Year 9: Week 7 – The Space For Feelings

It was a challenging concept for my 5th graders, the idea that one could experience different emotions co-currently was a major theme in the “Have You Ever Seen The Rain?” We had learned how to sing the song and when I asked the students to describe the emotions in the song, and the vast majority of said that the emotion was, “happy” and no one wrote multiple emotions.



We worked through explicating the lyrics of this song, and thinking about how weather typically is associated with certain emotions (e.g. sunny day-happy, rain-sadness). I asked the students to think about a moment in their lives when the “have seen rain on a sunny day,” a moment when they feel happiness and sadness. As I felt the activity of writing settle down, I stared framing our sharing.

Okay y’all. I’d like to invite people to share their memories and experiences. Bear in mind that what we are doing here is not only sharing events, but also sharing emotions. So please be conscientious about your reactions and make sure that you show support with your posture, your silence, and your reactions.

Students began sharing. One student talked about attending to a going away party, being happy that the party was fun but also sad that her friend was moving away. Another students talked about going to sleep-away camp, enjoying the experience, but missing home. At the beginning of the sharing period, I noticed that a girl had raised her hand but quickly lowered it. After the third or fourth person shared and the other students had listened respectfully she raised her hand again.

I called on her, as she shared, “I had a playdate with my BFF, and I had a really great time, but when I got home, my other BFF, my dog, had passed away.” As she talked, I turned my chair to face her and looked at her directly, trying to give her support through eye contact. Part of me knew that I probably should be checking in with other students around me to make sure that other students were being respectful, but I decided to take a chance, trust that they were feeling the moment, and maintain my focus on her.

After she was done, there was a silence in the room, she looked up at me, and forced a small smile.  I told her that I appreciated that she shared and that that she this a great example of the what we were talking about, and the meaning of the song.  The class gave her space to share, and gave me the space to be there for her.

When I asked the class to reflect about a positive thing about the class at the end of class, one student said that she we had done a good job being supportive of each other. I agreed and thanked them for their efforts and the empathy that they showed each other.

I ended the class affirming this feeling.

When you give each other space to share our thoughts and feelings, it makes them feel comfortable in the same way that we feel more comfortable when people respect our physical space. Providing this feeling of comfort in this way makes people feel important, and valued. When you listen with care, you are saying that you care about what they say, and who they are as people. You are expressing to them that you see them and see them as an important part of our classroom community.