BUILDING AND ENHANCING NEW LITERACIES ACROSS

MODULE THE CURRICULUM

CHAPTER 3: Emotional and Physical Literacy

Objectives:
 Identify the importance of emotional and physical literacy
 Apply knowledge of helping children develop the ability to
identify emotions
 Implore the benefits of physical literacy to lead active lives

What Is Emotional Literacy?

Emotional literacy means Identifying,

validating, and expressing your feelings,
as well as recognizing and responding to
the feelings of others. It refers to the ability
to express one's emotional state and
communicate one's feelings. A person
with well-developed emotional literacy is
therefore able to recognize and respond to
the emotional states of others. Children
must be taught to identify and regulate
their emotions.

Emotional Literacy involves having self-

awareness and recognition of one‟s own
feelings and knowing how to manage them, such as the ability to stay calm when
angered or to reassure oneself when in doubt. It includes empathy, i.e. having
sensitivity to the feelings of other people and it has been said that emotionally literate
people are able to employ self-discipline in order to harness their emotions and identify
and reach their personal goals.

This is helpful to developing good communication skills and the enhancement of our
relationships with other people.

Physical literacy is the development and repeated use of fine motor skills, balance,
confident movement, and the enjoyment of being able to move with skill. It is the
motivation, confidence, physical competence, knowledge, and understanding to value
and take responsibility for engagement in physical activities for life.

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Physical literacy is the development of

fundamental movement and sport skills.
These allow children to move confidently and
competently in a wide range of physical activity
and sport situations. Physical literacy also
includes the ability to „read‟ what‟s going on in
particular situations and reacting appropriately.

It involves holistic lifelong learning through

movement and physical activity. It delivers
physical, psychological, social and cognitive
health and wellbeing benefits.

How do these relate to one another?

Having competent physical literacy is a fundamental tool for the development and
expression of emotional literacy. In other words, the more comfortable you are in your
own body, the more in tune you will be with your own feelings, and the more in tune you
will be with the world.

Helping Children Develop Emotional Literacy

Exercises that teachers and parents can use to help young children develop the ability
to identify emotions.
Emotional literacy is a key aspect of
emotional intelligence and an essential
element among social and emotional learning
skills. It is based largely on vocabulary.
Emotion vocabulary is more than word
recognition; it shapes how children (and
adults) see the world.
Children need a strategic cognitive relational
vocabulary for understanding the world
around them and for everyday problem
solving. If one knows only the words sad,
mad, and glad, one will not be able to
appreciate all the nuances of relationships
and understanding in the world.

BUILD FEELINGS VOCABULARY

Young children should be able to recognize and accurately label these feelings: sad,
mad, happy, afraid, surprised, upset, worried, and proud.

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The best way to check for this ability is to show them pictures of these emotions,
using flash cards or the pictures in picture books and not focusing on the text. First,
ask children about the feelings they see in the images.

If they‟re correct, ask them how they know. Whether they‟re correct or not, point
out the variety of ways feelings are shown—different aspects of faces (eyes,
eyebrows, mouth, and forehead) and postures.

USE KEY COGNITIVE WORD PAIRS

In their research, Shure and Spivack identified key word pairs that are the building
blocks of human relationships and problem solving.
They suggest that adults explicitly use this terminology when speaking with young
children, as well as in activities intended to ensure they understand the meaning
of these concepts.

EXPLORING SAME AND DIFFERENT

This, of course, is a way of teaching same and different. And there are
innumerable occasions every day when teachers and parents can help young
children make the essential cognitive distinctions that these word pairs represent.

