K-7

Big feelings
What You’ll Need
Time Needed
2 Sessions at
40 Minutes

Topics Covered
Line, Color &
Shape
 Big feelings
It’s normal to experience big feelings. In fact, at one point or
another, we all do. From sadness and worry to happiness,
excitement and love, big feelings are nothing to be ashamed of.
In this lesson that has been inspired by the book The Boy with
Big, Big Feelings, students will use one of the included drawing
guides to draw a simple self-portrait and then use color, shape
and pattern to represent the big feeling of their choice, or you
can focus on a single emotion like love and see what each
student comes up with. This lesson also includes project
modifications on page six to make it suitable for any K-7
grade level and an SEL Connections page where you’ll find
additional information about integrating SEL.

National Core Arts Standard

Creating: Anchor Standard #2:
Organize and develop artistic ideas and work.

ABOUT THE BOOK

What You’ll Need: The Boy with Big, Big Feelings written by
Britney Winn Lee and illustrated by Jacob
9” x 12” white sulphite paper Souva tells the story of a boy that is struggling
9” x 12” colored sulphite paper with his big feelings until he realizes that he’s
Black oil pastel, crayon or not alone. Everyone experiences big feelings
from time to time.
permanent marker

Oil pastels, crayons or paint pens

Pan watercolor

Medium round paintbrush

Scissors & glue

Optional: sticky foam sheets

© DEEP SPACE SPARKLE & THE SPARKLERS CLUB 2

 SEL Connections
SEL Connection SEL Competencies
Creating art can act as an outlet for EMOTIONS • SELF-AWARENESS
as well as a vehicle for exploring them. Choices
The ability to recognize one’s own feelings
made during the art-making process can help
and thought, and reflect on how those
students recognize, acknowledge and make
feelings and emotions influence their own
sense of how they are feeling at a given time.
behavior. This includes assessing one’s own
Different materials and techniques as well as
strengths and weaknesses, while
specific elements of art like color and line can
maintaining a sense of confidence to build
be used by artists to represent feelings.
habits that encourage a growth mindset.

SEL Questions

1. How are you feeling right now?

2. What are some emotions that you

experience often?

3. What emotion have you felt the most today?

Image from HERE.

SEL Extension Activity

Before getting started on the project, have an “emotion check-
in” with students. This can be in the form of a discussion, quick
handout or just prompts projected for students to see or listed
on a marker board. They can be visual, such as emojis
for quick identification or questions to consider, like:
• Right now, I am feeling…
• I feel this way because…
Check-ins like these not only help students build self-
awareness and understanding, but they also give students an
opportunity to acknowledge where they are in the moment and
focus on the present.

© DEEP SPACE SPARKLE & THE SPARKLERS CLUB 3

Drawing & Painting
• Turn the 9” x 12” white sulphite paper
HORIZONTAL.

• Use a black oil pastel, crayon or black permanent

marker and one of the drawing
guides from page seven or eight
to draw a simplified SELF-
PORTRAIT.

• Use pan watercolor to fill

the self-portrait with
Drawing Guides on pages 7 & 8
COLOR.

• Use the lid of the tray to mix a SKIN TONE.

Combinations of brown, yellow or orange can work
well. Make sure to use plenty of water, too.

• Once the self-portrait is painted, choose a COLOR

SCHEME or family of colors to represent the feeling,
or emotion, of your choice.

• COOL COLORS work well for sadness or calm,

while WARM COLORS can be used for anger or
even happiness.

• Use the WET-ON-WET watercolor technique to

paint a cloud of colors that touches the top of the
head and extends to the top of the paper.

• To do this, use the paintbrush to wet the paper in

a small section with clean water first. You don’t need
to paint it all at once.

• Add wet color onto the wet section and watch as

the paint spreads. Add another color to see a
bloom. Repeat the process until the cloud is
complete and then allow to dry flat.

© DEEP SPACE SPARKLE & THE SPARKLERS CLUB 4

Finishing it up
• Once the paint has dried, use a colored oil pastel
or crayon to trace outlines of color within the
“cloud.” These are ORGANIC SHAPES.

