Mild to Strong Feelings

Personal & Social Development · Emotional Literacy · ages 7-9

Name ______________________ Date ____________

Put these in order from mild to strong: anxious, nervous, panicked. Which one comes first?
- anxious
- nervous
- panicked
Which of these three feelings is the strongest?
- furious
- annoyed
- angry
Annoyed and furious are exactly the same size of feeling.
Circle one: True False
Why does it help to know if your anger feels like a 2 or a 5?
- Because a 2 might just need a deep breath, but a 5 might need an adult's help
- Because bigger numbers are always more fun
- It doesn't help, all anger is exactly the same
Zara's friend is five minutes late to meet her. On a scale from 1 to 5, how strong is Zara's annoyed feeling likely to be?
- Probably high, like 4 or 5
- It can't be rated at all
- Probably low, like 1 or 2
Nervous, anxious, and panicked are three totally different emotions, not different strengths of the same one.
Circle one: True False
Which of these puts the feelings in the correct order from mild to strong?
- furious, angry, annoyed
- angry, furious, annoyed
- annoyed, angry, furious
Leo felt a 2-out-of-5 worry before a small quiz, but reacted the same way he does to a 5-out-of-5 panic before a big test, by leaving the room. What went wrong?
- He matched a mild reaction to a strong feeling
- He matched a strong reaction to a mild feeling
- Nothing went wrong, that's the right way to handle every feeling

Answer key

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

nervous · Nervous is the mildest. Anxious is bigger, and panicked is the strongest of the three.
furious · Furious is anger turned all the way up. Annoyed is just a little bit of that same feeling.
False · They're both a kind of anger, but furious is much stronger than annoyed.
Because a 2 might just need a deep breath, but a 5 might need an adult's help · Knowing the size of a feeling helps you pick a response that actually fits it.
Probably low, like 1 or 2 · A small delay usually causes a mild feeling, closer to a 1 or 2 than a 5.
False · They're the same worried feeling, just at different strengths, from mild (nervous) to very strong (panicked).
annoyed, angry, furious · Annoyed is the smallest, angry is bigger, and furious is the biggest of the three.
He matched a strong reaction to a mild feeling · A mild worry usually just needs a deep breath, not leaving the room. Matching your response to the size of the feeling works better.