The importance of social-emotional learning (SEL) and academic learning go hand-in-hand. Feeling identification activities are often done in counseling, small groups, centers, and in self-contained classrooms as a life skill activity. It’s no secret that identifying feelings helps to promote social-emotional intelligence and self-awareness in students.
So, how do we make learning SEL engaging for students AND low prep for teachers?
…I use feeling puzzles.
One thing about me… my favorite thing is to stock-up on reusable activities. The truth is, I don’t always have time to put together an activity. So, I LOVE activities that I can put together once, and then grab them to reuse over and over again.
That’s why I love feeling puzzles… they’re low prep (and I have a bunch of FREE ones). Just print them, laminate and cut them. Then, put them in a task box. It’s a perfect grab-and-go activity that you can use over and over again.
What are Easy Cut Feeling Puzzles?
They’re pretty simple…
Easy cut feeling puzzles are tactile, hands-on activities that help students recognize and express emotions. Being a kid is hard! And, expressing emotions as a kid (or even, as an adult) is hard!
These puzzles have simple images representing different feelings. One side of the puzzle is the feeling word, and the other side of the puzzle is a matching face.
Students are tasked with putting together the puzzle pieces to match the correct emotion.
I’ve noticed that, with students at lower developmental levels, they benefit most from practicing emotions consistently. This is another reason why I like feeling puzzles. There are various different themed feeling puzzles for all different times of the year. This way, it’s hard for students to get bored.
Benefits of Easy Cut Feeling Puzzles:
Emotional Recognition: the visual representations on the puzzles allow students to learn to identify and label their own feelings as well as those of others. This is a stepping stone to developing empathy and understanding social interactions (including body language). The younger that students can learn these skills… the better!
Flexible and Reusable: easy cut feeling puzzles are easily adaptable to different skill levels and classroom settings. If you’re working with a student with a lower developmental level, only use 2-3 puzzle piece options at a time. For other students, give them all of the pieces and see what they come up with.
Supports Self-Regulation: as I’m sure you know… students sometimes really struggle with self-regulation. But, engaging in activities that require focus and concentration promotes self-regulation skills. Students learn to manage their emotions as they work through the task independently or collaboratively. Another reason why I use these easy cut puzzles!
Encourages Communication: Discussing emotions and sharing experiences while working on the puzzles helps communication skills and creates a safe space for expression. I love to use this opportunity to facilitate conversations around emotions and coping strategies. Sometimes, I share my own experiences. After all, children should see adults discussing emotions and sharing experiences, too!
How to Use Easy Cut Feeling Puzzles:
- This depends on the developmental age of the student that you’re working with. For younger students, or students at a lower developmental level, say the feeling. After, give them 2 or 3 puzzle pieces to match that feeling with.
- When I’m working 1:1 with a student as they’re putting together the puzzle pieces, I always ask them why they chose that puzzle piece. For example, if the puzzle piece is “angry”, then I’m looking for the student to tell me that they chose that puzzle piece because the eyes were squinting, the eyebrows were faced downward, and the mouth was clenched.
- For students who can read on their own, I like to give them some more autonomy. I let them read and put the pieces together themselves, or I’ll have them work together and talk it out with a peer.
Easy cut feeling puzzles are my go-to activity to practice such an important life skill: social emotional learning. Whether it be in my counseling sessions, or if I’m working in a self-contained classroom, these puzzles are engaging for students, and they’re easy grab-and-go activities to keep on hand. The best part is that you can make them once, and then keep them in task boxes on the shelf- ready to go.
Easy Cut Feeling Puzzles offer a creative and effective way to promote social emotional learning in self-contained classrooms and beyond. By engaging students in hands-on activities that target emotional awareness and expression, we can empower them with valuable skills for navigating relationships and managing emotions.
Want to try some feeling puzzles with your students? I have a few FREEBIES you can check out:
- Summer Feeling Puzzle FREEBIE
- Valentine’s Day Feeling Puzzle FREEBIE
- St. Patrick’s Day Feeling Puzzle FREEBIE
- Earth Day Feeling Puzzle FREEBIE