Our Bodies’ Clues

Our bodies gives us clues to help us understand how we are feeling. We can listen to our bodies to help us choose a feeling word which matches how we feel. Then, we can share our feelings with others and understand what we need.

1. Invite students to complete the following sentence: “I can put my hand on my heart. If it beats fast, it might mean that I am… And if it beats slow, then…”
2. Next, ask students to name the parts of the body where people most often feel emotions, namely the head, shoulders, heart, and stomach. students can draw the human body on a piece of paper and point to the appropriate part of the body.
3. Invite students to identify the body clues below and complete the sentence “If…, it could mean that I…”. For example, “If my stomach hurts, it could mean that I am feeling anxious.”

• Head: Sore, tense/ not tense
• Shoulders: Tense / relaxed
• Heart: Beats fast / slow
• Abdomen: Hurts / does not hurt
• Gaze: Direct / downward
• Mouth: Smiling / frowning

4. Accompany the sentences with movements to match each body clue. For example:

• Head: grab your head / pat yourself on the head
• Shoulders: lift and tense / lower down
• Heart: pat the chest quickly / slowly
• Abdomen: twist or bend / pat the abdomen
• Gaze: gently touch the eyelids?
• Mouth: touch the mouth

• What do your body clues tell you that you are feeling now?
• What helps you understand your body cues?
• When are other times you can use your body cues?

For primary school students:

• Combine this activity with the “Feelings Tree” activity to make it easier for students to earn new emotions based on body clues.
• Use familiar songs and chants and turn the body clues into a song. For example, the teacher can sing along with the students: “Head, shoulders, heart, and stomach” and show how they are feeling in the corresponding parts of their bodies.
• Use words to describe different emotions in the corresponding parts of the body, choose those which are most understandable for students.

For students in grades 5-6:

• After the activity, facilitate a discussion about how different emotions feel in the body. For example: “When I am upset, my eyes and the corners of my mouth may be down.”