Uncovering Triggers and Emotions Lesson Plan

SEL Competencies

Self-Awareness

Self-Management

Objectives

Students will be able to identify triggers and recognize their emotions when triggered to promote self-awareness and self-management.

Assessment

Discussion

Understanding of vocabulary and concepts

Detective Diary

Lesson Key Points

Understanding triggers as events or situations that lead to certain feelings or reactions

Recognizing the connection between triggers and emotions

Developing the skill of self-reflection and self-awareness

Vocabulary

Trigger: a person, place, thing, or situation that causes an intense or unexpected emotional response; can be positive or negative

Opening

Introduce the lesson by explaining that the students will be acting as detectives solving mysteries about themselves.

Ask: What are your triggers? Can you think of a time when something made you feel a strong emotion?

Discussion

Set the expectation for active listening and participation during group discussions. Discuss triggers and emotions using real-life examples to make the concept relatable and to demonstrate how they are connected (something triggers an emotions). Give your students real-life stories to allow them to practice being detectives with the following goals:

• Identify the trigger
• Identify the emotion that is triggered

Sample Scenario 1: A student opens their lunch and finds a sandwich they do not like. When their friend sits down by them and says, "Hi," the student lashes out at them.

Sample Scenario 2: A student receives a bad grade on a paper. When they move into group work, the student talks meanly to the other team members.

Sample Scenario 3: A student is told their grades have improved and they are cleared to play baseball. They go to class and are very kind and supportive towards their classmates.

Sample Scenario 4: A student has a fight with their brother on the way to school. When they get to their first period class, the teacher asks them to start work on an overdue project. The student gets mad and ignores the teacher.

Work Period

Instruct students to write a Detective Diary where they will use personal scenarios. Students will follow the steps below to evaluate two negative scenarios and two positive scenarios from their personal lives.

Step 1: Students will write a scenario where they felt a strong emotion.

Step 2: Students will put on their detective hats to identify the emotion they felt.

Step 3: Students will put on their detective hat to determine what triggered that emotion.

Closing

Allow students to share their scenarios as their classmates guess the emotion and trigger to see if their guesses match what the students wrote. Summarize the importance of self-awareness and the concept that identifying emotions and triggers are a part of healthy self-management.

Access the downloadable Uncovering Triggers and Emotions Lesson Plan here.

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