Draw How You Feel: Emotion-Face Prompts with Labels and Sentences

Object Drawing Lessons

This lesson helps learners connect feeling words to drawn facial expressions. Each prompt gives a feeling word above a blank face oval. The learner draws brows, eyes, and mouth to match the word, then writes one sentence about a time they felt that way. A feature legend offers options, not a single correct face. Because drawing conventions vary, the rubric checks whether features are labeled and consistent with the chosen feeling, not whether they match one universal picture. All measurements use the actual paper and pencil at hand; any numbers below are hypothetical examples for practice.

Practice materials: Printable downloads are not available for this lesson yet. Use the instructions and four exercises below.

Set up the page and the feature legend

Use a plain sheet and a pencil. Draw six ovals about 6 cm wide and 8 cm tall, leaving two finger-widths between them. Above each oval write one feeling word: happy, sad, angry, scared, surprised, calm. Below each oval leave two lines for a sentence.

Make a small legend in a corner. For brows, show three options: flat, raised, pulled together. For eyes, show three options: wide, narrowed, relaxed. For mouth, show three options: upward curve, downward curve, open oval. Label each option with a short word. The legend is a menu, not a rulebook; learners may invent other clear features and label them.

1. Draw six ovals and label each with one feeling word.
2. Draw the feature legend with brow, eye, and mouth options.
3. Leave sentence lines under each oval.
4. Check that every oval has a label and space for writing.

Draw one face from a feeling word

Read the feeling word aloud. Picture a time you felt it. Choose one brow option, one eye option, and one mouth option from the legend, or invent a clear feature. Draw lightly first, then darken the lines you keep.

Keep the face simple: two eyes, two brows, one mouth, and a nose if you wish. Add hair or ears only if they help the feeling read clearly. Write a short label beside any feature you invented so another person can understand your choice.

1. Say the feeling word and recall a personal moment.
2. Pick brow, eye, and mouth features from the legend or invent labeled ones.
3. Sketch lightly inside the oval, then darken chosen lines.
4. Add a small label for any invented feature.
5. Write one sentence about a time you felt that feeling.

Write the sentence and self-check

The sentence should name the feeling and a real or imagined situation. For example: When my friend moved away, I felt sad. Keep it to one line if possible.

Self-check with three questions: Does the face show the feeling word? Are invented features labeled? Does the sentence name the feeling and a situation? If any answer is no, adjust the drawing or sentence and check again.

1. Write one sentence naming the feeling and a situation.
2. Compare the drawn features to the feeling word.
3. Label any feature not shown in the legend.
4. Revise one detail if the face and word do not match.

Use the rubric to review a set of faces

A rubric makes review fair when drawings differ. Score each face on four items: feeling word matches features, features are labeled or from the legend, sentence names feeling and situation, and the page is neat enough to read. Use a 0, 1, or 2 scale for each item, where 2 means clear and complete.

Valid alternatives are allowed. A scared face might use wide eyes and an open mouth, or narrowed eyes and a small mouth, as long as the learner labels the choice and the sentence supports it. The rubric checks consistency and labeling, not a single universal face.

1. Score each face on the four rubric items from 0 to 2.
2. Circle any item scored 0 or 1 for revision.
3. Ask the learner to explain one feature choice.
4. Record the total and note one next step.

Worked example

Feeling word: surprised. Draw a face in an oval about 6 cm wide and 8 cm tall, choose features from the legend, label any invented feature, and write one sentence about a time you felt surprised.

Four practice exercises

Common mistakes

• Drawing the same face for every feeling word. Change at least one feature, such as the mouth or brows, and label the change beside the oval.
• Writing a sentence that does not name the feeling. Add the feeling word and a situation, for example: I felt calm when I read outside.
• Using a feature that is not in the legend without labeling it. Write a short label beside the feature, such as tight mouth or raised brows.
• Making the oval too small to draw clear features. Redraw the oval about 6 cm wide and 8 cm tall, or enlarge it to fit two clear eyes and a mouth.

Self-check rubric

• Feeling word matches the drawn features: 0 = no match, 1 = partial match, 2 = clear match.
• Features are from the legend or clearly labeled: 0 = unlabeled invented features, 1 = some labeling, 2 = all features labeled or from legend.
• Sentence names the feeling and a situation: 0 = neither, 1 = one part, 2 = both parts.
• Page is neat enough to read: 0 = hard to read, 1 = mostly readable, 2 = clear and readable.

Questions and answers