I just want to give this book a big hug…I love it so much, it is one that i find myself pulling out time and time again. “In My Heart: A Book of Feelings” is just that: a book of feelings, big, small, and everything in between. “In My Heart” explores a full range of emotions in a relatable way that allows kids to identify their own similar feelings. It is filled with beautiful artwork, feelings, colors, hearts, and meaningful words that will help your students recognize and identify their own feelings.
The book design is also something that your students will love, as there is a cut out heart on each page as you explore happiness, silliness, shyness, anger, and more.
Skills to teach with “In My Heart”:
- Retelling
- Author’s purpose
- Repetition
- Imagery
- Personification
- Simile
- Metaphor
Important Discussions:
- Discuss feelings
- We go through different emotions and show them in different ways
- Expressing your feelings
- Noticing how others are feeling
Here are 5 meaningful activities to accompany “In My Heart: A Book About Feelings.”
5 Favorite Activities for “In My Heart: A Book About Feelings”:
1. Your heart is a house
Your heart is a house with all different feelings living inside. We have many different feelings and events, thoughts, actions, or words can bring up those feelings. Students can create a house and write down things that they have been feeling lately.
2. A Happy heart
When you are happy, your heart can feel like a bright yellow star. There are so many things that make us happy and sitting to brainstorm ideas is fun for students to think about those things. Students can make a list of things that make them happy and write about something that makes their hearts feel like shiny stars.
3. A Mad heart
Sometimes our heart may feel mad, which makes us feel like we might explode. It is okay to feel angry, we can learn to manage our anger and practice strategies to express our feelings. You can work together if students are comfortable sharing or have students independently come up with ideas for things to do when you are feeling angry. Students may have different strategies that they use when they are angry and they can learn from each other. Discuss how it feels when your heart is angry and things that you should not do when feeling mad.
4. A broken heart
Our hearts are delicate and it hurts when our feelings are hurt. Our hearts can feel broken. This is a great time to discuss talking about your feelings with someone when you feel brokenhearted. Someone can be there to listen, to help, give advice, or help you feel better. Students can think of two people that they can turn to if they feel broken hearted. Actively thinking of someone that you can turn to will be helpful for students that may not have considered who to talk to when they are feeling down.
5. A shy heart
Sometimes we feel shy, and that is absolutely okay!! If you’re feeling shy, you can express that and tell someone so that they understand. With your students, brainstorm ideas for what you could say if you are feeling shy. How can you tell someone that you would like to just be on your own for the moment? What are some times when you feel shy?
This is such a great book that will really help your students think about their feelings. It is a great way to open conversations about the way we feel and how to accept the way others around us are feeling too.
I hope you and your students love it.
You can grab a free one-page guide for using this book in your classroom here:
You can find more of my favorite read-aloud books HERE.
And read more about why I think reading aloud is so important HERE.
You might like this blog post about self-love.
Check out all of my favorite read-aloud books and grab free guides for reading them aloud HERE.
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