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Distinct Dispositions

Facial expressions are often the first clues to people's moods. Create a mask that shows a distinct emotion.

Lesson Plan

Supplies Needed

Gather all the supplies needed to bring your craft ideas to life! From paints and markers to glue and scissors, our crafts section has everything to spark creativity and make every project truly special.

  • Elastic
  • Heavy Paper

Steps

  • Step 1

    The middle school years are transitional and formative years when students' brains are maturing and they are learning to understand complex emotions. Cultivating emotional literacy can help youth become more balanced and lead more fulfilling lives. Talk to the class about the value of identifying their feelings, then have students brainstorm a list of emotions. So as not to put them on the spot, randomly assign an emotion to each student.

  • Step 2

    Ask students to create a mask that portrays the facial expression of the emotion they were assigned. They can cut the mask out of heavy paper and illustrate the expression on it, then embellish the mask with cut-outs of other features such as hair and accessories. Add an elastic band to the back of the mask, so it can be worn.

  • Step 3

    Have students break into small groups and write a scene that includes the emotions portrayed by their masks. They can then act them out for the class.

  • Step 4

    Ask students how this lesson increased their understanding of emotions, cultivated their sense of empathy and helped them with conflict resolution.

Standards

SEL: Self-Awareness: Understand one's own emotions, thoughts, and values and how they influence behavior across contexts.

SEL: Social Awareness: Empathize with others, including those from diverse backgrounds, cultures, and contexts.

Adaptations

Have students investigate other species that communicate via facial expressions. for example, primates exhibit many emotions with their faces and sun bears have been shown to mimic facial expressions.

Have students participate in activities that foster emotional literacy, for example they write "I am" in large letters in the middle of a piece of paper and then circle the statement with positive words that identify them. Or they can create a "Circle of Control" where they draw two circles. On the inner one they write what they can control in their lives and in the outer one they write what they cannot.