You may like to start by leading a discussion on how the human body is designed to give us clues that signal how we are feeling. Remind students that everyone is different. Therefore, different class members may experience different body clues when they feel the same emotion or experience different emotions in the same situation. However, because of how the human body is wired, there are some body clues that are common signs of certain emotions.

• Draw and write on a body outline to brainstorm how and where the human body gives clues that signal when we feel. . Alternatively, ask the students to lie down and draw around the outline of their body on a large sheet of paper. Ask them to draw the body clues and thoughts they experience when they feel a target emotion on the body poster.  In the resource section an individual student drawing worksheet is provided as an alternative to a teacher-led large drawing
• When specifically discussing body clues that student’s may feel, begin with less potentially controversial emotions such as happiness.
  • Ask questions that encourage students to explore body clues:
  • What does your face look like when you feel happy?
  • How well does your brain think when you feel happy?
  • Does your body have lots of energy, or do you feel tired and sleepy?
  • How does your body move when you are happy?
• Include sharing your own body clues for a range of emotions – even adults have emotions and body clues!
• Consider using examples where emotions are necessary to keep us safe (for example, to quickly jump out of the way of physical danger) as well as when our brains have similar reactions to uncomfortable situations that are not physically dangerous (for example, a test when we are scared to get an answer wrong). 
• Explore identifying a range of situations in which students may notice different emotion body clues for emotion changes (positive, neutral and challenging changes). Consider highlighting how we all have similarities and differences and when we become aware of our body clues, we can learn to regulate our emotions to achieve our goals in a variety of situations.
• Remind children that being able to detect and manage their own feelings will help them to achieve the goals that they set for themselves.
• Incorporate mention or discussion about body clues in any lesson activity.
• Consider your use of language compared to the student’s. For example, check whether the child uses words other than ‘angry’ versus ‘grumpy’ or anxious’ versus ‘wobbly’ to describe these emotions. You may need to use different emotion language for some students or incorporate teaching a range of emotion words that are used to describe a set of body clues.

Play the Body Clues Freeze Game as a fun way to learn and explore different emotion body clues.

Look for opportunities to replay the Body Clues Freeze Game as a reminder of their emotion body clues or as preparation for being on ‘high alert’ for body clues in an upcoming task.

The Body Clues Freeze Game worksheet is available in the resources tab.

Be on the look out for student’s emotion body clues or trigger situations to provide opportunities for incidental teaching and prompting to conduct a ‘body scan’ for emotion body clues. Praise and reward children for detecting their own emotions from body and thought clues during class activities (with or without teacher prompting).

• Display a poster illustrating anxious and angry body clues in your classroom as a visual reminder for students to be on high alert for these clues.
• Ask children to complete their own body clues visual and keep it on or near their work area as a visual reminder to when conducting a ‘body scan’ for body clues.
• The worksheet is available in the resource tab.

Either as a whole class or individual students, set a homework task (Body Scan Mission) that asks children to be on ‘high alert’ for body clues that signal how they are feeling during the week (particularly before entering situations that make them feel anxious or angry).

• Encourage students to do this task with the help of other family members, classmates and/or school staff.
• Praise and encourage children for answering the Body Scan Mission questions for homework.
• An activity sheet is available in the resource tab (Body Scan Mission).

Try to be aware of early warnings that signal when your student’s anxiety or anger levels are rising, and the situations where this is likely to occur. If early warning signs are noticed, discretely prompt the use of calming strategies.  If possible, do this prior to the students entering a known trigger situation.

If you notice a student in the early stages of becoming angry or anxious, you can try a universal prompt to the whole class. For example, ask the class to stop and suggest that you all take a slow, deep breath. Model this for them. Avoid making specific reference to the student that you have noticed. Be aware of what happens immediately after the student becomes distressed, as they may be accidentally rewarded for undesired behaviour. For example, if a child yells and runs away during a difficult activity, they may be accidentally rewarded by not having to participate in the class.

Often one of the most effective strategies for reducing an undesirable behaviour is teaching students alternative ways to communicate what they want, and how to recognise and manage their emotions. For example, to ask for help when experiencing a difficult task.

When the student is calm, ask them to describe, draw, or circle from a selection, what they are noticing in their body. Encourage any efforts that are made.

Try to identify likely distress triggers (situations or environments) for your student and consider:

• Implementing preparation strategies to prevent the intensity of the emotion escalation.  For example, writing a short story (i.e. a 'Social Story') describing a new activity and explicitly stating the rules to be followed or create a daily schedule that reminds them about upcoming transitions to reduce anxiety about the unknown and unpredictable.
• Practice signaling rising emotions and use of calming strategies when calm and away from triggers – For example, practice using slow breathing at the desk in the exam room when there is no exam, or stepping calmly through a fire drill process with no other students or sirens.
• Modify or remove triggers where possible and appropriate – For example, seating the child at the front of the classroom in a quiet area that is free from visual distractions may help to prevent sensory overload and improve their focus
• Consider the student’s sensory processing and how this may influence their reporting or experiencing of body clues.
• Encourage students to be on ‘high alert’ for body clues that you have discussed as a class. Check in with students throughout the lesson or across the week to see if they have recognised any new clues.
• When within a group or whole class situations, try to be sensitive to including a number of students (or the whole class) in body clues identification discussions to prevent sensitivities or embarrassment.

If you have students who would benefit from further social-emotional support, make an appropriate referral to an internal or external professional e.g., psychologist, guidance officer, occupational therapist, speech-language pathologist, or behaviour specialist.

It is important to liaise with the school guidance officer or student’s psychologist, their parents, the student themselves and possibly other professionals to further understand and identify an appropriately suited strategy to assist them to recognise and manage their emotions and feelings.

You can also find resources to support your students’ learning about body clues in the Resources section below.