Paying Attention to Body Language

Paying Attention to Body Language

“Body language helps us understand how people are feeling even if they are not telling us with words.”

Lois Lange, co-author of the Social Competency Program

Purpose

• To recognize that people show feelings through facial expressions and gestures
• To understand that our bodies send messages to ourselves and others

Introducing Body Language with Students

• Explain that body language often communicates how we feel without using words.

Parent Communication

• Open parent communication is a vital component of a successful social skills curriculum. Ideas for communication include:
• Having students share what they have learned about this topic with a parent
• Addressing this topic in your weekly newsletter home
• Sending home a letter to parents addressing the topic in your classroom. An example letter is available in the Social Skills Dropbox.

From the Classroom…K-2

• Choose two students sitting across from each other: one waves and the other waves back. Explain that they sent a message saying “Hello.”
• Choose two more students: one sends a message without saying anything that he/she is sad.
• Repeat this with other feelings and then explain that this is body language and it helps us understand how people are feeling without using words.
• Ask students to watch for body language in themselves and others in the classroom during the week. Ask them to interpret what it means, such as when you are impatient because the class is too noisy, when a student is upset that he/she didn’t get a turn to speak or when someone is proud of their work.

From the Classroom…3-5

• Brainstorm the definition of body language: a way that feelings are communicated using your body instead of words.
• Students will communicate feelings as a group together. Teacher says a feeling word and students assume body positions and facial expressions to communicate those feelings. The words are:

concerned energetic nervous dejected confident

terrified sorrowful worried peaceful disgusted

• Have students find examples find examples of authors describing body language in the story or book that they are currently reading.
• Have students include descriptions of body language to develop characters in their creative writing.

Literature Connections:

• K-2: The Meanest Thing to Say, by Bill Cosby
• 3-5: Willie’s Not the Hugging Kind, by Joyce Barrett