Feelings Faces Gallery

Artistic exploration of emotions develops emotional vocabulary and the ability to recognize feelings in themselves and others—foundational skills for empathy.

• Framework: IPC
• Unit: Champions of Character
• Learning area: Visual and Creative Arts
• Level: Level 1

Objectives

• Identify and name at least five different emotions
• Create artistic representations of various feelings
• Explain what might cause each emotion

Materials

• Paper plates
• Yarn for hair
• Markers
• Crayons
• Mirrors
• Feelings word cards

Instructions

Set up a 'feelings lab' atmosphere with mirrors, emotion word cards, and examples of feelings faces (photos, drawings, emojis). Gather children and explore: 'Our faces show how we feel inside! Let's discover all the different feelings we can show.'

Play a feelings identification game: make a face and have children guess the emotion. Then reverse—call out an emotion and have everyone make the face while looking in mirrors. Notice: 'See how your eyebrows go up when you're surprised? See how your mouth turns down when you're sad?'

Introduce the gallery project: 'We're going to create a whole gallery of feelings faces!' Assign or let children choose emotions: happy, sad, angry, scared, surprised, excited, worried, proud, confused, peaceful.

Distribute paper plates and materials. Guide children to create faces showing their assigned emotion. As they work, discuss: 'What makes you feel this way? When have you felt this feeling? How can you tell when a friend feels this way?'

Once complete, create a classroom gallery display organized by emotion type. Tour the gallery together, noticing how different children represented the same feeling in different ways.

Use the gallery as a reference tool throughout the year: 'Point to the feeling face that shows how you're feeling right now.'

Educator tip

Include less common emotions beyond the basic happy/sad/angry—excited, proud, worried, peaceful. This expands emotional vocabulary and helps children identify nuanced feelings.

Assessment

Evaluate emotion identification accuracy, artistic representation of feelings, and ability to discuss causes of emotions.

More from Champions of Character

• Partner Problem Solving
• Helping Hands Garden
• Brave Bear Adventures
• Gratitude Jar Journey
• Patience Practice Games
• Compliment Circles
• Responsibility Roles
• Friendship Recipe Cards