The Jelly Donut Difference (compassion and empathy)

I ordered The Jelly Donut Difference a few months back and keep forgetting to write a post about it. The Jelly Donut Difference is written by one of my favorite authors, Maria Dismondy.  I originally purchased The Jelly Donut Difference to read with my first graders during their unit on compassion and empathy.  After reading the book I decided to use it with a group of kindergarten students who are having a hard time getting along with their classmates.

The Jelly Donut Difference is about a brother and sister who don't always get along (argue, push each other out of the way, etc...)  They notice that an elderly neighbor is lonely and work together to show empathy and compassion.  The author has a free Reader's Guide available.  Many of the pages are more beneficial to a classroom teacher, however, I did use the comprehension questions as well as the pages that are focused on making a difference.  I also downloaded a free lesson on TPT (link below) and found this to be the most useful in teaching the idea of kindness to kindergarten students.  Finally, I gave each student a kindness goal and rewarded them with jelly donut holes from dunkin donuts if they met their goal.  I also love the idea of doing a jelly cake in a crockpot for a classroom lesson and have included a link to that blog as well.

Connections:

You can purchase The Jelly Donut Difference HERE.

teachinginstripes.blogspot.com -jelly cake in a crockpot

Free Reader's Guide

Teacher's Pay Teacher's FREE lesson by An Apple A Day in First Grade

Cute Ideas HERE by www.teachingwithcrayonsandcurls.com

Another lesson and downloadable writing template HERE by www.primarily-speaking.com

Making Friends is an Art! (Making and Keeping Friends)

Last week I posted one of my crayon themed lessons and I'm sharing another one today (sidenote:  this book is actually about colored pencils).   Once my third graders are done with their lesson on empathy and compassion using The Day the Crayons Quit I introduce a book that talks about friendship qualities.  Making Friends is an Art! is my absolute favorite book about friendship.  The main lesson of this book is that " To have good friends, you need to be a good friend."  The author also points out that "you can't expect the other colors to like you if you don't like yourself."   The main character (Brown Pencil) learns that he doesn't have friends because he never laughs, always puts others down, frowns, complains, disagrees, etc...

Making Friends is an Art!

Connections:

www.elementarymatters.com has a great lesson idea with a making friends is an art FREEBIE!

TPT: Making Friends is an Art FREEBIE

Making Friends is an Art Guidance Lesson

Teaching Kids How to Make Friends

Discussion Questions and Crown Activity by Life Lesson for Little Ones

Here is another crown FREEBIE:

I also purchased this product from TPT for $2.00.  I would recommend it!

PowerPoint with activity

You can purchase Making Friends is an Art! HERE.

More books about friendship:
How to Lose All Your Friends


How to Be a Friend


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The Day the Crayons Quit (Empathy)

Today I am sharing a lesson that I have been working on with my 3rd graders.  We are doing a crayon theme this month and I will be sharing some other crayon themed lessons in the next few weeks.  This particular lesson focuses on Empathy and Compassion using the book The Day the Crayons Quit.  

The Day the Crayons Quit

Description from Amazon:  Crayons have feelings too!  Poor Duncan just wants to color.  But when he opens his box of crayons, he finds only letters, all saying the same thing:  His crayons have had enough!  They quit!  Beige Crayon is tired of playing second fiddle to Brown Crayon.  black wants to be used for more than just the outlining.  Blue needs a break from coloring all those bodies of water.  And Orange and Yellow are not longer speaking--each believes he is the true color of the sun.  What can Duncan possibly do to appease all of the crayons and get them back to doing what they do best?  

To begin the lesson I read the book The Day the Crayons Quit and had a class discussion about empathy and compassion using THESE discussion questions.  The following week I assigned students to play the part of each crayon in the story and students acted out the story using this Reader's Theater Script.  I made "crayon hats" for them to put on their head as they read the script.  These were very simple to make.  I googled "crayon image" and printed out the simplest one that I could find.  I then printed them out on construction paper and stapled strips of paper around them to turn them into hats.

Next we reviewed our theme words (empathy and compassion) and each student made a crayon writing craft.  I purchased this Crayon Craft / Craftivity for $3.00 on TPT.  Students were assigned a color and instructed to write a few sentences showing that they understood how that crayon felt.  For Example, one student wrote "If I were the Red Crayon I would feel tired.  I understand how Red feels because I feel like I have to do more chores than my sister just because I'm older.  I wouldn't want to work on holidays either and I would feel like I was being treated unfairly.  I would want some time off and I would want to be treated fairly."  

