Pause. We all feel mad or angry sometimes.

Think about a time you were mad. Show me how your face and body look when
you’re mad. Remember, stay in your own space. Pause, then describe what you see.
You have lots of ways of showing you’re mad. But you all look mad!

Today, we’ll talk about how we can tell when other people are feeling mad. Knowing
how others feel can help you be a better friend.

Practice (3–5 min.)

Jun wants to play, but her mom says no because it’s time to go to the store.
How do you think Jun’s feeling? Mad.

You’re right. Jun’s mad. How did you figure that out? Looks mad. Arms crossed.

You looked for clues. You’re getting good at that.

• You looked at her face. What did you notice? Her mouth. Her eyes. That’s right.
Jun’s face tells us she’s mad.
• You looked at Jun’s body. What did you notice? Her arms. Yes, one way to tell if
someone’s mad is to look at their body.
• You thought about what’s happening. What did you notice? Jun doesn’t want to go.
She wants to play. Yes, Jun’s mad because she can’t do something she wants to do.

We can tell that Jun’s mad by looking at her face and body and paying attention to
what’s happening.

We look for clues in the same ways to see if someone’s feeling happy, sad, or mad.
Looking for clues works with all kinds of feelings.

Are you ready to look for more?

JN22 | © 2021 Committee for Children | SecondStep.org Second Step® Elementary 1

 Lesson Plan
Sometimes We Feel Mad KINDERGARTEN | Unit 2 | Lesson 8

Practice, continued

Skylar tries over and over to tie her shoes by herself, but it’s just not working today.
Finally, she takes off a shoe and throws it on the ground. “I hate this!” she yells.

How do you think Skylar feels? Mad. If students say “sad,” tell them sad and mad can
look alike. Tell them you’ll look for more clues to see if she’s sad or mad.

Skylar’s mad. How did you figure that out? See if students can say they looked at
Skylar’s face and body and thought about what was happening.

• You looked at her face. What did you notice? Her eyes. Mouth. Yes, Skylar’s face
tells us she’s mad.
• You looked at Skylar’s body. What did you notice? Her arms. The way she’s sitting.
Yes, Skylar’s body gives us more clues.
• You thought about what’s happening. What did you notice? Skylar’s having trouble
tying her shoes. She can’t do it herself. Yes, Skylar feels mad about what happened.

We can tell Skylar’s mad by looking at her face and body and paying attention to
what’s happening.

One thing Skylar could do is ask for help. Someone could show her how and help her
practice. When you’re mad, you can always ask for help. Who could you ask for help?
Let students respond. Name adults at school or home who could help, including yourself.

Check (3–4 min.)

Pair kids for the Check. Ezra was playing at a table with friends. He felt thirsty,
so he jumped up to get a drink of water. He was quick! But when he came back,
someone was in his spot!

What do you think Ezra is feeling? Mad.

In a minute, you’ll tell me what clues you used to figure out that he feels mad.
Give time to talk after each question, then call on volunteers.

• Look at his face. Talk with your partner. What do you notice? His mouth.
His eyebrows.
• Now, look at his body. Talk with your partner. What do you notice? His hands are fists.
His arms are crossed.
• Think about what’s happening. Talk with your partner. What do you notice?
Someone took his spot.

Now that you’ve learned to use clues to tell how other people are feeling, let’s keep
using them here and everywhere!

JN22 | © 2021 Committee for Children | SecondStep.org Second Step® Elementary 2