Feelings Versus Actions · seed 1 · A4, ink-friendly. The answer key prints on its own page for grown-ups.

Feelings and actions are not the same

Personal & Social Development · Self-Awareness · ages 6-8
Name ______________________   Date ____________

  1. You feel very jealous when your friend gets a new toy. What can you do?

    • You must grab the toy right away
    • You can feel jealous and still choose a kind action
    • Jealous feelings mean you have to be mean

  2. Which sentence is true?

    • Feeling angry and hitting someone are the same thing
    • A feeling and an action are two different things
    • You must act out every feeling you have

  3. Feeling angry, scared, or jealous means you are a bad kid.

    Circle one:   True   False

  4. Why is it helpful to pause between a big feeling and what you do next?

    • The pause gives you time to choose a better action
    • Pausing makes the feeling disappear forever
    • Pausing means you were never really upset

  5. Zara feels really scared of the dark. Instead of screaming and waking everyone up, what could she do first?

    • Take a breath and think about what to do
    • Yell as loud as she can
    • Ignore that she's scared and pretend nothing happened

  6. Dev feels furious that his block tower fell. He stomps his foot but does not throw the blocks. What did Dev do?

    • He let his feeling and his action be different
    • He hid his feeling completely
    • He didn't feel anything at all

  7. A coach tells kids, 'If you feel it, you must do it right away.' What is wrong with that advice?

    • Nothing, feelings should always be acted on immediately
    • It ignores that there is a choice between feeling something and acting on it
    • It is only wrong for feeling happy

  8. Which kid is showing that feelings and actions can be separate?

    • Amir feels annoyed and slams the door
    • Priya feels annoyed, takes three breaths, then asks for help calmly
    • Jon feels annoyed and pretends he feels nothing
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Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

Feelings and actions are not the same W1-mt_TU3BcLOgiV-s1

  1. You can feel jealous and still choose a kind action · Feeling jealous is normal. You still get to pick what you do next.
  2. A feeling and an action are two different things · A feeling happens inside you. An action is what you do next. They don't have to match.
  3. False · Every feeling is allowed. It's what you do with it that matters, not the feeling itself.
  4. The pause gives you time to choose a better action · A short pause gives your brain time to pick a helpful action instead of a fast one.
  5. Take a breath and think about what to do · She can notice she's scared, pause, then pick a calm next step, like turning on a light.
  6. He let his feeling and his action be different · Dev still felt furious. He just chose a smaller action instead of throwing something.
  7. It ignores that there is a choice between feeling something and acting on it · Feelings and actions aren't glued together. There's always a moment to choose what to do.
  8. Priya feels annoyed, takes three breaths, then asks for help calmly · Priya felt the feeling fully, then picked a calm action after a short pause. That gap is the whole idea.
Worksheet · LightMySky