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Goal	To help teens recognize, understand, and express their emotions in healthy ways, empowering them to build emotional awareness, manage stress, and enhance their interpersonal relationships.
Skills we’ll learn	Self-Awareness, Building Resilience, Managing emotions
Time	1–1,5 h
Number of people	10-15
Materials	Activity 1: paper to make a paper airplane, pencilsActivity 2: list of situationsActivity 3: cards with situations, list of emotions
Activity style	Discussion, Role Play, Team Work
Warm-up activities/Meditative technique	Airplane Champion

Introductory warm up activity (7-10 min)   Choose from the Activity Bank.   meditative techniques for relaxation and mindfulness or warm-up games that create a fun, relaxed environment, as is appropriate to the participants. 

Lesson Activities

Please choose from the activities provided, how many and which ones you can do, according to the time available and your participants.

Activity 1

Airplane Champion

Start the workshop with a high-energy and fun game. 

Everyone makes a paper airplane. To distinguish paper airplanes provide pencils for decoration. Have a competition to see which airplane can fly the farthest.

–Today we will talk about important parts of our brain, the Emotional Brain (limbic system) and Rational Brain (prefrontal cortex).

Explain the meaning and move to the practical part.

The Emotional Brain helps you:

• feel things like fear, joy, and excitement. If you see a scary spider, this part kicks in and tells you to react quickly!
• remember things. It connects your memories with your emotions, so when you remember a fun day at the park, you feel happy.
• control things in your body, like hunger and stress. It helps you react to your feelings, like getting butterflies in your stomach when you’re nervous.

The Rational Brain helps you:

• think things through. It’s where you make decisions, plan your day, and solve problems. When you’re deciding whether to study or play video games, this part helps you weigh the pros and cons.
• remember things while you think, allowing you to analyze situations logically.

–To understand that, let’s imagine our brain.

Activity 2

1. Place two rows of chairs in a circle. Inner circle is called EB (emotional brain), the outer–RB (rational brain).
2. Students take their seats.
3. Trainer reads the situation.

You sit in class and think of nothing but cake 

4. Students analyse within seconds which part of the brain works in an announced situation. The inner row of the circle stands up when the situation concerns EB, and the outer row when the situation concerns RB.
5. Feel free to come back to the meaning of the Emotional Brain and Rational Brain.

– The emotional and rational parts of your brain work together all the time. For example, if you’re really scared about a big test, your emotional brain might make you feel anxious. But your rational brain can help you calm down by reminding you that you’ve studied and are prepared. It’s teamwork.

List of situations:

• You see a cute puppy and feel an overwhelming urge to pet it.
• You hear your favourite song and immediately feel joyful and energetic.
• You analyse the reasons behind your friend’s behaviour before reacting.
• You hear a scary noise in the dark and feel a surge of fear.
• You weigh the pros and cons of accepting a new job offer.
• You receive a bad grade on a test and feel a rush of disappointment.
• A friend cancels plans, making you feel sad and rejected.
• ​​You plan your study schedule for an upcoming exam based on priorities.
• You watch a sad movie and cry during the emotional scenes.
• You receive a compliment and feel a rush of pride and happiness.
• You decide which school subjects to focus on based on your future career goals.
• You research different colleges and compare their programs and costs.
• You watch a thrilling sports game and feel intense excitement or anxiety.
• You assess the risks and benefits before trying a new activity.
• You remember a fun vacation and feel a wave of nostalgia.
• You analyse feedback from a teacher to improve your next assignment.
• You troubleshoot a problem with your computer using logical steps.

– Our emotional brain reacts quickly based on feelings. In the next exercise we will look at how not to stop at our first feelings and believe them (anger, fear, shame, humility, pride, happiness, belonging). But how to build a path to the rational part that helps us think logically and decide how to handle it.

In stressful and even joyful situations we need to follow this way from the emotional part to the rational one.

Activity 3

1. Print a list of emotions and cards with different situations. 
2. Organise one station with the title The Emotional Brain (EB), another–The Rational Brain (RB), and path between them. 
3. A student stands in the first station EB and reads the card. 

Your classmate says you are boring.

4. Then, the student (use the list of emotions) identifies emotions that he/she potentially feels.

I feel offence/ frustrations; I want to hurt/ cry/ hide.

5. Next, the student goes to the other station RB.
6. Reaching RB station, the student describes a potential version of the situation (without using emotions). The trainer helps by providing options.

Is it true? Why did he say that? Maybe someone told him the same thing and he is angry? Or maybe he is in a bad mood and wants to hurt someone?

7. Every student goes through this way with his card, naming emotions and rational thoughts.

– So, your emotional brain helps you feel and react, while your rational brain helps you think and make good choices. Both are super important for how you experience life!

Situations for cards:

• Your classmate says you are boring
• Your friend went to the party with other guys.
• You got a bad grade on the test.
• Your boyfriend tells you are the best girl in your school.
• A close friend tells you a personal secret.
• A stranger smiles at you.
• You receive bad news about a family member. 
• Your friend treats you unfairly.
• Your friends have arranged a surprise birthday party.
• You lost your phone.
• You forgot to prepare a presentation.
• Your friend has a new phone.
• You experience anxiety before a big presentation.
• You lost an item that has sentimental value.
• You go to a huge concert.

Next chart captures a variety of emotions, providing a comprehensive overview of how we can experience feelings in different contexts. Emotions can also blend together, creating nuanced experiences.

Feeling	Emotions
Happy	Joy, Excitement, Contentment, Gratitude, Love, Hope, Pride, Amusement, Relief, Satisfaction, Elation, Serenity, Confidence, Playfulness
Sad	Sadness, Loneliness, Disappointment, Guilt, Shame, Nostalgia, Apathy, Detachment
Confused	Uncertainty, Frustration, Bewilderment, Doubt, Anxiety, Regret
Hurt	Pain, Anger, Resentment, Embarrassment, Vulnerability, Fear, Guilt, Despair
Angry	Rage, Irritation, Frustration, Jealousy, Disgust, Hatred
Surprised	Shock, Amazement, Wonder, Awe, Disbelief
Fearful	Anxiety, Panic, Terror, Dread, Worry, Hopelessness, Insecurity
Hopeful	Optimism, Anticipation, Encouragement, Aspiration, Trust, Affection
Curious	Fascination, Interest, Intrigue, Eagerness, Wonder, Compassion, Empathy, Inspiration
Overwhelmed	Stress, Overload, Burnout, Exhaustion, Anxiety, Boredom, Indifference

Conclusion

As we wrap up today’s workshop, remember that mastering your emotions is not about controlling or suppressing them—it’s about understanding them. Express them in healthy ways. Emotions are not weaknesses; they are signals that help us connect with ourselves and others.

Activity 3

Emotion Power Circle

This simple exercise reminds us that emotions are meant to be shared and understood.

1. Stand in a circle and take a deep breath together.
2. Each person will share one word that describes how they feel right now. It can be anything—calm, empowered, reflective, hopeful.
3. After each word is spoken, the group will echo it back as a sign of acknowledgment and support.

Keep practicing self-awareness, keep expressing yourself, and remember—you have the power to shape your emotional world in a way that supports your well-being and relationships.