Lesson 2: The Emotional Inventory (Labeling & Anatomy)

Where do you "carry" your stress? If your anger had a shape and a location, where would it be?

Visceral: Relating to deep inward feelings rather than to the intellect. Body Mapping: Use of art to represent the relationship between emotions and the body.

VA:Cr2.3.HS: Redesign an object, system, place, or design in response to contemporary issues (in this case, mental health awareness).

Precision in Language: Moving from "I feel bad" to "I feel a sharp, cold anxiety" mirrors the SAT requirement for selecting precise vocabulary.

Description: Placing feelings onto a body silhouette. Purpose: Developing interoception (sensing internal body states). DOK Level 3: Strategic Thinking.

Mindfulness/Yoga: The cultural practice of "body scanning" to reduce cortisol and increase self-awareness.

"Everyone feels anger in their head." Correction: Explore how some feel it in their hands, some in their stomach—there is no "wrong" map.

Provide pre-printed body outlines to reduce the anxiety of drawing a "perfect" human figure.

Peer Discussion: Students share one location and one color without having to disclose the private "why."

Large butcher paper (for life-size) or 11x17 paper, watercolors/colored pencils.