Our Thoughts Affect Our Feelings Second Grade CKCC Unit 4, Lesson 15 Social-Emotional Competency: Reflective Abilities SAMPLE

Picture a place where you feel safe, calm, cozy, and relaxed. Take a “mental vacation” there. Some examples are: lying on the couch, lying on soft grass, sitting in a favorite chair, or riding on a sailboat. Visualize the details of what’s going on. What do you see in your imagination? Five Minute Preparing to Learn Exercise Special Place Visualization: SAMPLE

Who is there? What is happening? What can you smell? Can you hear anything? What can you taste? How do you feel? Take your time enjoying this safe and comfortable place. Remember that you can carry this peaceful place inside you and that you can come here and visit at any time you wish. SAMPLE

Activate Prior Knowledge Recently in our CKCC lessons, we’ve been discussing our feelings. We talked about how we all have lots of feelings and that our feelings change all the time. But, no matter what our feelings are, they are all okay. Today we are going to learn about how our thoughts and our feelings are connected. What would you say if I told you that our feelings come from our thoughts? What do you think? Let’s see. SAMPLE

I’m going to tell you two versions of the same story about Squirrel, and we are going to see how Squirrel’s thoughts affected his feelings and his behavior. TEACH THINK FEEL DO (Act, Behave, React) SAMPLE

SCENARIO 1: Squirrel was in his tree house when suddenly he saw another squirrel climbing up the tree toward him. Squirrel started thinking to himself, “That squirrel is coming to steal my acorns!” Together you are going to fill in the chart with Squirrel’s thoughts, feelings, and reactions to another squirrel’s visit. Use Think, Pair, Share for each different scenario. Chart/Think – Pair – Share SAMPLE

THINK FEEL DO (Act, Behave, React) That other squirrel is coming to steal my acorns! Work with a partner to reflect on what Squirrel was thinking and guess how he might have felt. SAMPLE

That other squirrel is coming to steal my acorns! angry, mad, annoyed, furious, scared, worried, nervous, anxious If Squirrel feels like this, guess what he might DO when the other squirrel reaches the branch where he is sitting. That other squirrel is coming to steal my acorns! angry, mad, annoyed, furious, scared, worried, nervous, anxious  Get ready for a fight  Yell at the other squirrel to go away  Hide his acorns  Start to cry  Call for help Let’s review Squirrel’s different thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Different perceptions (thoughts) about the same situation can produce very different feelings and behaviors. SAMPLE

SCENARIO 2: Now let’s change the story a little bit. What would happen if Squirrel thought the other squirrel was climbing the tree for a different reason? One day, Squirrel was in his tree house when suddenly he saw another squirrel climbing up the tree. Squirrel thought to himself, “That squirrel is coming to visit me! Maybe we can have fun together!” Add a second row to your Think – Feel – Do chart. Chart/Think – Pair – Share SAMPLE

THINK FEEL DO (Act, Behave, React) That other squirrel is coming to steal my acorns! angry, mad, annoyed, furious, scared, worried, nervous, anxious  Get ready for a fight  Yell at the other squirrel to go away  Hide his acorns  Start to cry  Call for help That squirrel is coming to visit me! Maybe we can have fun together! Work with a partner to reflect on what Squirrel was thinking and guess how he might have felt. SAMPLE

THINK FEEL DO (Act, Behave, React) That other squirrel is coming to steal my acorns! angry, mad, annoyed, furious, scared, worried, nervous, anxious  Get ready for a fight  Yell at the other squirrel to go away  Hide his acorns  Start to cry  Call for help That squirrel is coming to visit me! Maybe we can have fun together! excited, happy, thrilled If Squirrel feels like this, guess what he might DO when the other squirrel reaches the branch where he is sitting. SAMPLE

THINK FEEL DO (Act, Behave, React) That other squirrel is coming to steal my acorns! angry, mad, annoyed, furious, scared, worried, nervous, anxious  Get ready for a fight  Yell at the other squirrel to go away  Hide his acorns  Start to cry  Call for help That squirrel is coming to visit me! Maybe we can have fun together! excited, happy, thrilled  Ask the other squirrel to play  Jump for joy Invite friends over SAMPLE

Compare and contrast the two versions of the story and the different endings. In the first story, what were Squirrel’s THOUGHTS? How did that make him FEEL? What did he DO because of it? Discussion SAMPLE

Today we learned that we can think about the same situation in different ways. What can we learn about our thoughts, feelings, and behavior from these two stories and from the charts we made together? WRAP UP In both cases, Squirrel’s perception of the situation caused him to feel and act in specific ways. Our thoughts affect our feelings and how our feelings affect what we do and how we behave.

Story Creation I will begin the story: “The other day, I was in the library reading my book, when suddenly I felt a tap on my back.” Think about what you might have thought, felt, and done in response to that situation, and how your feelings and actions relate to your initial thought. We need volunteers to provide various responses for a range of possible thoughts/perceptions/interpretations of the “tap.” SAMPLE

BRINGING CKCC HOME Think-Feel-Do weekly activity sheet: work with a special adult to complete activity. Students please bring back the activity sheet to school to discuss with the class. SAMPLE

Suggested Read Aloud SAMPLE