Teaching Tool - Thoughts, Emotions, Actions (Grade 1)

The purpose of these resources is for educators to become prepared in teaching about a person's thoughts, emotions and actions, and how these can affect one's mental health.

Learning goals

  • I will understand how a person's thoughts, emotions and actions can affect mental health
  • I will learn how to manage difficult feelings
  • I will identify different emotions, how to speak about them, and the importance of managing them

Core knowledge content

Core knowledge content provides the teacher with the background information needed to prepare and teach this health class.

Ontario curriculum expectations

Grades 1-8: Health and Physical Education (2019)

  • D3.3 demonstrates an understanding that a person's thoughts, emotions and actions can affect mental health. This specific expectation is also connected with the social emotional learning expectation A1.6 Thinking.

Supplementary resources

  • Emotional vocabulary: This lesson plan introduces the concept of emotional regulation and specific vocabulary that is used to identify various emotions and feelings.
  • Emotional well-being education activities: This resource has a collection of emotional well-being education activities that aim to help educators develop an understanding of strategies for emotional well-being. Refer to the activities Picture That Emotion and Caring for You is Caring for Me.
  • Thoughts, emotions, actions: For this lesson, the teacher discusses the different feelings a person can have, why they might have those feelings and/or how they get them. After the engagement activities, the teacher is going to show an image titled "The First Day of School" and tell a 'social story'. Students will be asked to investigate the picture and figure out what is happening. Students will then be split into small groups where they will have to roleplay based on the 'social story'.
  • What's my temperature?: This activity is to teach students to take their emotional temperature, so they learn to recognize and regulate their emotions.

Virtual learning

  • Social emotional learning posters: This resource includes elementary social-emotional learning posters with everyday mental health practices that can be implemented by educators throughout all primary classrooms.
  • Virtual field trips: Students can be part of virtual field trips that teach different strategies for feelings and emotions, specifically stress management and coping.

Curriculum connections: Thoughts, emotions, actions

Drama - Ontario Arts Curriculum (2009)

  • B1.2 demonstrate an understanding of the element of character by adopting thoughts, feelings, and gestures relevant to the role being played

Visual arts - Ontario Arts Curriculum (2009)

  • D1.1 create two- and three-dimensional works of art that express feelings and ideas inspired by personal experiences
  • D1.3 use elements of design in artworks to communicate ideas, messages and personal understandings
  • D2.2 explain how elements and principles of design are used to communicate meaning or understanding in their own and others' artwork
  • D2.4 identify and document their strengths, their interests and areas for improvement as creators of art

Oral communication - Ontario Language Curriculum (2006)

  • 1.5 use stated and implied information and ideas in oral texts, initially with support and direction, to make simple inferences and reasonable predictions

Reading - Ontario Language Curriculum (2006)

  • 1.3 identify a variety of reading comprehension strategies and use them appropriately before, during, and after reading to understand texts
  • 1.4 demonstrate understanding of a text by retelling the story or restating information from the text, including the main idea
  • 1.6 extend understanding of texts by connecting the ideas in them to their knowledge and experience, to other familiar texts, and the world around them
  • 1.8 express personal thoughts and feelings about what has been read
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