Emotion charades

Charades is a classic party game that even young children can enjoy. This version of the game prompts children to act out emotional states and think about what events might prompt such feelings. Responding with appropriate emotions to scenarios and being able to identify the emotions of others is key to being a good friend. This game builds important Social Development skills that are linked to future success in school and the workplace.

To prepare to play this charades game, print and cut out the cards on both pages of this printable, and then glue them to 3x5 index cards. You can make more cards if there are emotions you feel your child needs practice identifying and working through: confused, jealous, nervous, and so on. Shuffle the cards and place them face-down. Children can pair up for the game or play alone (pre-readers will need to pair with a reader). To play, a child draws a card. If working with a partner, the pair confers in another room to decide a situation that could cause this emotion and how to act it out. The child or children act out the scenario and the audience tries to correctly name the emotion. The audience member who first guesses correctly gets to go next.