Emotions Check-Ins Lesson Plan

A structured, four-step lesson plan for building daily emotions check-ins into whole-group instruction — designed to fully include nonverbal students and AAC users.

This lesson plan walks your team through an evidence-based daily SEL routine: singing an emotions song while modeling on AAC, practicing rainbow breathing with a visual prop, labeling emotions using color-coded emotion cans, and giving each student a low-demand opportunity to identify how they feel.

What You'll Learn

• How to normalize AAC use during whole-group instruction for all learners
• How to build emotional awareness and early self-regulation skills through daily repetition
• How to give nonverbal and AAC-using students access to essential SEL teaching moments
• How to set up emotion cans and rainbow breathing props for consistent classroom use
• How to use co-regulation strategies when students need support

Who Is This For

Educators and BCBAs supporting inclusive classrooms with nonverbal students, AAC users, or emergent communicators who need structured access to daily social-emotional learning.

Access this resource as part of your BIP Visualized subscription.