Education Standards
2. Who Am I - My Feelings Make a Song
3. Who Am I - Master Image Slides
SEL 3 Signature Practices Playbook | CASEL
SEL-Music Lesson: Who Am I - My Feelings Make a Song
Overview
This unit by Northshore School District, Washington, contains four progressive lesson activities created for primary grades which connect Washington Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Standards 1, 4 and 5 with Washington Music Standards 1, 2 and 8 using the creating/responding processes to generate original songs and express personal feelings.
Unit Overview
Sample song and material templates were created by the author, Kelly Foster Griffin - Northshore School District, for this unit and may be reused, downloaded, shared, and adapted. The lesson format, with its Welcoming Inclusion, Engaging Strategies and Optimistic Closure, is based on the components of the SEL 3 Signature Practices Playbook 2019.
Table of Contents
- Activity One: Sharing Feelings Playing “Emotion Charades”
Students will play a game identifying an emotion from non-verbal cues: body language, eye contact and facial expressions. SEL Standard/Indicators: Self-Awareness/SEL.K-2.1A.1 With adult assistance, I can recognize, identify, and name my emotions, feelings, and thoughts. SEL.K-2.1A.3 With adult assistance, I can verbally express my emotions or feelings. - Activity Two: Creating a Call & Response Song Using Feelings
Students will work in small groups and contribute a personal feeling to use in the lyrics of a new song. SEL Standard/Indicators: Self-Awareness/SEL.K-2.1A.1-3 With guidance, I can verbally express my emotions or feelings. Social Management/SEL.K-2.5A.1-2 With guidance, I can work collaboratively as a member of a team. WA Music Standard/Indicators: Creating (Imagine)/MU: Cr:1 Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work. - Activity Three: Interpreting Personal Meaning to Instrumental Music
Students will listen and dance to varied examples of instrumental music and answer the question, “What is it saying?” SEL Standard/Indicators: Self-Awareness/SEL.K-2.1A.2 Recognize how different emotions, feelings, and thoughts feel in my body. Social Awareness/SEL.K-2.4A.2 Recognize that people can have different feelings when faced with the same situations. Social Management/SEL.K-2.5A.1 Demonstrate attentive listening skills. SEL.K-2.5A.2 Demonstrate the ability to wait, take turns, and share with others. WA Music Standard/Indicators: Responding (Interpret)/MU: Re:8.1.1 With limited guidance, identify expressive qualities that reflect the creators’ expressive intent. - Activity Four: Expressing Personal Feelings Through Percussion Instruments
Using a Call & Response song form, students will substitute body percussion or percussion instruments in place of words to express their feelings. WA SEL Standard/Indicators: Self-Awareness/SEL.K-2.1A.2 Recognize how different emotions, feelings, and thoughts feel in my body. SEL.K-2.2A.2 Identify strategies to help me be in control of myself and ask for additional assistance as needed. WA Music Standard/Indicators: MU: Cr:2.1.1a With limited guidance, demonstrate and discuss personal reasons for selecting musical ideas that represent expressive intent.
Attribution and License
Attribution
This lesson was developed by Kelly Foster Griffin, NBCT - Music Specialist Moorlands Elementary, Northshore School District
SEL 3 Signature Practices Playbook copyright Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) and developed by the 2016-2017 Oakland Unified School District SEL Team based on the 2013 work of CASEL Consultant Ann McKay Bryson. | License Agreement
Social Emotional Learning: Standards, Benchmarks, and Indicators developed for the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction by the SEL Workgroup is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Washington Arts K–12 Learning Standards by the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International License.
Cover Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
License
Except where otherwise noted, this lesson by Northshore School District is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License. All logos and trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Activity One: Sharing Feelings Playing “Emotion Charades”
WA SEL Standard: Self-Awareness
- SEL.K-2.1A.1 With adult assistance, I can recognize, identify, and name my emotions, feelings, and thoughts.
- SEL.K-2.1A.3 With adult assistance, I can verbally express my emotions or feelings.
Age Range: Primary
Duration: 20 minutes
Materials:
- Emotion Cards
- Whiteboard or projector to display ideas
Vocabulary:
- Charade
- Emotions
- Facial Expressions
- Body Language
Playing a Game (Welcoming Inclusion Activity)
Today we are going to learn a new game called Charades. Charades is a type of guessing game where you have to act out a word without talking. You are going to be guessing an emotion. Emotions are inside feelings that come from a mood, an event, or an interaction with others.
When and Why: Games reinforce positive connections, lift up the energy in the room and provide a safe space to explore feelings through play-acting.
- SEL Focus: Participants will recognize, identify, and name emotions, feelings, and thoughts, in self and in others by observing how it feels/looks in the body and verbally expressing these emotions or feelings.
