Personal & social development // Emotional Literacy
How Emotions Feel in Your Body
Understand the connection between emotions and the body — recognising physical signals like butterflies in the stomach (nervous), clenched fists (angry), racing heart (scared or excited), and tight shoulders (stressed)
Quick check
Before a school performance or sports day, can the learner notice and tell you about the physical feelings in their body — like butterflies in their tummy — and connect them to being nervous or excited?
Ask this to see whether the topic is secure.
Topic // Mastery
What mastery looks like
- Name at least three body sensations and match them to the emotions they signal
- Notice a physical feeling in their own body and identify the emotion behind it
- Explain why the body reacts physically when we have strong emotions
Topic // Map
Where this fits
- RequiredMust come first
- HelpfulHelps, but not essential
Before this
1 topic- Triggers and Causes of FeelingsRequired
Emotional Literacy // Ages 5 to 7
Body-emotion connection builds on understanding emotional triggers
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How Emotions Feel in Your Body
Ages 7 to 9 // Concept
Leads to
3 topics- Emotions and Decision-MakingRequired
Emotional Literacy // Ages 9 to 11
Emotions influencing decisions builds on body-emotion awareness
- Brain Science of EmotionsRequired
Emotional Literacy // Ages 11 to 12
Advanced emotional literacy depends on earlier foundational emotional skills
Self-Regulation & Resilience // Ages 7 to 9
Choosing coping strategies benefits from reading body-emotion signals
Topic // Standards
Curriculum standards
- IB PYP Personal, Social and Physical Education (PSPE) Scope and Sequence
- PSPE-ID-CU-P2-3
Personal & social development // Emotional Literacy
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