Identifying and Recognizing Emotions

When students enter the classroom, they all enter with different mental, emotional, and physical states which often affect their readiness and willingness to learn. 

Self-Awareness begins with a student’s ability to name or label their own emotions. Labeling can lower the activation of the amygdala while raising the activation of the prefrontal cortex.

This also occurs when others recognize the emotions and labeled them for us.

You might say, “You look sad. I’m so sorry you lost your doll.”

How children are treated determines how they feel, especially about themselves. 

• They act out due to feelings 

• We need to name the feeling to tame the feeling 

• We can't recognize feelings in others until we can identify our own emotions