Exploring emotions using AI-generated images

Emotional literacy—the ability to express emotions and feelings using speech and other forms of communication—is becoming increasingly important in the contemporary classroom. Many AI platforms have image generators that can assist teachers in creating lessons that young children will understand. For example, a simple request for a ‘sad face’ will quickly yield an image that can be used as a stimulus for class discussion. You could ask the children to explore, ‘How do we recognise another person’s sadness?’ or ‘What does sadness feel like?’ This could be reversed by first having the discussion and then showing the image to the children. During well-being check-ins, pupils often default to saying that they are either ‘happy’ or ‘sad’. AI can support the development of children’s self-awareness and emotional intelligence by facilitating discussion on a wider range of emotions and giving them concrete examples of the nuances involved in these emotions. Furthermore, AI can provide a detailed lesson plan.

AI prompt: Plan an emotional literacy lesson for children using AI generated images of emotions.

Objective

• To help pupils understand and identify different emotions.

• To improve emotional literacy and empathy skills.

Lesson plan introduction

• Begin by discussing the importance of emotions and how they play a significant role in our daily lives. Emphasise that emotions can affect how we feel, think, and interact with others.

• Introduce the concept of emotional literacy, explaining that it is the ability to recognise and understand our emotions and the emotions of others. Share that today’s lesson will focus on improving their emotional literacy skills.

Emotion identification activity

• Display AI-generated images of emotions one by one on the screen. Ask pupils to observe each image and guess the emotion it represents.

• After each image, have a brief class discussion where pupils share their thoughts on what they saw and why they think it represents a particular emotion.

• Keep a list on the whiteboard/chalkboard of the emotions identified, and make sure to discuss why certain facial expressions or body language convey those emotions.

Emotion charades activity

• Divide the class into small groups of three or four pupils.

• Provide each group with a set of emotion flashcards or written emotion prompts (eg ‘happy’, ‘angry’, ‘surprised’).

• In each group, one pupil will draw an emotion card and act out the emotion without speaking, while the others try to guess the emotion being portrayed.

• Rotate roles within each group, so every pupil has a chance to act out an emotion.

• After each round, encourage a brief discussion about the challenges and experiences each group had in recognising and portraying emotions.

Create your emotion artwork activity

• Distribute paper and art supplies (coloured pencils, crayons, markers) to the pupils.

• Instruct them to choose one emotion from the list discussed earlier or one they find particularly interesting. Have them draw a picture that represents this emotion.

• Encourage pupils to be creative and use colours, shapes, and expressions to convey the chosen emotion.

Conclusion

• Ask each pupil to share their emotion artwork with the class, explaining why they chose that emotion and how they represented it.

• Reinforce the idea that understanding and expressing emotions is an essential skill for building strong relationships and empathy.

• Discuss the role of AI in generating images and how technology can assist us in understanding emotions.

• Assign a brief homework task where pupils are encouraged to notice and record instances of different emotions in their daily lives, either through drawings, descriptions, or photos.