Big Break Curriculum: Home/Parent Version
Big Break: Act and Sing Game is a game that supports emotion learning. It can have even more of an impact if parents engage in the game with the player, and talk to the player about emotions. Below are some guidelines for emotion discussions to accompany gameplay.
We recommend starting light, and allowing the player to continue to play as they wish. Many kids find the movie that is generated at the end of each level rewarding, because they get to see themselves acting out a scene. If they need more/external motivation to play, you could consider offering them a reward after each studio is completed (e.g., a sticker for younger children, or 5 minutes of a desirable activity for a teen). You can also celebrate how many coins the player has earned after each studio. We recommend that a player complete a level (one entire studio) per day, 3 times per week. Studios involve 2-4 rounds of acting out 1, 2, or 3 videos per round, and identifying emotions in videos, or ranking the emotions in order of intensity. Kids are encouraged to play more studios per day as desired.
The player can also choose their level of verbal complexity; if your child has difficulty expressing emotions in full sentences, they may prefer to start with sounds or short phrases.
You can also look up emotion definitions using our companion app for iPhone and iPad: Big Break Emotions.
Lesson 1
Big Break Gameplay | Start by asking the player to complete “Bollywood” or “Rock Opera” on Level 1
The player is encouraged to try to get to the end of a level if possible, so that he/she can see his/her movie. |
Emotion Dictionary | Open up the Emotion Dictionary companion app; look up Happy and Sad |
Discussion Topics & Questions | Talk about 2 emotions, happy and sad.
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Extra Activity | Look at expressions today, at home/school. See if you can notice a happy expression, or a sad expression. See if you hear a happy or sad voice. We can discuss tomorrow! Draw an emoji of a happy face, a sad face – think about different facial features to include – mouth, eyes, eyebrows, lines on face to show dimples, ‘smile lines’, eyebrow furrowing, etc. |
Lesson 2
Big Break Gameplay | Play another “easy” studio – player picks!
If the player wants to play some more, feel free! |
Emotion Dictionary | Open up the Emotion Dictionary companion app; look up Happy and Sad |
Discussion Topics & Questions |
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Extra Activity | Review the previous activity, ask the player if they remembered an example of when they noticed that someone was happy or sad
Give corrections if needed on their happy & sad emoticons |
Lesson 3
Big Break Gameplay | Play another “easy” studio – player picks!
If the player wants to play some more, feel free! |
Emotion Dictionary | Open up the Emotion Dictionary companion app; look up Happy, Sad, and Angry |
Discussion Topics & Questions | You’ll notice that some game tasks require the player to rank an emotion by intensity.
Deciphering emotional intensity can be a challenging task, so have lots of patience, and let the player know it can be tough! You can continue to talk about intensity while you discuss other emotions and what they mean. |
Extra Activity | Review the previous activity: ask the player if they remembered an example of when they saw someone with a sad face or a happy face. Did they smile back? Did they ask what’s wrong? Why or why not?
Today, try to watch for an angry face/listen for an angry voice. |
Lesson 4
Big Break Gameplay | Play another “easy” studio – player picks!
If the player wants to play some more, feel free! |
Emotion Dictionary | Open up the Emotion Dictionary companion app; look up Scared and Angry |
Discussion Topics & Questions | Talk about other emotions, such as “angry” and “scared”
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Extra Activity | Review the previous activity, ask the player if they noticed anyone who was angry. Why were they angry? What did other people do?
At home, look for examples of angry or scared faces and listen for angry or scared voices, in people around you or on TV. |
Medium Level
If the player is ready for the medium level, you can use these discussions to go along with medium-level studios. In the medium level of the game, new emotions are added, emotions are a little less exaggerated, and the emotion choices are more similar, so it starts to get a little more challenging to distinguish different emotions.
Lesson 5
Big Break Gameplay | Play medium level – Bollywood or Comedy. If the player wants to play some more, feel free! |
Emotion Dictionary | Open up the Emotion Dictionary companion app; look up Scared and Surprised |
Discussion Topics & Questions |
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Extra activity | Review the previous activity, ask they player if they saw any examples of scared or angry faces. Collect emojis and discuss the facial features. Suggest corrections as needed.
