For our final lesson in the second rotation, we discussed complex feelings. I started the lesson by giving an example about my morning and the different feelings I had experienced. After I gave my example, students shared two feelings they had had about their morning. We talked about the importance of having empathy because it helps everyone to get along better.
We spent the remainder of our lesson talking about a video we watched. In the video, Gabriella had brought stuffed animals to school for her and Emma to play with after school. However, Emma did not want to play with stuffed animals; she wanted to practice dancing with Necie. We talked about how Gabriella felt in the situation (hurt, disappointed, confused). We also talked about how we could tell how she was feeling. We talked about why Gabriella may have felt confused by the situation.\
We also talked about how Emma felt. She was excited about getting to dance with Necie, but she may have also felt guilty or awkward about the situation with Gabriella. She was also probably worried about hurting Gabriella's feelings. We talked about how Emma's feelings were complicated, and how we could tell she had more than one feeling.
Next, students shared with their partners about a time they had experienced more than one feeling about a situation with a friend. Together, we brainstormed ways that Emma could handle her complex feelings. We also talked about possible solutions to solve her problem. We watched the ending to the video, where Emma invited Gabriella to dance with her and Necie. We talked about how empathy played a role in this situation, and how empathy helped Emma solve the problem without hurting anyones' feelings.
