FREE US SHIPPING ON ALL BOOKS & ON MERCH OVER $35

Try a Real Lesson, Free | Big Head Bob Academy K-2 SEL Unit 1: Feelings
BIG HEAD BOB ACADEMY · K–2 SEL

Try a Free Lesson

Unit 1: Feelings. Two 90-minute lessons

Two ways to teach Lesson 1 today. Grab the printable plan for your binder, or scroll down and run the whole lesson live, right on this page, with working activities and sheets you can print as you go.

Big Head Bob, the K-2 social emotional learning character

LESSON 1 · TEACH IT LIVE

Express your feelings and respect yourself

Open an activity to get the purpose, the steps, and a ready-to-print sheet or cutout. Print straight from this page.

Opened0 / 95 min
1 Circle Talk 5 min +

Purpose. Help students practice saying a feeling out loud in a safe group, and hear that classmates feel things too.

STEPS

  1. Seat students in a circle so everyone can see each other.
  2. Going around the circle, each student names their feeling right now in one word.
  3. Invite four or five volunteers to say why they feel that way.

MATERIALS

  • Carpet or open floor space
  • Feeling word cutouts (print below)
Printable: “Today I feel…” cutout cards

Today I feel…

Circle Talk cutouts · Big Head Bob Academy · Unit 1, Lesson 1

🙂
Happy
😢
Sad
😠
Angry
😮
Surprised
😌
Calm
✏️
My own word
2 Naming Feelings 10 min +

Purpose. Build feelings vocabulary fast, then sort the words into positive and negative together.

STEPS

  1. Split the class into two teams at the board.
  2. Teams race for 2–3 minutes to write as many feeling words as they can. No repeats.
  3. Count words, then sort every word as a class into positive and negative.

MATERIALS

  • Class board and markers
  • Sorting chart (print below)
Want to model the sort first? Use the live Sort the Feelings board further down the page.
Printable: positive / negative sorting chart

Our Feeling Words

Naming Feelings chart · Big Head Bob Academy · Unit 1, Lesson 1

Positive feelings 🙂
Negative feelings 😕
3 Drawing 20 min +

Purpose. Help students notice how their body and their actions change in a good mood versus a bad mood.

STEPS

  1. Hand out the drawing worksheet, one per student.
  2. Students draw themselves in a good mood and in a bad mood.
  3. They write what they do in each mood and what causes it.
  4. Hang the finished pictures up and share a few as a class.

MATERIALS

  • Drawing worksheet (print below)
  • Crayons, markers, or pencils
Printable: good mood / bad mood drawing sheet

Me in a Good Mood & a Bad Mood

Drawing worksheet · Big Head Bob Academy · Unit 1, Lesson 1

Name:

In a GOOD mood 🙂
What I do:

What causes it:
In a BAD mood 😕
What I do:

What causes it:
4 Big Head Bob Story 15 min +

Purpose. Watch how Big Head Bob accepts failure and turns a weakness into a strength, then connect it to students' own lives.

STEPS

  1. Read or play “Transform Your Weakness Into Strength.”
  2. Ask how Bob reacts when things go wrong for him.
  3. Each student names one weakness they could turn into a strength.

MATERIALS

  • The book, or the video read-aloud
  • Discussion cards (print below)
Printable: Bob discussion cards

[ Bob cutout art ]

Talk About It With Bob

Story discussion cards · cut along the dashed lines

What went wrong for Bob in the story?
How did Bob feel? How could you tell?
What did Bob do instead of giving up?
Name one thing that is hard for you. How could practice make it a strength?
5 Box Breathing 20 min +

Purpose. Give students one simple, repeatable tool they can use for life when a feeling gets too big.

STEPS

  1. Introduce the four-count method: in, hold, out, hold.
  2. Trace the square in the air together as you count.
  3. Run several slow cycles with the widget below.
  4. Agree on when to use it: before a test, after an argument, at bedtime.

MATERIALS

  • A quiet space to sit
  • Wall poster (print below)
Run it live with the class using the breathing square below. Project it on the board.
Printable: Box Breathing wall poster

Box Breathing

Trace the square with your finger. Count to four on every side.

Breathe in · 4
Hold · 4

[ Bob cutout art ]

Hold · 4
Breathe out · 4
6 Bookmarks 25 min +

Purpose. Make a keepsake full of cheer-up phrases students can reach for on a hard day.

STEPS

  1. Print and cut the bookmark templates.
  2. Students decorate them however they like.
  3. Each student writes their own cheer-up phrase on the back.
  4. Keep the bookmark in a reading book for hard days.

MATERIALS

  • Bookmark templates (print below)
  • Crayons and safety scissors
Printable: 3 bookmark templates

Cheer-Up Bookmarks

Cut along the dashed edges · decorate · write your own phrase on the back

[ Bob cutout art ]

This feeling will pass.

[ Bob cutout art ]

Breathe. In 4, out 4.

[ Bob cutout art ]

I am still learning. That's okay.

ACTIVITY 5 · RUN IT WITH YOUR CLASS

Box Breathing

Project this and follow the dot together. In for four, hold, out for four, hold.

Press start
Cycles completed: 0

ACTIVITY 2 · RUN IT WITH YOUR CLASS

Sort the Feelings

Tap a word, then tap a column. Tap a placed word to send it back. There are no wrong answers.

Positive feelings 🙂

Negative feelings 😕

5 printable worksheets in the full unit

Classroom-ready templates, formatted for Letter and A4.

