Personal & Social Development·Self-Regulation & Resilience·language
Words for Big Feelings
Know and use the key words for managing big feelings — calm, strategy, cope, settle, patience, overwhelmed, and breathe — and understand that having words for these ideas is the first step to using them
Suggested ages 5–8
Learning journey
Your child is learning important life skills for managing emotions and challenges — using calming strategies when upset, practising patience, adapting to changes, and understanding that mistakes are a normal part of learning.
Evidence of understanding
- Use words like 'frustrated', 'anxious', 'overwhelmed', and 'disappointed' accurately to describe how they feel in difficult moments
- Explain what 'calm down' strategies are in their own words and name at least two they have tried (e.g. deep breaths, counting, walking away)
- Distinguish between similar feelings — e.g. explain the difference between being angry and being disappointed
Assessment prompt
When Words for Big Feelings is feeling really upset or frustrated, can they use words like 'I need to calm down' or 'I'm feeling overwhelmed' instead of just acting out?
Standards alignment
No external standards are linked to this topic.