Emotional Thermometers

The Practice

Thermometers are useful tools for taking our physical temperatures. All children are familiar with the feeling of having to keep a thermometer under their tongue—the pause, the jumping numbers at the tip of the nose, the beep after a few quiet moments. Thanks to their familiarity, they can also be helpful tools for taking our emotional temperatures (metaphorically speaking).

This practice aims to build students’ awareness of the intensity of their emotions at a given moment. Depending on the situation, emotions can range in intensity from little (a trickle) to huge (a tsunami). When we are aware of how “big” our emotions are, we are better equipped to make a mindful choice about what to do next.

To teach this concept to students, help them build an emotion thermometer. Print out the blank thermometer and have them color it in to represent what different-sized emotions feel like. For example, “low” emotional temperatures might be a light, soothing color, while “high” temperatures might be bold patterns. There is no right or wrong way to do this, though—it’s up to your student to determine how emotions feel in their body.

Older students can add descriptions of what they feel in their bodies or do with their actions when experiencing different emotional “temperatures.” For example, they might feel slight butterflies in their tummy when emotions are small. They might breathe faster or stomp around for medium-sized emotions. For large emotions, they might yell, cry, or notice that their muscles feel tight. At the upper elementary and middle school levels, the next step can be to add a column that describes the factors that increase their temp and another column that describes the tools and techniques that decrease the temp.

When their thermometer is complete, add a paper clip that they can move up and down to rate how big their emotions are at a given moment.

Download the Thermometer

The Language

Here are some ideas for how to integrate emotional temperature checks into your classroom or family:

• Make it part of your routine. Designate a time of day to check in on feelings, such as before starting academic work for the day or when sitting down at the breakfast or dinner table. You and your student(s) can each name an emotion you’re feeling and how big it is, ideally using your emotion thermometer as a visual.

• Use it to take the group’s “temperature” at a high-emotion moment. For example, before a test, allow time for a 30-second mindful reflection on what emotion they are noticing and how strong it is. You can then decide if it would be helpful to use a coping skill to soothe the emotion.

• Try it as a communication tool. During a challenging social moment, such as an argument over a game at recess, have students pause and check in on the size of their emotions. If emotions are bigger than a small/medium on their thermometers, they should take a break and use coping skills before trying to solve the problem. 

Thanks for reading another edition of The Toolkit! We hope you all find your 98.6°.