The following week I had students respond to the crayon's letters.  Each student had been assigned a crayon color the previous week so they wrote a letter back to that crayon.  They were instructed to write a letter that showed their crayon that they understood how the crayon felt (Empathy) and to then let the crayon know what they could do to make things better (Compassion).  Here are some of their letters:

 Finished result:

You can Purchase The Day the Crayons Quit HERE.  I also think it would be fun to read The Day the Crayons Came Home.

More Connections:

Writing Activities for The Day the Crayons Quit

The Day the Crayons Quit

Literature Response: The Day the Crayons Quit

The Day the Crayons Quit Letter Writing Activity

A Crayon Box Full of Activities

Writers Guide for The Day the Crayons Quit

More Writing Paper

Crossword and Maze

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Chocolate Milk, Por Favor

One of my all time favorite lessons is based on the book The Potato Chip Champ by Maria Dismondy. You can connect to that lesson here.

I just ordered Maria Dismondy's new book, Chocolate Milk, Por Favor.  I love it!  I received this book in the mail on Saturday and can not wait to use it in the classroom.  The best part is that there is a reading guide on Maria's website for FREE!  

Maria also lists the common core standards that align with each activity!

More about the book:  Johnny is a big fan of school but all that changes when the new kid, Gabe arrives.  Gabe doesn't speak any English, and that doesn't stop Johnny from going out of his way to be unkind.  What will Johnny do when Gabe starts to make new friends?  Will he join in the fun of making a new friend or turn the other way?  Johnny realizes a powerfulmessage in this story where empahty and inclusion teach us that actions speak louder than words.  Read to find out how chocolate milk plays a major role in the discovery of the real universal language. (description from Amazon)

I plan to use Chocolate Milk, Por Favor with my 3rd graders. These are the centers that I plan on using (activities can be find in the reading guide.)

Discussion Center:  How to be a good friend

Discussion Center (2):  Table Talk (I will serve chocolate milk at this center)

Writing Center:  Celebrating You!  What Makes You Different? or Developing Point of View

Reflection Center:  Asking and Answering Questions (empathy)

Dramatic Center:  Poem/Song/Skit about Diversity

Art Center:  Celebrate Diversity Poster Challenge

You can also find a coloring page here.

Fun Fact:  September 27th is national Chocolate Milk Day:)

More books by Maria Dismondy:
Spaghetti in A Hot Dog Bun
Pink Tiara Cookies For Three
The Juice Box Bully

It's Okay To Be Different-We All Fit In!

I was recently introduced to Todd Parr's books and I have to say that I am loving them!  They are bright, colorful and pretty funny.  I just finished a lesson using It's Okay to be Different.  This is a lesson that I have done for years but I always used the book What I Like About Me!.  I like to switch things up but I could probably use both books and make the lesson even more meaningful!

Both of these books teach remind children that it's okay to be different. These books teach kindness, empathy, diversity and most importantly, self-acceptance.
Discussion:  What does the term diversity mean?  Take some time to discuss student's thoughts and ideas about diversity.  Do you know anyone who is like the characters in the story?  Why do you think the author used the colors that he did?  
Activity:  Play a version of "Simon Says" where students do something if they meet certain criteria.  Some examples:
If you are 7 years old stand up
If you have brown eyes put your hands on your head
If you wear glasses turn around
If you like green beans stand on one foot

Activity:  Play compliment tag  Have students sit in a circle and pick one person to be "it".  This student says another student's name and then gives that student a compliment.  The student responds by saying "Thank You".  The student who received the compliment is now "it" and must compliment another student in the group.  This continues until each student has had a chance to receive a compliment.

Activity:  Give each student a puzzle piece (link below).  You can have them draw a picture of them-self on the puzzle piece OR you can have them decorate it however they would like.  I have done both ways.  Once everyone is fineshed, put all of the pieces together.  Lead on discussion about all of the unique pieces coming together to create one beautiful picture.  

