Module 1, Session 1, Feeling sad - feeling happy

To improve children’s abilities to recognise different  emotions and to identify strategies to cope with difficult feelings.

  To improve children’s abilities to recognise feeling sad and to identify ways to cope. 

YOU NEED:


  Introduction 

  • Tell the children that we will be reading stories about children of their own age. The main characters are Tig, his twin sister Leela and their friend Sandy. The stories are fun, but sometimes the children have problems. 

  • Each week, we will play games and do things to explore what the children in the stories can do when they have problems. We will also explore what we can do, how we can cope better, when we have problems.
  • Explain that there is going to be a class agreement in these sessions that will make it easier for everyone to get on well and work together. Ask the children for ideas. You can start them off with one of the suggestions below. Make sure you include the final rule! 
    • Put your hand up if you want to speak
    • Talk one at a time
    • Listen to each other
    • Only say nice things to each other
    • You don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to
  • Show the children the Zippy’s Friends Agreement ( Activity Sheet 4). Read each item slowly and ask the children to repeat it. Ask them whether each one is a good idea and if so, why. There is space to add additional ideas the children have come up with. Say that you will remind them of the Agreement at the beginning of each session.


  Story

  • Read the first story, showing the pictures at the appropriate places in the story. Stop at the end of the paragraph: Mr Johnson is just a spoil-sport.
  • Ask: 
    •  How did Tig feel? (sad, angry)
    • How do you know he was feeling sad/angry?
    • Why did he feel sad/angry?
  • Then continue reading the story to the end. 


  Activity 1: What makes me feel happy and sad?

  • Explain to the children that, just like Tig and Leela, there are things which make us sad or happy. Ask them to think of a time when they felt either happy or sad.
  • Tell them to draw either something which made them happy or something which made them sad.
  • Give out paper for drawing or tell the children to use My Zippy Book 1, page 3.
  • Tell the children that they have just a few minutes to do their drawings and that afterwards they can show them to the class and explain what they have drawn.
  • After five minutes, ask the children to sit in a circle and to put their drawings in front of them.
  • Invite them to show their drawings and explain what they have drawn.
  • Tell them to keep their explanations short. Ask each child why they felt happy or sad.
  • Remember: children do not have to say anything if they don’t want to.


  Activity 2: What can I do when I feel sad?

  • After all the children who want to speak have done so, tell them that there are lots of things we can do to make ourselves feel better when we are sad. Say that when we are thinking of what we can do, there are two Golden Rules to remember: 
    • It helps me to feel better
    • It doesn’t hurt me or anyone else

  • Show Activity Sheet 5 so that the children can see them while they are thinking.
  • Tell the children that we are now going to think of ways to make ourselves feel better in different situations.
  • Ask them: What can we do when we feel sad at home? Encourage them to make suggestions and write or draw their ideas on a board, screen or a large sheet of paper.
  • Repeat the exercise by asking the children to think about two more situations.
    • What can we do when we feel sad at school? 
    • What can we do when we feel sad with friends? (e.g. at a friend’s house or at an after-school club, where adults aren’t immediately available.)
  • In each case, use the first four Follow-up Questions to ensure that the solution follows the Golden Rules. 
  • Keep the list of suggested solutions as you will need it for the next session.
  • End this activity by congratulating the children on how many solutions they have thought of, even though this is only the first session of Zippy’s Friends.
  • If the children are using My Zippy Book 1, tell them that the Golden Rules are on page 4 as a reminder. 


  Feedback

  • Explain that at the end of each session we will spend a few minutes to think about what we did and how we felt.
  • Explain that you will be distributing a paper with two questions for them to answer. The first question is whether they liked the session. If they did, they should colour in the sun. If they did not like the session, they should colour in the cloud. The second question is how they felt during the activities. If they were happy, they should colour in the smiling face. If they felt sad, they should colour in the sad face.
  • Give a copy of Activity Sheet 6 to each child, or show My Zippy Book 1, page 5.  
  • After the children have completed the sheets, invite them to say whether they liked the session and how they felt. Explain that if you do not have enough time to hear what each child feels, they can tell you later.


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Last modified: Tuesday, 8 August 2023, 11:45 AM