- Modifications and Variations: The activity can be limited to emotions that students identified in class or to additional emotions named on the emotion cards.
What emotions or feelings have you experienced?
Students brainstorm emotions they have felt in partners or trios.
Create a class list of these emotions and try to demonstrate their meaning using facial expressions only – no sounds or words.
How do we play Emotion Charades?
The player chooses an emotion card from the list above (or alternatively, an emotion beyond the brainstormed list.)
The player must act out the emotion without making any sound or touching others.
The player can use eye contact, facial expressions - moving the muscles in the face to express the emotion; and body language – hand gestures, posture, and movement to demonstrate the emotion.
To make sure everyone has a chance to “read” the emotion, the player must walk past the whole group once using body language, and facial expressions before the guessing can start.
Teammates can put a thumbs up when they are ready to guess the emotion.
The player can make a circular hand gesture when they hear a guess on the right track and touch their nose when the word is guessed.
Playing the game
The teacher chooses an emotion from the list (or from the emotion cards) and demonstrates how to play the game. Students call out their guesses until the correct emotion is named.
Repeat the game with students taking the lead role.
Option: Choose a small group of students to act out the emotion instead of one player.
Printable Emotion Cards
Debrief
List the emotions that were used in the game and identify them as positive, negative, or neutral emotions using smiley, sad or neutral faces. Emphasize that we all have these emotions in common and feel them from time to time.
Create a simple Echo Song by improvising a melody using the emotions as lyrics and having students repeat it. (Students not ready to share may tell another person their emotion or “pass.”) Here is a sample melody:
Optimistic Closure
When and Why? Optimistic Closure activities allow time to reflect, bring all voices back into the room and provide essential feedback to the teacher about the collective experience.
Ask one or more of the following questions:
- What was something that challenged your brain?
- What were the clues that helped you recognize and identify the emotions of others?
- What emotions did you feel while playing the game?
Activity Two: Creating a Call & Response Song Using Feelings
WA SEL Standard: Self-Awareness, Social Management
- SEL.K-2.1A.1-3 With guidance, I can contribute a personal feeling to use in a song
- SEL.K-2.5A.1-2 With guidance, I can work collaboratively as a member of a team.
WA Music Standard:
- MU: Cr:1 Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work. (Imagine)
Age Range: Primary
Duration: 30 minutes
Materials:
- Whiteboard/projector
- Song template
- Paper
- Pencil
- Crayons
Vocabulary:
- Lyrics
- Lyricist
- Call & Response Song
- Melody
- Collaborator
Engaging Strategies: Co-Creating and Group Singing
When and Why: This activity allows for individuals to contribute their own ideas in a small group project. It fosters creativity, listening skills and collaboration with others.
SEL Focus: This activity builds self and social awareness by identifying emotions and perspectives expressed by others. It also promotes social management by demonstrating attentive listening skills, the ability to wait, take turns and share with others.
- Music Focus: Participants will contribute lyrics for a new song about feelings within a Call & Response musical form.
- Modifications and variations: Pair up students who may need additional support instead of having individuals respond alone. Sing and play several “Call & Response” songs suitable for children such as “Shoo Turkey” or “John the Rabbit” to deepen understanding of the song form and share the cultural, historical & stylistic context of each song.
Begin with a Review
Play several rounds of “Emotion Charades” or optionally,
Have the teacher display an emotion card to the class without looking and have the students move about the room by acting out the emotion using facial expressions and body language only – no speaking or touching. The teacher guesses the emotion on the card. Repeat with a student in the teacher’s role.
“Let’s create a song about our feelings.”
In this next activity, we are going to choose three emotions from the Charades game, and later, a personal feeling to create lyrics for a new song. Lyrics are the words in a song. A person who writes lyrics to songs is called a lyricist.
Introduce the Song Template
The teacher shows a visual of the song template below and performs the song for the students by filling in the blanks with emotions used in the prior activity.
When students are ready, they can sing the response independently while the teacher sings the call.
- sample melody
Introduce “Call & Response” form
Are you singing the same words as me – like an “echo” - or are you singing something different? (Different.)
This is a type of song form called Call & Response. Call & Response songs have a leader give the call and the group sing the response. The group response uses a different melody – or song tune. It is like a musical conversation.
- Ask for student volunteers to take the lead “call” role with the rest of the class singing the response. Students are encouraged to make up their own call melody with the response staying the same each time.
Small Group Work
Students are grouped in threes. (If there is an uneven number, a group of two will work with one child using the teacher’s example or contributing two emotions).
Individuals choose their emotion and the small group comes to an agreement on the order they wish to present their emotions.
- Allow time for some experimentation and rehearsal.
- Teacher checks in with groups and provides guidance as needed.
Whole Group Sharing
Students come back together and sit near teammates in a circle formation to allow equal access in the conversation as all students can see each other, with no one sitting in front or behind.
