Inferring+Emotions+from+Social+Cues

Lesson Name: Inferring Emotions from Social Cues


 * Submitted by** Alix McKee

3D Student can read social cues
 * Standard**(s):

Age appropriate DVD or video to accompany recent reading assignment DVD player or VCR Chart paper & marker
 * Materials**:


 * Time**: varies

To help students become more proficient at reading the more complex social cues of maturing peers.
 * Goals**:

Students in the third and fourth grade are maturing and social cues become more complex as students become more aware of themselves in relation to their peers. Problems especially arise in the following areas:
 * Activities:**

1.teasing crosses the line into hurtfulness, but the teaser doesn’t see that they’ve gone too far 2.students use sarcasm with a peer who still perceives things at the literal level 3.students try to get someone’s attention by doing something mildly irritating, but don’t perceive when it has crossed the line into harassment and the victim is becoming angry 4.a student is upset and hunkered down, but friends want to comfort and help

While it would be most helpful to be able to pause in real-time with real classroom incidents and have a brief discussion about facial expressions, tone of voice and body language, it usually isn’t appropriate. You may be able to ask students who experience one of these situations to share it late with the class in a role-play or just a discussion.

Second best is the opportunity to look at a movie, with human actors portraying similar situations. To tie this into your day, you will likely want to choose a movie that goes with some other subject area you are working on.

Set up a 3-column chart with the following headings: emotion, social cues, and suggested action.

Before beginning, explain that people watch each other’s facial expressions, body language and listen to each other’s tones of voice to gather clues about what others are thinking. These clues are called “social cues.” People use social cues to infer (reading comprehension link!) what others are feeling. Once we infer what someone else is feeling, then it becomes easier to decide how to interact with them. Give some examples:

§ My dad comes home from work. He is frowning and talking in a loud voice on his cell phone. He looks straight at me, then away. His fist is clenched. I infer that he is feeling angry and I decide that this is not a good time to ask my dad for $20 for a new video game. I decide to go make sure that my room is clean instead. § I am joking around with my friend when she stops smiling and looks away from me. She crosses her arms. I infer that she is feeling hurt and I decide I’d better stop joking around and ask what I said that hurt her feelings.

Explain that we do this all the time, mostly without even being aware of it. As we get older, these social cues become more subtle and important in having positive interactions with each other. Today we will practice noticing social cues, inferring emotions and then discussing appropriate actions to take. We will watch the movie and pause it periodically to discuss the social cues of the characters. Please be paying close attention to the facial expressions, tone of voice and body language they display. Be thinking about what emotions they might be communicating in this way.

Begin the movie and pause at appropriate spots you have decided on ahead of time.

Students complete a similar 3-column chart independently. and/or Students are asked to return to this idea the next day, bringing a real life example they have noticed.
 * Assessment:**

3-column Chart: Social Cues, Emotion, Action [|SocialCues3ClmChart.docx]
 * Attachment**: