Fill a bag with 10 cards with different feelings written on them. A first grader will pull out a card and act it out to the class, until someone guesses the feeling. When all 10 have been guessed ask the class when and why someone might feel the feelings from the cards. Explain to the class that sometimes people will feel different ways even in the same situation, but that's fine because your feelings are personal to you.
Introduce a sock puppet to the class who is in first grade. Talk to the class through the puppet about how life has changed from being a baby to being in first grade and encourage the children to join in with their own suggestions about how things change. Ask the children to write a time line describing what they were doing at different ages in their life. They should also write any big events that happened to them and how those events made them feel, for example, "my grandma died when I was five and that made me feel sad." You can then send the stories home so the children can discuss the time lines with their parents.
Tell the class a story about a girl who went to silly school and how everybody at this school did everything wrong, such as copying off each other's work, bullying other children and not listening to the teacher. Then carry on the story, telling the class how the girl changed schools and went to super school. At this school everything was done right, for example, the children tidy up after themselves and are nice to each other. Discuss with the class the differences between the two schools and which one sounds better. Also talk to the children about the similarities and differences between super school and the school they are in, asking them how they could make their own school more super.
Give students clues about an easily identifiable career, for example "I save people's lives" or "I put out fires" for a firefighter. After each correct guess, ask the children to put their thumbs up if they think they would be good at that job and ask each child to explain why. Tell them that these are strengths. Then ask who likes that job; tell the students with their thumbs up that these are interests. Carry on the activity, swapping the careers for jobs in the class. Discuss with the children that strengths and interests are different, as you don't have to be good at something to be interested in it. Instruct the class to sit in a circle and each say one strength and one interest. These can be used by you when a job needs done in the class.