Mood Meter

The Mood Meter

The Mood Meter is a tool that allows students to recognize their feelings and learn how to move between them. It helps enhance self-awareness, supporting the development of a nuanced emotion vocabulary and the ability to self-regulate.

The axes on the Mood Meter represent two components of emotions: energy and pleasantness. The x-axis describes the degree of pleasantness a person feels (from unpleasant to pleasant) and the y-axis represents a person’s energy (low to high). Every emotion can be plotted onto the Mood Meter, which teachers and students rely on in numerous ways during the school day.

Emotions in the RED (high energy and unpleasant) include anger, frustration and anxiety. Emotions in the BLUE (unpleasant and lower in energy) include boredom, sadness and despair. Emotions in the GREEN (pleasant and lower in energy) include tranquility, satisfaction and calm. Emotions in the YELLOW (pleasant and high energy) include excitement, joy and elation.

Each classroom uses Mood Meters differently. Some teachers and students start their days plotting how they are feeling, discussing why they are feeling that way, and thinking about how their feelings might affect their learning. Others conduct this activity in a private way (at each desk, or in a journal). It is not uncommon to overhear “I am in the green today!” on campus; Mood Meters provide a concrete tool students and teachers draw upon throughout the week.

Source: The Center for Early Education and Yale Ruler