• Within each individual shape, add simple

PATTERNS by repeating one type of LINE if you’d
like. For an additional challenge, more complex
patterns can be made that combine both lines and
shapes.

• For a fun, optional tactile component, cut basic

GEOMETRIC SHAPES from adhesive craft foam to
use as stickers that can be incorporated into the
design.

• Layering geometric shape pieces on top of

painted and outlined organic shapes add
CONTRAST.

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Project modification Ideas
K-2
• Follow the lesson steps on page four and five.

• Use the drawing guide on page seven to draw

the simple self-portrait that includes half of the
head.

• Modify up or down using any of the included

ideas on this page or according to your students’
interests and abilities.

3-4
• Create the self-portrait with permanent marker
and the drawing guide on page eight. Follow the
same steps to paint.

• Use scissors to cut along the outline of the head

and cloud before gluing it to a 9” x 12”
background.

• Use paint pens or permanent markers to add more

complex patterns made from both lines and shapes.

5-7
• Follow the modifications listed above for third
and fourth grade.

• In addition to patterns, include drawings of

objects that represent the emotion as well as
words.

© DEEP SPACE SPARKLE & THE SPARKLERS CLUB 6

 1 2

Think about the texture of your hair. Is Just inside the curved line, add the
it wavy or straight? Draw a line that bangs or the hair that overlaps the
shows the outline of your head first. forehead.

3 4

Add large round eyes. You can color in Add a short, diagonal line to the
the black area if you’d like or fill it in bottom of the paper for the top of the
with paint later. nose. Add curved eyebrows.

5 6

Add lines inside the hair outline to You can either draw a few organic
show texture. Outline the feeling shapes inside the “cloud” to fill with
“cloud.” color or outline the areas later, once
the paint has dried.

D RAWI N G
Self-portrait GUIDE

© DEEP SPACE SPARKLE & THE SPARKLERS CLUB 7

 1 2 3

Begin with a large curved Close the shape with the Close the top of the head
line that resembles the outline of your bangs, or the with a similar line. For short
letter “U” in the lower half hair that overlaps your hair, just close the top of the
of the paper. forehead. circle and for longer hair,
arch the line over. Add ears
and a neck.

4 5 6

Add eyes, eyebrows, a nose Draw lines up from the top of

Add
and a mouth. The black part the head to outline the
lines inside the hair outline
of the eyes can be colored in feeling “cloud.”
to show texture.
now or filled with paint later.

D RAWI N G
Self-portrait GUIDE

© DEEP SPACE SPARKLE & THE SPARKLERS CLUB 8

 I Can Statements
BIG FEELINGS
Today I will learn about SELF-PORTRAITS so that
I CAN draw one and then use elements of art like
LINE and COLOR to represent an EMOTION.
Today I will learn about COLOR so that I CAN choose a COLOR
SCHEME like WARM or COOL COLORS to show my EMOTION.
Today I will learn about PATTERN so that I CAN add designs with
repeated LINES and SHAPES.
© DEEP SPACE SPARKLE & THE SPARKLERS CLUB 9
 K-7 TEACHER ASSESSMENT K-7
Student Name:__________________ Class:__________ Project: Big Feelings

Did the student create a self-portrait and use

elements of art to show an emotion?

Did the student represent their emotion with a

speci c color scheme?

Did the student add patterns with repeated

lines and shapes?

© DEEP SPACE SPARKLE & THE SPARKLERS CLUB

K-7 STUDENT ASSESSMENT K-7

Student Name:__________________ Class:__________ Project: Big Feelings

Time to evaluate your work! Review your project and check the box with your answer.

Excellent Successful Progressing Needs Work

Criteria
Did you follow all steps?

Composition
Were you satis ed with
the end result?

Craftsmanship
Did you use the
supplies correctly?

E ort
Did you do your best?

© DEEP SPACE SPARKLE & THE SPARKLERS CLUB

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 BIG FEELINGS VOCABULARY

Color scheme

Emotion

Self-portrait
© DEEP SPACE SPARKLE & THE SPARKLERS CLUB 11
BIG FEELINGS VOCABULARY

Skin tone

Wet-on-wet

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