Using Alliteration: You will need pictures of a sock, table, book, bag, ball, and
bat. Ask the students to look and listen for what the pictures have in common or
how they are different. Then point to:
All the pictures that start with the same sound as book
Some of the pictures that start with the same sound as book
Some of the pictures that start with a different sound from book

Here’s what you need to know about Physical Literacy

1. Physical literacy is simple

The term “physical literacy” may sound intimidating, but it is actually a simple concept.
Physical literacy is merely about developing the fundamental movement skills that all
children need, such as running, hopping, throwing, catching and jumping. These

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movement skills in turn give kids the confidence to participate in different physical
activities, sports, and games.
It doesn‟t require special equipment or training, just a bit of knowledge and the simple
and natural desire to give your kid the right building blocks from the start.
2. Physical literacy is fun
Spend a bit of time with students doing activities they enjoy.
They will always play given the opportunity, but children who are physically literate will
be more confident and will have more fun playing because they know how to run, jump,
throw, and all the rest.
3. Physical literacy is essential in today’s world
In the past, kids developed physical literacy through school PE classes and regular
active play. But we know that both of these things have declined in recent years.
As a result, many kids aren‟t getting the chance to develop their physical literacy. This
is why we need to help make it happen as teachers.
Physical literacy is essential today because the outdoor games and activities that filled
our childhood and helped us develop movement skills have been replaced by more
screen time and inactivity in general.

4. Physical literacy means kids will be more active

Activities and games are to physical literacy what nursery rhymes are to language: a fun
and simple way for your child to develop the skills they need.
Children who are physically literate will be more confident to play games, and they will
have more fun playing because they know how to run, jump, throw, and all the rest.

The Elements of Physical Literacy

Motivation and Confidence (Affective)

Motivation and confidence refers to an
individual‟s enthusiasm for, enjoyment of,
and self-assurance in adopting physical
activity as an integral part of life.

Physical Competence (Physical)

Physical competence refers to an
individual‟s ability to develop movement
skills and patterns, and the capacity to
experience a variety of movement
intensities and durations.
Enhanced physical competence enables
an individual to participate in a wide range
of physical activities and settings.

Knowledge and Understanding

(Cognitive)
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Knowledge and understanding includes the ability to identify and express the essential
qualities that influence movement, understand the health benefits of an active lifestyle,
and appreciate appropriate safety features associated with physical activity in a variety
of settings and physical environments.

Engagement in Physical Activities for Life (Behavioral)

Engagement in physical activities for life refers to an individual taking personal
responsibility for physical literacy by freely choosing to be active on a regular basis.
This involves prioritizing and sustaining involvement in a range of meaningful and
personally challenging activities, as an integral part of one‟s lifestyle.

Benefits of Physical Literacy

Physical literacy shapes many aspects of our lives. For example, competent movers
tend to be successful both academically and socially.
They understand and demonstrate healthy-active lifestyles, are able to transfer
movement skills into different settings, and are more socially and psychologically
resilient. Improving in all the features of physical literacy will promote the;

 development of physical competence;

 confident participation in a wide variety of purposeful
physical pursuits;
 effective interaction in a wide variety of situations
and environments;
 development of confidence and self-esteem;
 sensitive interaction with others;
 knowledge and understanding of the importance of
physical activity in maintaining health;
 commitment to participate in a range of purposeful
physical pursuits;
 ability to reflect realistically on personal strengths
and to select appropriate, purposeful physical
pursuits in which to take part;
 appreciation of the value of purposeful physical
pursuits in their potential to enhance the quality of
life.

An emotional vocabulary is the collection of words children uses to express their

feelings and reactions to events. Even before they learned to talk, children were
beginning to build an emotional vocabulary.

Why is an Emotional Vocabulary Important?

Provided words for the strong and common emotions children feel, like happiness,
sadness, and anger, but we sometimes overlook the fact that there‟s a large and varied
vocabulary of emotion.
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Children need a larger pool of words

to draw on to be able to express all
their emotions as well as to be able to
read the cues that indicate other
people‟s feelings.

Being able to sense and understand

the emotions of others is a big part of
a child‟s social development and
social success.

If your child can read the emotional cues to get a sense of how other children are
responding to their attempts to connect with them, they are more able to respond
appropriately. This is the foundation on which the ability to create and maintain
friendships is built upon.

Activities to Increase Emotional Vocabulary

Kids learn via teaching, but they also
absorb the lessons that are going on
around them. It‟s a good idea to begin to
talk through your own feelings and
reactions with a variety of different words.