At home, look for example of surprised faces and voices, in people around you or on TV. |
Lesson 6
Big Break Gameplay | Play another “medium” studio – player picks! If the player wants to play some more, feel free! |
Emotion Dictionary | Open up the Emotion Dictionary companion app; look up Calm and Happy |
Discussion Topics & Questions |
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Extra Activity | Review the previous activity, ask the player if they saw any examples of surprised faces or heard surprised voices. Collect emojis and discuss the facial features. Suggest corrections as needed.
Today, look and listen for examples of calm faces and voices, in people around you or on TV. |
Lesson 7
Big Break Gameplay | Play another “medium” studio – player picks! If the player wants to play some more, feel free! |
Emotion Dictionary | Open up the Emotion Dictionary companion app; look up Disgust, Anger, and Sadness |
Discussion Topics & Questions |
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Extra Activity | Review the previous activity, ask the player if they saw any examples of calm faces. Collect emojis and discuss the facial features. Suggest any corrections as needed.
At home, look for examples of disgust faces, in people around you or on TV. |
Hard level
At the Hard level, emotion choices become more difficult, and the emotions are even less exaggerated so they’re more difficult to tell apart. This will give kids an extra challenge. If they’re not ready for the hard level yet, they can keep playing studios over in the easy and medium levels.
Lesson 8
Big Break Gameplay | Player can pick any hard level to begin with. If the player wants to play some more, feel free! |
Emotion Dictionary | Open up the Emotion Dictionary companion app; look up each emotion |
Discussion Topics & Questions | Pick any hard-level studio to play. Talk about how emotions can be positive or negative.
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Extra Activity | Review previous activity, ask the player if they saw any examples of disgusted faces. Collect emojis and discuss the facial features.
Today, look at faces around you and think about whether they are positive or negative. Try asking someone how they are feeling, and see if their response seems to match what you thought based on their expression. |
Lesson 9
Big Break Gameplay | Play another “hard” studio – player picks!
If the player wants to play some more, feel free! |
Emotion Dictionary | Open up the Emotion Dictionary companion app; have all emotions available for reference |
Discussion Topics & Questions | As kids start to get more comfortable with the expressions used in the game, you can also discuss why emotions are important. Why are emotions important?
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Extra Activity | Review the previous activity, ask kids if they saw any examples of positive or negative faces. Which emotion was it?
Today, watch out for an emotion that causes someone to act. Eg., if someone looks scared and then runs away, or if someone looks happy to see you and says hello. |
Lesson 10
Big Break Gameplay | Player can pick any studio they like |
Emotion Dictionary | Open up the Emotion Dictionary companion app; look up each emotion. |
Discussion Topics & Questions | Pets & emotions
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Extra Activity | Review the previous activity, ask the player if they saw any examples of disgusted faces. Collect emojis and discuss the facial features. If you have a pet at home, try to see if you can tell how they are feeling. Or, look up an animal video you like on youtube, and see if you can tell how they are feeling. |
Lessons 11 & up
Big Break Gameplay | Player can pick any hard or hardest level to begin with. If the player wants to play some more, feel free! |
Emotion Dictionary | Open up the Emotion Dictionary companion app; look up each emotion. |
Discussion Topics & Questions | Keep track of whether there are certain emotions the player has the most difficulty with. Come back to these emotions and discuss them again. What do they look like? Why are they important? What do they mean?
Keep practicing different intensities of each emotion. What does it look like to be a little bit surprised, or very surprised? What about a little bit disgusted, or very ‘grossed out’? Try to remember a time when you experienced calm. What were you doing? Is there anything you do that helps you feel calm? Why is it nice to be calm sometimes? |
Extra Activity | Review previous activity, ask kids if they could tell how their pet (or youtube animal) was feeling. Why or why not? Why do you think they felt that way?
Pick an emotion that the player finds easy, and one they find challenging (eg., happy, and surprised). Have them try making each expression themselves. |