How to express emotions

Life orientation

Grade 8

Handling stress

Module 5

How to express emotions

Activity 1:

Read the following passage carefully.

(from the diary of lennie, a thirteen-year-old)

When I awoke at dawn, with a heavy heart and a lump in my throat, my insides were still all in a knot. I remembered the catastrophe that had befallen our family last night.

Dad came home much later than usual and smelt strongly of drink. Mom was on the point of grumbling about his state when she saw the expression on his face. “What’s wrong?” she asked anxiously. He asked me to leave them alone, as they had “grown-up stuff” to talk about. Well, so I left, but I didn’t go far. As usual, I stood quietly just around the corner. I knew by now that “grown-up stuff” is usually about me. Then I listened . . . so that I could know what it was all about.

That is how I found out that Dad had lost his job. Their business had suffered huge losses and almost all the staff had been laid off. They call it “being retrenched”. It’s better than being fired, but you’re still left jobless, and without an income! Then Dad said we might have to sell the house. Mom began to cry softly, and that was when I felt the lump in my throat, and my insides started to churn. My heart was heavy, because Mom doesn’t easily cry.

Now answer the questions and follow the instructions.

1. How did Lennie feel when he woke up that morning? Quote the sentence fully.

2. Choose a word that best describes his feelings. Mark the word with an X.

• angry
• sad
• tense
• excited

3. How do you feel when something has upset you?

• angry
• sad
• tense
• excited

4. Explain in your own words how you feel when something has upset you.

[LO 3.2]

Assessment

Memorandum

Activity 1:

• The learners learn how to express (verbalise) their emotions through Lennie’s predicament.