Young children experience a variety of emotions every day, but many times, they don’t yet have the words to identify what they are feeling. Adults can play a critical role in building the emotional vocabulary of our littlest learners.
Having the words to describe their emotions gives children the power to ask for and offer help, express their feelings, and connect with others in positive ways. Teaching children to name their emotions also supports their ability to manage those emotions in healthy ways.
Emotional vocabulary is the foundation for self-awareness, self-regulation, problem-solving, and empathy, all of which are essential social and emotional skills!
What is an emotional vocabulary?
An emotional vocabulary refers to the ability to recognize, understand, label, and express feelings using specific words. It is easiest to start with basic emotions because very young children understand them most easily.
However, we can help them move beyond the basic emotions, such as happy, sad, and mad, to learn more precise and nuanced language, like excited, disappointed, and frustrated, to describe their emotions.
Other words to consider including in an emotional vocabulary include:
- worried
- nervous
- proud
- calm
- surprised
- overwhelmed
These words express more complex emotions that young learners may not know how to describe without a robust emotional vocabulary.
How do you teach emotional vocabulary words?
There are many ways to help children build their emotional vocabulary. Find ways to incorporate emotional vocabulary words into your child or student’s favorite part of the day through stories and play.
- Modeling: As your students are playing, model emotional phrases and expressions to reinforce these terms. For example, if a group of children is pretending to bake a cake, you could say, “I am so excited to taste the cake! We can all take turns so everyone can have a taste.” Or, if your student is building with blocks and it falls over, model frustration by saying, “I am so frustrated that the blocks fell over. Maybe we can help each other and rebuild it together?”
Modeling emotional vocabulary and coping strategies is an excellent way to help young children develop their own skills in this area. Finding opportunities to do this throughout the day reinforces both the words and the expressions that accompany them! Let your students see you expressing your feelings and how you cope with them. - Games: Another way to build emotional vocabulary is by turning it into a game. Call out an emotion and ask your students to show you what that emotion looks like on their faces and by using their body language.
Emotions might look slightly different for each child, and that’s okay! Your students will learn that we can all experience the same emotions, but we may express them in different ways. This teaches them social awareness and empathy towards their peers. - Vocabulary Support: At the end of the school day, ask your students to tell you about something that happened to them that day. Help them tell their stories by offering words that accurately describe their feelings and emotions.
Introduce emotional vocabulary using picture cards, modeling each of the emotions on the card, and asking your students to do the same. - Stories and Books: You can use stories and books as conversation starters. As you read a story, talk about the various emotions you and your students experience as the story develops, supplying them with the words to identify their feelings as needed.
While reading, pause to ask how they think the characters might be feeling at various points throughout the story and why they think so. You can take it a step further and ask for ideas about what the character can do to help themselves cope with those emotions.
We’ve compiled a list of books to get you started, but any stories can be used to help your discussions.
Helping children build their emotional vocabularies through stories and play, especially in fun and natural ways, sets a strong foundation for lifelong success!
This social emotional learning resource to help children name and recognize feelings was authored by the Watson Institute’s special education consultant, Katie Bentz, M.Ed.
If you have questions or concerns about the Watson Institute’s use of this information, please contact us.