Dragons

I have some difficulty finding good books for boys, so when I saw You've Got Dragons I took a chance and ordered it.  And I love it!  Boys don't always want to admit that they are worried about something.  In this book, a boy pictures his problems as dragons.  Before I read the story I make it very clear that whenever the word "dragon" is used, the boy is talking about a problem that he has.  My students don't have any problem catching on to the concept of the story and after we read it they are ready to tell me about their own problems.  In fact, last week we had a student who was refusing to speak.  He was sent to my room where he remained silent.  Finally, I pulled out this book and read it to him.  I allowed him to make his own dragon and before I knew it he was talking to me!  

Lesson 1:  

We read the story and discuss the character's problems.  
Discussion questions:  What are 3 ways that Ben tries to get rid of his problems? 
Do those strategies work?  Why or Why  not?  What is Ben worried about at the end of the book?  How does Ben finally get rid of his problem?  

Lesson 2:  

Students get the opportunity to draw their own dragon.  They also name their dragon.
Discussion questions:  Tell me about the size of your dragon.  Tell me about the color and details of your dragon.  How did you name your dragon?  What problem does your dragon represent?

Lesson 3:  

Students talk about how they are going to conquer their own dragon.  I let students be as silly as they want about conquering their dragon.  We then go back to the problem that the dragon represents and take some time brainstorming ways to manage the problem.  I also have students write there own tips for dealing with Dragons.  The character in the story gives four "top tips" for dealing with dragons so I encourage students to come up with at least four tips of their own.  

Lesson 4:

In the story, the main character, Ben, answers questions in the format of an advice column.  I decided to create a student worksheet where they get the chance to solve some of Ben's problems.You can get that here:  Advice Column  

****I have also let students make their dragon out of playdough and then smash it at the end of the session.