The Goal of Activities: To help children

identify and name a variety of different
emotions skills targeted:

Emotional intelligence, verbal communication, social skills.

There are many other ways you can help children increase their emotional literacy.

Make a Big List of Feelings: Grab a really big piece of paper and a marker and sit
down with children to brainstorm all the feelings you can think of. Your list may
include emotions children doesn‟t recognize, but that‟s okay. Make the face that
goes with the feeling and explain a situation in which that feeling may come up.

Read books: Literacy and emotional literacy don‟t have to be taught separately.
There are many great books that specifically explore emotions, but you can find
feelings in any story you read. When you‟re reading with children, ask them to help
you figure out what the main character is feeling in certain situations. Use the
pictures and the plot as clues to help.

Play Emotional Charades: This is a fun game to play with them. One of you picks
an emotion to convey to the other, using either your whole body or just your face. If
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children is having trouble making sense of the faces, give them a mirror, ask them to
make the same face as you and look in the mirror.
Make a Feelings Collage: Give them some paper, scissors, glue, and old
magazines. You can either provide a list of feelings that they need to find faces to
match or have them make a collage of faces and tell you what the emotions are.
When they're done, label the emotions and hang the collage somewhere where it
can be easily accessed.
Role-play and review: One of the best ways to increase emotional vocabulary is to
role-play or to create social narratives. Come up with scenarios children might
encounter and have they act out how they might act and react. Alongside role-
playing comes reviewing. Go over situations that didn‟t end well, examine the
emotions of the people involved, and talk with your child about what could have
been done differently.

Why is Emotional Intelligence Important for Students?

Students with higher levels of emotional intelligence are able to better manage
themselves and relate to others around them.

This can help them develop improved self-

motivation and more effective communication
skills—essential skills to helping students
become more confident learners.
On the other hand, students who lack
emotional intelligence can become less
connected to school, negatively affecting
performance in the classroom.
Improving emotional intelligence in children
can help them:
 Improve self-awareness
 Manage stress
 Boost self-motivation
 Build empathy
 Make good decisions
 Communicate effectively
 Develop relationships

Understanding the importance of emotional literacy

It was Aristotle who once said that educating the mind without educating the heart really
wasn‟t educating anyone at all.
Emotions drive learning, creativity, relationships and health.
Psychological studies into behavioral disorders, learning difficulties and other aspects of
normal development have shown Emotional Literacy to be important in promoting
happiness and self-satisfaction.

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For many children it is very difficult for them to understand these feelings let alone
articulate them. There are many reasons which may contribute to the appearance, and
to the recognition, of emotional disruption.
In addition to being able to understand their own emotions, it also enables them to
develop the ability to listen to others, to develop empathy, helps to improve their quality
of life and relationships.

It is also important to help children understand that feelings can not only change over
time and are not permanent, but also that some feelings are brought on by change.
More education professionals should be trained in understanding and helping develop
emotional literacy. This can be done through a range of activities which:

 Encourage co-operation with others.

 Build self-esteem through positive social interaction.
 Demonstrate effective social behavior.
 Create imaginary situations to discuss the feelings of others.
 Use age appropriate story telling as a tool. Various aspects of emotional
matters and development can be explored and in a safe way.
 Create a healthy and successful learning environment.
 Modeling is an effective teaching method so teachers need to look after and
understand their own emotional health.

Putting academia aside, one of the most valuable lessons we can teach and support is
emotional literacy. Developing emotional literacy aids a child‟s mental health and also
physical well-being, as both are inextricably linked.

REFERENCE
https://physicalliteracy.ca/physical-literacy/
https://www.specialeducationalneeds.co.uk/emotional-literacy.html
http://inchlab.ca/inch-blog/physical-literacy-is-foundational-to-health-and-
development-in-early-childhood
https://www.specialeducationalneeds.co.uk/emotional-literacy.html
https://www.edutopia.org/blog/helping-young-children-develop-emotional-literacy-
maurice-elias

VIDEO LINKS
https://youtu.be/II1qiIKojb0
https://youtu.be/IIPq_Bxsh-k
https://youtu.be/ZY3YD2hRmPc

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