1. Watch Shows with Emotion Commentary

• How: Watch a favorite show together. Pause during emotional scenes and comment aloud:
  
  
  
  • “Look at her eyes—she looks sad.”
    
    
  • “His face is red—he might be angry.”
    
    
• Why: Verbalizing nonverbal cues helps build social-emotional mapping.
  
  

2. Use “Emotion Freeze Frames”

• How: Pause a show at key emotional moments. Ask:
  
  
  
  • “What do you think he’s feeling?”
    
    
  • “What do you see on her face?”
    
    
• Use visual supports like an emotion wheel or feelings cards for choices.
  
  
• Why: Teaches attention to facial expressions and emotion-label pairing.
  
  

3. Create an Emotion Cue Book

• How: Collect images from TV shows (screenshots or printables) showing different facial expressions. Organize them by emotion: happy, mad, scared, etc.
  
  
• Why: Helps reinforce facial features linked to emotions using known characters.
  
  

4. Act It Out

• How: Re-enact short scenes or feelings using faces and gestures. Use a mirror to practice making faces.
  
  
• Why: Kinesthetic learning supports understanding and emotional embodiment.
  
  

5. Use Apps for Emotion Recognition (Psych / Tech Support)

• Examples:
  
  
  
  • “Peekapak,” “Touch and Learn – Emotions,” or “Autism Emotion by Model Me Kids”
    
    
• Why: These offer guided emotional recognition practice with instant feedback.
  
  

6. Daily Emotion Check-In

• How: Use a “How Are You Feeling Today?” chart with faces at breakfast and bedtime.
  
  
• Why: Builds emotional vocabulary and self-awareness over time.
  
  

7. Set Up a “What Happened?” Debrief Routine

• How: After an episode, discuss:
  
  
  
  • “Who looked surprised?”
    
    
  • “What made them feel that way?”
    
    
  • “Have you ever felt that way?”
    
    
• Use open-ended and guided questions.
  
  
• Why: Encourages comprehension of cause-effect in emotions.
  
  

8. Incorporate Social Stories

• How: Write simple, illustrated social stories about reading faces and feelings in others (e.g., “When people frown, they might be upset”).
  
  
• Why: Helps generalize skills from screen to real-life settings.
  
  

9. Limit Fast-Paced or Complex Shows

• How: Prioritize slower-paced shows like Daniel Tiger, Bluey, or Mr. Rogers over action-heavy or sarcastic content.
  
  
• Why: These shows feature clear, exaggerated emotional cues and simple plots.
  
  

10. Create “Emotion Hunt” Bingo

• How: Make a bingo card with emotions like happy, scared, surprised. Watch a show and mark off emotions as you see them.

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