Meaning, Causes and Facial Expressions of Sadness for Pre-School Level 3

Class: Pre-School Level 3
Term: Third Term
Week: 9
Age: 4 years
Duration: 30 minutes
Subject: Civic Education
Curriculum Theme: Not separately stated in the scheme.
Previous Lesson: Understanding happy feelings and expressions.
Topic: EMOTIONAL STATE: SADNESS
Subject Matter: Meaning, causes and facial expressions of sadness.

Specific Objectives

By the end of the lesson, pupils should be able to:

Cognitive Domain

• Discuss a simple meaning of sadness.
• Identify facial expressions of sadness from pictures.
• Mention simple causes of sadness.

Affective Domain

• Show empathy towards others who are sad.
• Express that it is okay to feel sad sometimes.

Psychomotor Domain

• Demonstrate some facial expressions of sadness.
• Point to pictures showing sad faces.

Social Domain

• Participate in discussions about feelings.

Reference Materials

• NAPPS National Unified Teaching Scheme for Pre-School Level 3.
• Early Childhood Care and Education resources.

Instructional Materials

• Chart showing different facial expressions (happy, sad).
• Posters depicting children feeling sad in various situations.
• Small mirror for pupils to see their own faces.
• Picture cards of objects or situations that might cause sadness (e.g., broken toy, lost item).
• Audio (optional, for a sad-themed song).

Rationale for the Lesson

This lesson is important for 4-year-olds as it helps them recognise and understand the emotion of sadness in themselves and others. Learning about sadness allows children to develop emotional literacy, express their feelings appropriately, and begin to empathise with their peers, which are crucial social-emotional skills for their age.

Prerequisite/Previous Knowledge

Pupils can already recognise and express happy feelings and understand simple instructions.

Lesson Content/Board Summary

EMOTIONAL STATE: SADNESS

Sadness is a feeling of being unhappy. When you are sad, you might feel like crying or want to be quiet. It is okay to feel sad sometimes.

Facial Expressions of Sadness

When someone is sad, their face might look like this:

• Mouth turns down.
• Eyes might look watery, or tears might come out.
• Eyebrows might come together in the middle.

We can show a sad face by making our mouth go down and our eyes look a little droopy.

Causes of Sadness

Many things can make us feel sad, such as:

• Losing a favourite toy or item.
• When a friend is sick or moves away.
• Falling down and hurting yourself.
• When someone says “no” to something you really want.
• When you miss your mummy or daddy.

Key Words

• Sad – Feeling unhappy.
• Unhappy – Not feeling joyful or glad.
• Tears – Water that comes from your eyes when you cry.

Sadness Rhyme

Tune: Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

Lyrics:

Sad, sad, feeling blue,
Sometimes I feel sad, it’s true.
Mouth goes down and tears may fall,
It’s okay to feel it all.
Tell a grown-up, big and kind,
Helpful hands you’ll always find.

Actions: Pupils make a sad face, point to their mouth going down, pretend to wipe tears, then point to themselves and then to a grown-up.

Watch and Practise

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYyI36_u2sY

Teaching Methods/Instructional Techniques

Play-based Learning, Demonstration, Guided Practice, Role-play, Picture Talk, Songs and Rhymes, Question and Answer, Imitation.

Instructional Procedures

Step 1: Introduction

Time: 3 minutes

Teaching Skill: Engagement/Recall

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher greets the pupils and quickly reviews the previous lesson on happy feelings. “Last time, we talked about being happy! Who can show me a happy face?” Then, the teacher says, “Today, we will talk about another feeling, a feeling when we are not happy. It’s called sadness.”

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils respond to greetings, show happy faces, and listen attentively.

Learning Point: Pupils recall previous knowledge and are introduced to the new topic.

Step 2: Meaning of Sadness

Time: 5 minutes

Teaching Skill: Explanation/Concept Introduction

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher explains sadness in simple terms: “Sadness means feeling unhappy. Sometimes when we are sad, we might feel like crying.” The teacher shows a picture of a sad child and asks, “How do you think this child feels?”

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils listen to the explanation, look at the picture, and respond to the teacher’s question (e.g., “Sad!”).

Learning Point: Pupils understand the simple meaning of sadness.

Step 3: Facial Expressions of Sadness

Time: 5 minutes

Teaching Skill: Demonstration/Imitation

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher demonstrates a sad facial expression, pointing to their downturned mouth and slightly furrowed brows. “See my mouth? It goes down. My eyes might look a bit watery.” The teacher then gives each pupil a small mirror or uses a large one for group viewing and guides them to make a sad face. “Now, you try to make a sad face in the mirror!”

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils observe the teacher’s demonstration, then use the mirror to try and make a sad face, imitating the teacher.

Learning Point: Pupils identify and demonstrate facial expressions of sadness.

Step 4: Causes of Sadness

Time: 5 minutes

Teaching Skill: Discussion/Examples

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher shows picture cards of situations that might cause sadness (e.g., a broken toy, a child falling, a child missing a parent). “Look at this picture. What do you think happened? Does it make the child feel happy or sad?” The teacher encourages pupils to mention other simple things that make them sad.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils identify the situations in the pictures, say if they cause happiness or sadness, and mention simple causes of sadness from their own experiences (e.g., “My toy broke,” “I fell down”).

Learning Point: Pupils identify common causes of sadness.

Step 5: Reinforcement with Rhyme

Time: 3 minutes

Teaching Skill: Songs and Rhymes/Reinforcement

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher leads the pupils in singing the “Sadness Rhyme” with actions. The teacher sings slowly and clearly, encouraging pupils to join in and perform the actions.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils sing the rhyme along with the teacher and perform the simple actions.

Learning Point: Pupils reinforce their understanding of sadness and its expression through song and movement.

Step 6: Video and Discussion

Time: 4 minutes

Teaching Skill: Visual Learning/Discussion

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher introduces the video: “Now, let’s watch a short video about sadness and see what makes other children feel sad.” After the video, the teacher asks simple questions like, “What made the children in the video sad?” and “How did their faces look?”

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils watch the video and answer the teacher’s questions, pointing out sad faces or mentioning causes of sadness from the video.

Learning Point: Pupils observe and discuss sadness in a visual context.

Step 7: Evaluation/Review

Time: 4 minutes

Teaching Skill: Questioning/Assessment

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher checks pupils’ understanding through short questions and practical tasks.

1. “What does it mean to be sad?” (Teacher guides if needed: “It means feeling…”)
2. “Show me a sad face.”
3. “What is one thing that can make you feel sad?”
4. The teacher shows a picture of a sad child and asks, “How is this child feeling?”

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils respond orally and demonstrate the required skill where appropriate.

Learning Point: Pupils demonstrate understanding of the lesson.

Step 8: Conclusion

Time: 1 minute

Teaching Skill: Summary/Closure

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher summarises the lesson by saying, “Today we learned about sadness. It’s okay to feel sad sometimes, and when we do, we can talk to a grown-up to help us feel better.” The teacher praises pupils for their participation.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils listen to the summary and acknowledge the lesson.

Learning Point: Pupils consolidate their learning and understand that sadness is a normal emotion.

Lesson Keywords

• Sad – Feeling unhappy.
• Unhappy – Not feeling joyful.
• Tears – Water that comes from the eyes when crying.

Differentiation

• Support: For pupils who struggle to express themselves, the teacher can use hand-over-hand guidance to help them make a sad face, or provide only two picture choices (happy/sad) for identification. Use more repetition and focus on just one cause of sadness.
• Extension: For pupils who grasp the concept quickly, the teacher can ask them to draw a picture of something that makes them sad, or role-play a short scenario where they comfort a sad friend.