Express Yourself — Communication Skills Activity Kit (K–2)
Children say a lot without words: crossed arms, a big grin, wide eyes.
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About this resource
Children say a lot without words: crossed arms, a big grin, wide eyes. Express Yourself is a communication skills SEL activity kit for kindergarten and Grades K–2 that helps young students read those signals and use polite, clear words of their own. It builds verbal and nonverbal communication, a Relationship Skills focus, along with the emotion awareness that supports it.
What students practice
- Saying please, thank you and excuse me
- Making eye contact with a buddy
- Showing feelings on their face and body
- Reading feelings from faces and body language
What’s inside
- A teacher script with timed steps and a flexible outline; you supply mirrors
- Emotion Flashcards with faces showing different feelings, for the guessing game
- A Polite Words Practice Sheet: 16 phrases, each with a line to write a sentence (two pages)
- A Facial Expression Practice Worksheet for drawing happy, sad, angry and scared faces
- A five-question Polite Words Reflection Worksheet; 19 pages in all
A look inside
- Teacher script: “Communication is how we share our thoughts and feelings with others.”
- Polite Words Practice: 16 phrases to use in a sentence, from “Excuse me” and “May I” to “It was my pleasure”
- Reflection question: “How can you tell what someone is feeling without them saying it?”
How to use this express yourself communication skills kit
- Introduce communication as sharing feelings with words, faces and bodies, then rehearse polite words in familiar situations
- Pair students to ask a buddy for the crayons while making eye contact
- Hand out mirrors so students make happy, sad, angry and surprised faces
- Play emotion detectives: guess feelings from flashcards that show crossed arms or hunched shoulders
Grade fit
The short four-part script, mirror work and guessing game suit kindergarten through Grade 2. Among SEL activities for the youngest students, it pairs manners with feelings in one short lesson.
Good to know
You will need mirrors for the face practice. If direct eye contact feels too intense, the script suggests looking at a friend’s forehead.
Pairs well with
Next, build listening with Listening Ears or practice sharing feelings through Emotion Faces.
Questions teachers ask
How long is the lesson?
The script runs about 20 minutes in four quick parts.
What do I need besides the printables?
Mirrors for the facial expression practice.
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