Feelings can be a difficult thing for our little learners to understand and cope with, let alone talk about. Reading stories is a perfect way to introduce an understanding of our feelings. If you have been following my posts for the last few weeks you might have read some friendship stories last week. I want to share some books with you that may help you extend on friendship and explore emotions with your learners {this post includes some affiliate links}.
You Can't Win Them All, Rainbow Fish
is perfect to bridge your class discussion from friendship to feelings. Rainbow Fish is enjoying his life in the sea, playing with friends when a game brings out the worst in the shiny little fish. Worry, frustration, contentment, anger, regret, bravery and kindness are all explored. What I like most about this story is a very clear play scenario unfolds, that would be quite familiar to children. Steps to take to fix a problem in play are outlined and provide you with the perfect opportunity to develop a plan with your students for how they will resolve disagreements in their games.
is perfect to bridge your class discussion from friendship to feelings. Rainbow Fish is enjoying his life in the sea, playing with friends when a game brings out the worst in the shiny little fish. Worry, frustration, contentment, anger, regret, bravery and kindness are all explored. What I like most about this story is a very clear play scenario unfolds, that would be quite familiar to children. Steps to take to fix a problem in play are outlined and provide you with the perfect opportunity to develop a plan with your students for how they will resolve disagreements in their games. - Rainbow Fish gets angry
- Rainbow Fish removes himself (angrily) from the game but has time to calm down
- A friend gently tries to help and talks calmly to Rainbow Fish
- Rainbow Fish listens
- Rainbow Fish concedes and asks for help in fixing the problem
- Rainbow Fish is brave, apologises and acknowledges he was wrong
- The other fish give him another chance
Upon a second read of this story I would also suggesting stopping on each page and exploring in depth the feelings and emotions introduced. There is so much possibility for discussion and role play of social situations with this story!
I love Everybody Feels Scared
(and the other titles in the series - angry, happy, sad). These books unpack the focus emotion, help children understand how they feel and gives them suggestions for dealing with them. Perfect for when you need a practical, straightforward discussion about feelings.
(and the other titles in the series - angry, happy, sad). These books unpack the focus emotion, help children understand how they feel and gives them suggestions for dealing with them. Perfect for when you need a practical, straightforward discussion about feelings. 
The Falling Leaves and the Scarecrow
has been a favorite on our home library shelf for many years. It has beautiful, gentle illustrations that add depth to the story. After and during reading you would have opportunities to discuss bullying, and how to help friends who are experiencing negative emotions and difficulties. The strategies themselves are not explored in the story but you could use it as a springboard for the discussion. Another practical application would be to link the story to a discussion on how our face can convey emotion. The end of the story sees the leaves helping scarecrow to make an angry face to frighten the crows. Talk with your students about how their face changes. Let them look in a mirror and explore. Encourage them to show a kind face, happy face, welcoming face, sad face, angry face. Many of our little learners are unaware of these subtle changes and how they can effect friendship and play.
has been a favorite on our home library shelf for many years. It has beautiful, gentle illustrations that add depth to the story. After and during reading you would have opportunities to discuss bullying, and how to help friends who are experiencing negative emotions and difficulties. The strategies themselves are not explored in the story but you could use it as a springboard for the discussion. Another practical application would be to link the story to a discussion on how our face can convey emotion. The end of the story sees the leaves helping scarecrow to make an angry face to frighten the crows. Talk with your students about how their face changes. Let them look in a mirror and explore. Encourage them to show a kind face, happy face, welcoming face, sad face, angry face. Many of our little learners are unaware of these subtle changes and how they can effect friendship and play. 
Waru the Green Sea Turtle
is a longer and more detailed read. The connection to feelings and emotions is more subtle, but I like the way the story unfolds as a long journey and how this can be linked to understanding and coping strategies to when negative emotions arise. It is a beautiful tale that can also be integrated with a focus on environmental studies. Waru is a green sea turtle who grows up on the beautiful Great Barrier Reef in Australia.
is a longer and more detailed read. The connection to feelings and emotions is more subtle, but I like the way the story unfolds as a long journey and how this can be linked to understanding and coping strategies to when negative emotions arise. It is a beautiful tale that can also be integrated with a focus on environmental studies. Waru is a green sea turtle who grows up on the beautiful Great Barrier Reef in Australia.
There are a range of emotions that Waru experiences through the story and these can be discussed during or after the read. These emotions almost seem to flow along with her physical journey through the water. Emotions may feel like this to some of our children - a flow that is difficult to swim against.
The language used is very descriptive and links well to a discussion on the outward physical signs of emotions (shaky, sweaty hands for example) - "Waru found herself upside down in the water. The water was strange, slippery, but she knew this was where she was meant to be. She flapped her flippers to drive herself further in to the water. She was helpless to stop herself being dashed along the sandy bottom. She was tiring but desperately flapped her flippers again." Stop during descriptions like this and ask students if they can make a connection. Has there been a time in their life when they felt like this? How did they feel? What strategies did they use?
I would love to share with you a free reading response worksheet. Use this page after reading and have students explore a few of the basic emotions. They could draw or write about a time when they have felt happy, angry, sad and kind. Encourage them to also draw or write about what they did to respond to that emotion or what they could do in the future. This activity could also be projected onto the whiteboard and you would collaboratively write as a class some common ideas that summarize the class experience. Find it in the social/emotional category of our Pond Coloring Club library!
In the TpT store, we also have a turtle themed resource kit for helping students explore ways to calm. Find it here.
Thanks so much for stopping by the blog to day, we have some more ideas to share through the week on creating a calm classroom and helping students cope with emotions.