Emotions ESL lesson thumbnail
Book 5 · Unit 9Pre-Intermediate · Ages 10–13

Emotions

This emotions ESL lesson expands feeling vocabulary and practises 'How do you feel?' with reasons. Students interpret emoji faces, freeze in emotion poses and discuss how characters feel in a video. They write about their mood and perform a Feeling Switch roleplay in which emotions change during the scene.

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Lesson format

2 × 45 minutes

Level

Pre-Intermediate

Age group

Ages 10–13

Main focus

Speaking first

What students will learn

• Recognize and name 10+ emotions
• Ask and answer 'How do you feel?' and 'I feel ___'
• Use the verb feel in the present simple
• Match faces, actions, and words to describe emotions
• Write and perform short emotion-based scenes
• Build vocabulary through video and games

Lesson flow

Students guess emotions from emoji faces and freeze in emotion poses, learn feeling vocabulary with 'I feel happy today,' and watch a video asking 'How does the girl feel?'. The second lesson interviews a partner asking 'How do you feel? Why?', writes about their feelings today, and performs a Feeling Switch roleplay where a mood changes mid-scene.

Target language

  • • 'How do you feel?'
  • • 'I feel ___'
  • • Subject-verb agreement (I feel / she feels)
  • • Emotion vocabulary

Key vocabulary

  • excited
  • nervous
  • embarrassed
  • confused
  • proud
  • jealous
  • relieved
  • bored
  • stressed
  • emotion

Speaking questions students answer

  • • How do you feel today?
  • • How does the girl feel?
  • • Is he sad?
  • • Why do you feel that way?
  • • How do you feel at school?

Recommended teaching contexts

• Pre-Intermediate ESL and EFL classes• Ages 10–13• Primary school classrooms• Language schools• Private and small-group lessons• Teaching emotions vocabulary• Pair and whole-class speaking• Interactive whiteboards and online teaching

Why this lesson works

The lesson follows a clear progression: Guess emotions from emojis, interview a partner about how they feel, write about their feelings and roleplay a Feeling Switch scene. Teachers can open the materials and start immediately, while students move from supported vocabulary practice to purposeful spoken English.

This lesson includes

• Interactive lesson slides
• Teacher guide
• Printable worksheets
• Speaking practice: "How do you feel today?"
• Classroom games
• Videos
• Vocabulary practice
• Pair work
• Extension activities

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