Interpreting Character Emotions

Our faces can communicate such a wide range of emotions.

Nitzanimers are imagining how characters in storybooks and Torah stories feel, particularly before or after moments of tension such as conflicts or asking forgiveness from a friend. We’re expressing those imagined feelings with picture cards, our own faces, and watercolor.

Here are just a few of the ideas that children have shared about the way they understand character feeling:

One child imagined that Izzy, a character in a story we read felt “shy” before saying sorry to his friend Ben. He chose a picture card that showed a shy face. 

Another child imagined, “Aharon. He was kind of confused when the Israelites asked him to do something.” Here she’s making her interpretation of a confused face. 

A third child imagined “God… [was so] angry that he would burn the Israelites with fire from heaven… [my painting is] the colors of a fire blaze.”