Use index cards to create an emotion match game. Draw faces with different emotions, such as happy, sad, excited, mad or angry, on some cards. Search magazines for images of instances when a person may react with the different emotions and cut out each image. Attach the images to additional index cards. Allow the children to match the emotion to the situation during free time or with teacher assistance.
Use a bingo template to create a bingo game. Draw faces with different expressions in the squares. Leave the center square free. When playing the game, call out an emotion or make a face for the children to observe. The children will match the emotion to the face on the cards. Calling out an emotion helps children identify the emotion by name and match it to the face, which is an emerging 3 to 4-year-old skill.
Find pictures of faces in magazines or books. Make sure the faces portray a variety of emotions due to the expression of the person. Attach the images to cards. Hold the cards up for the class to see and ask the students what the person may be feeling. After the children answer, ask them why they think the person feels that way. Additionally, ask what situations may have caused the person to react in this manner.
Find images of people who are sad, happy, hurt or angry. These images may be of a child next to a spilled glass, a person who has fallen on the ground or a group of children playing on a playground. Show the children each image individually and ask them what they would do if they saw the person in the picture in real life. This activity will help children practice empathy, as children this age are beginning to understand and react to the emotions of others.