Going around the circle, students take turns singing (or speaking) their emotion on the “call” while the group sings the responses.
- To support the start of the singing, the teacher can provide a hand “conducting” gesture and a preparation breath.
- Ideally, keep the verses flowing from one to the next without comment so the music can have a stronger emotional impact.
- Option: If an individual or group needs more support in the lead “call” role, choose additional students to assist or have the whole class sing both parts.
Debrief
Congratulations on becoming a collaborator! A collaborator is a person who helps a team with creating a new song. By working together, you became collaborators on a new verse for our song.
- Celebrate personal risk-taking and acknowledge individuals being emotionally vulnerable.
- Option: If time allows, provide teams a paper, pencils, and crayons to capture their unique verse. Have teammates illustrate the emotion they chose and display the verses around the room.
Optimistic Closure
Ask one or more of the following questions:
What is something you had in common with another classmate?
- What is something several people had in common?
- What is something you appreciated in your small group?
Activity 3: Interpreting Personal Meaning to Instrumental Music
WA SEL Standard: Self-Awareness, Social Awareness, Social Management
- SEL.K-2.1A.2 Recognize how different emotions, feelings, and thoughts feel in my body.
- SEL.K-2.4A.2 Recognize that people can have different feelings when faced with the same situations.
- SEL.K-2.5A.1 Demonstrate attentive listening skills.
- SEL.K-2.5A.2 Demonstrate the ability to wait, take turns, and share with others
WA Music Standard:
- MU: Re8.1.1 With limited guidance, identify expressive qualities that reflect creators’/performers’ expressive intent.
Age Range: Primary
Duration: 20 minutes
Materials:
- 2-4 instrumental music examples to play
- Response template
Vocabulary:
- Communication
- Perspective
- Point of View
What Is It Saying? (Engaging Strategies)
There is a famous saying, from Hans Christian Anderson “Where words fail, music speaks” Today we are going to explore the idea of music as a form of communication. Communication occurs when you or someone else shares ideas, thoughts, or feelings. It can happen through words, signs, behaviors and even sounds. In this activity, I will play music to which you will be listening and dancing. As you listen to the music, what is it saying?
When and Why: This activity taps into the therapeutic qualities of music play to encourage positive changes in mood and overall well-being. It provides opportunities to exchange ideas and listen to the perspective of others. Dancing/moving to music brings energy into the room.
- SEL Focus: This activity builds self-awareness by reflecting on music, identifying the feelings it evokes and assigning personal meaning. It practices relationship skills and social engagement, as partners share their ideas and actively listen to different perspectives.
- Music Focus: Participants will describe what is felt and heard (perceived/experienced) when responding to music.
- Modifications and variations: Instead of dancing or moving to music, students may draw or write about what the music is trying to convey. Partners of 2-3 may be preselected instead of chosen spontaneously depending on the comfortability level.
- Preparation: Before the activity, choose several instrumental musical selections to play for students that elicit a variety of different moods (e.g., Ellington w/Coltrane, In a Sentimental Mood; Mussorgsky’s Pictures of an Exhibition, Mvt IV: The Old Castle; Chiquinha Gonzaga’s Atraente; Beethoven’s 5th Symphony Mvt 1).
Play the Game
When the music stops, find a partner, and take turns sharing about what you think the music is saying.
You may hear ideas that are similar or different from your own. In this game, there will be no right or wrong answers, only different perspectives. A perspective is a way of thinking about something – also called point of view. If your partner has a different perspective or point of view, ask them to tell you more and listen carefully to understand. It may open up your mind to an idea you had not considered.
- When the music restarts, thank your partner for sharing their idea and we’ll play again.
- Resume the game with the same music a few more times to allow opportunities to share with new partners and listen to other perspectives on the same music.
- Repeat the activity with a new, contrasting musical example.
Debrief
Provide background information to students about the musical selections: (Composer, title, historic context, insights from program notes, etc.)
If desired, have students write or draw a picture about what they think the music is saying.
Sample Response Form:
Optimistic Closure
Bring the whole group back to a circle or seated position and ask several questions:
What was the music saying to you?
- How did your dancing relate to the music?
- How was it to share and listen to one another?
- What made your heart feel good?
Activity Four: Expressing Personal Feelings Through Instruments
WA SEL Standard: Self-Awareness
SEL.K-2.1A.2 Recognize how different emotions, feelings, and thoughts feel in my body.
SEL.K-2.2A.2 Identify strategies to help me be in control of myself and ask for additional assistance as needed.
WA Music Standard:
- MU: Cr:2.1.1 a. With limited guidance, demonstrate and discuss personal reasons for selecting musical ideas that represent expressive intent.
