Finding Feelings within a Text Worksheet

Strong readers follow more than what happens in a story — they follow how the characters feel about it. This Finding Feelings Within a Text Worksheet gives second graders a short narrative about a nervous boy on the day of his class play, then asks them to find the exact words the author chose to show emotion. Feeling words such as nervous, afraid, excited and proud are the evidence a reader points to, and learning to spot them is the first step toward describing how a character responds to the events in a story.

The sheet opens with an illustrated passage and four multiple-choice questions, then finishes with a written response. Use this 2nd grade feelings worksheet as a guided reading follow-up, a small-group comprehension check, an independent literacy-center task or homework. Read the story aloud together first, then let students reread it on their own and underline every word that names a feeling before they answer. The included answer key makes checking quick, whether one child or a whole class is working through it.

What’s Included

• 1 print-ready PDF worksheet
• Answer key
• 1 original 2nd grade narrative passage with a full-color illustration
• 4 multiple-choice comprehension questions and 1 written response

Three things make this Finding Feelings Within a Text Worksheet effective. First, it supplies its own text, so students practice the skill on a passage written at a second grade reading level instead of on whatever book happens to be nearby. Second, one question asks directly which words show the feeling, which trains readers to quote evidence from the page rather than guess. Third, the written response follows a feeling that changes from the beginning of the story to the end, so children practice tracking an emotion across a whole text — exactly what grade-level reading standards ask them to do.

Away from the page, keep the skill going with quick, playful practice. Build a class feelings word wall and add every new emotion word your readers discover in their books. Play a mood-reading game in which one child reads a sentence aloud in a happy, worried or excited voice while the rest name the feeling. During read-alouds, pause and ask children to show the feeling on their own faces before they say the word. At home, families can talk about how a character in a bedtime story feels and why, then connect it to a moment from their own day.

Related Resources

• Character Emotions Worksheet
• Finding Feelings Worksheet
• New School Jitters Reading Comprehension Worksheet
• Story Elements Song by Have Fun Teaching