Drawing worksheet

Bookmark templates

Thank-you notes

Compliment cards

Appreciation cards

LESSON 2 · PREVIEW

Recognize and respect others' feelings

🔒 In the full unit
Activity 1 Circle Talk: guess a friend’s feeling
Activity 2 Respecting Others’ Feelings (Bob & Lisa)
Activity 3 Role Playing
Activity 4 Showing Appreciation: thank-you notes
Activity 5 Compliment Cards
Activity 6 Act of Kindness
1,000+
classrooms worldwide
15+
books in 7 languages
250,000+
YouTube subscribers
NASA
collaboration

Take the whole lesson plan with you

Both 90-minute lessons, all five printables, and the Big Head Bob story. The instant download for your binder.

Get the Instant Download →

See all 5 curriculum units →

GET IN TOUCH

BRING BOB TO YOUR SCHOOL

I'd love to set up an intro call. School visits, assemblies,
or a new SEL collaboration. Let's build something memorable.

David

Or email David directly at info@BigHeadBob.com.

'); w.document.close(); w.focus(); setTimeout(function(){try{w.print();}catch(err){}},900); }); /* box breathing */ var circle=document.getElementById('bhb-circle'),dot=document.getElementById('bhb-dot'), label=document.getElementById('bhb-label'),startBtn=document.getElementById('bhb-start'), cycEl=document.getElementById('bhb-cycles'); var raf=null,t0=null,cycles=0,PHASE=4,LABELS=['Breathe in','Hold','Breathe out','Hold']; function tick(now){ if(!t0)t0=now; var cyc=PHASE*4, el=(now-t0)/1000, cp=el%cyc, ph=Math.floor(cp/PHASE), pf=(cp%PHASE)/PHASE; if(label)label.textContent=LABELS[ph]; var sc = ph===0?0.6+0.4*pf : ph===1?1 : ph===2?1-0.4*pf : 0.6; if(circle)circle.setAttribute('r',(64*sc).toFixed(1)); var t=cp/cyc,a=30,L=200,x,y; if(t<0.25){x=a+L*(t/0.25);y=a;} else if(t<0.5){x=a+L;y=a+L*((t-0.25)/0.25);} else if(t<0.75){x=a+L-L*((t-0.5)/0.25);y=a+L;} else{x=a;y=a+L-L*((t-0.75)/0.25);} if(dot){dot.setAttribute('cx',x.toFixed(1));dot.setAttribute('cy',y.toFixed(1));} var done=Math.floor(el/cyc); if(done!==cycles){cycles=done; if(cycEl)cycEl.textContent=cycles;} raf=requestAnimationFrame(tick); } if(startBtn) startBtn.addEventListener('click',function(){ if(raf){cancelAnimationFrame(raf);raf=null;t0=null;startBtn.textContent='Start'; if(label)label.textContent='Paused'; if(circle)circle.setAttribute('r','38'); return;} t0=null;cycles=0; if(cycEl)cycEl.textContent='0'; startBtn.textContent='Pause'; raf=requestAnimationFrame(tick); }); /* feelings sorter */ var WORDS=['Happy','Proud','Calm','Excited','Loved','Sad','Angry','Scared','Frustrated','Lonely']; var pool=document.getElementById('bhb-pool'),posEl=document.getElementById('bhb-pos'),negEl=document.getElementById('bhb-neg'); var state=[],sel=null,dragId=null; function reset(){state=WORDS.map(function(w,i){return{id:i,text:w,col:'pool'};});sel=null;draw();} function chip(w){ var b=document.createElement('button'); b.type='button'; b.className='bhb-word'+(w.col==='pool'&&sel===w.id?' sel':''); b.textContent=w.text; b.draggable=true; b.addEventListener('dragstart',function(){dragId=w.id;}); b.addEventListener('click',function(ev){ev.stopPropagation(); if(w.col==='pool'){sel=(sel===w.id?null:w.id);} else {w.col='pool';sel=null;} draw();}); return b; } function draw(){ if(!pool)return; pool.textContent=''; posEl.textContent=''; negEl.textContent=''; var p=state.filter(function(w){return w.col==='pool';}); var rows = p.length>5 ? [p.slice(0,Math.ceil(p.length/2)),p.slice(Math.ceil(p.length/2))] : [p]; rows.forEach(function(r){ if(!r.length)return; var d=document.createElement('div'); d.style.cssText='display:flex;flex-wrap:wrap;gap:10px;justify-content:center;'; r.forEach(function(w){d.appendChild(chip(w));}); pool.appendChild(d); }); state.filter(function(w){return w.col==='pos';}).forEach(function(w){posEl.appendChild(chip(w));}); state.filter(function(w){return w.col==='neg';}).forEach(function(w){negEl.appendChild(chip(w));}); } root.querySelectorAll('[data-col]').forEach(function(col){ var name=col.getAttribute('data-col'); col.addEventListener('click',function(){ if(sel===null)return; state.forEach(function(w){if(w.id===sel)w.col=name;}); sel=null; draw();}); col.addEventListener('dragover',function(e){e.preventDefault();}); col.addEventListener('drop',function(e){e.preventDefault(); if(dragId===null)return; state.forEach(function(w){if(w.id===dragId)w.col=name;}); dragId=null; sel=null; draw();}); }); var rb=document.getElementById('bhb-reset'); if(rb) rb.addEventListener('click',reset); reset(); /* contact form */ var form=document.getElementById('bhb-form'),wrap=document.getElementById('bhb-formwrap'), sentBox=document.getElementById('bhb-sent'),sentName=document.getElementById('bhb-sentname'), again=document.getElementById('bhb-again'); if(form) form.addEventListener('submit',function(e){ e.preventDefault(); if(!form.checkValidity()){form.reportValidity();return;} var n=(form.elements['name'].value||'').trim().split(' ')[0]||'friend'; if(sentName)sentName.textContent=n; wrap.style.display='none'; sentBox.style.display='block'; }); if(again) again.addEventListener('click',function(){ sentBox.style.display='none'; wrap.style.display='block'; form.reset(); }); })();