SEL Picture Book Lesson - Grumpy Pants

We read the book Grumpy Pants by Claire Messer aloud in our classroom. We talk about things that make us grumpy. We also talk about ways we deal with grumpy feelings as well as the things that help us feel better. We chart these as a class. We also talk about the ways penguin made himself feel better in the book.

I copy the bathtub and glue it onto a large sealed envelope. I laminate it and then cut an opening into the top of the tub. Kids can slide the emotions they are feeling into the bathtub. The time it takes to slide the words into the envelope often helps kids calm themselves down and get a better hold of their feelings. Word cards can be removed and the envelope can be reused.

Word cards can be filled out after reading different books or even after talking about different things that have happened at school. They can also be filled out by kids when they are upset about different things. I print or write the word cards onto colored paper and I laminate the sheets before we cut them. Students can also write their own words on the blank cards. The process of writing their own words on the cards helps them calm their brains and bodies down!