Kindergarten Emotions Storytelling with Self Portraits

Grade: Kindergarten · Subject: Emotions · Time: 30 min · Difficulty: Standard

Learning Objective

Students will create and share a simple story about their emotions by drawing a self portrait and expressing how they feel.

Teacher-Selected Inputs

Grade: Kindergarten
Subject: Emotions
Skill: Storytelling, Observation
Educational Setting: General Education
Difficulty: Standard
Duration: 30 min

Why this printable fits

This printable supports emotion learning in Kindergarten by providing a focused space for students to draw their face and tell a story about their feelings, encouraging oral storytelling and emotional expression aligned to their developmental level.

Vocabulary

PRE-TEACH

Emotion: A feeling inside you.
Portrait: A picture of a face.
Story: Telling what happens.

USE DURING LESSON

Face
Name
Frame
Draw

Materials

Self Portrait printable for each student
Pencils or crayons

Prep

Print one Self Portrait sheet per student
Prepare a word bank card with simple emotion words (happy, sad, mad)

Lesson Steps

Introduction10 min
Teacher actions: 1. Present the printable and explain today's activity to draw their face and share a story about how they feel. 2. Model an example drawing and emotion story. 3. Point out the frame and name area on the printable.
Teacher script: Today we will draw a picture of our faces and tell a story about how we feel. Let's look at this special paper and see where to draw and write your name.
Example / model: Teacher shows a self portrait with a happy face and says, 'I feel happy today!
Printable use: Introduce the blank Self Portrait printable as the space for drawing and storytelling.
Move on when: Students have their printables and pencils ready and listen attentively to the explanation.
Support if needed: Use a sentence frame, such as 'I feel ___ today because ___,' to guide students in talking about emotions.
Drawing Self Portrait10 min
Teacher actions: 1. Guide students to observe their face or imagine it. 2. Model drawing basic facial features on the printable. 3. Assist and encourage students as they draw their faces.
Teacher script: Look closely at your face or remember it. Now draw your eyes, nose, and mouth to show how you feel.
Example / model: Teacher draws eyes, nose, mouth, and hair portraying a happy expression on the printable.
Printable use: Students draw facial features inside the frame area on their Self Portrait printable.
Move on when: Students have drawn facial features that show an emotion.
Support if needed: Provide verbal prompts or show simple drawings to help students who need assistance.
Sharing Emotion Stories10 min
Teacher actions: 1. Invite students to share their drawings and say a sentence about how they feel. 2. Model sharing your own emotion story first. 3. Encourage use of the sentence frame for oral storytelling.
Teacher script: Who would like to tell us about their face? You can say, 'I feel ___ today.
Example / model: Teacher shares, 'I feel happy today because I played with my friends.
Printable use: Students share their Self Portrait and orally express their emotion story with the class.
Move on when: Students use the sentence frame to verbally share their emotion and show their drawing.
Support if needed: Pair students with a partner to practice their sentence before sharing with the group.

Formative Check

Step: Drawing Self Portrait
Ask students to: Draw facial features to represent an emotion.
Look for: Students include eyes, nose, and mouth that indicate how they feel.

Success Criteria

Students can complete at least 1 Storytelling task using the printable.

Differentiation

Support: Use a sentence frame to help students express their emotion orally (e.g., 'I feel ___ today because ___').

Scaffold tool: Sentence Frame

Standard: Students draw their face and share an oral sentence about their emotion using the printable.

Extension: Add more sentences to tell additional details about their feelings or what happened.

Early Finishers: Draw a small picture around the frame representing something that makes them feel that emotion.

Accommodations

Provide tracing lines for name writing if needed.
Allow oral dictation for name if writing is difficult.
Offer verbal prompts and modeling for drawing facial features.
Use an assigned partner for practicing emotion sentence frames.

Common Misconceptions

Students may confuse facial features associated with different emotions.
Students may say 'happy' for every picture without exploring other emotions.
Students may have difficulty verbally expressing emotions clearly.

Assessment

Check that students' self portraits include facial features expressing an emotion.
Listen for use of emotion vocabulary in students' oral stories.
Observe if students can use the sentence frame independently or with support.

Teacher Notes

Standards

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.K.4: Describe familiar people, places, things, and events with prompting and support.

IF SHORT ON TIME

Keep: Drawing Self Portrait and oral storytelling about emotions.
Skip or shorten: Skip the name writing step or simplify sharing time.

FOLLOW-UP OPTIONS

Create a class book titled 'My Emotions' with drawings and sentences.
Use emotion cards to play matching games relating feelings to facial expressions.
Have students sequence emotion stories using drawings and simple sentences.

HOME CONNECTION

Encourage families to have their child draw a self portrait at home and share how they feel with family members.

Source summary

Based on: Self Portrait

Printable summary (sanity check): Printable Self Portrait template designed for Kindergarten students to support storytelling and emotional expression through drawing and oral sharing, focusing on emotions without emphasizing writing or fine motor tasks like coloring.