Mood Meter
CATEGORY: PERSONAL
Image credit: www.ps120q.org
Why:
When we have better words to define our emotions, we get better at managing them and finding help when needed.
Warm-Up:
Looking at the Mood Meter graph (see link), which word(s) describe your mood right now?
Exploration:
Explain the Mood Meter graph: it’s not only about how positive to negative our moods are, but also about how much energy they have. This is useful because it lets us describe how we're feeling more accurately. Otherwise, if we just say we’re feeling "bad" or "ok", that doesn't really tell us or others what's going on. The more specific we are, the more we can manage our emotions and get the right help from friends.
Additional Resources:
For a useful version of the Mood Meter pre-filled with many emotional vocabulary words, check out: https://www.ps120q.org/mood-meter.
Another route toward the same goal is to ask students to give a Mood Weather Report, in which they're invited to share their current mood in the manner of a TV weather report.
However it’s done, the aim is to get a read on how each student is, invite every student’s voice into the circle, and to take the chance to build students’ emotional vocabulary. Research indicates that more nuanced, granular emotional vocabularies allow students to better understand and manage their emotional lives.