Diversity Puzzle:  Puzzle Pieces  or Puzzle Kit

Todd Parr's Webpage has some FUN stuff:  Fun Stuff

Connections:
It's Okay to Wear Boys Socks-A Very Diverse Lesson
It's Okay to be Colorful and Creative
It's Okay to Feel Different
Ipad App
It's Okay to be Different
Class Book Idea

Common Core Connections:
Literacy
RL.1.1 Ask and answer questions about key details in text.
RL.1.2 Retell stories, including key details, and demonstrate understanding of their central message or lesson.
RL.1.3  Describe characters, settings, and major events in a story, using key details.

Speaking and Listening
SL.1.1a Follow agreed-upon rules for discussion.
SL1.1b Build on others' talk in conversations by responding to the comments of others through multiple exchanges.

The Day It Rained Hearts

I always teach my "Bucket Filling" unit in February so that I can use this book:  The Day it Rained Hearts.

Cornelia August has a big heart and when it starts raining hearts, she catches them and uses them to make Valentine's Day cards.  Cornelia August puts a lot of thought into her cards, using just the right heart for each friend. This story can be used at any point during the school year but I try to use it around Valentines Day.   We have a discussion about kindness/thoughtfulness and relate this to the bucket filling concept.

Discussion Questions:
1.  Why did Cornelia Augusta make Valentines Day cards for her friends?
2.  Why did she study the hearts?
3.  Why did she cut holes in one heart?
4.  Why do you think that it was so important for Cornelia August to pick the perfect heart for each one of her friends?
5.  How do you feel when you get a thoughtful gift?
Activity:  After your discussion, have students create their own heartfelt gift.  You can keep this super simple and provide only paper and markers or you can provide simple materials such as paint, tissue paper, glitter, string, heart stickers, etc...

Connections:  you can find free printables here:  Teachers Pay Teachers.  Free Clipart images from the story HERE.  You could also get this activity for a few dollars:  Teachers Pay Teachers.

Some ideas for heartfelt projects:

www.123teachwithme.com

www.playandlearnwithdana.blogspot.com

thechocolatemuffintree.blogspot.com

Connecting Bully Prevention with Common Core Standards

Way back in March (of 2013)  I stated that I would be posting some of my own bullying lessons. You may have read this blog post about bullying and common core standards.  Well, life happened and the post never happened.  I'm back and am going to try this blogging thing again.  I wanted to connect to some more great resources that I have been using.  Once again the topic is bullying and once again the lessons are connected to Common Core Standards.  I did not create the lessons but wanted to share them because they are GOOD!

The common core lessons are on Trudy Ludwig's Resource page: http://www.trudyludwig.com/resources_core.html

The books:

My Secret Bully:  I highly recommend this book for girls in 4th-6th grade. I am currently using it for a fourth grade girl group.  The story is about two girls who are "friends".  One of the girls, Katie, talks about the other behind her back and begins excluding her from activities.  Katie begins suffering from stomach problems and her mother provides advice/coping skills for Katie to use.  There are some discussion questions at the end of the book as well. You can find more lesson connections HERE, HERE,  and HERE.

Sorry!:  I am currently using this book in my fourth grade classroom guidance lessons.  The story line explains that saying sorry doesn't cut it, especially when you have done something mean on purpose. I love that the teacher prompts the character to "make it right" to show that they are truly sorry.  Here is another lesson that you can use with this book:  https://www.researchpress.com/sites/default/files/books/addContent/4986A.pdf

Confessions of a Former Bully:  Confessions of a Former Bully is a follow up to My Secret Bully. This time Katie gets caught teasing a schoolmate and meets with the school counselor to learn how to be a better friend.  This book is full of tips for dealing with bullying as well as ways to turn bully behavior around.  I love the fact that the school counselor is involved!!!  More Connections to this book can be found HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE

The Invisible Boy:  This is a good book for elementary students.  I am currently using it with a small group of second grade boys.  The story is about a student, Brian, who is isolated/excluded by his peers.  Brian imagines what it would be like to be a part of the group and the artwork in this story leads to its own discussion.  The story includes discussion questions as well.  You can find more lessons HERE, HERE and HERE.

Gifts from the Enemy:  I don't own this book but I am going to include it anyway because it looks like it could be a good one.  I just added it to my amazon shopping cart and plan to order it later today.  After reading the book description, it sounds like a book that would be great for a Junior High classroom lesson following a Social Studies lesson on the Holocaust.    

Just Kidding:  I don't have a common core lesson linked to this book but it is still a good book to use. If you need another lesson (other than the one on Trudy Ludwig's page) I have used the one shared Here by Coffee Cups & Lesson Plans.