Age Range: Primary
Duration: 30 minutes
Materials:
- a variety of percussion instruments (woods, metals, shakers, drums)
- backing track
Vocabulary:
- body percussion
- rhythm
- backing track
Four-Beat Echo Patterns (Engaging Strategies)
- When and Why: This activity helps individuals nonverbally express their internal feelings through a creative process. It incorporates movement, a backing track, and instruments to invigorate the learning process.
SEL Focus: Participants practice the SEL skills of self-awareness by identifying or choosing an emotion to express through body percussion patterns and rhythm instruments. It also promotes self-management (impulse control) by being able to start and stop the playing of instruments, thus allowing others to share.
- Music Focus: Participants will create/improvise 4-beat rhythm patterns using body percussion (e.g., stomp, pat, clap, snap), and non-pitched percussion instruments.
Modifications and Variations:
- This activity can easily be adapted for grades K – 5.
- Primary students will find success by limiting improvisations to body percussion patterns first before handing out non-pitched percussion instruments. Modify snaps to finger pinches for youngest learners.
- “Found” instruments such as: wood sticks, stones, pebble-filled cans, and plastic buckets can be substituted for store-bought instruments.
- It is okay for individuals to listen and observe first before joining the activity or play with a partner.
- For intermediate students or deeper explorations into improvisation and musical forms try:
- Lengthening the improvisations to 8-beats and taking turns with a partner creating “Question-Answer” phrases
- Setting up barred Orff instruments in E minor pentatonic: E GAB D (no F or C bars) to aid melodic improvisation
- Extending individual improvisations to 24 beats (3 phrases) to support a continual flow of a musical idea. Have the group sing or play together the final response on phrase 4 - “All these feelings are mine” as a cue for the next player to be ready to start
Preparation Suggestions:
- Put together non-pitched instrument kits to speed up the process of passing out instruments.
- Make sure students have had previous lessons on instrument care; opportunities to pick them up, play them and set them down.
Review the Song, “All These Feelings”
Begin the activity in circle formation and review the Call & Response song, “All These Feelings” from Activity 2 using three pictures from the emotion cards.
Have students close their eyes and give a thumbs up when they are ready to share a feeling. Using the emotions offered by students, repeat “All These Feelings” as many times as needed to complete the circle.
- As done previously, encourage students to lead their own “call” by singing (or speaking) their emotion with the group taking the responses.
Introduce Body Percussion
We have learned new ways to discover feelings through body language, eye contact, listening to music and creating song lyrics. Today, we are going to share feelings through body percussion and instruments. Body percussion is when you use your body as an instrument to create different sounds such as when you stomp your feet, pat your legs, clap your hands, and snap your fingers. I will be making rhythm using body percussion. Rhythm is the way the words go in music.
Be My Echo. The teacher performs four-beat echo patterns and students repeat them back.
- Let’s add a backing track to our body percussion. Backing tracks are used to help musicians add extra parts to their music without having to increase the size of the band.
- Play the sample backing track (or other music in 4/4 time) and continue as before.
- Try hiding the words in your head. The teacher continues leading 4-beat body percussion patterns without saying the lyrics. Students follow the teacher's example.
- Ask for student volunteers to lead the class with body percussion patterns over the backing track.
Add Percussion Instruments
We are going to work in a small group and explore our feelings through instruments. You will take turns leading and echoing. You can lead with body percussion or switch to a percussion instrument depending on what you prefer. Think about matching the instrument and rhythms to the feeling you have chosen for this activity.
The teacher reviews the names of the instruments, how to play and care for them.
- Have students sit in groups of 3’s or 4’s.
- Briefly discuss and have a student group demonstrate how to work together successfully, (e.g., take turns, respectfully ask to use an instrument, play them with care, etc.)
- Hand out the instrument kits.
- Practice a common signal to bring students back to silence (e.g., “4-3-2-1, ready rest.”)
- Allow time for some experimentation and play the backing track as background music.
- Teacher checks in with groups and provides guidance as needed.
- After ample exploration time has occurred, bring the class back to focus with the attention signal.
Debrief
- Provide small groups the opportunity to share 30-60 seconds of their work. It is okay to “pass” if they are uncomfortable with sharing or not ready to share at this time.
- Applaud and cheer for each performance.
Optimistic Closure
- Have individuals reflect on their artist choices:
Why did I choose my instrument?
How did the instrument and rhythms I chose represent emotion?
Extension Activity
In a future lesson, have individuals revise their team verses and create their own verse by replacing their “feeling words” with similes of animals, things in nature or colors to represent the emotion behind the lyrics. For example:
Sample Template:
I feel like turtle (Yes, yes)
Hiding in a shell (Fine, fine)
I feel like a turtle (yes, yes)
And all these feelings are mine!
Or:
I feel like river (Yes, yes)
Wandering blue (Fine, fine)
I feel like a river (yes, yes)
And all these feelings are mine!